Indri is turning up the heat with a new lightly peated expression, which it hopes will set the Indian whisky scene ablaze. The new entry is called Agneya, meaning “belonging to fire” in Sanskrit. Agneya offers a smoldering introduction to the world of smoky Indian single malts for $75 a bottle. It aims to spark the curiosity of whisky drinkers who typically shy away from the peaty intensity of Islay’s smokiest drams. Bottled at 46%, it’s made from six-row barley, which is locally grown and malted in India. The maltsters kiln it to phenol levels of 25 phenol parts per million (ppm), the same level as Talisker, using peat imported from Scotland. The spirit is fully matured independently in three cask types: first-fill bourbon, pedro ximénez, and oloroso sherry casks. These whiskies are then married together before bottling. There’s no cask finishing involved, nor does Indri experiment with peated cask finishing. Piccadily Agro produces Indri single malt and Camikara rum in Haryana, India. Indri fans who love its flagship unpeated three wood expression, Trini, might recognize the familiar influence of bourbon and pedro ximénez sherry casks, though that expression also includes French wine casks to add a final layer of complexity.
The peated Indian whisky category has been a slow burner, as peated malt is hard to find in India. Distilleries either send barley to Scottish maltings to get the desired level of peatiness or flavor their own malt by importing peat from Scotland, which is the solution Indri used for this expression. The phenols will soften considerably in the sub-tropical Indian climate as the whisky ages over 5 or 6 years; worth remembering, the 25 ppm represents the phenol levels in the peated malt, not the mature whisky in the bottle. Indri Agneya may be lightly peated, but its competitive price point could help it to become a heavyweight within this niche category.
For those who want to dig deeper into peated Indian whiskies, seek out pours from Paul John and Amrut. From Goa, Paul John Distillery has produced several smoky whiskies in recent years, including Bold, Peated Select Cask, and it’s been a feature of several of its Christmas Editions. And from Indri master blender Surrinder Kumar’s previous employer, Amrut, try Peated, its Single Malts of India Neidhal, and Fusion, which notably combined Indian six-row malt with peated Scottish malt.
