Review by: The Auditor
Review #1078; Rum #406
This rum comes to us from Amrut, a distillery located in Bangalore, South India that was founded in 1948. Though known mainly for it’s single malt they have also been producing rum for over 60 years. However, their rum is not produced from molasses, sugar cane juice, or sugar cane syrup. This rum is made using jaggery, a solidified unrefined sugar that is diluted before fermentation and then distilled. This is only done once a year at the distillery in small amounts.
Distillery: Amrut
Bottler: Habitation Velier
Region: India
Still: Pot
ABV: 62.8%.
Age: 7 years
Cask type: Ex-Bourbon, 7 years in India
Color: Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: Toasted Coconut, faint orange, caramel
Palate: Medium mouthfeel, toasted coconut, orange caramel, heat
Finish: Medium length finish, caramel, black pepper, coconut, heat
Conclusion: I generally have an affinity for the rums that Habitation Velier bottles, but this one misses the mark for me. It’s pretty thin on the flavor, the heat is wildly uncheck and unbalanced. I added a bit of water to see if I could tease out any more notes. It brought the orange to the forefront, but had the slight peppery notes fade into more of the background. I can appreciate Habitation Velier going to distilleries that are often overlooked like this, but this is a very easy miss for me especially once the price tag comes into play. (Though my scores do not reflect price)
Final Score: 77
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 