After the trip out of town to Bavaria, we fly to India, a country with a huge per person consumption and a not exactly flattering tradition in the production of whisky, often blended usually distilled from malt in small proportions. The rest? Better not to ask it… However, in 2004 Amrut Distilleries Ltd from Bangalore launched the first Indian single malt (calling it with not much originality ‘Amrut’), which has been receiving growing acclaim over the years. It seems that the climate of the region accelerates the maturation of the distillate, making the development of these whiskies extremely interesting. Specifically, this 2009 Fusion is very young, between 3 and 5 years old, and is produced using 25% Scottish peated barley and 75% Indian barley. There is also an extra maturation of 6-9 months in former bourbon barrels.
N: first of all, the apparent maturity is amazing: it is a child who already looks like a teenager. It does not show those typical notes of candied fruit that characterize European peers. It seems rather fruity (yellow fruit and apricot in particular), with a vegetal and grassy maltiness. The 25% of peated malt is lightly felt, but there is. White chocolate and some raisins. A citrus tip, maybe orange peel. We also notice a slightly vinegar acidity.
P: a slender structure, with a body of medium intensity. The alcohol was kept in India, we believe. Very drinkable. And still yellow fruit and a malty malt (?) dominate; you can also taste an acrid peat, always in the background but with personality. Little else, to be true (a little bit of saltiness?), but not unpleasant at all.
F: a little disappointing, between weak fruit and peat, the only element that lasts.
We had high expectations for this Fusion, a product that seemed exotic to us, both for its birthplace and for the many peculiarities of its production, only partially described in the introduction. In fact, what you find in the glass is a very straightforward whisky, pleasant without too many frills, and yet not worth falling in love with; frankly, we can’t understand why Jim Murray gave it the award for the third Best whisky of the year in Whisky Bible 2010. We prefer irony: if you have planned a trip to India, we sincerely hope whisky is not one the main reason: 83/100.
Recommended soundtrack: we are really trash, yes, and we enjoy The Pussycat Dolls feat A.R. Rahman – Jai Ho
