Best Peated Whisky Award for Amrut malt in Malt Maniacs Awards 

An Amrut Single Cask malt whisky has been named the Best Peated Whisky in the 2013 Malt Maniacs Awards. 

The peated malt – bottled by Blackadder – was awarded 89 points by the jury in its blind tastings, just two points behind the overall winner. It was awarded a Silver Medal. 

The Indian distiller, Amrut Distilleries also picked up two Silver Medals and a Bronze Medal in the annual awards announced on 3 December, 2013 by Malt Maniacs, the on-line collective of malt whisky lovers. With three Silver Medals, Amrut was one of the best performing distilleries in this year’s awards. 

Amrut malts picked up the following awards:

• Silver medal, 89 points:

Amrut ‘Peated’ (63%, Blackadder Raw Cask, NAS, C#BA18/2013, 268 Bts., 2013)

• Silver medal, 88 points:

Amrut (62.3%, Blackadder Raw Cask, NAS, Sherry Cask, C#BA17/2013, 236 Bts., 2013)

• Silver medal, 88 points:

Amrut ‘Single Cask’ 2009/2013 (62.8%, OB, C#2699, PX sherry cask)

• Bronze medal 84 points:

            Amrut ‘Single Cask’ 2009/2013 (62.8%, OB, bourbon cask) 

Ashok Chokalingam, Amrut’s International sales manager, said: “Our new Single Cask releases are proving very popular. We are delighted that such passionate whisky enthusiasts recognise our efforts. This month we have launched some really special limited editions and it is great to see the Malt Maniacs being so enthusiastic about these Single Cask expressions.” 

Malt Maniacs are an international on-line collective of malt whisky lovers which have been spreading the gospel of single malt whisky since 1997. Each year members form a jury to sample – completely blind – hundreds of whiskies, in what is probably the only consumer-driven whisky competition. 

Further information 

Amrut Distilleries background

In December 2013, Amrut Distilleries released three single cask malts in the European markets. The malt whisky from the Bourbon and Sherry casks is made with Indian barley, while the spirit from the Port pipes is made from Scottish barley malted in peat. 

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 3,000ft above sea level. Amrut Distilleries has won many awards. 

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 world 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.” 

Malt Maniacs

Although they do meet in real life, the Malt Maniacs, founded 1997 by Johannes van den Heuvel, are the most well known of all Web-based whisky communities. The members of Malt Maniacs are scattered all around the globe: Europe, America, Asia, Australia and Africa. The Malt Maniacs are 100 per cent independent and only their amateur members are entitled to score whisky for Malt Maniacs.

The Malt Maniacs Awards have been organised every year since 2003. More than 200 whiskies are usually preselected and submitted by more than 60 different distillers, bottlers or brands and tasted blind by from ten to twelve independent jurors from various countries (India, Taiwan, USA, Canada, Europe…) There are no fees involved whatsoever. The results, usually published early in December, are always eagerly awaited and commented on by the whole whisky community.
www.maltmaniacs.net/awards