Amrut Fusion Single Malt, Batch 59
Whisky: Amrut Fusion Single Malt, Batch 59
Country/Region: India
ABV: 50%
Cask: Oak
Age: N/A (Bottled May 2017)
Nose: Gentle and citrusy, smoke, asphalt car park, lemons, acrid tobacco, leather, musty lanolin.
Palate: Medium-bodied, clean citrus and pine, hints of tobacco smoke and burning resin, more stone fruits and peach tea at the end.
Finish: Medium-length and mild with stone fruits and gentle white tea.
Score: 5-6 (76)
Mental Image: Auto Garage Waiting Room
Narrative & Notes: A gentle citrusy smoke crept in with dirty carpark pavement, motor oil stains, and slightly acrid tobacco smoke. Old leather seats and a basket of free lemons sat in the waiting room of an auto repair shop with musty carpets and lanolin. Medium-bodied, a clean citrus arrived first with a touch of pine to clear away some of the dirtier, acrid notions. Tobacco smoke lingered further in, but often behind sweet wood smoke and hints of burning aromatic resins. A touch of stone fruits and peach tea lingered near the end for a fruity finale. The finish was medium-length and mild with more stone fruits and gentle herbal notions pushing toward white tea.
The aroma and palate pushed and pulled in different directions— almost as if the aroma of a peated scotch were fused with the fruitier qualities of a mild Speyside. This was an altogether different fusion though, as Amrut vatted casks of unpeated Indian barley with peated Scottish barley, all distilled, of course, by Amrut. The batch reviewed here was an older one with stickers and emblems celebrating a positive review from Jim Murray in 2010. The label gives it as batch 59, bottled back in May 2017. I imagine at this point that the whisky probably spent more time in the bottle than the cask.
Overall, this never really worked for me— I had hoped it would be a cost effective profile similar to the Two Continents releases, but this lacked the same coherent, earthy notes. It was a decent sipper, if a bit discordant.
