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

Manchester Whisky Club Commonwealth Games

 

The full line-up

On the night of the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Birmingham, the club met for a much more thirsty kind of contest, as we tried a range of six whiskies plus two wildcard drinks to see which nation would take home the gold medal (I should say I was hosting the tasting and didn't take any photos as we were going along, so the one at the top is all you're getting this month!).

We started off in Canada for an early double header. In one hand the Glen Breton Ice 10yo, the world's first regularly available whisky to be finished in casks which previously held ice wine. And in the other, some Canadian icewine itself - not from the same vineyard in Nova Scotia used by Glen Breton - but some Lakeview Cellars wine from Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario.

The nose of the Glen Breton is interesting, some thought a bit weird and off-putting, and certainly distinctive. Official tasting notes suggest sticky toffee pudding and ginger biscuits and there was a bit of that around for sure. The icewine, made using frozen grapes for a more concentrated, sweeter, but small volume drink, was really very sweet indeed for the club members' palates, although those with a sweet tooth enjoyed it. A bit citrussy and syrupy, some got a bit of elderflower or even honey, almost like mead. The Glen Breton is £48 and 40%, and the Lakeview Cellars icewine is available from Aldi at £14 for a 37.5cl bottle.

Next, South Africa and a bottling from Africa's only commercial whisky distillery, James Sedgwick. Bain's and Three Ships are the brands it's known for, but we had in our hands a 10yo version of the standard Bain's single grain, finished in a Shiraz cask for the last five years of its maturation and then bottled at cask strength - on this occasion a whopping 63.5%. This went down very well, it certainly tasted strong although it was perhaps surprisingly drinkable as well given the strength. Lots of toffee again, with vanilla, spice and red fruits. It's £50.

Having been to a couple of corners of the earth, it was much closer to home for the fourth drink, and third whisky. Wire Works Whisky is the brand name for the White Peak distillery, based in an old wire and cable factory on the River Derwent. We had one of their early expressions a couple of years back, before it was whisky, and thought there was already something interesting developing, so I thought it would be a good idea to revisit it, in the form of their latest Small Batch release, number 3. A lightly-peated single malt from a small batch vatting of American and French oak casks, aged mostly in STR with some ex-bourbon, the distillery says it's a nice complement to their spirit which they describe as 'fruit forward'. On the nose, butterscotch and vanilla slice, and to be honest more vanilla all the way through. Again, not bad, but still bottled too young really, albeit out of necessity as the distillery starts to pay its way. It's £60 and 46.2%.

After a half-time break, the night's curveball. I wanted to find a rum to represent the Caribbean islands of the Commonwealth, and especially one finished in a Scottish whisky cask. There were no obviously candidates, so I broke my own rule and went outside the Commonwealth to the Dominican Republic for the Opthimus 15yo Malt Whisky Aged Cask, which uses ex-Tomatin casks in the maturation. Aiming for a whisky-ish rum that would please a whisky crowd, this did a pretty good job, and if you were blind tasting it could certainly pass for a very sweet whisky. A smooth sipper, lots of brown sugar and banana around here. £53 and 43%.

Back to the whisky for the sixth drink of the evening, and the fruits of a recent visit to the new Penderyn distillery in Llandudno. I did the whole fill-your-own-bottle thing in the distillery shop, and came back clutching a bottle of ex-Bourbon cask liquid from 2016. Green apples and pears on the nose, more citrussy and spicy on the palate. Despite Penderyn's general popularity with the club, some slightly mixed views on this one, and again a general feeling it was perhaps a bit young and not quite worth the money - I paid £101 although that included an extra sample and a glass as well, so the bottle itself would be more like £90. It was 59.7% although again, it didn't really taste like it.

Next to India for two names quite familiar to us. One being Paul John, the distillery. The other, Cadenheads, the bottler which produced the particular expression in hand. This 9yo spent five years in India - although the faster maturation in the warmer climate means that's much more like 15 - and then the last four years in Scotland. So in a way, it was more equivalent to a 19-year-old. Aged in a Bourbon hogshead cask, we got redcurrants and ginger, citrus and dates. Very nice indeed, in fact. £85 and 53.3%.

We finished the night on the other side of the world, Australia, for the Unexpeated bottle from Melbourne's Starward. It uses lots of locally-sourced ingredients, including casks from local vineyards. But on this occasion, also made use of some ex-Islay single malt casks, presumably from Diageo stablemates Caol Ila or Lagavulin, to aim for a drink balancing its natural juicy fruit flavours with a big dash of smoke. The verdict was that this worked pretty successfully on the nose and finish, but the two flavours perhaps clashed a bit on the palate and were fighting against each other. Certainly drinkable again though, with lots of red berries and a lingering peaty finish. It's £80 and 48%.

The dram of the night voting was the closest ever! The rum came fourth, just one vote behind the joint silver medallists from India and Australia, a further single vote behind the gold medallist from South Africa. So well done to Bain's! And thanks to all who attended another sold out tasting, and to everyone at the Britons Protection for hosting us once again.

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.