Tasting Notes for Amrut Fusion Single Malt Whisky
Nose: Heavy and spicy, with black pepper and raisins bolstered by barley sugar, toffee, oaky spice, a whiff of smoke and a thick umami richness
Taste: Intensely flavoured and complex, with layers of fruit, spice and smoke. Thick vanilla sweetness is tempered by smoky peat, and chocolate fudge is complemented by grapes and spicy oak.
Finish: Long and lingering, with rich dried fruit and gentle, savoury smoke.
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To create Fusion, both unpeated Indian barley and peated Scottish barley are distilled and matured separately in American oak barrels for more than four years. Amrut Fusion is then blended and ‘married’ in American oak barrels for an additional three months. Non-chill filtered and bottled at 50% ABV, it is lightly peated with a complex flavour profile. This whisky was named Third Finest Whisky in the World by acclaimed whisky writer Jim Murray in 2010.
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World Whisky Awards: World Whisky of the Year - 2011
The Spirits Business Awards: Grand Master - 2011
Jim Murray's Whisky Bible: 97 Points & 3rd finest whisky in the world - 2010 -
Amrut whisky started life in 1948, just as India became independent and people were looking for more home-grown Indian products. In the beginning, Amrut was manufacturing Indian Made Foreign Liquor, a catch-all term for all non-Indian alcoholic drinks at the time. In 1982, the company changed direction and started producing premium spirits, using barley gown in the Punjab region, and Prestige Blended Malt Whisky was released in 1986 with a Single Malt version following 18 months later. As Single Malt was virtually unknown in India at the time it seems Amrut didn’t quite know what to do with it and it ended up blended sugar cane distillate to create MaQintosh Premium Whisky - the wild-west indeed!
One thing that Amrut discovered on their journey into making premium quality whisky was that the angel share in India was much higher, typically around 11-12% per year compared to 3% in Scotland or Ireland. The higher evaporation concentrates flavours and brings oak character into the maturation process faster (there is always a debate about temperature vs tropical aging, both are good!). The brains behind Amrut felt their whiskies were as good as 12 year old Scotch after aging for 3 years and so Amrut took a giant step forward towards international recognition and entered the European market in 2004. The quality of their whiskies has improved enormously since the days of MaQintosh Premium Whisky and this was recognized in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible, where Amrut Fusion was awarded the World’s 3rd best whisky in 2010. -
Producer Amrut Distillery Style Indian Peated Single Malt Whisky Age No Age Statement Volume 70CL ABV 50%