A truly new whisky- Amrut Single Grain
So after a long time I am tasting formally a truly ‘new whisky’, when I say new I mean the world apart fron the one I usually seek comfort in, which is malt whisky. Today I am tasting grain whisky.
Before i get into the review I must confess my bias, I dont particularly like grain whisky, i dont like the alcohol sting, the raw feeling of alcohol never appealed to me even in blends so as usual its my opinion and can be very different compared to you.
Name: Amrut Single Cask, Single Grain Indian Whisky
Cask# 2854
Cask Filled Date: Aug 2012
Bottled Date: Dec 2019
ABV: 57.1%
120 Bottles released and sold out as of now
Cask Type: Bourbon
Colour: 1.3 Russetmuscat on the SMAC colour card
Appearance: Very appealing perfect hue and clear (which scares me more TBT) appears semiviscous and the high ABV may be playing a part here
Nose: Very refined grape brandy, cognac. There is the distinct promise of the alcohol sting, but hang on was that not the first that I should have felt at this high an ABV?? Something amiss? Allowing it to breathe and then there is a faint hint of Bourbon out of nowhere something of sweetness and Vanilla, a bit more time there is a sharp prickly attack of chilli, green chilli potent ones. This one is nothing like what I had a notion about and its very good on the nose, the sort of dram that will continue to reveal itself over 15-20 minutes just to nose.
Mouth: Now where did that first sip go? Completely lost in transit!! There was sweetness changing into high cocoa bitterness very quickly and a longish finish but I guess I am just taken aback. Nothing of what I expected in the good sense. The second and third sips progressively and perhaps not for the ones who like sweet whiskies as this one dwells in the valley of bitterness with the dimensions that are mind boggling. The same coupled with sweetness like a garnish. The battle of clean dryness with the dark chocolate bitterness is apparent and the witnessing palate is just awestruck. The long maturation period (by Indian standards) has refined this whisky.
Finish: Like the appearance its not very thick that clings to the tongue but its long lasting and lingering with mint and a fresh mouthfeel. Prickly heat and pepper add to this but very satisfying. This is a fantastic whisky that will make heads turn in wonder.lter of a dram. I did give you a prelude of my bias and yet this one blew me off.
The actual tasting: I tasted this last evening and I couldn’t believe myself about the outcome. I wanted to taste this one more time before I post this review and it came out trumps this morning too on a clean palate. I used another whisky (a single malt) from the same distillery just to get a baseline and picked one that is a staple on my bar and very good value for money. It tipidly fell flat in comparison. As the heading of my post says a dimensional changing whisky; I haven’t had the fortune to taste the legendary single grains so this would be my first, but as I mentioned to Ashok last evening as soon as I tasted, its truly one of those moments that will make you sit up and pay attention to what’s in your glass. Please add Orange rind to the mouth as I continue to taste when I write this. Now mind you this one has been chiselled to perfection the balance of wood, the choice of ABV and final outcome is no small feat, this is stellar. I am going to look for another bottle of this. The complexity of the whisky is phenomenal, its rarely happned before that a bottle opened for tasting has been wiped halfway only for ‘tasting’ 
Have a great Sunday folks and look out for this one if you can grab a bottle.
