Amrut Single Malt

Smell: fruity, citrus, etanol Taste: sweet, smoky, lemon After: spicy hit

Amazing. The nose on this continually shifts in the most pleasant ways - leather, pecan, milk chocolate, tobacco, fresh soap. The more oxygen mingles with it, the more it morphs. The palate is just as intriguing and long.

Nose: Bourbon toffee nose Palate: sweetness and bourbon notes, richness and some liquor is notes Finish: dry slightly sweet,

Very nice! Medium burn and great flavor.

Rating: 15/23 The most core of the Amrut core offerings. I expect that this will not be as amazing as most of the others, but the quality of the Amrut's distillate seems to be quite good, so I expect this to still be a solid sipper. N: It has a bit of that American Single Malt tartness, along with some damp bread, a bit of that Westward funk, biting tropical fruit, and something a tad savory. P: This is full and tasty with good malt. It isn't bland like BenRiach 10 or Arran 10, so it's a marked improvement. Balcones has a more tart flavor that makes it more pronounced, but it's also less complex. Westward has some added funkiness, which I know is a turn-off for some, but I dig and is represented a bit in here. This doesn't taste super old and there is still a bit of bit to it, but I would guess that it was 12 years. There is a bit of damp cardboard that I don't love, but that is acceptable. There's some coconut richness and a little tropical fruit as well. F: The cardboard persists, along with a spattering of the other flavors. It's a perfectly fine finish. This is like the Amrut Fusion and then less. The light peat in the fusion covers up for some of the single malt's youth and less-than-stellar complexity. Westward's flavor is also more pronounced. I'd say that they two have similar complexities, but with its increased richness and interesting funk, I'll give the nod to Westward. Still, this is a fine malt whiskey. At one point I was thinking a 15 or 16, but now I'm leaning 14 or 15, so I'll settle on 15. One thing is sure though: the cask strength version of this is better (with the appropriate amount of water).