Review #275 - Amrut Two Continents
Here's an unusual whisky - Amrut has matured this 'Two Continents' release on - you guessed it - two different continents. After spending time maturing in India, the casks are then shipped to an undisclosed location in Europe, where they are allowed to mature longer in the gentler, cooler climate.
While no age is stated on the bottle, we found out during an Amrut tasting that this whisky is aged roughly ten years, making it quite a bit older than most Indian whisky releases. Roughly four of those years are spent in India, before the second maturation in Europe covers another six years. According to Whiskybase, this fourth edition was aged in ex-bourbon casks.
One other interesting nugget - the distillate used in this whisky in actually unpeated, but there's a peaty element to the flavor profile. That's due to the fact that the refill bourbon casks used in the maturation had previously held peated whisky, possibly peated single malt from Scotland.
Amrut Two Continents
India - Single Malt
Current Locally Available Price: USD 199 (2024)
Age Statement: NAS
Strength: 46% ABV
Cask Makeup: Refill ex-bourbon casks
Details: Batch 4, bottled July 2022; not chill filtered
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 5 months; bottles at 50%, 90%, and 60% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Dense and oaky - wood varnish, slightly musty, some earthy tones and damp oak. There's a soft baking side, bringing grainy malt, vanilla, clove, and nutmeg; in time, that vanilla turns to custard. Hints of tart tropical fruit, mostly orange, slightly tangy.
Palate: A medium mouthfeel - plenty of wood spice to go along with a decent peaty note. Behind the wood and smoke notes, there are sweet, light flavors: lemon, lime, orange, all sorts of citrus. Cinnamon and white pepper add a kick, along with tangy tangerine; there's almost a mezcal note later on.
Finish: Medium-long, nice and rounded, decent maturity. Still sweetness from creamy vanilla, peach, and lime, but also more oak notes - wood smoke, especially. Hints of peat smoke linger in the aftertaste, along with grain and hot peppers.
Final Note: This is an interesting whisky, with plenty of fruit, baking notes, and smoke all vying for attention. In the palate, the smoky notes from the peated casks are especially influential; in the nose and finish, that smoke is more of an accent, allowing the fizzy fruits to flourish. We would love to see this with a little more strength - 46% ABV is good, but we think this would have more to offer with less dilution.
This was a very limited bottling, and because of that, prices are high - the value score is suffering because of that, despite the fact that this is a good whisky.
Our Average Rating: 7.2 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 4.91
Check out our other Indian whisky reviews:
Review #196 - Blackadder Amrut Raw Cask
