Tasting Amrut Intermediate Sherry

After tasting the new Kadambham last week, it’s time to open this week’s tasting note series with another newly released Amrut.

Like the Kadambham, this one also uses  very non orthodox cask maturation. As its name implies, the spirit was aged in three casks. First, the spirit was aged in ex-Bourbon or virgin wood casks, then it was transferred into sherry casks, and then back into ex-bourbon casks. This is very different from ‘normal’ sherry regime, which means aging or finishing of the spirit in sherry as the ‘last’ period of the aging.

According to Amrut, this was done in order to see how the Sherry casks complement the whisky rather than dominate it. A very interesting concept. Even more interesting is how the sherry casks were imported to india : Instead of burning the sulphur into the casks in Spain before shipping to India (to rid of bacteria and mould), Amrut had shipped whisky to Spain and asked the Bodega do pour the whisky into the empty sherry barrels, roll them over just to coat everything, and protect them from the bacteria this way. This is very nice, since it rids the casks from any sulphur artefacts that we sometimes find in sherry casks. Way to go Amrut!

Now, let’s try a bit of this very interesting and limited expression:

Amrut Intermediate Sherry , NAS ,  57.1 % ABV , £67

Colour : Deep Gold.

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.

Slainte!

Sincere thanks to Ashok of Amrut Ltd. for the official sample.