Amrut Peated Indian Single Malt Cask Strength

Almost every Amrut i have had, are great whiskies. But, the last one i had, the "normal" Amrut peated Single Malt, was not memorable. I had a Cask Strength Whisky Tasting a couple of nights ago, and one of the drams i had was the Amrut Peated CASK STRENGTH, which i was a little skeptical about, since the "softer version" wasn't really good. But, this actually was a very good whisky, let's talk about it. Bottled at 62.8%abv, tawny color. On the nose, it is very close to a perfect score. "Lulo" fruit (Naranjilla), fruit salad, strawberry, oranges. A heathery peat, medicinal notes, bananas, chocolate. Very earthy also, but mostly tropical. Old oranges; bananas bathed in chocolate. After a couple of sips, it becomes very maritime. Ceviche, passionfruit and oysters. Bacon also present. On the palate, it is fairly enjoyable, with a very fancy toffee note that turns into a sulphuric peppery note. Milk chocolate. Oranges. Aftertaste is where the peat really is found. Very peaty, grassy, very sulphuric. Spicy: wasabi and ginger. Overall this is one great whisky, very balanced. It can definitively surprise you. My score for it is a solid 90 over 100 and i do recommend it, specially since in my tasting class i was the one with the lowest score for it; there where people who absolutely loved it to the point of saying this was maybe the greatest dram they had so far in their lives.

Nose - The nose is and I know this is odd but it's new make malt and an interesting vegetable note. There's starting to be a nice baked good here as well, sweet white bread almost with some sweet clay notes. Now opened up and I'm getting just a sweet baked good and alcohol. Taste - once again alcohol. OK, sweet sweet malt. This is just sweet new make elements. Little if no oak or wood notes. I get some mint and then just more sweet and then an earthy finish. Water brings down the alcohol and perhaps brings out more nuanced sweetness but I'm still just kinda thinking pastry/bread and earthy and vegetable notes at the end. It's clearly peat but it isn't what I think of as peat in general. So I know this wasn't he most favorable review in terms of notes and tasting. It's not a complex whisky but what it does it does fairly well. The abv is a gut punch and the peat is a touch lacking if you were hoping for something special. My bottom line? It's basic boring whisky at a great proof and it's different. That to me a 1.25 star whisky and one I'd not tell you to not buy. I just can't recommend it. I also should note I think this was a bit under 80 bucks and for that price, I'm not sure what to think. CS so there's value but not very good and there are better malts at lower proofs available.

Smoky, salty, indian

Rating: 19/23 Wow, that regular Amrut Peated was really peaty! I wonder how this will compare? (Prediction: it will be even peatier) N: I get an interesting floral cherry character to this with some citrus and a bit of light grain and a dash of mint. Oh, and did I mention peat and smoke? Because there's definitely a lot of peat. Tobacco, fruit, chocolate, something a bit more herbal. P: This is not messing around with the peat. It takes the regular Amrut Peated and adds, well, more peat! Its flavors are predominantly peat and a cherry that's a bit like a sour candy. It has a great flavor and richness, but I have a little bit more trouble getting the complexity out of it than I do with the regular peated. It holds up really well to water, so you can cut it down with a third water and still have a great whiskey. In fact, cutting it down a bit brings out more complexity. The sweet spot seems to be a bit higher proof than the regular Amrut Peated - perhaps in the low 50s. It highlights more chocolate and vanilla while maintaining the herbal, medicinal quality of the peat and amping up the smoke. It brings out this nice Clynlish waxiness as well. It's been a while since I tasted that and I'm a fan, so I appreciate it here. The tart cherry sticks around as well and that characteristic Amrut tartness shows up as well. At full cask strength, it tastes a hair artificial, a little bit like a single grain with its tartness, but the life and complexity really come out and give it a more natural flavor with some water. The water does tone down the barrel spice (largely cinnamon, with some allspice) though. F: The smoke, peat, cinnamon, allspice, chocolate, vanilla, and cherry tartness continue on for days. This is a very rich and full whiskey,, so you don't need much to be able to sip and enjoy it for a while. This is an in-your-face peated whiskey that holds its own against Islay scotches. Amrut again shows the world that India can make great whiskey! I'd say that this is a substantial improvement over the regular Amrut Peated, though both are very good. And for the price you can just water this down to the level of the regular peated Amrut if you prefer that. Exploring this with different amounts of water is really a delight. It sure hits you in the face like an Ardbeg, so you do need to be prepared for that. The non-peated Amrut Cask Strength is also a very good whiskey, but this is substantially better. This really has all of the complexity of the non-peated cask strength version, but it also has a lot of added complexity from the peat. For $10 more, this is the obvious choice. I'd say this is better than Amrut Fusion. I wouldn't say that it is as good as Springbank 12 Cask Strength, but this is a heavy hitter up there with the likes of Ardbeg Corryvreckan and Uigeadail. I'd say that the Ardbegs have a more mellow, woody peatiness to them, whereas this has a more aggressive Kavalan Soloist intensity pervading its character. Considering that the Ardbegs are cheaper, they're probably a better VFM, but I have to say that I really enjoy this. The fruity, tropical twist is tasty, refreshing, and a lot of fun. It's probably my favorite Amrut so far, beating out the Fusion and giving the Kadhambam a run for its money. I'm going with a 19 for this tasting.

Why did someone think this needed to be cask strength? Super dry and hints of slightly wet hotel carpet on the nose. This is a hard no.