Whisky : Amrut Aatma (US 2019 Single Cask)

Country/Region : India

ABV : 56.5%

Cask : Ex-Bourbon (Cask #3792, Outturn: 145 Bottles)

Age : 7 Years (Distilled Dec. 2011, Bottled Jan. 2019)

Tasting : Neat in a Glencairn @ Home

Nose : Billowing smoke from a brick oven— or a car burning rubber on hot asphalt— or a smokey campfire of green wood.  The smoke is heady and unmistakable— inescapable really.  Even background notes feel infused with smoke— smoked vanilla, smoked honey, grilled pineapple, smoked thinly sliced beef jerky.  The dram offers an earthy, faintly floral, or fruity sweetness to the smoke.

Palate : For all the heady smoke of the nose, the palate is far more restrained.  Medium bodied, slight tannic astringency, and very tannic— the dram opens with bitter burnt coffee and a wood fired brick oven— notes of perfectly crispy, that is to say slightly burnt, pizza crust round out the smoke and char.  Gradually turns toward the savory fruitiness of jackfruit, dried mango, and a wet vegetable garden.  There are loads of spices that come and go; black pepper, Chinese five spice, white peppers, licorice, and coriander.  

Finish : Lingering earthy red clay infused with a bit of bitter mint and vanilla.

Score : 6

Mental Image : An urban garden; a respite from the traffic and smog of the streets beyond.

Something Better : Ledaig 11 Year; The Exclusive Malts (similar brick oven, more salt & cheese)

Something Similar : Amrut Peated Single Malt (more tropical fruits, less dominant smoke/spice)

Something Worse : Johnnie Walker Black (similarly smoke centric, smoother, less complex, less finish)

Notes : A peated Amrut?  Seven years old?  How could I not jump onboard the hype train for Aatma.  I am a big fan of what Amrut does with the peated barley they bring in from Scotland.  They distill it beautifully and the casks age well in the Indian heat.  As a fan, it is frustrating that I cannot source bottles locally, so when I had an opportunity to try this one, I felt compelled to jump on it.

After seven years in the Southern Indian heat this dram packs a punch.  The Amrut Aatma is a heavy hitter, nearly a peat bomb, and as such it needs time to breath— a lot of time to breath.  My impression of it improved between tasting sessions as it had extra time to breath and open up.  Seven years in an ex-bourbon cask imparted loads of wood spice and really spotlighted smokey notes from the peat.  While Amrut states that as far as the angel’s share is concerned one year in India equals three in Scotland, the peat in this dram drinks more like a seven year than it does a twenty one year.  Many Amruts do drink much older than they are— but I am not sure that the Indian climate mellows peat in the same way.

I have previously enjoyed the various Amrut peated port pipe single casks I have tried and I believe their peated single malts benefit from a bold wine cask influence to balance the peat.  This one is a bit too unbalanced and the strong wood spices cover up most of the lovely fruity notes I adore in Amrut.  The nose has loads of wonderful variations on meaty peaty influence with just a hint of tropical fruit— the palate seems a bit simple in comparison.  It is a tasty dram and one that I think any peathead would find fun to explore.

So who should get this bottle?  This bottle will appeal to any Amrut Fever or Fan Club member, but it may be a bit unbalanced for anyone not looking to stamp their ‘peat world’ passport.  It was interesting trying a peated Amrut aged in ex-bourbon instead of a wine cask and aged for much longer than you typically encounter outside of the Greedy Angel’s lineup.

EDIT 3/1/2020
I have adjusted the score on this from a C to a B-. This dram has continued to open up between tasting sessions— I think between my original session jotting down notes and my post I upgraded it and it has continued to improve since I initially posted this in Fall 2019. A lot of the tannic astringency that initially turned me off faded revealing a lot more of the savory fruits and spices.

That is a bit of a wait, but it is certainly well worth it— time to rest and breath were kind to this dram and so I could not help but revisit my post and update the grade to reflect how much better the experience was.