Does the first Indian single malt to hit the U.S. shores actually live up to the hype? In my opinion, yes! This is a fantastic blend of grainy sweetness, rich barrel vanilla, and smokey peat all wrapped into one unique and interesting whiskey. While the Amrut "Fusion" incorporates elements from both Islay and Speyside, it really tastes like neither one. There is a more rustic character that stands apart from the smooth and polished Scottish malts, but yet the dram itself is still balanced and well crafted.
The history of Amrut Distilleries is as old as the history of independent India itself. Indeed, just as India itself, after six decades of notable progress, is now noted as among the global economic leaders, so too has Amrut Distilleries grown both in stature and in size. Among the earliest to enter the then arcane field of liquor making, Amrut Distilleries Limited began in 1948 under the name and style of Amrut Laboratories, with an initial investment of barely a few lakhs. The founder was the late Shri J.N. Radhakrishna, J.N.R as he is fondly called to this day. Much of this fascinating story was made possible by the resolve of successive generations of the Jagdale family to embrace value and to discount form for substance. Under the leadership of the founder, Amrut Distilleries made rapid strides to entrench itself as a significant, for many the preferred, supplier of Indian Made Liquor (IML) in the Defence Market. In its state of origin, Karnataka, too, Amrut Distilleries grew to be one of the dominant suppliers, especially in the old Mysore area. After the untimely demise of J.N. Radhakrishna Rao Jagdale in 1976, the mantle devolved on his son, Shri Neelakanta Rao, the present Chairman and Managing Director. Building on the solid foundations laid by his later father, his stewardship has seen Amrut Distilleries blossom into a multi-national brand respected as much for the superlative quality of its products as his campaign for transparent practices by the IML industry.