I have never been disappointed by any Indian single malt whiskies that I have drunk.
I am a big fan of Paul John – such as their Brilliance bottling. About a year ago, I was given a 43% ABV from Amrut. If it had been a blind tasting, I may well have said Indian – it was full of mangoey-type spices. Delightful.
We are told that the name Amrut comes from the golden pot that had contained the Elixir of Life. The distillery is located near Bangalore, towards the south of the country, and this places it on a similar parallel to Bangkok. Distilling was officially launched in 1948 in the era of independence. And it produces several other types of alcohol, including gin.
Fusion has been available for about 20 years, and was arguably the first Indian whisky to hit the UK market. The name is derived from its use of 75% southern Himalayan barley and 25% peated barley imported from Scotland. Maturation is approximately 5.5 years, which is similar to about 9 years in Scotland.
The packaging is strangely enticing. Equally important are the transparent explanations on the tin container. Many of my favourites:
- 50% ABV
- First filled bourbon
- Non chill-filtered and non-coloured.
For the geeks, Amrut Distillery employs shell-and-tube condensers in their whisky production process. Maturation takes place at 3,000 ft high. The great Jim Murray ranked this with a massive 97 points in his Whisky Bible. Is it time to compare it to some Speyside regulars?
Before going to my tasting notes, permit me to set the scene. I was working late, and feeling like a quality whisky that would accompany for an hour or so. Hence the picture attached.
I had already tasted a neck-pour (first pour for the bottle), and I had enjoyed it. I was curious to know how the alcohol would turn out after some further oxidisation.
Nose: Barley sugar, gentle pepper and some other spices, hint of apricot.
Palate: Fun fun – creamy, soft, sweet custardy pie, citrus fruits. Slight hint of peat
Finish: Sit back and relax. Enjoy to the full. The flavours seem to interchange
In fact, the longer I left this in the glass, the better it tasted. WOW! And as it is a 50% whisky, I did try with some water, but felt it detracted from the specialness of the pour.
Would I buy this again? The price in duty free was very attractive. So, the answer is a resounding yes.
