Amrut Fusion Impressions

What is it? 

Distillery: Amrut, Bangalore, India

Name: Fusion

Make: Single Malt Whisky

Extra Info: The Fusion is made from a combination of imported Scottish peated malt and locally grown barley.

Why did I buy it?

I bought this because I wanted to try some 'world whisky' and I had heard a lot of good things about Indian Single Malt. Currently, the two big names in Indian whisky are Amrut and Paul John. The NAS (No Age Statement) Amrut Fusion was my first taste of what an Indian distillery can produce. The Indian climate means that whisky matures faster than in Scotland, however, it also means that far more ageing whisky is lost to moisture transfer through the barrels than in Scottish warehouses. Where a Scottish distillery would be likely to lose an annual percentage to the Angel's Share in the low single figures, a whisky barrel in India is more likely to lose between 10-12% whisky volume per year! It's not surprising then that Indian NAS whiskies are common.

What did I think of it?

Presentation: Quite understated, yet still attractive. Classic shaped clear glass bottle with a brownish-maroon label, gold detailing and white lettering. Bottled at a higher than average 50% ABV but not labelled as cask strength.

Appearance: Bright amber in colour, surprisingly dark considering there is no e150 artificial caramel colouring added. The Amrut Fusion is also non-chill filtered, which is common for whiskies over 46% ABV since the esters that chill-filtration typically remove are soluble in solutions of that alcohol concentration.

Aroma: Oak, earthy smoke, pepper.

Flavour: Spicy on the tongue, smoke, bitter dark chocolate and a flash of vanilla.

Finish: Very long, building spice followed by a fading warmth that hangs in your chest a and bitter dry aftertaste left in your mouth.

Would I buy it again?

Absolutely! I love this whisky. The Amrut Fusion is the Scotch Whisky Snob killer. Give it to your mate who only drinks Scotch in a blind tasting and expect them to rave about it until you mention where it is from. There is nothing wrong with Indian whisky, in fact, it is bloody good.

Disclaimer: I do not claim to have the nose and palate of a Master Sommelier, however, I am working to train my senses to better identify whisky aromas and flavours. Consider all my whisky 'Impressions' to be a work in progress and I hope to come back to each of them in the future to see if I notice anything different. Most importantly, I'm not just throwing around random aromas, flavours and adjectives for the hell of it; I am trying really hard to critically describe each whisky I taste - WhiskyDad.