Rating: 18/23 I've never heard of a rye single malt. I have no idea what to expect, but Amrut is usually good. N: Rich. Wood, toasted grain, apple, orange. Some dark chocolate, a hint of vanilla. Not the most complex nose, but a darned enjoyable one. P: This is not the richest Amrut by any means, but it certainly is rich. Super smooth too. I get rye spice, but it's fairly muted and buried in the other rich flavors. Lots of candied orange, caramel, malt, and wood come out. There's a musty, slightly tart (possibly tart from the chocolate) sense of age in here that adds further complexity to the maltiness, a bit like Westward. It's not the most complex dram, but it has solid complexity, it's interesting, and it's very enjoyable. Not harsh, but there is a nice spiciness throughout. There's a little bit of vegetal and herbal funk that I really dig and balance wonderfully with the malt. Sazerac and Pikesville immediately spring to mind for comparison. Sazerac has a similar orange profile and elegance, as well as more of that standard rye spice dryness, but it actually has a more mineral sweetness to it and a more brash profile. It's tough to say which is more complex, but this is more smooth and rounded. For a mixed drink, Sazerac would be better, but this might be a better sipper. I think they're fairly comparable. I'd say that the richness and smoothness do align quite well with Pikesville, though Pikeville's bourbony flavors don't match up with this. The two are similar in quality, but I give the nod to Pikesville for its increased breadth of flavor. The maltiness does bring in a hint of a vegetal element that reminds me of Copper Fox Rye. This tastes very nicely aged. It's sort of like a 6-12 YO low rye Rye lightly crossed with an 18-25 YO scotch. F: The musty maltiness lasts the longest, but there's some chocolate in there with it and some dusty wood. It's a nice finish, though the palate is certainly better. The finish does go on and on with this hedonistic sense of age to it. Side-by-side, the Copper Fox tastes tremendously young and definitely not as malty. Aside from the faint malty similarity, I'd say that they are not similar. This is a smoother, richer, more elegant rye than Sazerac or Pikesville, I'd say. Pikeville has a similar core richness, but it turns out harsher and ends with a more raw, youthful finish that demonstrates less complexity. Much like Old Fitz, this isn't the most interesting to probe for complexities, but it's terrific to sit back and contemplate. It tastes quite old with this great hedonistic character to it. I don't think it's worth the price, but I'm very glad to have tried it and I'd be very interested to see it compared with some of the older WhistlePig releases. In comparison with some of those Boss Hogs, this might be a steal! It does have some of that Corsair Buck Yeah funky maltiness to it, though it's tough to say which is better from a tiny sip, particularly considering that they are such different beasts. I was going back and forth between this and Pikesville, but I've decided that this is better. I really love the mature, rich, maltiness that is showcased here. I'm leaning toward this, but the two are surprisingly similar in profile and quality. I'm thinking 16 to 18 on this one. I really don't think it's a 19 because it lacks complexity. I might bump Pikesville up to a 17 and this might be a hair better, but that's all a bit specualtive. I'm leaning 17, but could go 19. I'd love to see some more malted ryes like this! But not at such outlandish prices. To just compare with other Amruts, it's a kind of tough call between this and the Amrut Single Malt Cask Strength, but I'd give this the edge because of how the finish just goes on and on with this hedonistic age. I also have trouble with this versus the Amrut Madeira, though the Madeira does kind of come out initially with some sulfur, which may have been why I pegged it as young initially. The Amrut Fusion initially tastes weak and young in comparison to this, but while the youth remains, the peat comes out and brings a bold character to the Fusion that puts it a smidge above this. If I had to rate the Amrut's right now (excluding Portonova, which isn't on hand), I'd go something like Kadhambam, Madeira, Peated CS, Fusion, Rye SM, Peated, SM CS, SM. But they're all things I'd be happy to drink. Actually, this is an especially good whiskey, so I'm surprised to not be putting it higher on the list. Amrut may be my new favorite distillery. Looping back around to rating, I think I'm going to go with a low 18 for this. The best way I think I can describe this is Pikesville meets Westward meets 21 YO Speyside scotch. The way it projects age is truly fascinating. The nose, palate, and finish are all delightfully hedonistic. If this were less than $100, I would totally snag a bottle. Tragically, it's quite expensive and difficult to find. I could buy two bottles of Pikesville and a bottle of Westward for less than this.