Back in 2019, Amrut released three expressions of its top shelf Greedy Angels. The first one was the unpeated ex-bourbon cask 10-year-old Greedy Angels I reviewed back in 2019. It was also the occasion for me to dive into what’s the Angels’ Share, and if you haven’t read this article, I encourage you to do so. The second one was the 10yo Greedy Angels Peated Rum Finish I reviewed a few weeks ago. And the third and last one was the one I’ll review today (take a deep breath): the Amrut 10-year-old Greedy Angels Peated Sherry Finish. I’ve talked about this range previously, so let’s directly jump to the tasting.
Amrut 10-year-old Greedy Angels Peated Sherry Finish Review
I think I’ve just written my longest title ever… Anyway, as I said, the third Greedy Angels expression from 2019 is the Peated Sherry Finish. I say third, but it was bottled in fact in February 2019, so a few months before the Peated Rum Finish reviewed back in December 2021, so in fact it’s the second release of Greedy Angels 10yo. Now the process here is quite different and not what you’d expect from the name of this expression. This creation from Amrut Master Distiller Surrinder Kumar is the first time that they aged peated whisky for 10 years in India. Distilled from Scottish peated barley, they filled the peated new make spirit into first fill PX Sherry Butt for 7 years. Afterwards, they transferred the whisky into an ex-bourbon cask and a 100 litres “refill virgin oak barrel”, and aged the whisky for three additional years in those two casks. And yes, I don’t think it can be still called a virgin oak barrel if it’s a refill one. Anyway, while with the name of this expression you’d expect it to have been matured in an ex-bourbon cask then finished in a sherry butt, here it’s the opposite way that has been used. This was bottled at 60% abv, without chill filtration nor colouration. You can still find a bottle in some German, Dutch and French shops for a price close to RRP (between €770 and €850) while in the UK, The Whisky Source will ask you about twice the RRP for a bottle…
Colour:
Old brown sherry.
Nose:
Neat, the sweet and rich notes from the initial PX maturation arrive first, with a light peat slightly in the back seat compared to the sherry notes. Strawberry and quince jams, cinnamon and nutmeg spices play around smoked rhubarb. You’d guess the ABV about 48% and definitely not 60, there’s no burn, it’s not trying to pull off your nose hair and get a tear from you, my male readers will know what I mean if they’re old enough. Ahem, let’s get back to the tasting notes, shall we? After a moment vanilla and a teaspoon of honey gently force their way through the sherry notes. No trace of aggressive virgin oak, but well, it wasn’t virgin anymore anyway.
After reduction, maybe a slight note of wood spices.
Palate:
Neat: thick arrival, coating mouthfeel, creamy, almost waxy. Hot but not too hot, like with the nose you get PX and peated notes first. Smoked strawberries and rhubarb, smoked plums, smoked ginger, everything is covered in smoke but in a harmonious way. Leather, milk chocolate, rum raisins ice cream. Slightly tannic and drying.
With water, it kind of get softer. The heat has been slightly toned down, it’s also less dry, and it becomes just brilliant.
Finish:
Chocolate, smoked rhubarb, leather, dusty books, that don’t stop.
Comments:
Neat, it’s brilliant. The nose is fantastic, with peat, sherry and bourbon perfectly integrated and the ABV is mindful for your nose. You could spend an hour nosing your glass before having a sip without a problem. But when you do, you’re not disappointed either. This is rich, this is full bodied, this is tasty. And with water, while the nose didn’t seem to change that much, the palate went from sooo good to brilliant. If it weren’t for the price, way too expensive for me, I’d definitely buy a bottle. But I unfortunately don’t have pockets deep enough.
