This is another review I did as part of the Reddit /r/worldwhisky series of community reviews. As such, I don’t really know a lot about this but according to Whisky Advocate, the aging here is a wild ride that involves fresh casks, used bourbon casks, and port pipes. Other commentary suggests it’s not very old so I suspect it will be a bit rough around the edges but hopefully the port influence will make things interesting.
Nose: Very fruity nose. Smells like jam covered toast. It reminds me a lot of a high proof sherry finished Scotch such as Macallan Cask Strength. The nose is surprisingly tame on the alcohol front given that it’s over 60% ABV.
Taste: Upfront there is lots of red and dark fruit sweetness with bread and cereal grains towards the mid palate. Near the finish I get a lot of smoky and salty savory notes - something like smoked / dry aged meats. The port influence is very heavy handed all the way through to the very end.
Thoughts: This is intense stuff. It’s way better than I expected and certainly not the complete mess that some younger craft style spirits can be at such a high proof. The fruity port influence and smoky savory notes make this a very delicious whiskey. If I had to be critical, I would say that it lacks finesse as it drinks pretty hot. What it lacks in complex subtleties though it makes up for with bold, brash punch you in the mouth flavor.
Rating: B+
Value: As always, I don’t factor price into my ratings. I believe this retails for around $125 a bottle. While that is overpriced, I’ve paid a lot more for things that weren’t as good as this.
Try Amrut Intermediate Sherry, little less expensive and a little better IMHO.
ReplyDeleteI'll keep an eye out for it the next time I am traveling. Unfortunately my market doesn't have a distributor for Amrut and we are a no ship state.
Delete