Whisky : Amrut Spectrum 004

Country/Region : India (Bangalore)

ABV : 50%

Cask : Oloroso Sherry, Pedro Ximenéz, French Oak, American Oak (Frankenstein Cask)

Tasting : Neat in a Glencairn @ Maison du Whisky Singapore

Nose : Pungent scent of sweet pipe tobacco— almost like walking into a very richly perfumed humidor.  Cinnamon and clove spice bubble up as though they were being freshly ground by someone sitting next to me.  The scent is almost heavy— sort of thick and syrupy as if I have a glass of rich port wine in front of me.

Palate : The first sip brings a combination of brown sugar, pipe tobacco, and really dry or astringent red wine.  After giving it some more breathing space the flavors round out to warm dark stone fruits, plums resting in a sweet sticky syrup

Finish : Spiciness of cinnamon and ginger with a long drawn out and lingering vanilla— almost a tad floral sitting in the middle of the tongue and towards the back.  A shadow of the sweetness of a rich perfumed vanilla bean ice cream or crème brûlée.

Score : 8

Mental Image : Drinking this whisky brought a clear vision to me of sitting outside at dusk on a summer’s eve with a thick cigar in one hand and a glass of port in the other.  A pleasing thought and memory.

Notes :  If I ever saw a bottle of this, I would almost certainly buy it.  We tried a lot of whiskies on our trip through South and Southeast Asia and this was one of the ones that really stuck with me.  Going into the tasting I was excited for the chance to try some of the Amrut lineup, I had heard good things, we had just spent time in India, and we do not have Amrut available in our area (though Paul John and Rampur are both available).  

Nothing prepared me for how much I would enjoy the Spectrum 004.  The other Amruts we had, while also good and just as enjoyable as I had expected, really shone a little less brightly compared to this one.  The sweet, silky, smokey tobacco was unlike anything I had ever picked up in a whisky before and I have since realized it is one of my favorite notes to find.  The dark fruit along with hints of something earthy made this a remarkable deep and well rounded dram to linger over.