[WHISKY TASTING] A World-Class Indian Single Malt? 🥃
For long, Indian and Asian whisky in general was synonymous with horse piss (pardon the language.) Fortunately, things have changed for the better. The Amrut Distilleries Ltd is located in Bangalore, in the province of Karnataka, and has since long been producing whisky for the domestic market. Amrut was founded in 1948, shortly after India's independence. Back then they were known as Amrut Laboratories and produced mainly brandies and other non single malt spirits. It was only in the 1980s that they began to manufacture single malt from barley grown in Punjab and Rajasthan in northwestern India.
At the beginning of the millennium, they started to export their single malt to Britain, and it rapidly became highly appreciated among your average consumer as well as among experts. The barley is usually domestic and grows on the heights of the Himalayas. The tropical climate of Bangalore ensures an extremely fast maturation. The average whisky from Amrut is about 4-5 years of age, which makes age statements on the bottles essentially meaningless. A 4 year old Amrut simply can't be compared with a Scottish ditto. With the high temperatures in Bangalore, it's also impossible to store whisky for longer periods due to the high evaporation. In 15 years there simply would be no whisky left in a cask.
The name Amrut originates from Indian mythology:
”… when Gods and Rakshasas – the demons – churned the oceans using the mountain Meru as churner, a golden pot sprang out containing the Elixir of Life, known as Amrut …”
The Amrut Fusion that we'll be trying today is based on a mix of 25% lightly peated Scottish barley and 75% Indian barley, so it's an East meets West sorta thing. In 2010, leading whisky expert Jim Murray named it the third greatest whisky in the world.
Amrut Fusion
ABV: 50%
Age: NAS (No Age Statement)
Region: Karnataka, India
Cask Types: ex-Bourbon
Price: ~58 USD / 0.7L
Natural Colour & Non-chill filtered
Appearance: Amber.
Nose: The first thing that hits me is raisins, brown sugar and dark fruit. Very sweet initially, but after some aeration and a few drops of water the wood notes shine through. Vanilla and sandalwood, together with a faint cloud of sweet smoke. Beautiful!
Palate: Wow, extremely hot and spicy! It sure feels a bit like a sherry matured whisky, but apparently they've only used ex-bourbon casks. More water only brings out more fire and heat! It's almost like eating a South Indian dish: mango, chili, clove, cardamom and ginger. There's also the same note of those sugar-dusted gummy peaches that I found in the Taiwanese Kavalan whisky. Towards the end the smoke and wood start to assert themselves...
Finish: ...and in the long finish the peated malt really becomes a more apparent component, together with leather and chili.
Conclusion: The spicy heat together with the mango fruitiness makes this baby feel truly Indian. And the faint smoke might represent the misty Himalayas. The fact that this complex and well balanced dram is a mere 4-5 years old is simply astounding. If you'd told me it was 18 years of age I would have believed you. No rough edges that you usually find in new-make spirit whatsoever. I'm very eager to try other bottles from Amrut. But can I give a 4-5 year old Indian NAS whisky a score of 93 points out of 100? Yes, I can!
I am a really big fan of Whiskey.. I will be checking your reviews but I already have preferences. Any whiskey from the Isles of Islay will blow your mind...
I'm a huge Islay whisky fan as well, you'll find some of them among my reviews. Thanks for reading and commenting!
I noticed. I see a review for Ardbeg. If I have to pick a favourite, that is definitely it!
I'd pick the Ardbeg Uigedail. Best stuff they made imo.
I agree, it's wonderful
I love whiskey. Great post would love to try this one!
Very interesting post. The part about their whisky evaporating in the the barrel in a decade or so never crossed my mind but makes makes prefect sense.
Nice share, should I come across it I would give it a shot or a double.