Sagamore Spirit, Leader of Maryland's Rye Revival, Is Acquired by Italy's Illva Saronno

When Sagamore Spirit opened its modern, expansive distillery on Baltimore’s waterfront back in 2017, it was embarking on a full-tilt mission to revive Maryland’s vanished rye whiskey tradition. Prior to Prohibition, there were as many as 44 rye makers in Maryland, but that number had dwindled to nothing by the end of the 20th century. By far the biggest rye distiller in the state, Sagamore focuses exclusively on making rye. Initially relying on MGP for its spirit, the company has gradually incorporated its own-make rye into its whiskeys, and results have been positive, with its ratings moving up accordingly in Whisky Advocate’s Buying Guide.

This morning, Sagamore Spirit announced that it has agreed to be acquired by Illva Saronno, the Italian drinks company most famous for its Disaronno amaretto liqueur brand. The agreement was struck with Sagamore Spirit founder Kevin Plank, best known for his sportswear company Under Armour, and it calls for Illva Saronno to acquire a majority stake in Sagamore. To show the seriousness of its commitment to this deal, Illva Saronno also said it will move its global headquarters to Baltimore.

Illva Saronno entered the whiskey business in 2016 with a purchase of a 50% stake in Walsh Whiskey and its distillery on the Royal Oak Estate in County Carlow, Ireland, which at the time was making Writer’s Tears' and The Irishman. That deal unraveled in 2019 when Walsh dissolved the partnership and became a non-distiller producer, leaving Disaronno with 100% ownership of the distillery, which was renamed Royal Oak. In 2020, Royal Oak released The Busker. Its highest-scoring whiskey thus far has been The Busker Single Malt, at 88 points.

Sagamore Spirit’s key labels are its Signature, Cask Strength, and Double Oak rye whiskeys. It launched its first Maryland-distilled bottled in bond straight rye in November 2021 as well as premium canned cocktails made with Sagamore Spirit straight rye in 2022. While it still uses MGP to fill its supply needs, the company hopes to be using 100% own-make for its whiskeys by 2025. It released its first entirely own-make whiskey in late 2021, a limited bottled in bond expression.

The distillery blends high and low-rye mashbills to achieve the Maryland style—full-bodied but sweeter, fruitier, and more floral than Pennsylvania’s traditionally spicy high ryes. Sagamore is not exclusively aiming toward heirloom rye strains, though its Sagamore Farm, about 25 miles north of Baltimore in Maryland horse country, is used for grain farming and it hopes to use all locally grown grains in the next five years. The farm is also the source of limestone water that’s trucked down to the distillery for use in proofing its whiskeys.