Showing posts with label Indian Single Malt Whisky Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indian Single Malt Whisky Review. Show all posts

Amrut Triparva


 

“Dreadlock Holiday”  


Whisky Review # 990

Country: India 🇮🇳
Brand: Amrut Triparva
Type: Single Malt Whisky - Batch#1 - Triple Distilled
Series: Limited Release - 5400 Bottles
Age: NAS
Alcohol By Volume (ABV): 50%
Maturation: Mix of Fresh American Oak and Ex-Bourbon casks
Chill Filtration: No
Price Range: US$ 100-140 (May 2023)
Price/Quality Ratio: 😐 Quite expensive for a relatively young Whisky
Buying Advice: 👍 A nice alternative for Scotch but not an every day dram

Colour: Dark Gold with shades of Brown (Natural Colour)

Nose:

A mix of Sweet, Bitter, Sour, Malty & Dusty notes. There's definitively some Varnish in the air. Lots of Fruity notes as well, both from (mature) Fresh Fruit and some Artificially flavored Candies. It's certainly different when compared to Scottish Malt or Triple-Distilled Irish Whiskey. The Alcohol is noticeable but within limits. I get images of ripe Tropical Fruit that was soaked in Rum.

Main Aromas:

Malted Barley, Vanilla, Butter Biscuits, Dried Fruit like Raisins, Figs, Dates & Plums, Apricot-filled Puff Pastry, Dusty Oak, Candies (Pineapple, Banana & Cherry flavour), Orange, Grapefruit, Chocolate, Cinnamon, Mint and Cloves.

Supportive Aroma Accents:

Honey, Toffee, Caramel, Wax, Glue, Yeast, Grass, Varnish, Dusty Track, Rum,  Fresh and Dried Herbs, Floral Perfume, Bounty Bars, Roasted Almonds, Nectarine, Papaya, Mango, Ginger, Curry, Green Plants, Dairy and Olive Oil.

Palate:

The relative Youth of this Single Malt becomes more clear now and the Alcohol is certainly more noticeable at this point. The Palate is a Fruity mix of Sweet, Bitter & Sour notes.

Main Flavours:

Sweet Barley, Caramel, Vanilla, Wax, Candies (Banana, Cherry, Pineapple & Melon flavour), Mandarin, Seville-Orange, Grapefruit, Mango, Chocolate, Glue, Ashes, Pepper, Cinnamon and Cloves.

Supportive Flavour Accents:

Honey, Wax, Bounty Bars, Floral Perfume, Varnish, Slivovitz, Papaya, Nectarine and Passion Fruit, Toasted Almonds, Marzipan, Herbs, Dusty Earth, Tobacco, Nutmeg, Curry and Ginger.


Finish:

Medium-Long and Bitter Sweet. Very Fruity with developing Oak and Ashes towards the Medium Dry to Dry end. The Alcohol is more noticeable by now. A tropical Fruit cocktail mixed with Rum, Syrup & Fresh Orange Juice. I find Malted Barley, Caramel, Vanilla, Honey, Passion Fruit, Mango, Pineapple, Papaya, Seville-Orange, Grapefruit, Lemon, Nectarine, Apricot, Slivovitz, Almonds, Chocolate, Dark Espresso, Straw, Dusty Oak, Ash, Earth, Pepper, Cinnamon, Ginger, Cloves, Nutmeg, Curry & Mint.

Drinking Advice:

A little Water eases the Alcohol and enhances the Fruit Flavours. I certainly advise you to add a few drops in this case. 

Rating: 8 (********)

Nose: 7,5 - Taste: 8 - Finish: 7.5

*** Important Note with respect to Rating.

If the Final score is above 8 you can safely buy the whisky in question if and when it fits your Aroma/Flavor profile. If the score is between 6 and 8 you might want to try it out in the form of a sample or if offered at a good price. Anything below 6 should be left alone when you are looking for a nice sipping whisky. You might still like it of course & I realize pricing is an important item for many whisky fans especially when you are used to enjoy whisky in a cocktail or a mixed drink.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion:

The Amrut distillery is located in Kumbalgodu, just outside Bangalore. It started producing Whisky in the Mid-80's but the first Amrut Single Malt was released in 2004. It now produces 1 million litres if Spirit per year. The Triparva (Hindu for "Consisting of three Parts") was launched in 2020 as the first Triple-Distilled Indian Single Malt.

Whisky matures much quicker in India as a result of the warm and humid climate. The Triparva is certainly a relatively Young Whisky (5 Years perhaps) but it presents itself ripe and even a bit "heavy". That's the reason I would not consider it to be an everyday dram. But it's well-made and there are moments when the Fruit kind of explodes in your mouth. Triple-distilled Irish Whiskey is often referred to as more Smooth but I can't say that about the Triparva. When drinking this Indian Single Malt I don't get images of the Fresh & Green Irish coast but more of sipping Pina Colada in the Caribic.

Cheers! 🥃

Jan van den Ende                                                                           May 18, 2023

Amrut Portonova Batch 17 Review

NewImage

“Indian Summer”

Whisky Review # 872

Country: India
Region: Bangalore
Brand: Amrut Portonova - Batch # 17
Type: Indian Single Malt Whisky
Age: Around 5 Years - Bottled in June 2015
Alcohol By Volume (ABV): 62.1%
Maturation: Ex-Bourbon and Virgin American Oak with Port Pipe Finish
Chill Filtration: No
Average Price: Around US$ 100 (May 2020)
Price/Quality Ratio: 😐On the limit given its relative youth
Buying Advice: 😁Well made Port Finished Single Malt. Young but Good!

Colour: Copper/Dark Amber (Natural Colour)

Nose:

The Alcohol is very strong so you need to wind your Nose around it. Take your time as there is enough to discover. The first impressions include lots of Dried Fruit and Nuts, Buttery Biscuits, Dark Red Fruit and Spices. Sweet and Sour go hand in hand here. The Port Pipes must have been still very active despite the fact that they are 3rd fill. This is a young Whisky of course but the hot climate during maturation and the intelligent use of casks go a long way in covering it up.

Main Aromas:

Malted Barley, German Butter Biscuits, Toffee, Honey, Dried Fruit like Sultanas, Plums and Figs, Rump-Soaked Raisins, Peanut Butter, Red Berries, Orange and Lemon, Charred Oak, Dusty Casks, Pepper, Cloves, Nutmeg and Aniseed.

Supportive Aroma Accents:

Salted Caramel, Vanilla, Roasted Nuts, Straw, Fresh and Dried Herbs, Fortified Wine, Banana Bread, Mandarin, Leather, Tobacco, Ashes, Milk Chocolate, Puff-Pastry filled with Stewed Apple and Wet Leaves.


Palate:

(Fortified) Red Wine Finishing rarely works for me but this Amrut is not bad in this respect. The Port pipes clearly left their marks but they don't suffocate the other Flavours. The Alcohol is a bit of a problem though. An ABV of around 50% would have been quite sufficient. Adding Water is almost a must here although I'm usually not a big fan as I really prefer to judge the Whisky as presented by the makers. The palate is Medium-Sweet and Dry and presents a mix of Sweet, Bitter and Sour notes in a reasonably balanced way.

Main Flavours:

Malted Barley, Salted Caramel, Honey, Fortified Wine, Dried Fruit like Sultanas, Raisins, Figs and Plums, Orange, Red Berries, Charred Oak, Pepper, Cinnamon, Cardamom, Cloves, Nutmeg, Aniseed, Soy Sauce and Ginger.

Supportive Flavour Accents:

Vanilla, Toffee, Pancakes with Golden Syrup, Cherry-Flavoured Cough Syrup, Banana Bread, Nuts, Grapefruit, Dark Chocolate, Tobacco, Leather & Menthol.

Finish:

This is strong stuff of course. It reminds me a bit of Old Bourbon. The Finish is Middle/Long to Long as the Alcohol, Wood and Spices stay with you for a while. There's a slight artificial off-note that I can't quite pin down. Is it Soy Sauce Light perhaps? I don't like that at all! Other than that a mix of Bitter, Sweet and Sour notes with lots of Wood and Spices. Quite Dry towards the end. I find Malted Barley, Caramel, Toffee, Honey, Red Berries, Fortified Wine, Dried Fruit like Sultanas, Raisins, Figs and Plums, Orange, Cherry-Flavoured Cough Syrup, Charred Oak, Dark Chocolate, Tobacco, Leather, Pepper, Aniseed, Cardamom, Cloves, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Menthol and Ginger.

Drinking Advice:

I added a little Water and that helps to calm down the Alcohol. It also enhances the Fruit on the Nose and makes Palate and Finish more enjoyable. In this case I really must advise you to add quite a bit of Water.

Rating: 87.5

Nose: 22 - Taste: 22 - Finish: 21.5 - Overall: 22

Drinking Experience Neat: Good (Especially with added Water)

Conclusion:

The Amrut distillery is located in Kumbalgodu, just outside Bangalore. It started producing Whisky in the Mid-80's but the first Amrut Single Malt was released in 2004.

Batch # 17 matured in a mix of 1st and 2nd Fill Ex-Bourbon casks before being finished in 3rd Fill Port Pipes that are said to have contained 80 Year old Port.

I must congratulate Amrut on this Portonova. It's a young Single Malt but the climate and the makers have done miracles to present it as being well-matured. The Port Finish definitively works here and that strongly indicates correct cask management. It's not perfect though. I simply believe the ABV is way out of line and unnecessarily high. Something in the range of 50% would have been quite alright. And there's a slight off-note that I could live without. It reminds me of artificially sweetened Soy-Sauce. Other than that the Portonova is absolutely okay though. 

शाबाश

Cheers!

Jan van den Ende                                                                       May 11, 2020

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