Amrut Fusion SMW
So what just happened?
a) Did you take a double look and thought Whisky from India? No way…
b) Thought “Oh Amrut the Elixir of Life!”
c) Thought “Whisky oh the things on a cat's nose!”
90% of you would have answered A, 8% of you would have answered B and for the rest of you ... you are at the wrong blog…
I would like to introduce the Amrut Fusion single malt whisky from the Amrut distillery located in Bengaluru (Bangalore) India. For the map enthusiast Bengaluru is located in south India, approx. 1,700 km directly south of New Delhi, it is defiantly not a walk-able distance…
Amrut Distilleries is a family owned distillery founded in 1948. It originally focused on other liqueurs such as Rum, Vodka, Gin and Brandy before it started distilling whisky in the 1980’s. Most of the whiskies produced go towards whisky blends however in 2004 Amrut started producing single malt whiskies.
To put things into perspective Amrut Distillery produces around 50 million bottles a year out of which only 1.4 million bottles are whisky that is only approximately 3% of production is whisky. Now with a bit more maths 1.4 million times 700 ml per bottle equates to around 980,000 litres of whiskies a year which compared to my previous distilleries i have reviewed; Suntory Yamasaki (6 million liters) and Lagavulin (2.4 million liters) could be considered a “small” whisky distillery but a very large overall distillery of all liqueurs (50 million bottles equates to 35 million liters). Maths does put things into perspective!
The distillery has two pot stills in operation and uses barely grown from north of India in turn, is malted in Jaipur and Delhi and finally distilled in Banagluru. The distillery consciously decided not to go with computer automation but rather human power employing around 450 people in particular women so that there is more love in each whisky bottle… … (Yes I am pulling your leg!)
Amrut being the gusty Distillery it is, decided to launch its first single malt in Scotland thinking if we can do it in Scotland we can do it anywhere else! It was an uphill battle for the Indian brand, it started originally marketing in restaurants, then they switched to bars and retailers and by 2009 after hard work and good whisky it was launched successfully across Europe, South Africa and Australia. The biggest reward came in 2010 when Jim Murray gave Amrut Fusion a massive 97 points out of 100 and also naming it the 3rd best whisky in the world! This definitely put the whisky onto the map!
The Amrut range consists of: Single Malt Whisky 46% ABV, Fusion 50% ABV, Peated Indian 46% ABV, Cask Strength and Peated Cask Strength
Amrut also has a limited edition range in particular the Angels Share 8 years and 10 years (angels drink more in india) and a very temping sherry cask.
The official tasting notes from Amrut Website:
Colour: Golden Yellow
Nose: Heavy, Thickly oaked and complex: some curious barley-sugar notes here shrouded in soft smoke. Big but seductively gentle, too.
Palate: The delivery, though controlled at first, is massive! Then more like con-fusion as that smoke on the nose turns into warming, full blown peat, but it far from gets its own way as a vague sherry trifle note (curious, seeing how there are no sherry butts involved) - the custard presumably is oaky vanilla - hammers home that barley - fruitiness to make for a bit of a free-for-all; but for extra food measure the flavours develop into a really intense chocolate fudge middle which absolutely resonates through the palate.
Finish: The delivery, though controlled at first, is massive! Then more like con-fusion as that smoke on the nose turns into warming, full blown peat, but it far from gets its own way as a vague sherry trifle note (curious, seeing how there are no sherry butts involved) - the custard presumably is oaky vanilla - hammers home that barley - fruitiness to make for a bit of a free-for-all; but for extra food measure the flavours develop into a really intense chocolate fudge middle which absolutely resonates through the palate
Source: Amrut Website
Certainly very descriptive tasting notes; however after tasting this whisky you will be ether lost for words or be full of complimentary words for the full, rich, creamy and very very tasty whisky. My only complaint is that it is slightly short on the finish and remembering that it is 50% ABV, I like to add a touch of water to open it up a bit. Otherwise a very good whisky!
In terms of price it is usually around $85 AUD and maybe found in only certain stores or specialist liquor stores. I have to admit this is a solid price, it is right there where people will think for a nice occasion I might treat myself to an $85 bottle of whisky or even purchase it as a gift for a friend. It’s one of the best value whiskies around!
Have you picked up on one question yet? One thing that is ALWAYS marketed for whiskies… the question is how old is this whisky? The Amrut Fusion is a no age statement whisky; Amrut was worried that if they put a age statement on the whisky people might think that such a young whisky is no way as good or worth as much as a older whisky… this could be true in many cases but is not 100% correct.
Let me explain why, the process maturation of the whisky is done by leaving the whisky within a oak barrel for it to “age” and after a certain amount of years and tasting it will be decided by the master distiller (or cash flow issues) that the whisky is ripe for bottling or blending. Now a major difference between Scotland and India is the climate. It is much warmer in India for more days in a year than in Scotland.
The whisky gets its colour and flavour when the barrel expands (breathes) usually because of heat. This “opens” up the wood for the whisky to seep in and then cycle out hence picking up the barrel’s woody flavour and colour. Due to the hotter climate in India this process is “accelerated” and whisky matures faster in hotter climate environment than in a cooler environment. I will not go into the arguments for and against this in this review however this has, in recent years been very successful with whisky distilleries in countries like Australia and Taiwan producing exceptional whiskies which have gone on and won some major awards.
But for those who want to know just how old this whisky is, the rumor has it that it is aged around 4 to 5 years. Now a major drawback to this “accelerated” maturation process means that the angels gets a bigger share of the whisky (hence my earlier comment about the Amrut 8 and 10 year old Angel’s share range) and it is said that in Scotland the angel’s share is usually around 2% loss per year but in India heaven has a higher tax rate because the angel’s share is around 11% loss that is a extra 9% less whisky in each barrel per year. So you can imagine after 10 years how much of the barrel is remaining!
The last question that you might have is ok why is it called “Fusion”, the fusion name refers to the fact that the Amrut Fusion uses 25% Scottish peat barley and 75% normal Indian barley hence the fusion of Scottish and Indian barley, I would have called it Amrut “Indicottish”, but that’s just me…
So should you buy it? Have I given you enough information to decide if you were at a shop with a wall of whiskies you would now go “Ah Amrut Fusion the Elixi of Life”? I know I would… even just to find out for yourself if India can produce a whisky that could compete with the big boys? You might be pleasantly surprised!
Taste: 8.6
Price: $$
Cost per shot: $3.63
Rarity: Available but might need to look around