Category Archives: Amrut

Amrut Single Malt Whisky 46%ABV & Cask Strength – head to head

India – 46%ABV – $50 | £27 | €31

Indian whisky, eh?  Whisky from India?  Damn straight and, why not?  Malt whisky is malt whisky & you can make it where ever you want so long as you have:

Barley (check – The barley is specially grown in the foothills of the Himalayas and the whisky is matured at 3,000ft at Bangalore.)

Water (check – have you see the Himalayas lately?)

Yeast (C’mon, this stuff is everywhere)

A place to mature your whisky (Check – the whisky is matured at 3,000ft at Bangalore and these particular expressions are matured in New American Oak and ex-bourbon before bottling).

For this head-to-head comparison between the Amrut Single Malt bottled at 46% and the Cask Strength version, I decided NOT to add any water to the Cask Strength version figuring that the 46% ABV version did this for me already.  A big thanks to Amrut for catering to my lazy side.

On the nose New York City tap water (from a Connecticutian’s perspective) or perhaps clean fresh rain.

Spiced butter on freshly baked sesame bread (oh, I like this – a lot!).

A bag of dried grains (think oats & barely).

There’s a savory warmth in here that keeps drawing me in.

Cinnamon rubbed apricots, stewing.

Gruyere cheese.

Vanilla and macaroons.

On the mouth Excessively chewy.

Chlorinated pool water

And, as much as I wanted to steer clear of indian food references, mango chutney with noticeable gingery notes.

Pine nut and basil pesto (with a clear focus on pine nuts).

Finish Savory finish filled with buttery breads and more pine nuts.

In sum Highly enjoyable.  The mouthfeel alone had me in a happy spot.  A nice balanced whisky that is unique.  Easy to approach and exceedingly yummy.  This is a great every day dram, no doubt.

And now onto the cask strength version which has nearly 16% more alcohol by volume…

India – 61.8%ABV – $68 | £34 | €39

On the nose At 61.8%, the first thing I notice is a blast of grain alcohol.

Yes, I know this is a malted whisky but this was the initial impression I got.

Very forward.

Dry popsicle sticks.

Melon pith.

Band-aids.

On the mouth Hot but, strangely accessible (sort of…).

Sugared melon (honey dew).

Very sweet with notes of caramel apples.

Soy sauce soaked sesame seeds (say that three times real fast!).

Cardamom & fennel seed.

Apricots.

Finish Blisteringly numbing but now those popsicle stick are back.

Very sweet.

Notes of dry, uncooked pasta.

In sum for the Cask Strength and the overall experience between the two Someone PLEASE put my mouth out!!  Hot damn, this stuff will wake you up (and put to right back to sleep if you have too much of it!).

The cask strength expression can be reserved for days when you’ve just had enough and want to say “F### it all!”. I’ve never suggested this before but, go ahead, knock it back and start bitching with your friends!

I’ve got to say, between this cask strength version and the 46% ABV version, I much prefer the 46% ABV (it really is a nice every day dram and one I plan to keep on my whisky shelf).

Special thanks goes out to Raj at Purple Valley Imports for the tasting samples.

A Sherried Amrut headed our way!

This just came past my desk here at the JSMWS headquarters (and it sounds delicious!):

PRESS RELEASE

Amrut Single Malt Releases New Limited Edition Expression

Amrut Intermediate Sherry Single Malt Whisky – 57.1% abv

Amrut Distillery and Purple Valley Imports USA announce the US launch of Amrut Intermediate Sherry Single Malt Whisky.

This is a truly unique expression. As a small family owned distillery Amrut is able to test new ideas and to continue to create world class Single Malt whisky.

Process behind this whisky

As a first step in the production of this expression Amrut Distillery wanted to make sure that there was no sulfur present in the casks. Secondly, shipping the sherry butts from Spain to Bangalore was going to be difficult. From Spain, the barrels would go through huge temperature changes and by the time it reached the port of Chennai (Madras) it would be 30 + degree Celsius. A marvelous idea came to Amrut. They instructed the supplier NOT to add any sulfur and also to drain any residual sherry in the cask completely. A few cases of Amrut Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky were shipped to the cooperage in Spain and they were filled in each of the Sherry Butts. The casks  were then sealed and rolled a few times. The logic behind this idea was cask strength whisky at 61.9% would more likely act as a kind of ‘bacteria killer’. Amazingly it worked! The Casks came through intact.

Once the Sherry Butts were filled Amrut wanted to create something other than the sherry finishes in the market today. Amrut wanted to avoid the sherry’s influence suppressing the ‘Amrut Characters’ in the whisky. The Butts were emptied back into Bourbon Casks for approximatley one year. The master distiller drew samples and was impressed with this “essay in elegance” – there was no trace of sulfur what so ever. It was like a sherry ‘Sandwich’ and fused well with Bourbon notes. ‘Amrut Intermediate Sherry’ has born. We are not aware if any other distiller has coined a phrase like this before, however it is exactly how the whisky was produced.

Purple Valley Imports will be sampling Amrut Intermediate Sherry Single Malt during the VIP hour at Whisky Fest San Francisco on October 8th, 2010

Facts:

Amrut Intermediate Sherry Single Malt – 57.1% alc by vol.

Total Bottling: 275 cases

US Availability: 85 Cases (6 x 750 ml)

Worldwide Availability: European Union, Canada and United States

US Release Date: October 15th, 2010

US Availability: November 1st, 2010

Anticipated US Retail Price:  $134.99

For further information:

Raj Sabharwal, VP Sales & Marketing, Purple Valley Imports USA. raj@purplevalleyimports.com.

Tel: 704 497 2493.