Our third dram from this year’s whisky and malternative advent calendar is coming from a range we’ve tried a few newer releases last year. Yes, we’re trying them in the wrong order, but since so far they’ve all been very good, I guess that’s more than okay that we get to try some more, right? So this time, we’ll be trying an Amrut 8-year-old Greedy Angels released in 2017.
Amrut 8-Year-Old Greedy Angels (2017) Review
This 8-year-old released in 2017 follows the steps of the first 8-year-old released in 2012 and distilled in 2004, but this time this second batch uses a mix of unpeated Indian barley, and Scottish peated barley. It was matured in an undisclosed number and type of casks but we’re expecting them to be ex-bourbon casks. The 1350 bottles from this second batch were filled at 50% ABV, without chill filtration nor colouring. I think back in 2017 the RRP was about £240 / €295, and you can find some for less than €300 on Whiskybase market, €300 at dramshop.nl or in the UK at… £900 at Hard To Find Whisky (FFS…)
Colour:
Russet. Medium sized beads form on the crown and become medium speed descending… medium width legs.
Nose:
Neat: Some earthy peat but it’s not dominant. The wood provides cinnamon and some polish notes, and there’s a fatty waxy feeling. Another sniff and we get like an old bourbon touch, with concentrated vanilla and caramel (but, by chance, no coconut). There’s also a lightly sweet note like not yet cooked cookies with milk chocolate chunks.
With water: more honey and caramel, and some freshly sawn raw wood.
Palate:
Neat: The arrival is slightly thinner than I expected. It starts on old bourbon notes again, then a kick of spices arrives, probably the ABV and the cask saying hello. Butterscotch and wood spices are another hint towards bourbon casks, with wood char on top of that. Cinnamon and leather and hints of mint.
With water: Some lightly sour fruity notes, like grapefruit juice. And lots of caramel.
Finish:
Very light peat with butterscotch again and a pinch of cinnamon dust
Comments:
Very good Amrut once again, feeling a bit like a Fusion cranked to eleven. Still quite lightly peated in the end result feels very bourbon-y as well. This is very good but I expected maybe a tiny bit more complexity. But that’s cutting hair in half to be honest (which is a difficult exercise for me, as you probably know, it!) Solid whisky buuuut… too expensive this time for what it brings.
Rating: 88/100
Lead image by 0fjd125gk87 from Pixabay, and I replaced the sword with the bottle.