A Single Malt from India?

A couple of years ago our friend Steve Morrison of Sterling Cellars in Mahopac, New York, provided me with a bottle of Amrut Fusion Single Malt Whisky. To be honest I was skeptical. I assumed that this was an effort to dupe unsuspecting Scotch drinkers. And, my sense of place told me that ‘Single Malts’ should come from Scotland. The Amrut does not claim a Scottish origin only that it is a ‘Single Malt Whisky’. However, Steve has an excellent palate and eventually, I opened the bottle. Since that initial taste I have been sure to always have the Amrut Fusion as a late evening/post-dinner option.

Amrut Distilleries produces approximately four million cases of spirits each year. There are a million cases of blended whisky amongst those four million, but there are only 10,000 cases of Amrut Single Malt and only 6-7,000 cases of Fusion. By comparison, Glenlivet, the most popular single malt in the United States sells nearly 420,000 cases in the U.S. each year. Amrut sells its 10,000 cases in nearly 20 countries with a U.S. retail price generally around $80.

The distiller uses 25% peated Scottish barley and 75% unpeated Indian barley. American oak is used during the four-and half-year aging process. Amrut’s master blender estimates that because of India’s warmer climate, “one year of barrel-aging in India is equal to three years of aging in Scotland”. They age the whisky for 4-5 years. They believe the whisky reaches its peak at approximately four years, and “by five years it starts to get too much tannin”. The ‘Angel’s Share’ (product lost to evaporation) averages 11-12% each for Amrut compared to an average of 2% in Scotland. The Fusion is bottled at 50% ABV.

The have made good decisions, in 2010 whisky writer Jim Murray proclaimed Amrut Fusion the Third Finest Whisky in the World.

This is a very approachable single malt. Give it a short time in the glass to open and enjoy sweet spice on the nose with hints of raisin and just a touch of smoke. Those elements continue onto the palate combined with a creamy texture that glides into the finish.

Learn from my reluctance. While India may seem an unusual place in which to find excellent single malt, the Amrut Fusion is excellent.