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Amrut Intermediate Sherry Matured

Average score from 11 reviews and 29 ratings 92

Amrut Intermediate Sherry Matured

Product details

  • Brand: Amrut
  • Bottler: Unknown
  • ABV: 57.1%

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@Georgy
Amrut Intermediate Sherry Matured

This is a Batch 06 APR.2012 bottle and boy is it delicious! Thank you, fellow Connosr members, for recommending this one!

NOSE: sweet dried fruit (think dates) nose with lovely tannic sherry, brown sugar and raisins. There's a slight bite to it as well. Water accentuates its sour component, bringing forward the aromas of dried sour cherries and cranberries. There's also a ton of spices: black pepper, cinnamon, vanilla, dried mint, star anise (definitely star anise), cardamom. Being heavily sherried, it still isn't a sherry bomb. It offers a lot more than just the standard big sherry nose. Shortcrust with slightly toasted coconut flakes and orange zest. Caramel mocha with some unexpected herbal notes of dill and parsley. Water and time reveals a big black tea note. There's also a very strange note of dried dogs' food...But that isn't something off-putting. It's just very interesting and unusual. 24/25

TASTE: without water it is actually surprisingly smooth with creamy sherried flavors, star anise, ginger and licorice. Dates, prunes, figs and lush semi-dark chocolate with raspberries. Some caramel mocha flavors as well. With water it becomes more sour (sour cherries and reveals a touch of nuttiness as well. With time you can also spot some brewed green tea notes. 23/25

FINISH: long and intense. Rich, sherry, vanilla, black tea, but not a lot of tannins (love it!). Honeyed vanilla poundcake. Creamy coconut creme brulee ice-cream. Some floral notes as well. 23/25

BALANCE: 24/25

OVERALL IMPRESSION: a very beautiful dram which is just exploding with bold, dessert-like but very well-rounded flavors. It is unlike anything I've ever tried. Unique and exceptionally pleasurable. It's definitely going to be on my top 10 list.

I've been on the fence buying this bottle for a couple years now. Even ordered it once but canceled it when another bottle in the same shipment became unavailable. I might have to pull the trigger again.

@broadwayblue I would say that if you're looking for a big and interesting sherry whisky which is unlike any other sherried whisky out there - this is the one to go for. Although there's a touch of heat to it as well (which is possibly the result of "hot" maturation), it's a real delight for anybody who likes sherried whiskies with lots of complexity

@TheConscience

This is a review for Batch 4, courtesy of a friend travelling across Canada. This one needs time to open up and was much more agreeable after a few months.

Nose: rich red fruit, mint, nuttiness and a pleasant dustiness; cherry candy

Palate: sweet and dry sherry; red fruit, honey, spice, the nuttiness returns with some bitterness

Finish: sweet, minty, drying. A long tannic and flavourful finish.

Definitely a great dram and worth trying, if you can get it outside of Ontario.

@Nock

At the very end of 2013 just before New Years Day, I was traveling home from family Christmas in Nashville Tennessee. It was just my wife and I, so we stopped at a liquor in Knoxville (which is on our way into Virginia). There is a store there that is simply wonderful for whisky enthusiasts. It isn’t the cheapest place ever, but it has one of the best selections I have ever seen in the states. (If you are still looking to pick up a bottle of Glenmorangie Pride . . . they have it).

After doing some shopping (filling up the cart) I noticed that they had a few bottles on closeout for 50% off. One was this Amrut Intermediate Sherry B. No. 2 Sep. 2010. Now, I didn’t know a whole lot about this whisky from India. I had tried their Fusion, the standard single malt, the Peated malt, and the Peated Cask Strength versions. It took some getting use to this Indian single malt whisky, but my impression was forming that they were producing good quality liquid – but expensive for young whisky. There were several other bottles that I knew were dear to @Victor’s heart so I gave him a call from the store floor. I picked up a few bottles for him, but when he heard the price on the Amrut Intermediate Sherry he was amazed. There were only two bottles left. So I got one for him and one for myself (at both his and my wife’s urging). We also ended up splitting a bottle of Bruichladdich Black Art 2.2 (also 50% off) . . . but that is story for another review.

Fast forward to Valentine’s Day 2014 with my wife. It was a special occasion so I decided to open this effusively red box and bottle to keep with the red and pink theme of the evening. From the first nose I immediately knew that I held something special. My wife, who typically doesn’t drink whisky, took a sip for “shared experience” and immediately declared it her favorite whisky ever! Yes, this bottle surpassed her love for Lagavulin 16yo – which has long held the title of her “favorite whisky.”

So after a number of tastings comparing it with other Amruts and other sherry matured whiskies here are my comprehensive tasting notes for this dram.

Thick luxurious silky notes from the sherry butts. Big juicy dark fruits with tons of spice: brown sugar, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, fennel and star anis. It is like a baked concoction of plumbs, strawberries, figs and raspberries drizzled with honey, sprinkled with the spice mixture, baked, and finally hit with some lemon juice to give it some acidity and brightness. This takes me to a Middle Eastern market in the hot summer sun just before sun set. I can hear the prattle of the market as I relax in a private room darkened by thick curtains to keep off the sun. The sweetness, spice, and fruit really set my mind to wonder. My imagination is transported to Arrakis: Dune (I loved that book). Now I am getting notes of chocolate covered fruit! This is wonderful, big, bold, spicy and verging on perfection.

Sweetness and spice . . . one thousand spices. The spice and sherry notes merge beautifully. Easily one of the best sherry expressions I have tasted even if it isn’t as thick as I expected. Now the fruit and malt kick in. Tons of sweet fruits (all red: raspberries, gala apples, strawberries) covered in honey. I can detect some vanilla from the bourbon casks. Yes, this is not as thick as a fully matured sherry bomb from Glenfarclas, Glendronach, Macallan, or Aberlour. However, it has a wonderful viscosity that sits easily on your tongue at 57% ABV feeling as smooth as silk. You could add water . . . but why when it is so beautiful?

Huge wave of rich desert spices thrash your tongue while delicious red fruits slither down your gullet. The spice mixes with fire, fruit, and oak. The red fruit provides a base, the wood adds character, but the spices rule in big waves of cloves, coriander, cinnamon, all spice, curry, vanilla and cayenne. Huge spice and fire . . . tons of fire. This is more about spice than fruit . . . and I am OK with that. Seriously, my mind gets the desert sands of Dune in its stupid mind’s eye.

It is shockingly complex for its young age. The spice is amazingly sophisticated, powerful and intricate. I love how the spice (which my growing experience tells me is indicative of the pure Amrut spirit) mixes with the fruit notes from the sherry butts. This whisky is a marked change from the typical sherry matured whisky experience. I love the balance between the spice and fruit. What I mean by balance is that the flavors are distinct (capable of being identified) but also fit into the ensemble. This dram is like a choir where you can hear the blend of the whole, but you can also focus and pick out individual voices. Fantastic.

Here is where this amazing malt loses a step. The big box is a bit cheesy and seems cheap while trying to look expensive and luxurious (I have to note that they have changed the box in recent releases). I admit that I love the bottle shape, but the label leaves something to be desired. The full aesthetic experience doesn’t scream $100 . . . and that is the problem. Still, I love the ABV and . . . the color of the liquid is fantastic.

This is a fantastic whisky that really helped me turn a corner with (unpeated) sherry dominant whisky. It showed me what a beautiful untainted sherry butt can do. I think I can now let my private war with Macallan end. I have to admit that I would never have bought a bottle at full price. I am so glad that @Victor talked me into it. The liquid has convinced me I must have another bottle – even at full price! And after my visit to Chicago I now have two ;-). I now have a second bottle of batch No. 2 (simply amazing to find the last bottle in Chicago) and a bottle of batch No. 5. Looking forward to cracking it open this coming Valentine’s Day!!!

Sigh! I get all misty-eyed just reading about Amrut Intermediate Sherry.

I don't have much of it left, but I would hate to be without it. This is what sherried SCOTCH USED TO TASTE LIKE, AND SHOULD TASTE LIKE. Clean, pure, rich sherry, with none of that sulphur degradation.

@Nock, thanks for a great review, and for reminding everyone how wonderful Amrut Intermediate Sherry is. I am very happy that you ran into those first two bottles in Knoxville at half price in 2013...and thought to call me on the phone. Congratulations on your recent acquisitions in Chicago.

I think you will enjoy the Batch 5 - That is the one I have. I picked up 2 bottles, one at full price in Calgary and one at just under $100. Those were the times when paying $100 for a bottle seemed too much. I had only tried the Fusion until then.

Since then I've tried many more expressions, and "stocked up" on the peated CS when it became available in Ontario (almost missed it accidentally expecting a single cask version that didn't exist) at $106. If I go back to Calgary and I see it hasn't gone up in price I may need to add to my collection.

@Benancio

Amrut Intermediate Sherry Matured Batch No. 5 February 2012

I really don’t have much knowledge about Amrut distillery except from what’s been mentioned on Connosr. I have only recently heard about it and what a fantastic job they are doing creating whiskey. The acquisition of this bottle came from a very good friend who brought it back from a trip to Chicago. The selection of this bottle came from a request I made for suggestion for a great bottle of scotch from Binny’s. You great people here on Connosr made wonderful suggestions and Amrut Intermediate Sherry was my selection, thank you all for your suggestions my wish list has grown.

This single malt whiskey is heavenly and heavily Sherried. It is made in India and has no age statement. Never would I have thought such a great whiskey would have come out of India, my ignorance and prejudice. Amrut makes several other expressions of Single Malt Whiskey a Neutral, Peated and Sherried at standard strength and cask strength. Most reviews have been very favorable.

This review is of Batch 5. Let me start the review by saying this is the very best Sherried Whiskey I personally have ever tasted and is in the top 5 whiskeys over all. The bottle is ¾ full and has been open for about 2 months now and this is the third time I have tasted it.

Aroma: Sherry, Cherry, Chocolate, Cola, Praline, Resinous, Spices

Taste: Sherry, Cherry, Chocolate, Cola, Red Liquorish, Praline, Mince Pie, Pepper, Resinous, Oily, Vanilla, Malted Barley, White Cake, Salt Taffy, It goes on and on!

Finish: Very Long Finish with developing flavors, I absolutely love that. I left half a dram in the glass over night with a class lid and I think the finish was even better.

Conclusion: I can’t recommend this whiskey any higher than most reviews already have, if you see a bottle and have the money, buy it. I’m already looking for my second bottle. I poured a dram of A’Bunadh batch 47 after the review just to make sure this is really is that good. Now Batch 47 was ok and not a real challenger but it really showed me just how fantastic Amrut Intermediate Sherry is. I have some older A’Bunadh or Macallan Cask that I could use to compare, but I’m not going to bother, Amrut Intermediate Sherry is the real deal. Amrut is doing something different, I don’t what it is but I can’t wait to try their other expressions, Bravo!

Thanks for the great review. I am a big fan of the Intermediate Sherry - and I don't typically love heavily sherried whisky! But this is special. As @Victor mentioned I do "like" Batch #2 over Batch #5 . . . but only in the sense that I could only take one bottle home with me. That said, I would love to get my hands on another few bottles . . . and I don't care which batch it is. It sounds like I still have a chance at a few bottles of Batch #5 still floating around out there. I would gladly take three!

@Nock I have had three tasting of the Amrut Intermediate Sherry so far.

The first was with my son, it was a long awaited visit, we had already had a few scotches before we sampled AIS, we had a couple drams each, didn't try to analyze it, but were impressed and really enjoy it.

The other two tasting of AIS were heavy drams, it was the first whiskey tasted, followed up by A'Bunadh on one tasting and followed by Tomatin 12y on the other tasting. Neither of which are in the same ballpark.

I'll try priming my pallet with a good Balvine before I taste AIS again and see if that makes a difference.

@Nock do you have any suggestions?

@Victor

The reviewed bottle is of Amrut Intermediate Sherry matured whisky, Batch 2, bottled September 2010. This review was compiled when the reviewed bottle was newly opened, though I have also had samples previously from another bottle from this same batch

Amrut avoids the horrible Scottish whisky sherry cask sulphur contamination problem by dumping the sherry in Spain, filling the casks immediately with Amrut cask strength whisky, and then shipping them back to India for further aging. 'Intermediate' refers to a sequence of bourbon-sherry-bourbon wood aging

Nose: superb rich clean vibrant sherry flavours. Most of the sherry flavours are medium-pitched, with some also at both the high and low registers of pitch. Vanilla and caramel from wood are well-integrated within the fabric. Sweet and tart are in excellent balance. Barley-malt flavours are understated and sub-rosa. There is a hint of cocoa

Taste: big finely-edged clarion call pure sherry flavours. The nose is strong, the palate enormous

Finish: long, intense, and beautiful

Balance: this is super-beautiful sherried malt whisky. Compared with Batch # 5, this Batch # 2 is more emphatic and sharply edged, but less lush and full. By standards other than Amrut this Batch # 2 is incredibly full whisky

With water? The nose fuses together, brings out granulated sugar and is less interesting. Water brings out flavours of sweet cherry on the palate and finish

Amrut Intermediate Sherry has very few peers for quality. This quality of sherry maturation is the way Scottish sherry matured malt whisky tasted 50 years ago, before the sulphur onslaught ruined many of the casks. Amrut Intermediate Sherry is expensive whisky, but very much worth it

It is a nice box. I would happily pay less for an ugly box...

I first tasted mine in Calgary with my bother in law. I loved it. I opened my bottle in Toronto and it was an entirely different experience. I now know that I should not drink it after another sherry monster. With a fresh palate it is exquisite.

@CanadianNinja, I opened up our first bottle of Intermediate Sherry at a tasting with friends in Toronto, with 11 people in the room, and maybe 40 whiskies on hand. I looked over 15 minutes later and a third of the bottle was gone. Though I missed that shared whisky I very much understood why it went so fast.

Also the box is so handsome I would kind of hate to throw it out...

@Misty

Amrut Intermediate Sherry (Batch 1 and 3 combined into a single review). A lot of people rave about this and few people do not rate it. So let’s see. I think it’s a non-chill filtration with no added colour.

It’s a lovely sherry, cola, mint, chocolate and that trademark Amrut fruitiness on the nose. Enticing and changes are noticeable over time. It’s surprisingly drinkable neat (57% abv). It’s a lovely combination of a sherry and bourbon finished whisky. Sweet, sherry, chocolate, Amrut fruit and a touch of cola. The mint seems to get lost. Swims well. Nice medium finish with a medium amount of oak. However throughout the tasting experience you still get the spirity youth of Amrut coming through which detracts a little from the overall experience (note some of our panel found this youthful distraction more severe than others)

So would I recommend for the price. It’s a maybe. It’s expensive but nice – if you can happily ignore the spirty esters of youth.

Do you feel good after a few drams? Mmmm again it’s kinda of a neutral effect. Maybe one to wind down the day with.

Yea, this one can divide people we found. I'm with Ralfy (Ralfystuff)on this one. It's nice but very young and pricey.

No doubt the spiritcask interaction is very fast in Bangalore. And the distillate is of very high quality and the blending too. But what's missing for me is the depth of maturation that time brings.

Some of our panel (Cork Whisky Society) would have scored it even lower (mid seventies) and some a few points higher.

This has not been my experience with my bottle. It's a fantastic dram. But we could both taste from the same batch and come to opposite conclusions so I respect your views.

@Victor

Amrut avoids the sherry cask sulphur trap by shipping its newly emptied Intermediate Sherry Casks from Spain with Amrut Cask Strength Whisky in them. "Intermediate Sherry" refers to a wood maturation sequence of bourbon-sherry-bourbon. The reviewed bottle is from Batch # 5, bottled May 2011. The reviewed bottle has been open for one month and is 50% full

Colour: reddish-brown, medium depth

Nose: strong bright tart oloroso sherry greets you immediately. This is medium-sweet with a good dry balance. The barley-malt is subtle but apparent under the surface. Deeper inspection reveals underlying bass wood tones and deep dark fruit notes. Very nice. Added water fuses the nose flavours but makes them more intense. I like the nose a little better with water added

Taste: the nose translates to the palate with increased emphasis and fullness. The sherry on the palate is just flawless and very beautiful. This batch 5 goes lush and broad with its fruity flavours in the mouth. This whisky remains very bright and very tart along with the sweet to provide a lovely balance. With water, the flavours are thicker, and similarly nice

Finish: the finish is long, with those perfect wine flavours gradually diminishing. With water added the flavours of the finish are thicker, but not any tastier

Balance: this Amrut Intermediate Sherry is a revelation. Those who can taste sulphur and do not like it need to taste this whisky. Amrut Intermediate Sherry demonstrates the perfection of clean sherry casks. After drinking this it is easy to see what is wrong with so much of Scottish sherried malt whisky. If I were a Scottish distiller I would race to adopt Amrut's system for sherry cask quality control. The difference in sherry cask quality over the average Scottish sherried malt just hits you right in the face with when you drink Amrut Intermediate Sherry. I opened this bottle with friends a month ago. Before I had blinked 5 or 6 times the bottle was 40% empty. Amrut Intermediate Sherry is THAT GOOD

Great review Victor and I am totally aligned with you. I also found a subtle milk chocolate on the nose and palate which was delightful (Batch 6). It really is so clean though, isn't it.

I don't buy into this 'some sulphur is good' or 'one struck match adds balance', sulphur is always bad in my book!

The only very slight distraction for me is its youth. It tastes very mature in general, but deep down (almost hidden) I can still detect a little phenolic spirity esters indicating it's youthfullness.

I tell you what though if you like that, go find a bottle of 'Portonova'. That really blew my socks off. Probably one of my top 3 port finishes. Their basic cask strength is also quite pleasing (Ripe fruit, orange honeycomb with just a hint of fresh baby vomit). Sounds bizare, but by god it works!

Fair play to Amrut. I would love to see a 12yr old sherry from them, part aged in bangalore and part in a cooler climate.

Yes, it absolutely is THAT GOOD. I haven't had some in a while, but there's a small glass bottle with the remains of my bottle waiting for me in the basement. I may need to pay it a visit soon after this review... Thanks for reminding me.

@Nozinan

I tried this Whisky in December for the first time,and finally got to open my first bottle at home in April. Recently decanting what was left into a smaller bottle.... A little left over.

Nose: rich, chocolate is the main smell. Sweet wine and ripe fruit. A "little" sherry.

Taste. Mmmmmmmm. Chocolate, more chocolate. And tastes even better with milk chocolate ( quality creamy stuff, not president's choice).

I could sip this for hours. Actually, I nose it for hours with occasional sips. At 57% you want to drink this slowly...

Beautiful dram!

Hey @Nozinan

I just picked up a bottle of this and it has a very distinct vegetal/almost wet oak nose, taste and finish that I can't seem to get past. I didn't come across any mention of this in any of the rave reviews for the stuff.

This being the first Amrut I've tried. Any info you could give would be great. Like perhaps I got a bad bottle or perhaps that's just the Indian barley/oak taste?

I would check which batch you have. I believe this went from a one-time bottling to the standard range.

I would ask whether you tasted this before or AFTER other whiskies. This is a single malt that I have noticed does not do as well after other drams. I had it after A'Bunadh and after Amrut CS and both times I was less impressed. As the first dram, it is fabulous.

J

Nose: has a very perfumed like nose, the sherry is here though delicately light, sweet maple syrup, some light honeys and an abundance of light sugars, lovely fruit here as well, full of red fruits (raspberry's, strawberry), hit of orange zest, lemon meringue, maybe a hint of tea. Unparalleled cleanness, not a single off note to be found.

Palate: smooth and creamy with a big hit of alcohol sweetness, vinilla cream, deliciously jammy with some marmalade, red fruits are back again, maybe some light honey's and sugars but the sweetness mainly comes from fruit, has a notes of a drink called strawberry & lemon drop ice tea (basically a sweetened ice tea, very nice)

Finish: finishes on vinilla creaminess, fading red fruits and jams, basically everything on the palate slowly fading away.

I think everyone has heard the story, this whisky was aged in bourbon barrels then transfered to sherry casks for ageing then back to be finished in bourbon barrels. And the sherry cask's, to completely eliminate the possibility of sulphur notes appearing in the whisky where treated with alcohol shipped to Spain by Amrut instead of standard sulphur candles. Any person who likes there Sherryed whisky owes it to themselves to pick up a bottle of this, just fantastic stuff.

@Whiskyraj, thank you very much for that excellent detailed information about evaporation rates during maturation at Amrut. True whisky relative maturity, or maturation "Age", of a whisky from one locale and set of conditions is entirely different from that in another. People are starting to catch on to this fact now, but I think that it will very likely be quite a few years before everyone 'gets it'. Five years of maturation in India, Taiwan, or Mexico, CAN equal 18+ years of maturation in Scotland.

I thought about this too. It's said for Scotch that the Angel Share is about 2% ABV per year. First thing I don't understand is how a 50yo Scotch still can be a 'whisky' referring to the 40% ABV it has to have. For humid climate, like in Scotland and India, more pure alcohol evaporates. In the US where the climate is dry, more water evaporates (Bourbon gains ABV per year).

For Indian climate with the high temperatures I think beside evaporation of big amounts of alcohol it also loses lots of water therefore losing lots of fluid in general. The remaining amount of flavours increase. I hope that's right...

@MaltActivist

Once again the world's most experimentally daring distillery conjures up glorious magic in a bottle. The Amrut Intermediate Sherry has been matured in bourbon casks first, shifted to Jerez sherry casks for a bit and then back into bourbon casks for final maturation.

The result is a truly unique flavor profile unlike other sherry influenced malts. The nose bursts out from a bouquet of floral aromas. The sweet barley shrouded sherry is the hero but with that you can also expect a touch of custard and fruits.

The gorgeous palate is a rush of sugar and honeyed barley. A second rush introduces us to stewed fruits and vanilla. Finally the strong sherry flavors give way to a captivating oaky finish full of spices. A truly amazing malt!

Sounds like a stunner! The Amrut destillery have truly amazed me threw the Fusion bottlings, this one might be my next Amrut buy.

@galg

Nose: Sweet Molasses, Sugar , Some Turkish Delight. No Balsamic at all on this one, very nice clear sherry influence. Some Plums, Newly cut grass and hints of ripe oranges, and exotic fruits, i cant put my finger on. Lovely! Lovely! But, not the 'usual’ sherry notes you would expect.

Palate: Sweet, Rounded and Fruity. Not much dried fruit here, but rather spicy, and a bit lemony, if you can describe it like that. the Turkish delight form the nose pays a visit here as well. Very complex stuff. and again, not your everyday ‘sherry’. but well made.

Finish : Long, fruity and spicy. Do i sense wee peat smoke here?

Bottom line : This is not your everyday sherried whisky. The unusual maturation selection made by amrut created a whisky that is more amrut, than sherry. it’s rich, complex, and very interesting, and i like this one quite a bit. In my opinion it’s better than the Kadambham from the lovely nose to palate and finish. It’s really one of the best Amruts i’ve had. It’s true the peat is somehow lost in all this sherry thing, so don’t look for it here, but it’s an ace. No doubt. Price wise, this one is also not cheap at almost 70 GBP, but i think it’s worth getting. It’s quite unique.

I fully agree with you, Galg and it's worth every penny. Eventually I think it's the best Amrut so far!

I_SPEY

@I_SPEY thanks. It's indeed wonderful. I wonder what else those guys have got under their sleeves ;)

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