Angel's Share Title
Amrut Old Port Rum
While shopping around Atlanta, I realized that I had not reviewed a rum from India in quite some time and picked up this bottle of Amrut Old Port Rum. The Amrut Distillery is located in Kambipura, India, and is well known for its line of whiskies but also produces rums, vodka, gin, and sherry. This rum is created by using molasses made from Indian sugarcane and distilling the liquid with pot stills. After the fermentation period, the rum is aged for an unspecified amount of time in new and used oak barrels. Once the aging process is completed, the rums are blended and bottled at 42.5% ABV.
Appearance
The rum bottle is a tall 750-ml custom design with the word “Amrut” embossed under the neck. It has a metal screw cap with the Amrut Distilleries logo across the top and the name on the side. In the glass and in the bottle the rum holds a dark amber color that brightens to a copper color after being poured into the glass. Swirling the liquid creates a thought band around the glass that releases lightning-fast legs that slide down the glass. The band evaporates quickly, leaving a ring of residue and beads around the glass.
Nose
The aroma leads with dark vanilla notes and is quickly followed by notes of sugared almonds and a nip of oak tannins and alcohol.
Palate
The first sip reveals an almost velvety mouthfeel that delivers a swirl of vanilla, spices, alcohol, and oak tannins. Additional sips revealed the spice notes to be ginger and nutmeg, followed by a cooked peach fruit note. Alcohol and lightly astringent oak tannins manifest briefly before being suppressed by a medium-sweet finish.
Review
During the evaluation process, I was a tad surprised by the strength of the spice notes in the product and went so far as to check the bottle to make sure it did not say spiced rum anywhere on it. It did not. I did a tactile test, and it clearly has some additives that most likely account for the mouthfeel, color, and some of the flavors. Adding a drop of water opened up the aroma and flavor of the rum, leading to more fruit notes manifesting and nullifying the astringency of the profile while at the same time subduing the strength of the spice notes. Overall, I see where this product has created a following with cocktail creators, as I have experienced a few fruit-based cocktails. The rum itself is priced on par with other minimally aged rums and is a decent pick-up if someone wants to experiment with it in their home bar. However, something about the overall profile just felt a tad contrived to me, as if the product was overengineered, and for that reason, it sort of missed the mark for me personally.
