Indian Whisky Tasting

 

Another stellar line-up

Club member Marc took the reins for April and a welcome opportunity for him to guide us through some names old and new from the Indian whisky scene.

Indri Dru

We started with Indri, a growing maker of whisky and other drinks which recently announced plans to develop a distillery of its own in Argyll. The stuff we had in our glasses was produced rather closer to its Indian home, in its large faciility in the suburbs of New Delhi.

This Indri Dru expression was bourbon aged and was dark, pleasant and had a bit of spice to it, almost like a rye. There was also an orangey vibe, sort of adjacaent to marmalade or even Cointreau. Sticky toffee pudding was another tasting note.

That spiciness meant we felt it would go well with a plate of snacks. It was 57.2% - so not exactly holding back at the start of the evening - and cost £73.

Paul John Kanya

Paul John was next, a Goa distillery that has become one of the best known global names in whisky. We were drinking the Kanya, a 50% 7-year-old - pretty old by Indian standards where there is an unofficial rule of thumb that one year of maturation equals three years in Scotland.

It was aged in first fill American white oak. Not so big on the nose but it did have a notable palate. A bit fruitier than our opening dram, it had a long finish, and also mellowed a bit with water. A bit of smoke too maybe, certainly some burnt notes in there somewhere.

The reception was a little bit mixed in the room. We paid £100, but it now goes for more than double that, so nobody was reaching for their wallets on this occasion.

Amrut

Amrut is the other most well-established whisky brand from India, and it would probably have been remiss to do an Indian tasting without one. Marc had a big single malt for us at no less than 61.8%. It had no age statement but was presumably 4-5 years old.

We found this easy drinking and sweet for something of this strength. There was a sweetness in the aftertaste, with strong hints of candied fruits. At £70, this was not bad value at all.

There was time for a half-time break to refill our beer glasses downstairs at the Seven Oaks, before moving on with the second part of our Indian odyssey.

Rampur Asava

Dram four was from a single malt from Rampur. Called Asava, this had been matured in a mixture of ex-bourbon and ex-Cabernet Sauvignon casks.

A pleasant nose, with a distinctive hit of plain chocolate on the palate. There was a bittersweet taste at the back of the mouth. Delicious we felt, a lot of people in the room really liked it. No obvious red wine influence from the casks though, at least as far as we could tell.

So, this was not quite what we thought we were getting when we opened the bottle. Still good though. One last sideways tasting note shout: Eton mess. It was 45% and not bad value at £67.

Godawan Series 01

Whisky five came from Diageo brand Godawan, their Series 01. This was aged in bourbon and PX sherry, with some help from Indian botanicals apparently.

We felt this was a bit spicy but also a little undistinguished and not especially memorable. We didn't get much of the sherry nor the botanicals. A bit of butterscotch perhaps? Having said that, others elsewhere in the room liked it a bit more. It was 46% and £60.

Kurinji

The last of Marc's selection of six was from Kurinji, part of a new single malts of India range bottled by Amrut from smaller distilleries.

This was grassy and floral, rather more than the previous one in fact. A bit of coal fire on the palate. Easy to drink. "A breakfast whisky" someone suggested. It was £85 and was 46%.

There was just time for a seventh bonus dram, courtesy of one of the biggest domestic brands in India, Royal Challenge. A grain mix of Indian and Scottish malts, we were led to believe that only some would be what we'd consider 'real' whisky, with the rest made up of spirit made from molasses as is commonplace in India. Not the worst, certainly sweet, like cordial or rum. A dull sweetness reminiscent of flat Coke. It was £30. Like everything, it was worth a try!

All seven whiskies got at least one vote in the dram of the night voting. But there was a rare victory for the opening whisky, with the Indri Dru picking up 13 votes to 12 for the Amrut, and the Rampur claiming the bronze medal.

Thanks to Marc for choosing the whiskies and taking us on a tour of the Indian industry, and to all club members and guests for joining us in the very hospitable surroundings of the Seven Oaks once again.

The full selection