Amrut Fusion

“When East meets West”: this Amrut Fusion is the result of a blend of two special vintages from the Bangalore malt distillery.  The first vintage is made from malted barley harvested at the foot of the Himalayas, while the second is produced using malted Scottish barley that has been dried with peat smoke. Each is aged separately for four years at almost tropical temperatures that accelerate the ageing process, as with old Caribbean rums! A wonderfully rounded single malt with average peatiness, non-chill filtered and bottled at 50%, that reminds us of some Speyside ‘collector’ editions!

Rich and refreshing, with a long-lingering finish.

Nose : Heavy, thickly oaked and complex: some curious barley-sugar notes here shrouded in soft smoke. Big, but seductively gentle, too;

Taste : The delivery, though controlled at first, is massive! Then more like con-fusion as that smoke on the nose turns into warming, full blown peat, but it far from gets its own way as a vague sherry trifle note (curious, seeing how there are no sherry butts involved) – the custard presumably is oaky vanilla – hammers home that barley – fruitiness to make for a bit of a free-for-all; but for extra food measure the flavours develop into a really intense chocolate fudge middle which absolute resonates through the palate;

Finish : A slight struggle here as the mouthfeel gets a bit puffy here with the dry peat and oak; enough molassed sweetness to see the malt through to a satisfying end, though. Above all the spices, rather than lying down and accepting their fate, rise up and usher this extraordinary whisky to its exit;