Amrut Two Continents, batch 03 (2017 bottling)

In contrast to the mix mastery of Kadhambam, Amrut Two Continents is aged solely in refill ex-bourbon barrels. The hook for this release is its maturation in two climates. It first percolates in India, then waltzes(?) in Europe. They don't say where in Europe, just "Europe". Northern Finland's climate is slightly different than the South of France, so it kinda matters.

Distillery: Amrut

Region: Bangalore, India

Age: minimum 3 years

Batch: #03 (2017)

Maturation: refill bourbon casks
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Chillfiltered? No
Color added? ???
(from a Columbus Scotch Club event)

NEAT
Timber! It's actually not that oaky on the nose, but there is an early note of freshly split logs. After that, the nose stays simple. There's hay, anise, apple and butter. It's kinda blendy. The perkier palate leads with simple syrup, pear juice, ginger and hazelnuts. Black peppercorns help things from getting too sweet. It gets smokier with time, though also picks up a notebook paper note. The moderate length finish is big on ginger and chiles, with smaller notes of acidic citrus and bitter smoke.

DILUTED TO ~40%abv, or <1 teaspoon of water per 30mL whisky
Less oak on the nose. Smokey ham, grass, apples and cardamom. Yet the palate gets woodier and more tannic. Papery and peppery. Smoked nuts and lemons. The finish is much quieter. It's tangy and tannic with acidic citrus and black pepper.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Batch 3 came out in 2017 with, curiously, a lower abv (46% versus 50%) than batch 2, and has more muted reviews online. I did not know this when I tried it head-to-head with yesterday's Kadhambam. But the Kadhambam really is in a different league.

This batch of Two Continents has that rawness and oakiness found in many/most American "craft" whiskies, though it pulls it off better than the Yanks. I do think the oak holds it back or at least removes something vital and lively found in most of Amrut's releases. It's still a reasonable whisky, but the regular CS, the peated CS and Fusion are all more enjoyable at much lower prices.

Availability - Many specialty European and American liquor retailers
Pricing - Europe: $80-$110 (ex-VAT); USA: $110-$140 (har har)
Rating - 81 (neat only)

Amrut Kadhambam, batch 05 (2017 bottling)

It's Amrut Time! Again. I knocked out nearly a dozen Amrut reviews in 2016 and 2017, but none in 2018. I'm remedying that with three consecutive Amrut posts this week, with each whisky enjoying a 2017 release. So exciting!

First up is Kadhambam, batch 5. As odd as Kadhambam's cask combo sounds, it seems like an inevitable experiment. Amrut makes brandy and rum, so they have those leftover casks. They've done sherried releases, so those casks are on hand as well. Just their luck, the mix works.

I thought Batch 3 was grand and strange. In my review, I was worried that Kadhambam had been retired. Batch 4 came out in 2013, and as of 2016 there was no sign of the next round. Alas, there was another.

Distillery: Amrut

Region: Bangalore, India

Age: minimum 3 years

Batch: #05 (2017)

Maturation: ex-Oloroso sherry butts, then Indian brandy casks, then Indian rum casks
Alcohol by Volume: 50%
Chillfiltered? No
Color added? ???
(from a Columbus Scotch Club event)

NEAT
It has a big bright nose with lots of dried fruits, especially apricots. There are green apples, lemons and barley. Hard toffee and earthy cocoa. It picks up a pineapple juice note after 10 minutes. The palate is warm but not hot. Tobacco, dried cherries, brown sugar and just a hint of plum wine. A tiny bit of tannin, along with cinnamon and nutmeg. It finishes with citrus, brown sugar and toffee. Mild tannins and mild pepper.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or ½ teaspoon of water per 30mL whisky
The nose narrows, but also focuses intensely on toffee, cinnamon shisha and lime juice. Meanwhile, the palate shifts while keeping its breadth. It's creamy, fruity and spicy. Tropical fruit punch with cinnamon and chili oil. Brown sugar, oranges and cumin. The finish has oranges, honeydew and a little bit of salt, while holding onto its decent length.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Another great batch. While this one doesn't hit batch 3's heights, it is more stable and approachable, with the casks behaving more harmoniously. It also feels a little more mature than most of the other Amrut's I've tried, perhaps due to its calmness and lower heat level. It works with or without water, your choice.

On a side note, batch 5 seems to have had at least three bottlings: two in 2016 and one in 2017. This is the 2017 bottling, FWIW. The series does seem to have caught a second wind, and is now up to batch 8. I hope the batches maintain this quality because I look forward to owning a bottle, one of these years.

Availability - Many specialty European and American liquor retailers
Pricing - Europe: $70-$100 (ex-VAT); USA: $120-$160 (har har)
Rating - 87

Paul John single cask P1-163 Indian Single Malt Whisky

It was only a matter of time. With Bob Dylan brandishing his It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding Money Apparently whiskey, the artist formerly known as P. Diddy rushed his own whisky brand to the market: Sean Paul John. He sourced it from India and I can't take this joke any further because Bob Dylan made me sad, and not in a Boots of Spanish Leather way.

John Distilleries, founded in fact by a Paul John, is a pretty sizable company that produces brandy, wine and whisky across a number of distilleries and wineries throughout India. Their malt whisky is produced in the main distillery in Goa. As with Amrut, Paul John single malt experiences very active maturation within a cask due to the climate. Per Wikipedia, Goa's average daily highs range between 84ºF and 91ºF all year. It's very dry from December through April, then comes the humidity, then come the monsoons. Not quite Speyside.

I corralled this sample, my first Paul John, from a Columbus Scotch Club event a few months ago. All Paul John provides is the cask number. No age, no vintage, no cask information, no whisky in fact. I mean, look at the sample bottle:

Company: John Distilleries
Brand: Paul John
Region: Goa, India
Type: Single Malt
Age: ???
Maturation: ???
Cask number: P1-163
Outturn: ???
Release year: 2013
Alcohol by volume: 57%

NEAT
The nose starts out with apples, citronella, ocean and an aggressive ethyl burn. After 10-15 minutes small notes of pears, cantaloupe, honey and toasted oak float up. BIG heat on the palate. It takes some work to sift through the burning, but beneath it one will find tart fruit, vanilla bean and toffee. The sweetness stays mild and malty-ish. A bitter oak note creeps up after the whisky sits for 15 minutes in the glass. It finishes with acidic citrus and toffee and heat. It's tingly, sweet and bitter, but also leaves an unpleasantly sour aftertaste.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or <1.5tsp of water per 30mL whisky
Okay, I'll split the nose notes into good news and bad news. Good news: citronella and cloves. Bad news: Sharp, almost vodka-esque new make. Hints of cardboard and lead. Ugly news: Reminiscent of Glenlivet 12. At least the palate is calmer and more pleasant as the creamy vanilla pudding sweetness takes over and the bitterness recedes. Quite a bit of acidity though, and plenty of heat. The finish is similar to palate, with the acid and heat. The sweetness does help things out, though.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Though I am looking forward to trying more Paul John whisky in the future, this single cask does not bode well. I'm in the minority with this opinion, if one goes by the whiskybase community. And if you're questioning the sample's source, the bottle came from the gentleman who supplied the excellent Westland fino cask reviewed on Tuesday.

This comes across as young (and darkly hued) "craft" whisky. There's a lot of burn and oak no matter what you do. I'd recommend taking the heat because dilution lays waste to the zesty bright neat nose. The less I say about the finish, the better. Its competitor(?), Amrut, also produces hot brash whiskies, but they almost always show a complexity and depth absent from this Paul John single cask.

Availability - Probably sold out
Pricing - €70?
Rating - 76

Spirit of Hven Tycho's Star, Swedish Single Malt

Located on a teeny island between Sweden and Denmark, near the former digs of 16th century astronomer Tycho Brahe, Hven Distillery began distilling spirits in 2008. Whisky isn't their main focus. In fact it's just another one of their ultra-locally sourced products.

It's time for everyone everywhere to start ignoring every drop of digital ink spilled about the experimentation going on at Bill Lumdsen's distilleries in Scotland. You want to see some real tinkering? Here's how Henric Molin, Hven's distiller, makes Tycho's Star:
--Three malts: pale ale, chocolate and heavily peated.
--Two to three different yeasts applied over a 90-120 hour fermentation period.
--Three oaks: 58.2% heavily charred Quercus muehlenbergi from Missouri, 33.44% heavily toasted Quercus petrea from central France, 8.36% medium toasted Quercus robur from Bourgogne.
(These stats come from Thomas of whiskysaga.com)

Of course, if doesn't taste good then what's the point? Lemme see...

Distillery/Company: Spirit of Hven Backafallsbyn
Region: Hven, Switzerland
Type: Single Malt
Age: ???
Mashbill and maturation: see above
Alcohol by volume: 41.8%abv
(from a purchased sample)

The nose leads with barley, honey butter and white chocolate. I keep finding lots of sugary breakfast cereal, like Corn Pops and Frosted Flakes. It has a spirity edge that reads a little phenolic. A little bit of mango slips in after a while. There's dark chocolate, roasted nuts and nutty whole grain bread in the palate, which is followed by a tart spritely nip and a slight herbal bitterness. It finishes with honey and toasted grains up front, smoke and bitter greens in the back.

I can imagine at 46+% abv it probably gets rougher and tougher, but as it's currently bottled the whisky is a nice drinker with a good sharp edge. It's also barley-forward, which is always a plus in this oaky era. Tycho's Star would probably appeal to most single malt lovers, which makes its experimental recipe a success. Unfortunately that same approach has made it expensive.

Availability - A few dozen retailers in the US and Europe
Pricing - $55-$80 (ex-VAT) in Europe for 500mL; $100-$130 for 750mL in US
Rating - 82

Westland 2 year old 2012, cask 300 for K&L Wines

Washington state, the birthplace of Starbucks, Amazon, Kurt Cobain, Bing Crosby, David Lynch, Ryne Sandberg and Keyboard Cat, is rain-soaked on its west coast and arid on the east coast. Most of its humans live in the wet part, with 30% of the population living in King County.

Thank you, Wikipedia.

I visited Washington's Westland Distillery three years ago, and wrote an extensive post about the experience which is recommend if you're looking for more info. Westland makes my favorite American single malts, and their single casks can be very very good. Yesterday I reviewed a peated ex-oloroso cask Westland. Today it's an unpeated single malt, matured within a fino cask.

Distillery: Westland
Region: Seattle, Washington
Type: Single Malt
Age: 33 months
Bottled: June 2015
Cask #: 300
Mashbill: Washington Select Pale Malt
Maturation: first fill ex-Fino cask
Outturn: 261 bottles (maybe a hoggie?)
Alcohol by volume: 60.8%
(From a Columbus Scotch Club event)

NEAT
The nose is subtler than cask 284's. Toasted barley, almonds, hazelnuts, glazed pastries. Peaches, pears, anise, sweet cream, cocoa and silly putty. The palate has the same delicacy and nuance. Almonds, dried apricots, green grapes. A salty/savoury note. Moments of lemons and wood smoke. It finishes nutty and warm. Lemon, honey and barley. A gentle sweetness. Lots of walnuts!

Very reluctant to add water, but...

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, <2tsp of water per 30ml whisky
The nose is a fresh almond croissant with a dusting of confectioner's sugar. Then hints of brine, black licorice, and cookie dough. In the palate, it's malt, nuts, salt, lime, a gentle sweetness and a hint of smoke. The finish remains nearly the same as it was when neat. Perhaps a little saltier.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
I tried this along with yesterday's peated Oloroso cask 2yo. That one was very good. This one is better.

It made me shut off the music I was playing and then I forgot to take notes for a while. A delight and mystery, this Westland possesses the elegance of my favorite (mostly deceased) Japanese malts. How a whisky can be this delicate and this precise at this age and strength, I haven't a clue. I mean, like, what?

Dear Rémy Cointreau, don't fuck this up.

Availability - sold out
Pricing - $100
Rating - 91

Westland 2 year old 2012 Single Cask Nation, cask 284

Here's my "for more information on Westland Distillery" plug, with the only update being that the business was sold to Remy Cointreau exactly one year after my visit. I swear I had nothing to do with it!

Tomorrow I will review an unpeated 2.75 year old single fino cask from Westland. Today it's a 2 year old oloroso cask peated single malt from indie bottlers, Single Cask Nation.

Though their unpeated malt is all from the US, they do source their peated malt from Baird's in Speyside. Their standard peated release is good, while the two peated single casks I've tried rival Kilchoman's quality. This is the first time I've tried their sherry + peat combo.

Distillery: Westland
Region: Seattle, Washington
Type: Single Malt
Age: 24 months
Bottled: October 2014
Cask #: 284
Mashbill: peated malt from Baird's in Scotland
Maturation: first fill ex-Oloroso
Outturn: 204 bottles (so possibly a barrel?)
Alcohol by volume: 60%
(Thanks to Brett!)

NEAT
The nose is fruity and meaty at first, with a little bit of floral action underneath. The peat takes time to kick in. It starts as spent charcoal and wood smoke, then it grows and grows with time. There are also notes of mint, eucalyptus, dried cherries and molasses. After a while a peanut butter note pops up, as do smoked almonds. The palate actually starts with the peanut butter and smoke almond notes all wrapped up in sherry. Chili oil, soot and salty smoked fish. The Oloroso takes the fore, after some time, reading more nutty than fruity. The finish is sweet and spicy. Savoury, salty and smoky. You know, the Ss. Sugar Daddy candy. Extensive length.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or >1¾tsp of water per 30mL whisky
A straightforward stinky peat, like young Coal Ila, shows up in the nose, but there's some decent dried fruit to keep things in control. Chocolate-covered raisins, almond brittle and baking spices round things out. It has a salty, seaweedy palate. Dried berry sweetness and tangy citrus. Cracked pepper. The finish is mostly smoke, with caramel candy, black pepper and a hint of blueberry jam.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
This is very good, coming across like a 8-10 year old Islay. The spirit and sherry play well, there's much less heat than the age & ABV would lead one to expect, and there's no capital 'O' Over Oakiness. Though it takes water well, I prefer it neat due to the stellar nose. I've said it before, I'll say it again: This can compete with many of Scotch's sexier brands. Of course, the price also competes with those brands too. In any case, other than McCarthy's, you won't find another American single malt putting up this sort of quality.

Availability - sold out
Pricing - $75, which is cheap for a Westland single cask
Rating - 86

Navazos Palazzi Spanish Malt Whisky, July 2014 release

As I write this intro, I'm drinking this single malt alongside its kin, the single grain I reviewed on Wednesday. DYC distillery hasn't been pushed on us as the New Kavalan (yet), which is great. That lack of hype is mostly because DYC exists to crank out blends for España, because that's where the money is.

The Navazos Palazzi dynamic duo spirited away (if you'll allow) with a few casks of DYC malt and grain whisky aged fully in Palo Cortado casks. This is the cask strength malt whisky batch bottled in July 2014.

Dat label tho

Distillery: Destilerías Y Crianza
Region: Segovia, Spain
Type: Single Malt
Importer: Equipo Navazos and Nicholas Palazzi (PM Spirits)
Age: ~5 years
Maturation: Palo Cortado sherry cask
Batch: July 2014
Alcohol by volume: 52.5%
(Thanks, Sku!)

NEAT
Lots of roasted nuts in the nose. Some tar, dark chocolate, brine and just a whiff of black raisins. With some time in the glass, the whisky releases notes of apple cider vinegar, leather shoes and caramel. The palate feels hotter than the grain whisky. Its tannicity(!) dries the tongue. Fresh ginger with raw cranberries and raw nuts (almonds and Brazils). Ah there are some golden raisin sweetness. This has a longer finish than the single grain. Tannic, tart and earthy. Peppery and bitter in the back of the throat. Caramel and Oloroso.

Lowering it to DYC's favorite ABV...

DILUTED TO ~40%abv, or >1¾ teaspoons of water per 30mL whisky
Molasses, black raisins and honey mustard in the nose. It's still earthy, with an almost smoky edge. The palate is spicy and peppery. Slightly sweet. Over-steeped bitter black tea. The finish is sweeter than the neat version. Some sherry and the bitter tea.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Like the grain whisky, this malt whisky has been matured to the max, and then some, in the Spanish heat. As a result, the nose is a treat throughout. There's a fullness and complexity to it that was missing from the single grain, making it a delight to sniff. At the same time, the dryness makes it a bit of a challenge to drink. Once (or if) one's palate adapts one can enjoy the whisky as a study in tannins and super-duper dry fortified wine. It's unlike any other single malt I've tried. Too bad they didn't sell it in 200mL bottles, like the Säntis Malt, because it's more of an attention sapper than a casual thing.

Availability - USA; this batch has sold out but there are other batches
Pricing - 2016 batch is $110-$120
Rating - 79