Whisky: Amrut 8 Year (2014) Cask 3882 for Prestige Ledroit

Country/Region: India

ABV: 60%

Cask: Port Pipe

Age: 8 Years (Distilled July 2014, Bottled April 2023)

Nose: Intense with big cask and peat, barbecue grill, caramelized sugars, dried fruits, hints of more tropical citrus, dry grass.

Palate: Medium-bodied, oily and tannic, dried dates and stone fruits, herbal tea and caramelized sugars, slightly creamy at times, metallic, more acrid smoke in the background.

Finish: Medium to long and slightly bitter, peppery with more acrid smoke over sweet fruits.

Score: 6 (78)

Mental Image: Boba Tea on the Grill

Narrative & Notes: Barbecue grills and caramelized brown sugar in tiger milk tea wafted out of the glass right away— there was no dodging the influence of the peated malt and sweet port cask.  More dried fruits lingered behind the grill smoke with raisins, or perhaps extra sweet Craisins, bruised pineapple, and dates. Medium-bodied and very oily, a sweet fruity arrival of brown sugar, dates, and dried apricots opened up to tiger milk tea and custard pudding. A pronounced tannic woody quality accentuated the impression of an astringent tea while more subtle metallic notes and slightly acrid smoke lingered in the background.  The finish was a touch bitter and peppery with more acrid smoke over sweet dried fruits.

Amrut was one of my first whisky loves and it has been a few years since I fell off the hype train.  I suspect that has more to do with changes to my taste and preferences than it does with any change at Amrut.  Though the groundbreaking single malt producer has also changed over the years with its 2018 expansion and the sad passing of chairman Neelakanta Rao Jagdale in 2019, who oversaw Amrut’s rise as a single malt in the 2000s.

I enjoyed most of the elements here— the peated malt and port pipe came together wonderfully, and this was not the first peated port pipe malt I have enjoyed from the distillery. I was not a fan of how woody it felt on the palate as the whisky gradually took a more tannic and drying turn, though it was never quite as offensive as some new oak single malts can be.

Overall, I liked it up to the finish which I found unpleasant and bitter. I tried this as a single pour across a couple of occasions and thought it would pair well with food or a cigar, either of which might mask some of the bitterness on the finish.  Water did not seem to help, and sadly muted some of the notes I enjoyed.