Amrut Naarangi

So this is going to be unique....oranges and sherry, and 6 years old? OK. Nose - well not to shock anyone but orange spice. It actually brings me back to the one and only time I had an orange chocolate and was confused as hell with it. Like people want THAT? However on whisky I'm not sure I have such an instant dislike. In fact, I'm somewhat intrigued by the lack of an amrut oak finish on the nose. More shocked I even get some vanilla with the chocolate (sherry influence?) and well orange peels for sure. Taste - So once again orange way hard up front, but then comes spices and oak, then it softens and lets in vanilla and perhaps even honey, then back to oak and rich flavors. The finish almost even has me thinking for a second there might be some peat in here. Bitters and sours and sweet and spicy are all over this dram. This is complex and truly unique whisky so in these sense, I'm a big fan. Would this be a daily drinker for me? No. Will I buy another bottle? Nope. Am I reasonably happy with this however? Yeah, actually am pretty happy with this. It once again shows that power of amrut's finish from the oak being able to offset odd and overly sweet whiskies. Scoring a 3.25 due to the insane complexity but holding back a bit as I can't really get past the orange oddities I get. I think here again Amrut had epic potential and we got good whisky instead.

Nose - (w/o water) Strong orange peel, orange syrup, almost mandarin like, cooked bananas, grilled pineapple, hint of caramel, Tajin (w/ water) Slightly reduced sweetness, but otherwise the same Taste - (w/o water) Initially very hot, strong but surprisingly balanced orange zest, orange gummies, cooked banana sweet, grilled pineapples, lightly metallic (w/ water) Reduces the initial heat, slightly less sweet, brings out a hint of hot pepper in addition to the bananas & pineapple Finish - (w/o water) Lingering orange hot tingle, slight metallic lingers, grilled bananas & pineapples, toasted orange rinds (w/ water) Pretty much the same, but the slight metallic is significantly less. Score - 84/100 Final Thoughts - This was quite surprising as upon the initial nose, I had immediate fears that this would be a cloying syrupy orange mess. Fortunately this wasn't the case as the orange was there from start to finish, but it wasn't too cloyingly sweet. Interesting for sure, but not sure this would be an everyday dram other than for certain cocktails or maybe a tiny dessert dram like a port or something. Water definitely helps tone this down a bit and improves it quite a bit. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - If they sold it in smaller 200mL bottles? I might have this in tiny amounts like a port

I had this about one year ago in London... a 6cl sample, so going on memory. One thing I love about Amrut: they're innovative and willing to try experiments, pushing the boundaries of what the EU Scotch association defines as legally a whisky. In Hindi, Naarangi means oranges...although Amrut is in Bangalore, the dialect there is Kannada...so go figure. Anyway, from what I recall---this wasn't what I expected. I expected orange galore in the nose like Compass Box Orangerie, but instead this was more sherried---so more dried fruits, dates and figs. Lot of figs. I remember the taste then being more oranges, but still not as strong. Mild, light. Still figs. What I was most surprised at though wasn't that I didn't get a tsunami of oranges, but instead the 6 yr old tropical maturation didn't seem more than its six years. Normally, South Indian tropics ages the spirit far quicker than the Scottish climate. Wondering if this was aged truly in Bangalore? Anyway, net-net....not bad, but certainly not any significant naarangies. Instead plenty of "unjir" ( figs in Hindi). This orange rind cask seasoning experiment does make you wonder though---what if they tried other whisky favorable spices like cloves, ginger, or anise? We'd have Amrut Laung ( cloves), Adarak ( ginger), and Saumf (anise). Yes Amrut, you can have those ideas. All yours.

Amrut is always making experiments to enhance the whisky experience of their consumers. Naaragi, is a single malt that had been matured 3 years on a traditional oak cask, to then be finished for another 3 years in a cask that previously held a combination of oloroso sherry, matured wine and orange peels. Bottled at 50%abv, tawny color. On the nose, it is all about oranges. Old orange peel, orange caramel, orange spices. Bbq sauce, super citric. Lemon and citric green apples. On the nose, it follows the same path: Tangerine, lime, lemoncello. A second sip gave me burnt paper and raw cereal. Aftertaste is a mildly peated. Burnt hay; sulphuric and copper notes. Dry and peaty; tobacco ashes. Overall, this is exactly what it has to be, a tribute to all things that are related to oranges. Naarangi must mean "oranges" or something like that, since it sounds very similar to "naranjas" which the spanish word for Oranges. A citric, but strong dram, my score for it is a solid 84 over 100.

Nose: bitter dried orange peel, cooking spices (coriander, cinnamon), fig newtons. Taste: slightly sweeter than the nose, sherry, figs, then bitter orange peel comes in strong. Decent mouthfeel. Finish: left with the bitter orange peel. Balance: pretty one dimensional. And that dimension is not what I look for in a whiskey. Though, it is executed okay. 82.5/100

Batch 5. Great stuff with a bouquet of aromas and flavors from orange, chocolate, creamy vanilla, cherries, ginger, and pepper, and a long spicy finish.