Amrut ‘Greedy Angels’ 10 Year Peated Sherry Finish
Whisky : Amrut ‘Greedy Angels’ 10 Year Peated Sherry Finish
Country/Region : India
ABV : 60%
Cask : 7 Years Pedro Ximenez Sherry, 3 Years Ex-Bourbon/Virgin Oak
Nose : A bouquet of spices bursts out to clear the sinuses— cinnamon, star anise, cloves infuse a fruity poached pear. Faintly earthy mineral notes come through as a hot brick kiln, or dusty sun baked stones. The aroma is musty and mellows out quite a bit from the initial rush of spices as it breaths. Old books, dry parchment, and an oil lamp hint at the aged peated malt.
Palate : Syrupy and thick, the dram rolls down the tongue leaving behind an oaky astringency. Loads of rich toasted spices make themselves known— cinnamon, mace, and cloves along with faintly sweet orange peel and burnt toast. Toward the end sherried notes of milk chocolate and a funky bitter burnt herbs come through.
Finish : Lingering coal embers and sizzling rich BBQ sauce.
Score : 6
Mental Image : BBQ sauce on hot coals.
Something Better : Amrut Spectrum 004 (similar syrupy thickness, more stewed fruit/tobacco)
Something Similar : Amrut Peated Cask Strength (more prominent coal smoke, less spice, more fruit)
Notes : I really wanted to like this so I am not entirely sure if my love of Amrut might be inflating my score just a little bit. The dram was tasty with loads of complex spice notes vying to come forward with a relatively subdued peat influence. If I were to factor in cost for this bottle, there is no way I could ever give it a passing score. While it is good, it does not taste $800 good— I am not sure what whisky could taste $800 good, I assume it must be some level of exceptional nectar of the Gods while also having immense sentimental value. This is a luxury dram, something better suited for collectors and fans of Amrut more ardent than myself. The problem with any hype train is that it derails as often as it ends up at the wrong station leaving you no where near the destination on your ticket.
I was absolutely thrilled for the chance to finally try a bottle of Amrut’s Greedy Angels range—especially one that hit the double digits in age after spending a decade in Bangalore’s notorious heat— even better that it was distilled from peated Scottish barley. According to Amrut one year in the Indian heat is equal to about three years in Scotland as the 'Angel’s Share' of whisky lost to evaporation out of the cask is typically a bit north of 10% instead of 2-3% per year. I actually feel as though the peat influence on this one reflects this idea of 3X speed aging better than the peated Aatma I reviewed earlier in Fall 2019. However, while time did mellow out a lot of the peat, the dram does feel a little bit over oaked as oaky spices, tannins, and astringency dominate much of the palate.
This is far from an everyday dram— Amrut has a number of excellent more affordable products— but if you have the money to burn on status whiskies or collectables— then this might be a fun pickup. Also a noteworthy as the last Chairman’s Reserve expression chosen by Neel Jagdale before his passing. This whisky is best suited for the collector and fan of Amrut, especially those who met Chairman Jagdale and feel a deep connection to the cask selection.
As a final note, let me admit that I find the name somewhat confusing— usually when a dram is labeled “sherry finish” its because the whisky was finished in a sherry cask, in this case it was aged primarily in a sherry cask before it was split into two smaller casks, an ex-bourbon and virgin oak, for a final finish.
