Sagamore Spirit Port Finish Named World's Best Rye Whiskey at 2019 San Francisco World Spirits Competition

Victory for Maryland-style limited time offering adds to accolades for fast-growing Baltimore distiller 100-percent focused on rye

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Sagamore Spirit

Apr 02, 2019, 10:00 ET

BALTIMORE, April 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The world has a new best-in-class rye whiskey. Sagamore Spirit Port Finish earned Double Gold status at the 2019 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and with it, designation as the world's best rye whiskey. Judged by an expert panel who blind taste-tested over 100 rye whiskies from across the U.S. and Canada, the Maryland-style limited time offering received a gold award from every panelist before progressing to a "sweepstakes round" of re-tastings, where it once again prevailed and took top honors.

Sagamore Spirit Port Finish earned Double Gold status at the 2019 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and with it, designation as the world’s best rye whiskey

At a bold 101-proof, Port Finish is a blend of straight rye whiskies aged to perfection in 53-gallon American oak barrels, then finished for six months in the finest 59-gallon port wine barrels sourced from Portugal and Baltimore-based Boordy Vineyards. The result is a perfect blend of plum, cherry, and baking spices that concludes with a full, dry finish.

The award comes after Sagamore Spirit's Cask Strength rye whiskey also received Double Gold from San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2017.

"We've always believed our rye whiskey was the best out there, and now the world knows that our Maryland-style rye is making waves and changing palates," said Brian Treacy, president of Sagamore Spirit. "I couldn't be more proud of our distillers and our entire team for making Port Finish the amazing whiskey it is, and for leading the Maryland-style rye revival."

Like Sagamore Spirit's Signature and Cask Strength rye whiskies, Port Finish is made by blending high-rye and low-rye mash bills and proofed with limestone-rich spring water, helping give it an approachability distinctive to Maryland-style ryes.

Because of its new best-in-class ranking, Sagamore Spirit is bringing Port Finish back for a second release for a limited time only this spring. To find a bottle while it lasts, visit SagamoreSpirit.com.

About Sagamore Spirit
Sagamore Spirit opened its award-winning five-acre waterfront distillery campus in Baltimore in April 2017. Since then, nearly 60,000 guests have visited the campus and tasted the brand's 30-time award-winning rye whiskies. Each batch of whiskey is made with pure spring-fed Maryland water. The distillation team blends two different rye mash bills – a high rye and a low rye – and then adds limestone-filtered spring water transported 22 miles from Sagamore Farm, to create an 83 proof Maryland-style rye whiskey. 100 percent of Sagamore Rye is cut to proof with this distinct water. Sagamore Spirit also offers a Cask Strength whiskey that is 112 – 114 proof. Sagamore Spirit is committed to inspiring a global passion for Maryland Rye Whiskey.

SOURCE Sagamore Spirit