Amrut lifts Grand Master title at prestigious awards

Amrut Fusion was named Grand Master of World Whisky at The Spirits Business Awards in London today (6 December, 2011). Already named one of seven Masters of World Whisky by the judging panel of the prestigious event, Amrut Fusion came out as the “best of the best” in the final stage of the competition.

Fusion – which brings together two barleys: Indian and Scottish, with the latter being peated – in a Single Malt was created by the innovative Indian distiller Amrut Distilleries. “It has been widely admired, but to gain this title among such strong contenders is particularly exciting,” said Ashok Chokalingam of Amrut Distilleries Ltd. “It is evident that Amrut Fusion is on the verge of becoming our flagship brand. It has won a major award every single year since its launch in 2009. And the good thing is that it is winning awards on both sides of the Atlantic,” he added.

The Masters of each of the categories of the awards organised by the top trade magazine, The Spirits Business, had been announced earlier in the year. The major players in the industry gathered at a glittering lunch in the trendy Cinnamon Kitchen, to hear the Grand Masters of each category revealed for the first time.

Chairman of the judges, Dominic Roskrow, editor of The Spirits Business said: “Amrut Fusion was in a particularly competitive World Whisky category. I’m delighted that in the first year of the World Whisky Masters, Fusion sets a very, very high standard for next year and the challenge to the rest of the new world is ‘beat this if you can’.”

The standards of the competition are tough, with the judges blind tasting the entries in strictly controlled conditions. Dominic Roskrow added: “I think I’d have been delighted with pretty much any of the Masters winning Grand Master, but Amrut is the one that is consistent with me. For seven or eight different expressions now, it has been scoring well over 90 – and not just with one judge but in lots of different tastings.”

Amrut Fusion was named World Whisky of the Year at the Malt Advocate Whisky Awards in February 2011. John Hansell, editor of Malt Advocate magazine, said: “Fusion shows balance, complexity, and surprising maturity for its age – these are the defining characteristics for what is the best Indian whisky we have ever tasted.”

In The Whisky Bible 2010, leading whisky expert, Jim Murray awarded Amrut Fusion Single Malt Whisky the title of World’s Third Best Whisky. Fusion was also named the Best Natural Cask Whisky in the Daily Drams Category at the Malt Maniacs Awards 2009.

This latest award marks another successful year for Amrut Distilleries, which is based in Bangalore. Last week, on 1 December, the Malt Maniacs, the group of international whisky experts, handed Amrut’s Portonova Single Malt the Best Cask Innovation title in their 2011 awards Portonova won the award for the best whisky “matured or finished in ‘special’ or unusual casks” in the Premium Category for bottles with a retail price between 50 and 150 euros.

Portonova, which was released for sale this month, is an unpeated Amrut Single Malt which was matured initially in a combination of new American oak and ex-Bourbon barrels. Then it was transferred to once-used Port pipes imported specially from Portugal before being put back into ex-Bourbon casks. Jim Murray, author of the Whisky Bible 2012, describes Portonova as “outrageous”. He adds: “I have never come across such a flavour profile before anywhere in the world. But my word: what a statement this makes… unique.” Dominic Roskrow described it as “astounding” and a “Pink Floyd show of a whisky: vibrant, colourful, complex, and nearly too much.”

Amrut Distilleries was named a Distiller of the Year in the Icons of Whisky 2011 and was crowned in the Rest of the World category of the awards organised by Whisky Magazine in the spring.

NOTES

Amrut Distilleries

Amrut Single Malt Whisky from India was launched officially in Glasgow in 2004. Since then its reputation has grown, with its range of innovative whiskies using Indian barley from the Punjab distilled in the tropical garden city of Bangalore at 3000ft.

Amrut Distilleries was named a Distiller of the Year in the Icons of Whisky 2011 and was crowned in the Rest of the World category by the independent judges of the prestigious awards, which are organised by Whisky Magazine. The award was made to Amrut “for raising the profile of Indian whisky across the globe and its innovations in the production process”. The Rest of the World title meant the Bangalore distillery was also one of the four contenders for the Icons of Whisky Distiller of the Year title.

In February 2011, Fusion was named World Whisky of the Year at the Malt Advocate Whisky Awards. In a new category created to recognise “the wonderful whiskies” being produced in countries like Japan, India, Sweden, England, outside the major distilling nations, John Hansell, editor of Malt Advocate magazine, explained the choice of winner. “India’s Amrut distillery changed the way many think of Indian whisky. … Amrut is making whisky, and it’s very good.” Hansell continued: “Amrut finally began exporting their whisky to the US in 2010. We’ve tasted our way through the various expressions (peated, sherried, cask strength, etc.) and we enjoyed them all, but the one that really impressed us was Amrut Fusion. Fusion shows balance, complexity, and surprising maturity for its age – these are the defining characteristics for what is the best Indian whisky we have ever tasted. Combining Indian malt and peated Scottish malt, this whisky shows a sweet side, but is never cloying, with rich caramel, vanilla custard, and fruit cocktail in light syrup, balanced by vibrant – almost floral – dried peat smoke, delicate white pepper, and a hint of tropical fruit. We look forward to more great whiskies from Amrut.”

In The Whisky Bible 2010, leading whisky expert, Jim Murray awarded Amrut Fusion Single Malt Whisky the title of World’s Third Best Whisky. Murray said Fusion “has to be one of the great whiskies found anywhere in the word this year”. Admitting his No 3 choice could come as a surprise to some people, he said: “The fact that it is Indian? Irrelevant, from distillation to maturation this is a genius whisky from whichever continent.”

Fusion – which brings together two barleys: Indian and Scottish, with the latter being peated – was named the Best Natural Cask Whisky in the Daily Drams Category at the Malt Maniacs Awards 2009. It picked up the award for the best whisky matured exclusively in “untreated”, regular cask(s) in the category for whiskies with an average street price of up to 50 euros. It was also awarded a silver medal.

One of the Amrut Single Malt Whisky bottlings by Blackadder International won “The Best Daily Dram” category of Malt Maniacs 2008 Awards. All the Amrut brands entered into the same competition won silver and bronze medals.

Amrut Peated Malt Cask Strength Whisky won Silver and Amrut Single Malt Cask Strength Whisky Bronze at the International Wine & Spirit Competition in 2008.

Amrut is now sold widely in Europe (UK, Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, Spain), Canada, South Africa, Australia and the United States.

The Spirits Business www.thespiritsbusiness.com