Amrut Indian Whiskey

[MikeK]

I tried the Fusion at a tasting this weekend. I was excited to try it from much high praise I had read. I found it fine, completely acceptable, nothing wrong with it, but nothing special either.

[cowdery]

Anyone else a little apprehensive about drinking anything that was made in India? Not that this stems from any sort of racist sensitivity... It has just always been my impression that India is a very, very dirty and unhygienic culture/country. Pictures of dead bodies floating in the Ganges river probably did that one in for me.

[macdeffe]

Apart from their standard range, peated and unpeated at 46% and cask strength + the fusion, this magnificient distillery have released several quite clever and very innovative bottlings. They have so far avoided the "wine finish trap", but has used alternative casks and cask movements I personally find more suiting for whisky :-)

I do like the tropical full bodied texture of Amrut and I think it's delightful that good quality whisky can emerge from the least expected places. Another one to look out for in the same catagory is Taiwan's Kavalan

Blackadder has released several Amruts as well

Their Special Bottlings so far are

Two Continent, matured in two continents and is their most scottish like whisky

Double Caskl, a mix of their two oldest cask, around 6-7 years old

Kadhambam, it means mixture in Tamil and is the result of Amrut being matured on three different cask types- Ex-oloroso, ex-Bangalore Blue Brandy casks and finally ex-rum casks, the latter two cask types has been used for Amruts own brandy and rum products

Intermediate Sherry, It's Amrut whisky that has been transfered from ex-bourbon casks to ex-sherry casks and then back to ex-bourbon. Bottled at 50%

Amrut 100, peated Amrut matured in 100l casks, bottled at 100cl and at 100proof british strength (57.1%)

The only bottle I havent cracked open yet is the 100, but I really liked the other, the two continents being my least favourite, it tasted like a scottish single malt and lacked the delicious full bodies juicy tropical texture I really like in Amruts

Steffen

[Megawatt]

Lucky guy to try all those Amruts.

I'm not going to say that Fusion is the best stuff I've had but neither is it run-of-the-mill malt whisky. As soon as I put my nose up to the bottle I can tell it is different. In fact I can't even think of anything to compare it to.

[macdeffe]

I got this press release last week :

Vogage of discovery for Amrut Herald

Amrut Distilleries is once again pushing back boundaries in the whisky world. For its latest offering it has

chosen a beautiful, but remote, island as the place to mature four barrels of its Bangalore-distilled single

malt whisky. For a project like this, one might have expected Amrut to pick an island in the whisky

heartlands, but the Indian distillery has once again opted for the unconventional and chosen an island 45

miles off the north German coast.

Helgoland is an unspoiled unique environment with dramatic red sandstone cliffs and sensuous sand

dunes. Not only is it free of traffic and low in pollution, but it also enjoys a gentle climate thanks to the

Gulf Stream which allows exotic plants and wildlife to thrive at its relatively high latitude.

From Bangalore, itself known as India’s “garden city” due to its lush tropical environment, the casks of

malt whisky were shipped to Germany before being transferred to a boat for the two-and-a-half-hour

crossing from Cuxhaven to the northern island idyll.

There, Amrut’s German importer, Prineus, had arranged for the barrels of the malt to mature further. Not

only was the Helgoland climate a big contrast to tropical India, but the barrels were stored close to sea

level. In Bangalore the Amrut distillery is at an altitude of 3,000 feet. The outcome is the stunning new

Amrut Herald.

Keeping in tune with the pure unspoilt atmosphere of Helgoland, the whisky was bottled in as simple a

way as possible. It was not filtered or diluted and in fact you will notice sediments in the hand-filled

bottles.

This is the first time that any whisky has been matured and bottled on Helgoland and the bottles from

one of the casks will be retained on the island, which is a duty free haven. Like Amrut’s previous limited

edition malts, Amrut Herald will only be available in small quantities in certain locations and it is sure to

become a popular bottling.

Gerd Schmerschneider of Prineus is delighted with the collaboration. “The result is a fantastic whisky,

one of the finest examples you can get out of a Bourbon cask. It is clean, powerful and holds loads of

vanilla and sweetness. It was a great honour for me, on behalf of Prineus, to work with Amrut. Neither

maturation nor bottling of whisky has been done on the island of Helgoland before, but millions of litres of

alcohol have been sold there. The environment is perfect for maturing whisky as it is 70km away from

the mainland, no pollution is evident and cars aren’t allowed on the island.”

“Making this malt whisky was a real adventure,” said Ashok Chokalingam of Amrut Distilleries. “It

travelled 5,000 miles to the edge of mainland Europe. Then we were able to mature and bottle whisky on

Helgoland, for the first time in the island’s history. And in Amrut Herald we have created another unique

malt whisky which will satisfy the connoisseurs who have come to expect the best from us

I am a big Amrut fan and for those of you not familiar with their previous release Two Continents and Amrut in general, I can assure you that this alternative maturation location has a huge impact on the whisky

But I guess you would know as Kentucky Bourbon is heavily influenced by being matured in the Kentucky climate

Steffen

[chperry]

I tried the Amrut Single Malt Whisky Cask Strength yesterday. It came in a 50ml bottle at 61.8% alc/vol. I cut it with a little water (5 to 10ml) and found it to be very enjoyable. Good enough that I will likely spring for a full 750ml bottle on my next visit to the liquor store. I am no good for tasting notes. I only know what I like and what I don't like. And I liked this.

Charles