Amrut 6 year old 2014, cask 3819 for Norfolk Wines

This is the sibling to Monday's peated single bourbon cask (#2126) for Norfolk Wine & Spirits. The spirit, from unpeated malted Indian barley this time, spent its life in an Oloroso sherry butt. It may also have been the next door neighbor of Whisky Neat's exclusive cask (#3820). I hope its quality tilts more towards 2126.

Distillery: Amrut
Region: Bangalore, India
Age: 6 years (November 2014 - August 2021)
Maturation: Oloroso butt
Cask #: 3819
Outturn: 396 bottles
Exclusive to: Norfolk Wine & Spirits
Alcohol by Volume: 60%
Chillfiltered? No
Color added? No
(from a bottle split)

NEAT

The nose starts off briny and nutty, with hints of tar and leather. The only sugary thing on the horizon is the mild cherry lolly note it develops after 20 minutes. Curiously, it also has the same rye bread note as #2126. The palate impressively avoids sweetness, focusing on roasted almonds and walnuts, rye bread, mint leaf and salt. After nearly 30 minutes it does pick up a hint of the nose's cherry candy, as well as a touch of bitterness. Though this is unpeated whisky, I do find a gentle smoke note in the finish, alongside pecans, figs, ginger and mint.

DILUTED to ~46%abv, or nearly 2 tsp of water per 30mL whisky

Farminess and a hint of seaweed joins dried cherries and toasted almonds in the nose. The palate shows dried cherries, dates, walnuts, earth and bitter coffee. The finish matches the palate, but with a whiff of mint leaf in the background.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

With some curious phenolic notes, and without #3820's punishing heat, cask 3819 succeeds more than I expected it to. The oak doesn't overwhelm until dilution, so six years was probably the cask's max. This compressed aging time hinders further development of what could have been a fabulous cask, had it matured in a calmer environment for over a decade. Still, this is a very solid pour when neat, and may appeal to drinkers who prefer drier sherried whiskies.

Availability - Possibly still available at the retailer
Pricing - $123.99
Rating - 85 (neat only)