Amrut Fusion

This is my first review, guided along by Serge Valentine's Whisky Tasting PDF "cheat sheet".

Let me start by the conclusion; I like this Single Malt. I feel it important to start with the conclusion, because some of the adjectives I will be using below could be construed as both negative of positive traits. Mostly, I mean then in the positive sense.

The first nosing is almost agressive. Definite smell of alcohol, followed by yeast, and some raisins and dried fruits, far behind. Later, with a few drops of water you get some burnt cake and buttery notes. But overall the nose is mainly alcohol; akin to the smell of Grappa (I do like Grappa).

Palate: definitely not oily. The term "drying" seems to fit well, follwed by bitter in a positive sense. This is not a sweet malt. The dried fruits of the nosing give way to a zestier palate. The burnt cake of nosing is still there, joined by some pepper. Paradoxically, I have the following attributes noted: simple, thin, yet robust, rich and clean. As far as balance goes, I cannot say (probably means it is not).

Finish: Quite short. The only aftertaste that remains is a bitter (in a positive sense) aftertaste in the back of the mouth. Interestingly, despite the high alcohol content in percent and taste, no amount of sloshing around my mouth will get my top gums numb. It's all happening in the back of the mouth.

Adding water (5-6 drops of water into 4cl of malt) simplifies the palate drastically, leaving yeasty malt as the dominant taste, while substantially lengthening the finish.

Overall, as mentioned earlier, I really like this single malt. It is far from perfect, but its few failings are not due to bland conformism, they come from a "this is who we are" approach that elicits respect.

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