Whisky Of The Week: Rampur Distillery Sangam World Malt

You might remember that a few years, a controversy roiled the Japanese whisky industry — namely, that the whisky wasn’t entirely Japanese. The category took off so dramatically and unexpectedly in the mid 2010s that distilleries were left with enormous demand and very little aged whiskies on hand. It’s a similar story to what happened with Scotch single malts earlier in the decade. But where the Scots came up with no-age-statement (NAS) whiskies to combat their shortage, Japanese distilleries simply started sourcing whisky that had been distilled outside Japan, namely Scotland and Canada, and aging and bottling it as their own. Eventually, consumers and regulators smelled a rat, and the laws were changed regarding what could legally be called Japanese whisky. Distilleries reacted in different ways; Nikka, for instance, simply stopped labeling its Nikka From The Barrel expression — said to include Ben Nevis whisky from Scotland — as Japanese whisky, but kept selling it. Suntory released Ao, what it called a “world whisky” featuring distillates from five different countries, and bragged about it rather than trying to hide it.

In India, the rules concerning whisky are, comparatively, pretty lax. In fact, most of the best selling brands can’t even legally be called whisky when they’re sold for export, as they’re largely distilled from molasses — which makes them closer to rum. But if you’re outside India and you see a bottle of Indian single malt, be assured it’s on the up-and-up. Amrut and Paul John are probably the best known Indian distilleries in the States, but Rampur, part of Radico Khaitan, is making inroads here as well. Located near the foothills of the Himalayas in the north of India, the distillery has been around since 1943 making malt whisky in old-school copper pot stills, though it wasn’t until 2015 that it was bottled under the Rampur name.

Rampur’s latest release, Sangam, is a “World Malt Whisky,” featuring whiskies from the Rampur distillery as well as … well, we don’t know where, exactly. The website says it’s “sourced from traditional European origins as well as from the New World,” which likely means Scotland and Canada. As for specific distilleries, they’re keeping mum. How long are the whiskies aged? A minimum of three years, but there’s no age statement — though to be fair, in India’s hot climate, aged spirits mature a lot faster than they do in Scotland, so age statements aren’t a very big deal. How long is the blend married before bottling? Not a clue.

I generally like to know more about a spirit before writing about it. But a couple of months ago, I hosted a party for a bunch of people who are pretty big deals in the worlds of booze in general and whisk(e)y in particular, including a friend who’s very well versed in Indian whisky. I brought out the Sangam, and despite there being copious amounts of higher-end spirits and fancy cocktails there for the drinking, most of the bottle disappeared in short order and got the thumbs-up from virtually everyone who tasted it — including me. Not too shabby for a no-age-statement malt with a $50 suggested price tag.

Having tasted Sangam several times since that party, it does hold up. Bottled at 43% ABV, it hits the front of the tongue with sweet rounded notes of honey, pear, and apricot. One thing we do know about the blend is that it includes peated whisky, and that comes through at midpalate, with a light smokiness and sea-air salinity. The finish is very long, with sweet oatmeal notes lingering along with light smoke. In short, it’s a well-balanced, exceedingly tasty malt. And while it seems that the vast majority of new whiskies are limited editions, Sangam seems to be here for the long haul. So don’t worry if a bottle disappears at your next party — there’s more where that came from.