Amrut Spectrum

50% abv

Score:  92/100

I know more than a few out there have been waiting for me to get around to sharing some thoughts on Amrut Spectrum.  I think, in fact, even one or two of the good folks behind the brand have been waiting.  If you expected a bit of a hook or a slice on this one (i.e. veering away from known territory) you may as well move on.  I’ll lay it on the line early here and you can read on or move on as you see fit.  The simple fact of the matter is that this is another ruddy brilliant dram from our mates in India.

The story on this one has already made the rounds.  Spectrum is a malt matured for three years in ex-bourbon barrels before being shunted for a further three and a half years into casks specially commissioned from alternating staves of five different barrel types: American, French and Spanish oak, as well as ex-PX and ex-Oloroso.  Neat, and beyond innovative, really, in an industry heavily governed by tradition and a lack of forward thinking.  The resulting profile is one rich in jammy fruit, almost molasses-thick sherried notes and rich, rich, rich helpings of dried fruits and coffee.  A couple mates of mine thought sulphur, but I beg to differ.  This is just heavily cooked whisky.  It’s beyond big and borders on over-cooked.  I like that though.  I’m a sucker for big sherry, and this fits the bill.

I can’t prepare you for this one.  Big, sub-tropical notes, dark fruits, cold coffee, bittersweet chocolate.  All in harmony.  Lovely and rich.  This is a small sipper though.  Meant to be enjoyed in wee sips over long hours of contemplation.  Not a malt for overindulgence, as the malt itself is an indulgence.

Nose:  Dark chocolate and jammy dark fruit.  Orange zest.  Slight smokiness.  Gooey toffee.  Furniture polish.  Almost a cola note.  Coffee.  Nougat.  Cherry, raspberry and even a hint of reduced blueberry.  Or more simply… a mixed berry jam.  Cinnamon, cardamom and burnt sugar.  Coffee liquor. Candied orange peel.  Can’t get over the depth of chewy chocolates, toffees and fruits.  Great melange.

Palate:  Whoa.  Big, dark and bordering on bitter.  In all the right ways, that is, being a beautiful balanced tannicity.  Smalls savouring sips are the way to go with a malt this deep and immersive.  Like an infused Kahlua of some sort.  Oily dried fruits and gooey jams.  More candied orange, but wrapped in chocolate (anyone tried the Bernard Callebaut chocolates like this?).  Cough syrup.  Nutty notes and hints of strong, rich rum.  Gooey, sticky dessert.

Thoughts:  Reminds a tick of some heavily sherries Kavalan, but has definite Amrut DNA.  50% abv is generous, but I want this even bigger…at least high 50s.  What Amrut can do in a few short years is simply incredible.

 – Images & Words:  Curt

Amrut Single Cask #2701 “Bengal Tiger”

56.5% abv

Score:  87.5/100

Alright.  Let’s get back to Amrut.  It’s been a while, I think.  This time a single cask release nicknamed ‘Bengal Tiger’ and bottled exclusively for the Canadian market.

As you all know by now, Amrut has long held a coveted spot in my top-tiered whiskies.  Their penchant for unbelievable consistency of quality and unprecedented innovation are second to none.  To further illustrate this latter point I’ll be tackling a couple other special releases from the distillery in the next few days.  But for now, let’s dig into a malt from Bangalore that sits just shy of six years old this time.

Full disclosure on the part of our Indian friends here: this one is a 2009 vintage bottled in 2015.  Unpeated Indian barley strong and bold at 56.5% abv.  The cask type says PX-sherry on the label, but I’m pretty certain this was at least partially bourbon-matured.  Could be the PX cask was the last bed it slept in.

And like most Amrut releases, this is another very special dram.  Rich in fruits, exotic spices uncharacteristic of Scottish single malt and bearing the DNA of Amrut all the way through, this is absolutely prototypical of the distillery.  Errr…sort of.

Here’s the rub.  And also the thing, I think, that speaks to the value of experience in writing about whisky.  This is not meant to be derisive, so bear with me.  If this whisky was tasted within the first hundred or couple hundred whiskies I’d tried – or was one of only a couple of Amrut expressions I had tasted – it would likely have scored higher.  It’s only exposure to the general category – and Amrut, in particular – plus an awful lot of time (and brain cells) spent building the experience that leads to the revelation that Amrut is usually even better than this.

Pretty gentle criticism, I know.

Nose:  Chilis.  Leather.  Marmalade.  Unbelievable amounts of savoury spice.  Sugar cookies.  Orange macaroons.  Candied ginger.  A lot cinnamon and heavy bourbon cask notes behind a curtain of dried fruits and mince.  Some milk chocolate.  Hot cross buns.
Salty dough.  Slightly peppery.

Palate:  Yep.  Amrut.  Tannic, surprisingly.  Immediately a big spicy arrival.  Orange oil.  Some raisin, orange and liqueur-soaked fruitcake.  Herbal notes.  Cinnamon buns.  A mix of wines and teas.  Chocolate and nut.

Thoughts:  Not my favorite Amrut, but man…I have weak criticisms to level at this one.  Even the distillery’s weakest are still head and shoulders above most of the industry.

– Images & Words:  Curt