Amrut Chairman's Reserve Greedy Angel's 8 yr

I haven't written a negative review in quite some time, but my least favorite "holiday" has put me in the mood for one. Costumes, candy, and free treats – Hallowe'en combines three of the biggest detriments to a productive society. This is a review of Amrut Little Greedy Angels Chairman’s Reserve 8-year-old, bottled at 50% ABV, retailing for $360-400. Non-Scottish whiskies are now generally a poor value and are for those seeking novelty over quality. While Indian malts haven't become impossible to find and purchase, unlike Japanese malts, they remain disappointing. Reflecting back, even opening older bottles of highly regarded expressions like Yamazaki 18 or Amrut Spectrum, I realize they were never superior to good Scotches and never deserved the excessive demand driven by attention-seeking reviewers. Greedy Angels falls far short of Amrut Spectrum's quality. I respect the audacity and openness of releasing an 8-year-old statement and still charging $400. I'm aware that in tropical climates, the spirit in casks evaporates more rapidly, hence the name "Greedy Angels." However, the notion that an 8-year-old Indian whisky can be equated to a 16-24 year old Scotch is a misconception. Scotches aged for extended periods in appropriate casks achieve beautiful refinement and smoothness. I've yet to encounter a single malt from India, Taiwan, or Tasmania that has managed to bypass this refinement and smoothness process. This 8-year-old whisky tastes like a good 8-year-old whisky. There's no new make spirit character remaining, but it's still a bold and assertive experience. The tropical aging hasn't accelerated the softening of this dram; instead, it has created an experience akin to an infinity bottle – specifically, one of those non-master-blender infinity bottles that consume $100+ whiskies and, unfortunately, always end up tasting like the whisky equivalent of someone with schizoaffective disorder off their medication. It has notes of meat, tobacco, ginger, mandarins, lemons, tropical fruits, and dried fruits with a moderate amount of smoke, but the overpowering alcohol bite, yeastiness, and acidity were unpleasant, especially considering the whisky's price. In terms of presentation, it's loud and reminiscent of Hallowe'en costumes. I paid $400 for my bottle. I would have been satisfied with the purchase if it cost $100.

It appears there are several variations of this whiskey available, such as 8, 10, and 12 years old, among others. This is, I believe, the initial release bottled in 2017, with a production run of 1350 bottles. It was launched to commemorate the 60th birthday of Amrut's Chairman. For Chairman Mr. Neel Jagdale's birthday, they created the Greedy Angels 8 Year Old Chairman's Reserve Indian single malt; at the time, it was the oldest whisky they had ever released. Amidst the haze of Dramfest 2020, which I haven't fully processed even after ten days (though that's about to change), this was tasted towards the end, likely around the 900th sample, but who can really say? I simply chose a good one to mark the occasion. And it was... a damn fine whiskey. It ranked among my top 10-15 out of over 120 I recorded. I'd love to own a bottle, but holy cow, the price! $250 USD for an 8-year-old. As a side note, Amrut was among my top 5 bottlers/distilleries out of approximately 40 I sampled.