Amrut Fusion X, Batch 1
Whisky: Amrut Fusion X, Batch 1
Country/Region: India
ABV: 50%
Cask: PX Sherry
Age: N/A (Bottled Dec. 2020)
Nose: Rich and fruity, dried fruit, hot asphalt, motor oil, soft brine, clove oil, leather, sweet coffee beverages.
Palate: Medium-bodied, peppery, fruity, polished wood, mangos in syrup, leather, wood, clove; more coffee toward the end.
Finish: Long and gentle with pink peppercorns, dried fruit, and lacquered wood.
Score: 7+ (85)
Mental Image: Coffee Truck in the Beach Parking Lot
Narrative & Notes: Fruit vendors in a hot beach parking lot appeared with notes of dried stone fruits and tropical citrusy syrups, soft maritime brine, motor oil, leather, and a touch of asphalt. A delightful new car smell gradually took shape with clove and sweet blended coffee beverages. Medium-bodied and peppery, the flavor profile popped with fruity syrups over shave ice and pink peppercorns on a polished wooden counters. Mango emerged from the fruity deluge with leather and rich notes of wood and clove— roastier notions of coffee and sweet blended coffee drinks lingered further in. The finish was long and gentle with pink peppercorns, dried fruit, and lacquered wood.
The Amrut Fusion X took the blueprint of the Fusion: Scottish peated malt and unpeated Indian barley, and refined it. This was far more elegant than a typical bottle of Fusion with a presumably longer maturation period (ten to six years the internet says vs non given, but I think we can safely assume this was about twice as long as the standard Fusion) and a rich PX cask finish. The whisky was dedicated to the late Chairman Rao Jagdale, the captain at the helm of Amrut when it charted a course into the world single malt market in the early 2000s.
The whisky was remarkably balanced considering the cask influence and longer maturation. I was also surprised how mellow some of the peated elements were, as they stand out quite a bit in the regular fusion. The whisky was rich and elegant, though the assertiveness of the PX did sometimes push everything else out of the way. That said, if you are going to do one or two things, you might as well do them well, and this whisky certainly did.
Image Credit: Lifestyle Asia
