When traveling for work I've found that big city stores don't tend to go easy on the pocketbook, so I'm drawn to grab a bottle with an unexpectedly reasonable price tag of something that I've never had before. In my naïve mind, this helps justify the expense since on some level I've limited the rampant profiteering, tried something new, and will be forgiven even if it goes unfinished. The entry this time is Paul John "Bold" (i.e. peated NAS), for a reasonable $40 that I doubt I could do better than back home even at modest Midwest prices. This is also my first Indian whisky, so double points awarded says I. Enough about me - the dram is a nice light honey brown. While not overly weighty, it coats the glass with a fair bit of oil. A relatively gentle, sweet and simple nose. Unusual but not unpleasant, it showcases honey, chili pepper, raw cane, and a touch of hay. A very creamy body and neutral simple syrup open the palate, then smoke, pineapple, and roasted chestnut develop along with a pleasing floral character. It's a bit as if Laphroaig 10 and a lightly-aged Barbados rum had a love child. A tingle of baking spices play alongside honeydew. Coconut cream. This is pretty tasty stuff for an approachable price. Yes, it's a little young but it suits the finished product quite well. Some drying aspartame plays spoiler to the primary flavors but this is very approachable, sippable, and competitive at the price point. I'd recommend any peated scotch fans take a waiver and see how it stacks up.
About this bottle
The malt is Indian barley peated to 25 ppm with Islay peat, double-distilled in a set of Indian-made copper pot stills that were designed to emulate the traditional Scottish method. Primarily ex-bourbon, the barrels age in an underground climate controlled warehouse. The hot tropical climate of Goa accelerates barrel breathing, and the angel's share (loss of whisky due to evaporation) is about 10-12% per year (compared with 2-3% in Scotland). Similar to Kentucky, the ABV rises with time, so that the whisky which was put in barrel at 55% ABV emerges at 57% or higher. Hence, the oaking process is accelerated, as compared to other, cooler regions. Bottled at 46% ABV, this whisky is non-chill filtered and contains no added coloring.
How it tastes
Measured across 14 flavor axes. Tap a note to find other bottles that lead with it.
Reviews
Showing the most detailed of 33 parsed reviews.
Indian WHisky...When i first started this "hobbie" i would have never thought i will be drinking Indian Whisky, And this, is my second one. (The other was amrut) Bottled at 46%abv; pale straw color. I happened to meet the brand ambassador of Paul John indian whisky in whisky live and he was the typical Hindu guy just like great tiger from NES (that is a "punchout" videogame reference, and if you didn't knew it, your childhood was not as good as mine). On the nose is incredible. The "BOLD" Expression is the heavily peated one. So Peat, orange, honey, and some spice... wait... is that...CURRY? (Typical Indian Food). Amazing. On the palate it gets a little more "normal" with a very spicy mouth bomb, very hot and oaky, the term "bold" fits perfectly. The finish is medium and full of spices, wasabi and pepper, but much more controled. Overall i give this very interesting dram an 88 over 100 and if you find it, taste it. It is an experience.
Number 4 on the Paul John journey. Was disappointed with the Edited and Classic. This is a big step up. Lovely sweetness marries off against the peat and lovely creaminess carries the flavour. Not to sure if a 3 or 4. Perhaps 3.5 but will round up for now. Have to reassess sometime against an islay. After moving onto the peated 55% and sherry cask 60% I was graciously allowed another generous drop of this. Still held its own very nicely despite the lower abv. Whilst I don't hold Jim Murray's ratings in much regard I do see why he gave this a liquid gold and it's a top award winner for them. The only one of the range I'll def buy a bottle of
Nose: not bonfire or bandaid like usual peat, instead more like smoked bacon, but it has a sweet butterscotch to it as well. End notes slightly spiked with a pepper and citrus. Palate: very surprising. Only light smoke, instead it explodes in a sea of butterscotch sweetness that's followed by flowery citrus spice. The finish carries some of the oak and the smoked bacon, still with some malt sweetness.
My first whisky from India, I am impressed with this one. The peat has been imported from Scotland and the barley is an Indian variety, the combination is a quite softly peated whisky with very interesting sweet characters. Tropical fruits, anise and spice with this medium-low peat makes for a nice sip!
This is my “daily sipper nominee of the Paul John core lineup. Aroma reminds me of Laphroaig but lighter and sweeter with more grilled orchard fruit; Palate tips towards chestnut with the roasted notes with bits of copper arriving as it opens; Finish hits all the right notes as it slowly fades out.
27 more reviews were collected for this bottle. The longest ones are shown first.
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