I was going to say it’s been a long time since my last Amrut review but it turns out it’s only been a year and a half. In February 2023 I reviewed (the?) four releases in the distillery’s Aatma series (here, here, here, and here). And in 2022 I’d reviewed another couple of releases that were exclusives for US stores (K&L and Spec’s). But it would be accurate to say that it’s been a long time since I’ve reviewed a whisky from what used to be Amrut’s core range: the Fusion and the unpeated and peated releases (at both regular and cask strength). I’m not sure what Amrut’s core range looks like one or if they still have one. As I’ve said before, it’s been a long time since I’ve paid any attention to whisky industry news. I did always enjoy that core range, especially the cask strength incarnations of their base malts. I’ve previously  reviewed Batch 2 of the unpeated Cask Strength and Batch 4 and Batch 9 of the peated. I see now that I never did review the Fusion—an oversight I should do something about. Here now is a review of Batch 8 of the unpeated Cask Strength. As this was bottled in 2010, I can’t tell you what relationship it has to Amrut’s current whisky but if you have kept up with it, perhaps you could let me know in the comments.

Amrut CS, Batch 4 (61.8%; from my own bottle)

Nose: Sweet with rosewood, some powdered ginger, cinnamon, a bit of apple. As it sits, some citrus emerges (lime) along with a savoury note. Not too much change with time. A few drops of water and the wood gets pushed back and the sweetness takes a floral turn even as the fruit expands (cherry, a bit of peach).

Palate: The sweet wood hits first here with the cinnamon following. Quite drying as I swallow. Hot as expected at the strength but not undrinkable; good texture. The other notes from the nose emerge on the second and third sips. Continues in this vein. With a lot of time and air, the fruit expands and some tart-sweet mango joins the lime. Okay, let’s add some water. Ah yes, the alcohol recedes and lets the fruit out more fully.

Finish: Long. Not much of interest at first as the alcohol burn asserts itself. Then develops as on the palate. Sweeter here too with water.

Comments: This whisky was predictably extremely hot when I opened it last week—14 years on the shelf had mellowed its bite not at all. But by the fourth pour (which is when these notes were taken) it had opened up. Of course, it’s still quite hot and needs a lot of air in the glass and then dilution to reveal all its charms, but when it gets that time and water, it’s very good indeed. Maybe I’ll seek out more of Amrut’s core range when this bottle is done (though I do also have a long-ago bottle of the Fusion that I should get into first).

Rating: 87 points.