Indian Single Malts Set to Hit CA This June

I want to thank two guys from a local distributor who let me sit in on their lunch meeting with Amrut last Friday for giving me a chance to try these whiskies in advance of their CA launch.  Like many of you, I had heard to expect great things from this up and coming Indian distillery and my initial introduction did not disappoint.  As long as the pricing works out, I'm confident that all single malt fans are going to have a blast getting to know these whiskies.  Amrut will be releasing five products to the domestic market here: a 3-4 year blend offered at both standard dillution and at cask strength, a peated 3-4 year again bottled both in a dilluted and cask strength proof, as well as the now famous Fusion, which Jim Murray recently named the "third best whisky in the world."  The Fusion is going to be very popular.  It has a richness that marries beautifully with the peat, but also a rather exotic earthiness that makes it very unique.  The other offerings are solid for what they are, almost tricking your tongue into believing they may be a bit older, but the greenness does come across on the finish.  The humidity and temperatures in India are obviously drastically different than Scotland, so the whisky does age faster and evaporate at a greater rate.  I'm interested to see how this affects future bottlings.  In my opinion, the standard bottlings were more polished than the cask strength versions, but I'll be curious to see what many of you think.  Indian single malts are an intriguing concept and, at least in the case of Amrut, the whisky does far more than simply quell your curiosity.  They are very tasty and offer a bold new flavor.

-David Driscoll