Camikara 12 Year

There is a new player in town – in the world of rum

DISTILLERY	Piccadily Distilleries
REGION	Haryana, India
AGE	12 Years
STRENGTH	50% ABV (100 Proof)
MASHBILL	100% Indian Sugarcane
MSRP	~$80

GLANCE

Clear, medium intensity, rich golden – orange sunset hue

NOSE

Rich oak and bright tropical fruits initially. As it opens the denser aromas come in. Smoked pineapple and the Indian sugar cane is evident. You get the oak and there are strong aromas of cheese like funk. But in the good kind. As you keep nosing the guava, custard apple and tinge of baking spices with clove enter. Pronounced intensity.

PALATE

Oak and spice heavy. The aging is evident! But as you work your way through that you get a couple distinct spices. Nutmeg with dashes of cinnamon. Vanilla with white pepper but subdued. Pronounced flavor intensity with a smooth mouthfeel – medium sweetness (at times drying). The palate rounds out with smoked pineapple, raw mango, ginger and anise

FINISH

Medium to long and somewhat complex. Clove, oak, ginger and sugar cane juice.

CLOSING REMARKS

Camikara comes from Sanskrit, the mother of all languages symbolizing liquid gold. A name fitting from the get-go as there was only ~6.6% of the original liquid left in the barrels. According to the Piccadily Distillery, back in early 2000s they were experimenting with distillation of sugar cane. In 2009 they did their distillation run and laid down the barrels. During the COVID pandemic they were looking to create more space in their warehouse, and they stumbled on these barrels that they had just forgotten about! 20% of the barrels were in rough shape and juice inside was exposed to the elements. ABV directly from the barrel was at 72%. After consulting with industry experts and conducting tastings, they decided to release this expression.

 I was surprised to hear about a rum from India. When I think of rum and India in the same sentence, I think of old monk. I think Camikara is gonna change this. This expression is unique in every way, the terroir, the sugarcane, the terra-cotta pot still, etc. And it works! The flavors pop and really ring through. Only thing I will dock on Camikara 12 year is that on the palate it’s oak heavy at times when drank neat – interfering with other flavors coming through (this to some degree became less oak forward as more air occupied the bottle). Piccadily Distilleries have slated to launch their Camikara 3 & 8 year old expressions in the next few years. I look forward to trying them as well. Cheers! 🥃🇮🇳

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