Kavalan Distillery () is a

Taiwanese whisky Taiwanese whisky is whisky made in Taiwan. The most prominent Taiwanese whisky producer is the Kavalan Distillery. In 2015 the Kavalan Soloist Vinho Barrique was named the best single malt whisky in the world at the World Whiskies Awards. A signif ...

distillery Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heati ...

. It is owned by the King Car Group and is located at Yuanshan Township, Yilan County,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

History

Whisky Distillery 1, King Car Kavalan Distillery 20120407

The distillery is named after the

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

Kavalan people The Kavalan (endonym ; "people living in the plain"; ) or Kuvalan are an indigenous people of Taiwan. Most of them moved to the coastal area of Hualien County and Taitung County in the 19th century due to encroachment by Han settlers. Their lan ...

, who originally inhabited the Kabalan Plain of modern-day Yilan County. The distillery was completed in December 2005, produced its first spirit in March 2006, and released its first bottling in December 2008. After its first few runs Kavalan bought a new set of much larger German stills to expand production. After experimenting with these stills from 2008-2010 they decided to retire them as they produced an alcohol which was too processed and didn’t allow them to work with texture and flavor. In January 2010, one of the distillery's products caused a stir by beating three Scotch whiskies and one English whisky in a blind tasting organised in

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

, Scotland, to celebrate

Burns Night A Burns supper is a celebration of the life and poetry of the poet Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), the author of many Scots poems. The suppers are normally held on or near the poet's birthday, 25 January, known as Burns Night ( sc ...

. The distillery was named by ''Whisky Magazine'' as the World Icons of Whisky "Whisky Visitor Attraction of the Year" for 2011, and its products have won several other awards. In 2012, Kavalan's Solist Fino Sherry Cask malt whisky was named "new whisky of the year" by Jim Murray in his guide, '' Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible''. In 2015, Kavalan's Vinho Barrique expression was named the world's best single malt whisky by World Whiskies Awards. In 2016, Kavalan's Solist Amontillado Sherry Single Cask Strength was named the World's Best Single Cask Single Malt Whisky by World Whiskies Award. As of 2021 Kavalan’s Master Distiller was Ian Chang.

Whisky variants

Kavalan single malt whisky is currently sold in 19 variants.

Kavalan Series

Kavalan Class Single Malt Whisky Kavalan Concertmaster Single Malt Whisky King Car Conductor Single Malt Whisky Kavalan Podium Single Malt Whisky Kavalan ex-Bourbon Oak Single Malt Whisky Kavalan Sherry Oak Single Malt Whisky Kavalan Distillery Reserve Single Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky (Peaty Cask)

Solist Series

Kavalan Solist ex-Bourbon Single Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky Kavalan Solist Sherry Single Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky Kavalan Solist Fino Single Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique Single Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky Kavalan Solist Brandy Single Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky Kavalan Solist Amontillado Sherry Single Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky Kavalan Solist Manzanilla Sherry Single Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky Kavalan Solist PX Sherry Single Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky Kavalan Solist Moscatel Sherry Single Cask Single Malt Whisky Kavalan Solist Port Single Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky Kavalan Solist Peaty Cask Single Malt Whisky

Premium Series

Kavalan Premium Single Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky (Amontillado & Manzanilla Sherry Cask) Kavalan Premium Single Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky (PX Sherry Cask)

Gin

In 2019 Kavalan introduced a gin. Kavalan’s gin sets itself apart from other gin offering by using Taiwanese herbs, spices, and botanicals like kumquat, red guava, and dried star fruit. The gin is produced using the set of German stills Kavalan bought in its early days.

Recognition

The distillery has been recognized as one of the highest rated spirits during the World Whiskies Awards, and in 2021 was named the Best World Whiskey at the International Wines & Spirits Competition."The Best World Whiskies According to the 2021 International Wines & Spirits Competition,"
Forbes, 29 June 2021, retrieved 16 August 2021

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

Kavalan Whisky
– official site ''This article is based upon a translation of the French language version as of May 2014.'' {{Taiwanese cuisine Distilleries in Taiwan Food and drink companies established in 2005 Taiwanese brands Taiwanese whisky Alcohol in Taiwan Taiwanese companies established in 2005 King Car Group