Review: Sagamore Spirit Calvados Finish

Appearance: Nice looking color: a lot of depth to this medium dark brown.

Nose: This one has a huge nose that I can smell from the bottle and emanating out of the glass. It's got very strong notes of baking spices, baked green apples, cinnamon, and a lot heat in there.

Taste: This is a fantastically complex whiskey. The classic sweet and herbal notes of Sagamore take over the front of the palate. Then the savory sweetness of the Calvados influence begins to take over. The final piece to the structure is the slightly smokey, earthy finish of a brandy. This is a great balance between great Sagamore Spirit rye and an interesting secondary finish.

With Ice: Adding some water helps soften the more dominate tastes and really mutes the Calvados influence. It's really nice with great flavor, but I like this whiskey without ice. To me, ice turns the volume down on a lot of the great flavors in this pour. Without ice, it's a bigger, more uncompromising.

Verdict: 90/100. This is very, very tasty and very delicious stuff! Candy sweet, but then deep: Sagamore Spirit taste with the finish of a brandy without smashing me over the head with the smoke finish. This still tastes like great American Rye Whiskey. Unlike some finished whiskies (and even some previous Sagamore finished whiskies), this is a finish that compliments the base spirit, not overpowers it. Well done!