Four high-strength Amrut for Taiwan


March 7, 2017

Four high-strength Amrut for Taiwan

How crazy is that? Next, seven Fijian whiskies for Argentina! Seriously, it’s perhaps not well known that Amrut is yet another very successful malt with ‘Dr Swan Inside’. These four Amruts were sent to me as ‘Taiwan Exclusives’.

Amrut 2009/2016 ‘Virgin Oak’ (60%, OB for Hot Malt Taiwan, cask #958, 102 bottles, +/-2016)

This is from peated barley, fasten your seat belts. Colour: amber. Nose: you would have thought the peat plus the new oak (virgin sounds better doesn’t it) would have offset Amrut’s creamy/fruity character, but not at all. In truth, this combination of mentholy saps and tropical fruit jams is just amazing. A wee bourbony side as well, but that would rather be an old Willett or something. With water: yess. Umami, old pu-her, soy sauce, beef stock, marrow, very old Chambertin… Mouth (neat): ueber-rich, and yet well-chiselled, with a feeling of old-style herbal liqueur and sweet pepper, Szechuan-style. Some kind of fruity coffee as well, but that may be the virgin oak. Old bourbon. What I do not get much is the peat. With water: where is the peat? And who cares? As usual, water brings out the oak, so careful, do not go below, well, say 50% vol. or it will become tea-ish/plankish. Finish: very long, youthful and yet complex, with all these tiny lemony herbs and spices. A touch of coconut in the retro-olfaction. Comments: I just cannot not think of those stunning Japanese malts that we used to get ten or fifteen years ago. And of the one that used to start with a K. This starts just as well. SGP:562 - 90 points.

Amrut ‘Port Pipe’ (59%, OB, cask #2713, 346 bottles, 2013)

Not too sure this is a Taiwan exclusive, some European retailers are claiming that it was bottled for Europe, as does the label. Who knows, what’s sure is that it’s ex-Indian barley smoked with Scottish peat and matured in Portuguese wood (kind of). What a small planet. Colour: dark apricot. Nose: it’s great that the peat was light, I’ve always thought peat and Port were working together as well as Donald Rumsfeld with Bob Dylan. This has pot-pourri, propolis, peonies, millionaire shortbread, old Banyuls, lilac, chocolate, butterscotch, liquorice… What a whirlwind! With water: some very nice earthy touches. Mouth (neat): okay, I’ll say it, this is a little too much for me. Hyper-concentrated and rather too hot, with some dissonant spices. For example, I find there’s a little too much green pepper. With water: better but now there’s something spritzig and metallic that’s coming out. Bitter herbs, Fanta… Finish: long and very spicy. Peppered raspberries. I know, I know. Comments: some extreme and insane whisky that goes into many directions. I know some love it, though. SGP:662 - 78 points.

Amrut ‘Intermediate Sherry’ (57.1%, OB, +/-2016)

Not too sure this is a Taiwan exclusive either, friends, but when I first tried an earlier version, I just loved it. As far as casks go, it’s sandwiched, in a way. Bourbon, sherry, bourbon. Colour: deep amber. Nose: ah yes, I remember. Perfect chocolate, the best Mars bar ever, maraschino, prunes-and-marzipan, ham cooked in orange juice (works great), late-harvest gewürztraminer… I know all that sounds weird, but it’s not. Fantastic nose. Fan-tas-tic, believe me (Donald J., come out of this body!) With water: perfect. Sappy oranges and flowered fudge. Exceptional nose, really. Mouth (neat): tart blood oranges, chartreuse, a touch of rubber, cinnamon mints, marmalade, figs, cloves, mulled wine… In truth some flavours should clash, but they don’t. A matter of balance… Citrus. With water: here come the earthy tones, the drier spices, the cloves, the bitter chocolate… In short, the sherry. Finish: long and dry, which is always perfect. Sweet and cloying finishes are ‘no-goes’ in the house. Ginger, liquorice, unsweetened herbal teas… Comments: this should benefit from twenty further years of bottle ageing and become a star of whiskydom. SGP:662 - 91 points.

Amrut 2011/2016 ‘Pedro Ximenez Sherry Cask’ (56.5%, OB for Hot Malt Taiwan, cask #4122, 624 bottles)

This one’s unpeated, the rest is self-explanatory. Now careful with anything Pedro-ised … (says this humble taster)… Colour: deep amber. Nose: quadruple hurray, there’s no stuffy raisiny smells that I can get, rather a wonderful chocolaty and coffee-ish arrival that tends to split into various cake-y touches. Including banana cake. Love banana cake, don’t you? With water: I think Lindt have got some milk chocolate that’s filled with marmalade and ginger. That’s more or less it. Mouth (neat): spicy oranges and chocolaty herbs, I’d say. Some greenish spices and peppers tend to keep it a little harsh, it may need a little more time to polish itself. Other than that, nothing to complain about. With water: the oak spices feel a bit (nutmeg and cinnamon, as often) and there’s a slightly gritty leathery tea-ishness (tannins like) but all the rest is fine. Finish: long and spicy. Not unlike your fifth glass of mulled wine. Comments: I’ve always thought PX was difficult to handle (see Glendronach or Kilchoman) but in this case I think it’s worked rather well. Rather. SGP:571 - 80 points.

(Thank you a bunch, Cooper!)

Check the index of all whiskies of the world I've tasted so far