Paul John 6 Cadenhead Small Batch

Thanks to /u/xile_ for pouring me a sample of this one.

Hey, it’s time to review an Indian whisky. Which since I’m drinking it and reviewing it, which means it’s from… Paul John?

Alright, so right now there’s two brands of Indian whisky that pop up. I typically drink the other one, Amrut, because I really like them and because so does /u/devoz and he’s a wonderful person who pours it for me.

But awhile ago I tried a bunch of Paul John, because I’m addicted to writing these. So when Paul John 6 Cadenhead Small Batch came out, we all… paused. It’s young, but that’s normal for Indian whisky. Paul John didn’t wow us as much.

But one of us did buy it and, well, he poured it for us to prove we’re all judgemental and dumb. Let’s see!

Price: N/A at the LCBO

Region: India

Distilled: 2011

Bottled: 10.2018

Cask Types: 1 Bourbon Barrel and 1 Bourbon Hogshead

Number of bottles: 564

Abv: 56.6%

Colour: 10YR 7/12

Nose: Buttery bread, tropical farminess, basil, green tea, cloves/cardamon, BBQ sauce

Normally I try and write down the closest I can to a flavour comparison. More flavours mixing well? Great, more complexity.

But here… I mean, I write it down, I wait 10 minutes, it’s different. After awhile I have to think about you, the reader. And the fact that some of you aren’t wearing pants. That last part worries me more.

Taste: Mango, nutmeg, shortbread dough, honey

Tropical, spicy, more yeast. If there’s part of this where I didn’t find as much complexity, it was the taste. On the other hand I’m not turning down mangos and honey ever in my life and each of these was super strong so we’re good, trust me.

Finish: Papaya, mineral, saltwater taffy, light green banana, salt, thyme, BBQ chips.

And we’re back to an insane mixture.

Here’s the crazy thing: The above is a lot, and I know it. I tried a tiny bit of this right after it was opened, and that was even more nuts.

Conclusion: Keeps growing, really interesting. It evolves with time or water. You have salt aspect, amazing spices, tropical fruits of various acidic levels, funk, herbal, and even yeast.

Frankly, if you’re not watching Paul John after trying this then you’re missing out. This is amazing, and I for one think I’ll be hunting more of these moving forward.

88/100

World Whisky review #371, India review #33, Whisky review #1785