When I open it:

Juniper, Good, we can continue.

Dry pine and citrus arrive first, followed by coriander and something greener underneath.

 

Then the gin starts moving away from the familiar.

There is tea, not sweet tea, not iced tea, more the dry, slightly fragrant smell rising from a freshly brewed cup, whichi s as far as my tea knowlegde goes, as a non tea drinker.

The lemongrass keeps things fresh and the spices slowly bring in some warmth.

 

Knowing what is in the bottle, this is where I start looking towards the betel leaf.

And then there is something I cannot immediately put one of my usual tasting labels on.

Green, a little peppery.

Amrut chose the Mysore variety specifically for its spicy and floral character, and here something does seem to sit somewhere between the fresh juniper and the warmer Indian spices.

Can I put my nose in the glass and confidently announce: Ah yes, clearly Mysore betel leaf?

No, my tasting experience does not stretch quite that far.

​

But something unusual is definitely happening there, and I rather like it.

Give the gin a little time and everything softens.

When I taste it:

Again, juniper gets there first. Dry, clean, slightly oily.

Then coriander and lemongrass bring citrus and freshness before the warmer spices begin to appear.

Cinnamon, nutmeg, a little pepper.

But there is no feeling that somebody opened the Indian spice cupboard and emptied everything into the still.

The spices stay controlled.

 

The tea becomes much clearer on the palate.

It brings a dry, lightly tannic quality that gives the gin structure.

 

Then the betel leaf becomes easier to understand.

Not because I suddenly taste paan, I don't.

It is more that slightly floral, green and peppery character that seems to affect the texture.

There is an unexpected softness to the middle of the palate.

Amrut talks about the betel contribution in terms of floral character and texture, and in the glass that actually makes sense.

The distiller himself describes subtle brewed-tea notes alongside the mellow spiciness of the betel leaf, and i can understand what he means.

​

Juniper gives the gin its backbone.

Tea makes it dry.

The spices bring warmth.

And the betel leaf seems to stop those three things from becoming three separate things

When I swallow it:

Dry, peppery, warm.

The juniper stays longest, joined by black tea, citrus peel and a little spice.

The tea leaves a light bitterness, the nice kind.

Behind it is that floral-green character again.

The betel leaf does not suddenly jump forward at the finish.

If anything, it remains surprisingly subtle.

But knowing what it is doing makes me notice how the spice changes.

It seems softer, rounder, less simply spiced.

​

Amrut's own tasting notes describe citrusy juniper, brewed tea, floral paan on the nose and a peppery bite on the palate, followed by a long dry finish. My glass broadly agrees.

Mouthfeel

Medium-bodied.

Smooth and slightly oily at first, becoming gradually drier.

The juniper gives some weight, the tea provides grip.

And the betel leaf seems to bring a softer texture through the middle.

​

That contrast may actually be one of the most interesting things about Nilgiris.

At 42.8% it has enough body to taste neat without feeling hot.

And enough character to survive tonic, which is where we are going next.

​​

Gin.whis notes

Of all ten botanicals in this bottle, the one I will probably remember most is not actually the strongest.

It is the betel leaf.

And perhaps that is exactly why I find it interesting, because it would have been very easy to put an unusual Indian botanical on the label, shout about it and make the entire gin taste of it.

​

Amrut has not done that.

Instead, betel seems to have a job, it connects things.

The traditional gin side gives: juniper, coriander, angelica and orris.

Then India arrives through: tea, lemongrass, cinnamon, mace and nutmeg.

And sitting somewhere between the two is the betel leaf.

Betel has a genuine place in Indian culture.

The leaves have traditionally been associated with hospitality, celebrations and the preparation of paan.

So its use here feels very different from somebody simply discovering an obscure herb and deciding it would look good on a label.

This botanical already had a story, long before anyone put it in a gin bottle.

And I like that.

The same goes for the Nilgiri tea, the hills are famous for high-grown tea, and Amrut specifically uses locally sourced tea as one of the defining ingredients of the gin.

​

So for me perhaps those two botanicals tell the story of Nilgiris best.

Tea gives it the place.

Betel gives it part of the culture.

And juniper keeps reminding both of them what they are doing in my glass.

That balance matters to me.

​

Because there are plenty of modern gins where you get raspberry, rhubarb, marshmallow, passion fruit or whatever happened to be fashionable when somebody designed the label.

And dont get me wrong, they are very nice drinks.

But occasionally I need a search party to find the juniper.

Not here.

​

Best serve suggestion

With Nilgiris I did not want to simply reach for lemon peel and tonic.

I felt this gin has an interesting ingredient to play with: Tea.

So rather than putting something elaborate on top of the glass, I want something that changes the drink while I am drinking it.

​

The Blue Mountain G&T

Make a strong cup of Nilgiri black tea.

Let it cool completely, then freeze it into one large ice cube.

​

For the drink:

50 ml Amrut Nilgiris Indian Dry Gin
100 ml dry Indian tonic
1 large Nilgiri tea ice cube
1 fresh lemongrass stalk.

​

Place the tea cube in the glass.

Pour over the Nilgiris, add the tonic slowly.

Lightly bruise the lemongrass stalk and use it as both garnish and stirrer.

​

Then stop, nothing more, there are already ten botanicals in the bottle.

They have done the work.

​

What I like about this serve is that the first sip and the last sip are not quite the same drink.

At first the tea cube is still frozen, so you get a relatively crisp, dry G&T.

Juniper, citrus, lemongrass, some spice.

​

Then the ice begins to melt.

Slowly the Nilgiri tea becomes part of the drink.

The G&T becomes slightly drier, the tea character gets stronger, the spices seem a little warmer.

And that unusual green and floral side of the gin becomes easier to notice.

​

In other words:

the longer you sit with it, the further it travels towards the Nilgiri Hills, i think that fits this gin rather well.

​

A little gin.whis twist

When brewing the tea for the ice cube, add one very small piece of cinnamon.

Take it out before freezing.

Very small, this is important because we are not maiking chai.

I only want enough cinnamon to quietly connect with the cinnamon already used in Nilgiris.

If the first thing you smell is cinnamon, you used too much.

​

Producer: Amrut Distilleries Pvt. Ltd.
Gin: Amrut Nilgiris Indian Dry Gin
Style: Indian Dry Gin
ABV: 42.8%
Origin: Bengaluru, India

URL: https://amrut.eu/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amrut_rhapsody/