Amrut Fusion

Amrut Fusion Single Malt whisky -- This made-in-Bangalore single malt was crowned the third finest whisky in the world by renowned British whisky writer Jim Murray in his Whisky Bible 2010, six years after it was launched at The Pot Still, a popular bar in Glasgow, Scotland, the mecca of whisky makers. It began retailing in India last month.

Single malt whisky makes up the premium end of the global whisky market, like Cognac in brandy. Single malt is distinguished as whisky made from barley and processed at a single distillery as opposed to the more mass-market, blended whiskies—such as Johnnie Walker and Chivas Regal—which are a mix of different types of whiskies often made from varied grains.

Amrut moved ahead of the times in the 1980s. Unlike its peers, who turned molasses into whisky, Amrut started procuring barley from farmers in Punjab and Rajasthan, in addition to molasses. This gave it a headstart in studying barley; 20 years of trial and error followed before the first single malt whisky hit the shelves in 2004. Uniquely, Amrut Fusion combines barley grown in Punjab with imported Scottish peated barley. The two barleys are mashed, fermented with yeast, distilled in pot stills and matured in carefully chosen oak casks for four years. The two matured malts are fused in measured proportions and married for three months. Peated barley, or malted barley heated by firing peat in a kiln, gives the whisky a much desired, smoky character.

Well, I'd definitely try to lay my hands onto this spectacular Amrit, errr...  Amrut. Read more about it here.