If we just stuck with our standard rotation of Scotch, American, Irish and the occasional Canadian whisky, we would have plenty to do content wise. But it seems like we would be missing out on a whole new world of whisky making. We don’t want to be that kind of group, endlessly dogmatizing only what we know and ignoring that which we do not understand. Speyside will always be fun, but why not rhapsodize you all with something new, say, a malt from Kazakhstan? Maybe later, but for today we blaze our first trail into India and profile a malt from their most visible distillery, Amrut. So, gather round as a father instructs his bored teenage children and learn something new.

Amrut Distillery operates out of Bangalore, India, and since opening in 2001 they have amassed quite a range of whiskies and accompanying awards. Our selection today is perhaps their most awarded single malt called Amrut Fushion, namely because the malt combines home grown Indian barley fused with Scottish grown peated barley brought together in the milling portion of the process. Being that Banglaore sits 3,000 feet above sea-level and possesses what Dominic Roskrow calls a “dramatic and violent” environment for aging, you could rightly guess that Amrut typically does not, or indeed cannot age their stock further than 5 years.While Amrut’s casks suffer a punishing angel’s share of 16% per year, this short time frame is nevertheless industry coveted. Amrut does not have to wait for 12 years for their distillate to reach ideal maturation, and therefore their investment sees the shelf much sooner than their competitors. Fushion is bottled at 50% ABV, so we are certainly getting a good shot at some flavor here. On to it…

SWC Review

Nose- Where to begin…Ripe banana, toffee, dark chocolate. Peat is light with raspberry, pear and green apple. Raisins/dates and rum caramel. All together in ideal balance.

Taste- Salty and dark chocolate. Peat picks up. Grapefruit pith. Creamy mouth feel.

Finish-Medium to long. Hot smoke with some nice sweetness, chocolate covered espresso beans. Warm spice.

Comment- A rich reward for trying something new and unknown. Complex and cohesive. Worth a try, folks.

SWC Rating-92/100

Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments section below.

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