Amrut Portonova [Re-Review]

And this is the end of my Mystery Advent Calendar. It ends with a bit of a hiccup. Day #24 is a re-review. My wife picked from a section of whiskies that were made up of ones I’ve already had, and were the last drops.

So I ended up finishing with Amrut Portonova. I’m happy to be the second most prolific reviewer of Amrut alongside /u/devoz, and I blame him for fanning the fires of enjoying them so much. Personally, I enjoy most, if not all of their releases, and look forward to trying more as they release them.

So this is Amrut’s unpeated malt aged in ex-American oak barrels and then finished in Port Pipes, brought in from Portugal. As opposed to Port casks from outside the only place that’s allowed to make port.

I jest, of course. There’s plenty of places making “port-style” wine that I wouldn’t be surprised if we start seeing those casks pop up.

But how will I feel about a whisky I enjoyed the second time? Let’s see, shall we?

Price: I paid $120 (CAD) at the LCBO for this one. It eventually dropped in price.

Region: India

Cask Type: Port Pipe

Abv: 62.1%

Colour: 10YR 5/8

Nose: Pot pourri, violets, taffy, red licorice, cocoa, mint

Floral, very much directed by the ex-port cask. Some tropical aspects, some spice to balance it out, and even some cocoa to root it in the earthiness.

Light given the abv. It benefits from water as well, but it’s not demanding it. Granted it’s inanimate, but the voices in my head say that’s okay.

Taste: Lime sorbet, caramel sauce, mint, brine, strawberry, cola

Lighter on the taste. I’m getting a lot of mint and lime here. Very creamy, very fruity, which I’ve come to expect from Amrut.

Granted I didn’t remember having any of this left (actually went to pour some for a friend and couldn’t find it, so I assumed it was gone) so I’m wondering if this is unpeated Caol ila with the strong lime.

Yeah, I’m good at this.

Finish: Cafe latte, brown sugar, brine, lime, blue cheese funk, peach pie

Nice funk here. Really grows. More creaminess, some brine and lime, and even nice buttery aspect. Lovely dram. Wish I had bought a second bottle.

Wait, no I don’t, this is strong stuff. Takes to water really nicely.

Conclusion: Lots of funk, definitely a port cask, lovely dram. If you’re a port cask fan, this does that really well. It’s not going to take you on the complex journey of other Amruts. It’s going to be floral, and creamy, and playoff those fruity aspects of Amrut.

And it’s going to give you funk at the end, lime for days, and even some butter. I ended up figuring out the abv. Because after reviewing it for a while I was seeing pink elephants, and they said I had booze on my breathe.

83/100

Guess: Unpeated Caol Ila, Ex-port, 62%

Actually: Amrut Portonova

World Whisky review #357, India review #31, Whisky review #1685