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Amrut Intermediate Sherry Matured

Sherried at its Very Best

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@BenancioReview by @Benancio

27th Jun 2015

0

Amrut Intermediate Sherry Matured
  • Nose
    24
  • Taste
    24
  • Finish
    24
  • Balance
    24
  • Overall
    96

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

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!

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11 comments

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

This is a sherry sandwich. According to what I've read they mature the whisky in fresh or bourbon casks (depends what you read), then in sherry casks, then back in bourbon casks before bottling.

One of the things about this whisky is that apparently they shipped their casks to Spain and fill the freshly emptied sherry casks, which they ship to India. this means there is no risk of sulfur contamination of the sherry casks.

I haven't had this in a long time and the last time I tried what I decanted into a smaller bottle it wasn't as great as when freshly opened. What I've noticed with the unpeated Amruts I've had is that they are best consumed in the first 6-12 months after opening. which is good if you like drinking it a lot, not so good if it's expensive to replace...

Amrut is one of my favourite distilleries and I encourage you to try as many expressions if you can. If you're ever in Toronto, we can have a great Amrut tasting.

9 years ago 0

@Benancio
Benancio commented

@Nozinan, Shipping their cask to Spain and back to avoid the sulfur contamination issues is a great idea. This could be a game changer. If it's working for Amrut, I can see others following along. If transferring to freshly emptied Sherry casks is the key to their amazing success , they all better start doing the same.

I'll add some gas to my bottle, hopefully it will preserve its integrity. If I ever make it to Toronto I'll definitely take you up on the Amrut tasting, thank you for the invitation. If you ever make it south I'll put together something for you.

9 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

I look forward to the day we sit down together and dram.

Don't hold your breath for the Scotch industry to follow Amrut's lead. It can't be called Scotch if it leaves Scotland. Pity.

9 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

@Benancio, thanks for your lovingly executed review.

About the whisky, I couldn't agree more: all sherried malt should be this good. I've had and reviewed bottles of batch # 5 and batch # 2. I found batch # 5 to be more lush, and my preference, though both were excellent. @Nock preferred the batch # 2 which I would describe as very focused and intense in its sherry flavours but not as broad and lush. He also liked the batch # 5.

I too am already thinking about where my next bottle(s) of Amrut Intermediate Sherry will come from. You'll like Portonova too, and probably everything cask strength which Amrut makes.

9 years ago 0

@Benancio
Benancio commented

@Victor , thx for the kind sentiments

What's lovingly are the steps and attention to quality Amrut is going to create the highest quality spirits.

9 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

I have the tail end of the Batch 5, which I also enjoyed very much. Another bottle put away for some time in the future. I have too many sherry bombs open right now to appreciate it fully.

@Benancio, have you noticed any difference depending on whether it's the first dram of a session or somewhere else in the order? I find this one shines best on a fresh palate.

9 years ago 0

@Nock
Nock commented

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!

9 years ago 0

@Benancio
Benancio commented

@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?

9 years ago 0

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge commented

@Benancio, Nice review - it is encouraging to see a big score for a big whisky.

9 years ago 0

@Benancio
Benancio commented

@paddockjudge, that's the first 96 I've given. Those 5 points between 96 to 100 should be very hard to earn, I feel this one deserves it.

@Nozinan. It was the first scotch in my review. The next time I sample it I'll mix things up. At 57 ABV it possible it diminishes others after it. I wrote my review while sampling it, it's amazing, really enjoy it. I'll snap up a bottle given the chance.

9 years ago 0

@Nock
Nock commented

@Benancio, if by "suggestions" you mean an order to drink it for best appreciation? That is difficult. I will typically taste it after three other sherried (and unpeated) whiskies. I typically go in order of ABV from lowest to highest. The other night I tasted it in this line up order: Glenburgie 10yo 43%, Glenmorangie Lasanta 46%, Bruichladdich Black Art 2.2 (1989; 21yo) 49.7%, AIS batch No.2 57.1%, and Aberlour A'Bunadh Batch 45 60.2%. Without question the AIS was the stand out of the group. I find that having several other "similar" whiskies in a tasting can help you dial in on specific nuances of a whisky.

That said, it can easily be fully enjoyed by itself on a warm summer evening at the beach over looking the ocean . . . which is what I am doing tonight!

9 years ago 0