Whisky: Amrut Indian Single Malt, Blackadder

Country/Region: India

ABV: 61.4%

Cask: Oak

Age: NAS

Nose: Fruity, herbal, and spirited. Honey and ginger ducked behind herbal coriander as dried mango, and melon rind rolled into center stage. A cool freshness brought to mind Japanese cucumbers, while peppercorn and ginger candies provided an element of spice.

Palate: Medium-bodied and sweet with honey, tropical fruit, and spice. Bright citrus and honey hint the palate first, with dried mango and guava candies following close behind. A tingling spice, at once savory and sweet, brought Thai chili candies, peppercorns, nutmeg, ginger, and dried coriander to mind.

Finish: Lingering, and numbing, notes of honey and spice

Score: 5

Mental Image: Instagram Famous Street Vendor

Notes: I have always been curious about Blackadder’s Amrut single casks. There are not a lot of independently bottled Amrut out there, so these releases stand alone as something unique to Blackadder. As you would expect from Blackadder, plenty of cask material and detritus were floating in the bottle, which always ends up concentrated in the last couple of pours. That final gritty dram is my least favorite part of their ‘raw cask’ approach.

When I think of Blackadder, I expect a full-bodied flavor punch— maybe not the deepest or most complex dram, but one brimming with aggressive flavors. I thought this lived up to that billing; while it was a bit hot at turns, occasionally on the nose and toward the finish, it was otherwise stuffed with bright spice and dried tropical fruit. Mango stood out among others and transitioned nicely toward a spicy finish on the palate, while the aroma included intriguing “cool” notes that reminded me of cold cucumber.

I was a bit torn with this bottle. On the one hand, it is always fun to try a single cask from a distillery one loves. On the other hand, this reminded me of the core Amrut single malt, or its cask strength cousin, but at a higher price and slightly less clean flavors. I enjoyed this, but I do not know why I would grab it over the standard core release or an official distillery single casks. That is, of course, the difficulty when a distillery is so good; hunting down independently bottled variants are not always worth it— even if they are fun to try.