Amrut: Fusion (India Single Malt Whisky: No age statement: 50% ABV)
Visual: Custard gold.
Viscosity: Quite thick streaks, hard to tell on the glass.
Nose: Vanilla. Noticeable alcohol. Custard. Pencil shavings. Light apple. Water adds grass fields and sweet lemon.
Body: Smooth. Toffee. Barley biscuits. Pleasant oak. Malt chocolate. Fudge. Some alcohol. Water smooth and adds sweet lime.
Finish: Vanilla toffee. Oak. Malt chocolate. Raisins. Water adds a dash of lime and more toffee. Some dry turmeric (Only noted after discussion with staff).
Conclusion: So, my first review of a whisky from India. I was discussing this with staff in the pub, and they considered Amrut to be distinctly a distinctive whisky in itself, which separates it from, say, Japanese whisky, which very closely emulates the Scottish style. Now it could be because this is their Fusion whisky, deliberately mixing in Scottish traits, but I found it quite close to the Scottish regions, and my first wondering was what region would it be best to compare it to.
For this I would say it reminds me of highland whisky. It has a slightly heavier body that most speysides, but still has that sweetness and a robust barley influence. It is very recognisable in the elements you get, toffee, lots of barley influence and some oak and malt chocolate. It is very refined, and reminds me of some of the vatted malts in how smooth it is. The higher than norm alcohol does give it some burn but a small amount of water soon soothes that.
After my discussion with the staff (see background for more info) I started noticing some slight turmeric in elements that I had previously thought of as dry oak – this could be entirely psychosomatic based on our chat, but by any interpretation there was that dry and more grounded character there.
So, to my eye, not that different from the Scottish character, though it does have a few more grounded notes. What it is however is a very proficient malt that shows a lot of smooth style. It will definitely appeal to fans of vatted malts, and those who prefer less sharp edges as this keeps itself very smooth. In that it feels it does not take many risks, but is still a highly competent whisky.
Background; My decision to review this may have been influenced by the chance to add India to my beer and whisky map. Anyway, found at Brewdog Bristol (Their whisky selection is getting seriously good), this is called Fusion as it uses a mix of Scottish and Indian Barley. I was discussing with one of the staff members and he commented that he found it quite spiced, with a lot of Indian spice influence, including cinnamon. I didn’t get a lot of that myself (See notes in the review) but thought I would mention as it never hurts to give you lot more info.
