A purple-blue flower that is home to the Nilgiri mountains, finds its moment only once in twelve years; the Kurinji also known natively as Neela-kurunji, meaning “blue Kurinji“, lends the slopes of these mountains a lovely rich violet hue. These Blue Mountains that are part of the larger Western Ghats are also popularly referred to as the Kurinji mountains (no brainer) and are incidentally also where the distillers have sourced their whisky for this very expression. The spirit itself is aged for a minimum of five years and matured in American ex-bourbon barrels.

The box and the labelling also play the same theme, a sketch of the Nilgiri mountains in the background, green tea estates and flora, all in violet-blue across the centre and the rest of the foreground. The flower itself is incorporated into the actual name,  dotting the “i’s” and the “j” , in a dark blue splash. The bottle however is quite grey, lacking lustre, similar to the Neidhal – very plain and simple.

ABV : 46%

Eye : Deep Gold|Natural Colouring

Nose : Vanilla with floral nuances, earthy on the nose.  There’s a subtle sweetness, similar to cinnamon rolls, infused with a dash of pepper. There’s toffee and medicinal notes, pine wood perhaps with a dash of cloves that gets more pronounced with time.

Taste : Melons with that bit of char with a drizzle of vanilla. There’s subtle influences from rye and spices too. Some citrus zest, hints of peanut butter and woody notes.

Finish : Medium |Cantaloupe that slowly tapers with time; a soft, delicate sweetness and an almost mild ginger like spice.

The Kurinji is velvety on the palate, showing its age but still maintaining a very floral undertone. There’s tropical, spicy notes with a bit of that earthiness, more so on the palate. The nose too is spicy, but with medicinal and sweet, floral nuances. It’s not too complex, with fair depth and range. It does however highlight the influence of both the subcontinent temperatures and the ex-bourbon casks.

At AUD $159, it is pricey but does have a story to tell. A good whisky but again, doesn’t really punch above the norm for the price. I did like the floral, tropical and spicy concoction, the whisky was, but that is unfortunately it. Good but not great. Worth the sip but not truly worth another trip (to the store).

Slainte!