Paul John ‘Brilliance’ Indian Single Malt Whisky 750mL

We honestly did not pick this up because it was an Indian whiskey – as always it was huh, never seen that before. let’s get it. That being said it’s great to see that the offering from India is actually pretty good, oh sure it’s got problems, and it’s not as good as Japan’s recent forays, but first impressions are good.

This then falls a bit apart because they make a lot of mistakes with regards to framing this as a god’s gift to mankind, and roping in some famous whiskey reviewer that we’ve never heard of (not that we’re listening) to proclaim it as such. Overall this much like many whiskeys is middling, has its own unique character, and will likely never be bought again by us.

 

What they Say: “The brilliance of Goa is captured at its best to delight your senses. That is Brilliance. It is a non-chill-filtered, non-peated Indian Single Malt Whisky. The barley generates all kinds of juicy riches with the light demerara sugar providing enjoyable companionship to a finish of gorgeous cocoa and spices. It doesn’t gather any more brilliance than this.”

They also have a booklet that is just way too much effort to photograph/type out and isn’t worth it.

 

Taste: 5.5 – A tiny bit sweet, a bit of spice, but for the part at the start this isn’t doing a lot letting the aftertaste carry on instead. It does remind you slightly of Glenlevit 12 oddly enough.

Aftertaste: 6.0 – It’s not really smoky, but that barley and rye like quality are certainly what you get the most of. The spice does linger in the nose and on the lips for quite a while which is likely intended.

Burn/Smooth: 4.0 – It certainly kicks a bit, and the warmth is more on your lips then in your throat, but it lasts long enough to eventually get there. Overall not bad, but comparing it to the scotch isles harms the score.

Aroma: 5.5 – It’s certainly a bit spicy. It’s akin to a rye in terms of what you’d expect, not really like a scotch or bourbon.

Honesty: 5.0 – BRILLIANCE. Sorry, it wasn’t obvious enough. While the box/bottle match their pamphlet is just crazy. The look and design are fairly standard if not anything but a bit boring. They go way too over the top with said pamphlet and of course, include what is likely a curated list of entries of scotches from some reviewer (apparently a big deal) on the back page. The word usage and that just feels like a desperation to announce – no really we’ve arrived on the whiskey front, and it’s only middling – not really brilliance.

Mixability: 5.75

W/ Rocks: 6.5 – You get some of the rougher bits shaved off, and you don’t exactly lose the spice elements in the aftertaste so it is improved, what’s lacking is how long and lingering that taste is whereas on ice it gets cut a bit short.

Rusty Nail: 5.0 – Decided to give this a spin to see if the sweet paired with the spice, and it did not. It’s okay.

Value: 4.0 – Here’s the real problem. That is despite what some reviews in a booklet say this is 2 dollars cheaper than Laphroaig 10, and we’ve even seen deals for the Select at this price, and that choice is too obvious. Add in the Ardmore and Auchentoshan, and we get to the real problem – yes this is a good whiskey for being from India, but it’s not the one you go to.

Google Shop Average: $49

Website: https://pauljohnwhisky.com/

 

Reviewer Scores:

BuffaloJern: 5.5

Want to compare this spirit against our archives? Visit our statistics page.

Metric Score: 35.75/70 |+| Metric Average: 5.11 |+| Reviewer Average: 5.5

New to Honest Booze Reviews, or just wondering how we score? See our FAQ/Review Policy.

 

Final Thoughts: It may feel a bit like whiplash us going back and forth from the complaints and praise, but we honestly are pleased about this whiskey faults and all and want to try others from the line. We just also happen to get sand in our shoes when people go out of there way to oversell something. India isn’t a name you think of automatically when the word whiskey is said, but it’s great to see them entering the stage.