Maniacs crown an Indian

The Indian single malt distillery Amrut has won one of the top prizes at this year's Malt Maniacs Awards. Asia continues its rise in the world of whisky and the arrival of Indian malts beside the already very well established Japanese products is another step in an internationalisation that I believe will revolutionise this market in the next 20 years.

The Amrut NAS (62.7%, Blackadder, 2008) scooped the Non-Plus-Ultra Award 2008 in the "Daily Drams" section. The Maniac Awards are split into "Super-Premium", "Premium" and "Daily Dram" sections. By winning the latter section, the Amrut has arguably taken the most significant silverware, that for whiskies that people can actually afford. (It should be noted that at 63 pounds here, this malt is not exactly a snip. Neither is it particularly widely available. It was a specialist bottling by the Europe based company Blackadder, with only 277 bottles filled.)

Taking a step back here for a second, I think it is fair to say that Scottish style whisky has recently become more genuinely international than any other spirit category. Old mother country snobberies don't count for half as much in the whisky world as they do in that of brandy, rum, tequila or Bourbon, for instance. I feel this reflects a level of self confidence and sophistication in the Scottish tradition that can only enrich this wonderful drink.



The Japanese distillers found themselves in the somewhat unfamiliar role of support act in the Asian contingent at this year's awards. However, it was still a stonking performance. In the "Ultra Premium" category, the "Thumbs Up Award" for most exciting new release went to Karuizawa 1971/2008 (64.1%, Number One Drinks Company, Cask No. 6878). The Karuizawa also got a gold medal pinned on its chest, which means it was one of the six most impressive drams from all categories.

In the "Premium" section, the award for the best whisky matured exclusively in sherry cask(s) went to Yamazaki 1990/2008 (60%, OB, Sherry butt, Cask No. 0N70645) and the gong for the best whisky matured or finished in 'special' or unusual cask(s) went to a Hakushu 1993/2008 (60%, OB, Bota Corta Spanish Oak, cask no. 3C40789, 571 Bottles) which is available here. Incidentally, a Tasmanian whisky also picked up an award in the same category. There were several other Japanese malts high in the medals. Go to this page for a full listing.

As I said last year, the Malt Maniacs Awards are worthy of close attention. They come out of whisky's incredibly energetic internet culture. Johannes van den Heuvel, leading Maniac, explains how they approach their task:

Although this is still an amateur competition we take it very seriously. That usually means a jury member spends at least an hour with each whisky in the competition. We've perfected the fine art of 'microdramming' and sample each whisky at least two or even three times. They are tasted blind, of course, to guarantee 'solid' scores.

What's more, we don't charge entry fees like professional competitions do. That means that we're not forced to hand out medals to our 'customers' in return for their entry fees. If you know that some professional competitions charge 400 dollars for each bottle that is entered into the competition, you'll understand that their main concern is not necessarily providing Joe Public with useful and reliable information. But don't take our word for it; simply buy a few medal winning whiskies and compare our collective opinion with that of other, more professional juries. Why don't you be the judge for yourself?

I am on the internet right now, Johannes, in search of that Amrut...