Amrut Portonova Single Malt 62.1% 700ml

Batch 02 - April 22

AMRUT Portonova is an unpeated single malt whisky matured initially in a combination of new American Oak and ex-bourbon barrels then transferred to once-used port pipes, imported from Portugal and finally back to ex-bourbon casks.  It is aptly named as Portonova as there is a town called Parangipettai (Portonovo) on the east coast of India, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, a territory that was under Portuguese control from the 16th to the 18th century.

This single malt is exotic and vibrant on both nose and the palate and it delivers plentiful of raisins, vanilla, cherry liqueur and spices.  The effect is the extraordinary smoothness on the palate even at full cask strength.

Nose : A Thick pudding of a nose; fruit and caramel have merged into one slightly over-oaked soup; burnt apple pie;

Taste : This is essentially a port pipe sandwich.... and it shows. The spicy, jammy fruit is interwoven through any amount of caramel while the oaky saltiness gets the taste buds both salivating and puckering until you run dry;

Finish : Long, massive oak with quite evident traces of the virgin barrels now detectable. And more of a cocoa hue as it progresses. At last some muscovado sugars arrive to supplant the berry fruits;