This New Indian Whisky From Paul John Was Aged in a Sazerac Rye Cask
If you’re unfamiliar with Indian whisky, now is the perfect time to get acquainted because there are more high-quality releases than ever before that are available here in the States. The latest example is an extremely limited edition, but it sounds like something worth hunting down—a single-cask single malt from Paul John that was aged in a barrel previously used to mature Sazerac Rye from Buffalo Trace.
Despite that being a relatively unusual secondary maturation for Indian whisky, it does make sense given that Buffalo Trace parent company Sazerac owns a majority stake in Paul John. The brand, which is produced at John Distilleries in Goa, has been around since 2008 and released its first expression four years later in 2012. That whisky that it bottles is, generally speaking, relatively young compared to scotch, but that’s because the tropical climate in Goa means that the interaction between wood and whisky is much more extreme (up to three times as fast, according to the brand).
The new whisky, which is called the Doppelgänger, is a single malt that was aged in one single cask (cask #24194) that, as mentioned before, was previously used to age Sazerac Rye produced at Buffalo Trace in Kentucky. Paul John’s single malt spent nearly nine years in this barrel, which is quite long given the temperature and humidity in that part of India. It was selected by the SMAC India (Single Malt Amateur Club), which began its partnership with the distillery in 2020. This is now the fourth single cask collaboration, and the first time that a Sazerac Rye barrel has been used.
“For us, the most exciting part is that members chose the whisky before they knew anything about it,” said SMAC founder Hemanth A. Rao in a statement. “There was no age, cask or identity to influence the room—only the liquid. What came afterwards made that choice even more fascinating. This is a nearly nine-year-old single cask, and for the first time in our collaboration with Paul John we are seeing what an American white oak Sazerac Rye cask can do to a mature Indian malt.”
We did not get to sample this very limited release, but according to Rao there is more than just rye spice on the palate. You can also find notes of dried fruit, licorice, cinnamon, chocolate, vanilla, and caramel. He also said the Doppelgänger name came from the fact that the SMAC members initially assumed this was a sherry cask-matured whisky based on its flavor—which it is not—so the whisky challenged their assumptions.
Just 156 bottles of the Doppelgänger have been released, priced at Rs. 8,200 (about $85). It’s available now in certain parts of India, as well as to members of the SMAC around the globe.
