A Taste of India with Amrut

The line-up.

We had a muggy, wet August evening for our latest tasting, which about as close as Manchester gets to simulating the climate of Bangalore, origin of the line-up of whiskies from Indian distiller Amrut.

The Amrut Cask Strength.

Stef Holt from Speciality Brands was on hand to guide us through proceedings, and she started us off with Amrut's Cask Strength offering.

Clocking in at 61.8% this seemed like a bold start to the evening, but, while obviously strong, it didn't pack nearly as powerful a punch as might have been expected. In fact, "worryingly drinkable" was one comment as club members got their mouths around the cereal and buttery notes of this one. At a very affordable £54, it may not be the last time some of us try it, either.

Amrut Fusion.

An old club favourite was up next, Amrut Fusion. We last had it during a round-the-world tasting in 2014 and, if memory serves, it ended up with dram of the night.

A flagship drink for the Amrut brand, it's named because it uses a mixture of Indian and Scottish barley, the latter peated for good measure. It's again quite easy to drink considering the ABV (this time 50%), with a nice palate and, according to one club member, a "silky" texture. You can usually get it for under £50, also excellent value.

Amrut Peated.

All of the Amrut whiskies come without an age statement, which Stef explained was to do with the warm climate.

The whiskies are usually only aged for about four years, unavoidable because of the huge annual angel's share of 12-15%, but a figure best kept off the packaging to avoid unfair comparisons with more familiar Scottish whiskies.

The next two whiskies were both Amrut Peated. The first was the standard bottling at 46%, the other its cask strength sibling at 62%. The standard dram was, perhaps surprisingly, a little less complex and actually harsher in a way than the two stronger whiskies already tasted.

Amrut Peated Cask Strength.

Citrus came through almost more strongly than the peat, with orange rather than lemon to the fore. Not bad at all, especially with a £40 price tag, but maybe not the standout whisky from the range.

The cask strength version had a familiar sort of taste, all peat and salty seaside. The surprising thing is that Bangalore is actually nowhere near the sea. Which sort of implies that the distinctive flavour of several well-known island whiskies might have less to do with the exact geographical location of the distilleries than we like to think.

But anyway, that's a bit of a leap. The important aspect is that this one probably shades its little brother for both taste and, at £54, value.

Amrut Portonova.

After the traditional oatcake break, Stef encouraged us to keep a drop of the Cask Strength in our glasses to have before another go at the Fusion. Tasting it after the peated whisky certainly boosted some of the wood and citrus notes, although views were mixed about whether it was actually better or not the second time around!

The evening finished with Amrut's Portonova. Stef described the "sandwich method" used in its production, with the liquid moved from American oak into old-style (and hard to find) port pipes, before going back to American oak to finish.

Stef in full flow.

Again a strong drop at 62%, although this one tasted more like its ABV than the others, at least after the nose which wasn't quite as notable. On the palate some of the fruity and spicy notes which had proved to be a regular feature of the evening were certainly present.

A bit pricier than the others at £80, but the favourite for many of the club members. In fact, it tied in the dram of the night voting with Amrut Fusion, while the very first Cask Strength also picked up a few votes. I suppose we'll just have to try them all again to decide which we really like best.

Thanks to Stef for great evening, and it was particularly good to see so many members both old and new at the tasting. Thanks also once again to everyone at the Briton's Protection for being excellent hosts, as ever.

Tonight's line-up at the @mcrwhiskyclub @amrutmalt special. https://t.co/piTfFZ8hPD

— Richard Jones (@rlwjones) August 25, 2016

Independent Bottlings Night

The line-up.

At our June tasting we were delighted to welcome several new paid-up members to the club, and they had five whiskies from a variety of independent bottlers to enjoy, as yet more summer rain lashed down outside the Britons Protection.

The Inchmurrin 19yo.

Tom acted as whisky master for the evening, and he started us off with a 19yo Inchmurrin, bottled by Signatory. As Tom revealed, Inchmurrin is made at the Loch Lomond distillery and is named for the island in the middle of the loch, which is possibly best known for being the home of a naturist colony.

Not that the dram itself was naked. It's finished in sherry casks, something clearly in evidence just from the nose. That sherried sweetness won quite a few approving nods on first taste, but if anything this whisky disappointed a little thereafter, just sort of fading away after a strong start. However, at £40, it's not bad value.

That TBWC label.

Up next was a no-age statement dram from That Boutique-y Whisky Company from the Allt-á-Bhainne distillery near Dufftown. Somewhat tenuously, because Allt-á-Bhainne sounds a bit like House of Pain, the label features cows listening to old school classic Jump Around, while standing next to a river of milk (which is what Allt-á-Bhainne actually means).

But enough about the packaging, and on to the whisky. This one's herby on the nose, vaguely reminiscent of dandelion and burdock. And we got a range of opinions from the membership, although most could at least agree that this was an "interesting" drop. It retails at a shade under £50, which would be fine if it was in a proper 70cl bottle!

The Glenburgie 19yo.

The most expensive whisky of the night was next and, perhaps unsurprisingly, it turned out to be our favourite. It was a Glenburgie 19yo, not just sold by Master of Malt but also bottled by them.

Appropriately enough for Wimbledon fortnight, this one had strawberries if not cream, along with distinct notes of butterscotch and a bit of citrus later on in the finish. Despite general warm approval, this wasn't a bottle that got the membership reaching for their phones and credit cards - purely because of the price at more than £90.

This led to the quote of the evening from Nic: "I'd buy it, but I wouldn't share it!"

Douglas Laing's Double Barrel.

After a mid-tasting break, we were back with bottle four and a mash-up of Ardbeg and Inchgower in the form of Douglas Laing's Double Barrel. If this was a marriage of Islay and Speyside, it was clear on both the nose and the palate that Islay was the dominant partner, with a peatiness and saltiness that really took over the drink.

It was felt that the Inchgower got a little lost up against its distinctive bottle-mate. While decent value at £45, some of Douglas Laing's offerings which we've had at the club in the past - Scallywag in particular - are probably a better bet for a slightly lower price.

The Paul John 6yo.

We finished with a passage to India and the 6yo Paul John, another bottling by Master of Malt. A young whisky, but not by Indian standards where, it's said, the heat makes six years equivalent to three times as long in rainy old Scotland.

Reactions to this one can be divided into those who drank it before and after adding water. Initially, it tasted very strong, as well it might at 59.7%. In the words of one member, it tasted "like cardboard". But when we started to put a few drops of water in there, things opened up considerably and it became much more palatable. That dreaded word again - "interesting" - but probably not worth splashing out the £78 retail price for.

The vote at the end of the night when decisively in favour of the Glenburgie. No chance of a 52/48 split here! Thanks to Tom for leading another great tasting, and to the faces old and new who came down.

The vote. No secret ballots here.