Going South

To South Asia for this review, and we're going to take a look at Amrut Portonova. Big, big whisky. Deep colour, high alcohol strength, port finishing... This whisky takes no prisoners - you're going to either love it, or absolutely hate it.

Amrut Portonova (62.1% abv)

Shamelessly taken from Master of Malt

Colour - While the port finishing time period can't have been very long, this whisky is fairly dark. Probably the equal of any sherry cask matured 12 year old Scotch.

Nose - Creamy, prunes, grapes, vanilla. This is a sweet, fragrant nose that manages to punch you yet remain subtle. The high abv is to blame, partially, but that helps to deliver some of the subtler notes - menthol, a slight sharpness, like pineapples, and a little grist. Spicy, probably, but it's hard to tell amidst the high abv. With water - tones down the sharpness of the alcohol, giving it more roundness and bumping up the spicy side, but largely remains the same nose.

Palate - The high abv kicks you, but that kick delivers an explosion of flavour. Like hitting a pinata really hard (which is sort of the point of hitting pinatas. But never mind). You can almost feel the whisky evaporate, and the tasty vapours that emerge carry lots of grapes, prunes, and other flavours you associate with good red wines. Some vanilla and honey...maybe toffee...ok. This needs some water. With water - there, calm down. I probably only added enough water to bring it down to...50%. That's really crazy high abv. Same flavour profile, but more vanilla, toffee, lots of cinnamon and cloves, maybe a bay leaf too.

Finish - Long. This stays with you. Ginger, pepper, honey. Then lots of fruits. Grapes, and a return of something like pineapple. With water - drags out the finish, and introduces more obvious oakiness.

Overall - I brought this to a gathering, and in the whatsapp chat, people were offering bottles to share. First volunteer offered an aged Jack Daniel's. Second offered to bring an exciting 21 year old. Someone else offered to bring something even younger and tastier. Then I offered to bring something Indian. First response from the group was that the whisky night was not about who could bring the worst whisky. Meant as a joke of course, but somewhat shows that Singapore isn't really aware of the great Indian whiskies from Amrut and Paul John. This was really, really good. A little pricey though, at slightly below $200. Of course, I brought it to a gathering where the most vocal people were, well, Indians.

Benromach 25

Finally back at the Auld Alliance again. Such a crazy, crazy week...Something to sooth the nerves here...

Benromach 25 (43% abv)

Nose - Lots of pine and resin. Vanilla, oak, wood varnish, pencil shavings, then once the wood fades, lots of fruits. Apples, pears, peaches, maybe even a bit of papaya. All dipped in honey.

Palate - More of the same, but laced with a touch of spices. The fruits are really complex, coming in layers after layer of rich, honeyed fruity goodness. Subtle too, with the fruits, wood and spice so well integrated that it's a complete fruit salad in every sip. A hint of leather adds complexity.

Finish - A little short here. Oak, a touch of ginger, honey...that's it.

Overall - Classy dram, really. Great stuff from Benromach. Perhaps lacking a bit of...structure. In that sense, the experience of this dram reminded me of Redbreast 12, though the fruits are subtler and less punchy than the Irish one. Good dram, but perhaps not big, rich, impactful enough to be top drawer. Or maybe I just tend to like whiskies with particular stand-out traits.