Amrut 2009 Single Bourbon Cask (LCBO Exclusive)
A Fine and Rare Amrut
2 1890
Review by @talexander
- Nose22
- Taste23
- Finish22
- Balance23
- Overall90
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This bottle was left over from a party I had once (I think it belonged to @Nozinan but I can't quite be sure), so I don't know how long it has been open. It's one of the 3 single cask LCBO exclusives that Amrut released. I don't think they sold that well (they kept discounting them) so I don't know if they'll ever do that again...
This is distilled from unpeated Indian barley and filled a virgin American oak cask in June 2009. At some point it was finished in an ex-bourbon cask (#3443) and bottled January 2014. During that time, 40.89% of the distillate was lost to evaporation, yielding only 168 bottles.
The colour is a full gold. On the nose there is cinnamon, nutmeg, dark honey, vanilla and papaya. There is also a light toffee in the background, balancing out the fruit and spice. Slight hint of sourdough, and a little minty. A little maltier with water, but it's really not necessary. Quite rich and satisfying.
On the palate there is more caramel and vanilla, but with cooking spices (cumin, coriander seed, paprika), soft oak and thick honey. The ABV seems less than 60%! Water helps bring it all together. Very creamy, almost syrupy - you really get the bourbon oak influence here.
The finish is oakier, with much more spice and a nice mouth drying quality. This is another fantastic Amrut; I prefer it to the sherry cask LCBO release (though I can't remember what score I gave that one, so who knows). These have all but vanished from the marketplace here (don't expect to even find these at auction). A very nice, rich, meal-of-a-dram.
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As much as I'd like to take credit that wasn't my bottle. Mine was from cask 3444.
The LCBO released a series of Amrut single cask bottlings just under 2 years ago (because one single cask would not generate enough bottles for the province). All the bourbon casks were bottles at 60% so likely not quite CS and standardized for marketing purposes. You're right that they didn't sell that well...at $127! When the LCBO lowered the price to $74.75 ($64.60 for the Sherry cask version) they flew off the shelves. The last 4 were sold in the winter for about $40 each. I spent time chasing them online without success).
From your tasting notes it's hard to tell if the profile of that cask is close to the one my bottle came from. But I was extremely impressed with my own and even if yours was 2/3 as good it was worth the price. I have a 3443 waiting and after your review, I'm looking forward to it.
I agree that these particular bottles are long gone, and mine are for drinking (and sharing), not selling, but if Amrut continues to produce and bottle stuff like this, I hope we'll see some more single cask bottlings in the future.