Photo Tour of Sagamore Spirit Distillery in Port Covington

Sagamore Spirit Distillery at 301 E. Cromwell St. in Port Covington will officially open its doors to the public tomorrow. This morning, company executives and politicians joined for the ribbon cutting and to give tours of the facility to guests and the media. Sagamore Spirit is co-founded by Under Armour Founder and CEO Kevin Plank and Bill McDermond.

The Sagamore Spirit project was led by Sagamore Development, the general contractor was Whiting-Turner, and the design team included Ayers Saint Gross, Whitney Bailey Cox Magnani, Structura, Allen & Shariff, Core Studio Design, Spexsys, Koffel Associates, The Lighting Practice, and Solid Light.

“We are proud to call the City of Baltimore our home,” said Brian Treacy, President of Sagamore Spirit, in a press release. “Our team will continue to work hard to provide an incredible visitor experience, celebrate Maryland’s distilling heritage, and showcase what a great destination Charm City can be.  We want to put Maryland back on the map as the premier distiller of rye whiskey.”

Plank also owns Sagamore Farm, a thoroughbred horse farm, which first opened in Glyndon in 1925 and features a natural spring that is filtered by limestone and used by the farm’s horses for water. Plank and McDermond discovered this water would also be perfect for distilling rye whiskey. In 2011, they began the process of launching Sagamore Spirit.

The four-building Sagamore Spirit campus on the Patapsco River features a 22,000 sq. ft. distillery building with a handmade 40-ft. mirrored finished copper column still, made by Vendome Copper in Louisville, Kentucky; a 27,000 sq. ft. processing building which includes its bottling line; a two-story 13,000 sq. ft. restaurant with an event space that will open in mid-2017 and be run by Chef Andrew Carmelli; and a 2,000 sq. ft. support building, all of which will surround a green courtyard space. There is also a 120-ft. water tower which will hold water from Sagamore Farm’s limestone spring. The distillery will be surrounded by Sagamore Development’s East Waterfront Park.

The distillery’s design includes many elements from Sagamore Farm including red roofs and gray brick, modeled after the farm’s horse stables. Sagamore Spirit will anchor the East Waterfront District in Sagamore Development’s 266-acre Port Covington Master Plan.

The distillery will be open for free tours to the public starting tomorrow and throughout the weekend. Tours will be available from 10am to 6pm.

Founded in 2013, Sagamore Spirit hit the market in May 2016 with a signature 83-proof American Straight Rye Whiskey. The team expanded the portfolio in December 2016 with a Cask Strength Rye Whiskey, which is between 111 and 113 proof. Sagamore Spirit’s team previously used space at City Garage in Port Covington.

Sagamore Spirit is the first new-construction project at Port Covington and the third overall building to open. It joins City Garage, where Sagamore Spirit is temporarily based, and Under Armour’s Building 37. Construction on a new Port Covington bike path is currently in process and Phase I of Under Armour’s new 50-acre campus is expected to begin this year.

About the Author: Kevin Lynch

Founder and Publisher of SouthBmore.com, longtime resident of South Baltimore, and a graduate of Towson University. Diehard Ravens and O's fan, father of three, amateur pizza chef, skateboarder, and "bar food" foodie. Email me at Kevin@InceptMM.com and follow me on Twitter at @SoBoKevin.