Kavalan Distillery has been pioneering the art of single malt whisky in Yilan County, Taiwan since 2005. Kavalan sources the mineral-rich meltwaters of Snow Mountain and is aged in a unique combination of intense heat and humidity together with sea and mountain breezes. All this combines to create the quality, smoothness, and fruity character for which Kavalan is known.

Kavalan takes Yilan County's old name. A land of blessings, it was here that entrepreneur Mr. Tien-Tsai Lee dreamed of a new whisky homeland and a ‘century-old’ distillery to last generations.

Mr. T.T. Lee’s ambition to create Taiwan’s first whisky took him across the old world to the sacred distilleries of Scotland and Japan. He knew to compete, Taiwan must be world-class, and this tested every sinew of his resolve.

Kavalan brings together a highly skilled R&D team which takes on the legacy of renowned whisky specialist, the late Dr. Jim Swan. It is backed by King Car Group and its more than 40 years of beverage experience and knowledge.

(Excerpt from https://www.kavalanwhisky.com/en/about.php)

YEAR 3: START  🆕 ✅

Malt, Grain & Cane presents, the start of Year 3 !

First in our releases, is a Taiwanese Whisky Distillery, which many of us would be familiar with, Kavalan Distillery from Yi-Lan County.

This distillate was distilled on 01 FEB 2014, and it was bottled in October 2022. 100% matured in a Port Cask.

Along with it, We have collaborated with our design partners, Whisky Foxtrot Studios (helmed by Warren Khong & Fiona Koh), in creating an acrylic coaster to commemorate the start of our Year 3 bottlings.

Tasting Notes by 88Bamboo.co

Color:  Copper Red, Mahogany

Aroma: Dark plums, brown sugar, figs, raisins, with a touch of light tannins. More on cinnamon, clove, and anise spices, with dried autumnal leaves. There’s a light touch of tart hawthorns. Rich and dense, really aromatic. 

Taste: Sweet, dark treacly notes, more on sweet spiced mulled wine, fig jam, prunes, demerara brown sugar as well as kokuto black sugar - lightly herbal and densely sweet. Sweet, ripe, juicy black grapes, with a lightly nutty touch of walnuts. This is overall sweet but it is amalgamated with a good touch of herbal and tannic notes.

Finish: Herbal manuka honey, sweet mulled wine, clove spices, cinnamon, as well as lightly tart haw flakes.

88 Bamboo's Thoughts

This is really one for wine lovers - heavy, dense, dark fruits, but wait, it’s not one dimensional, it comes with a herbal side and also aspects of spices, which gives it an overall complexity that takes it beyond those simply sweet wine notes.

What also stands out is how aromatic it is - it takes some time but opens up into these lovely shades of rich, dark, and sweet notes, that are very luxurious.