Maker: Amrut, Kambipura, Bangalore, India
Age: NAS
Batch: No. 47, Sept 2012
ABV: 46%
Price: $50 (Binny’s)
Note: Unchillfiltered.
Appearance: Pale gold, long, lazy legs (no coloring used).
Nose: Malt, fresh cut lumber, alcohol.
On the palate: Full bodied and sweet. Butterscotch, vanilla buttercream icing, coconut cream.
Finish: Warm, but not hot with oak and sweet malt. Fades slowly into tingliness.
Parting words: Amrut is a fairly new brand of whisky. It was introduced to the world outside India in 2004 at an Indian restaurant in Glasgow. After a change in distribution strategy, it was eventually launched the North America in 2010. Before that, the distillery produced malt whisky for blending.
As one might expect, whisky and other spirits in India mature much more quickly than in Scotland or even Kentucky due to the hot climate. According to Wikipedia, the evaporation rate for Amrut whisky in the barrel is about 11% per year compared to 2% on average in Scotland.
This whisky does taste like a 10-12 y/o Speyside malt, and a pretty good one at that. The only off note I detected was the cut lumber in the nose. It is close to the sharp woody aroma that comes through in many micro-distilled American malt whiskeys. Fortunately it dissapates as the whisky opens up in the glass and bottle. Overall, Amrut makes for a pleasant after dinner sipper or a starter whisky for a Scotch session.
At $50 it’s not cheap but it is fair for comparable Single Malt Scotches, many of which are at a lower ABV. Amrut Single Malt is recommended.
Sipology 