Paul John Mithuna Single Malt Whisky 700ml

Paul John Whisky is winning acclaim around the world. They exported their first single malt in 2012 and have gone from strength to strength ever since.

The mash is an all Indian affair. It starts with six-row barley harvested from Rajasthan and as far north as the Himalayan foothills. This grain produces an oilier spirit than the two-row barley typically used in Scottish malts. The water comes from the Western Ghats mountain range.

Located about an hour from the Arabian Sea in the state of Goa, the distillery uses twin custom made copper pot stills. The tropical latitude provides maturation conditions more akin to a Kentucky summer than anything you might see in Scotland. This leads to both high interaction between whisky and wood and a very high angel’s share of 8-10% per year.

The Zodiac series was created to celebrate Indian astrology. Mithuna, the third in series corresponds with Gemini if you’re prone to checking your daily horoscopes.

Unpeated and non-chill filtered Mithuna has hues of old oak to the eye. The nose shows notes of liquorice, gentle beeswax with honey on toast and tender notes of vanilla. Chewy flavours of coffee mocha, orange peel and delicate spice are apparent on the palate with dark cocoa tones. The finish is gratifyingly long and complex with multi-toned sugars and delicate honeys.

This series has become quite a collectors item after earlier releases have been met with serious acclaim for their quality.