Taiwan, Yilan. Distillery operational. Owner: King Car Group.

Two extraordinary personalities are responsible for Taiwan's first independent distillery, Tien-Tsai Lee (TT Lee), founder of the King Car group and owner of Kavalan, and Dr Jim Swan, the consultant behind a huge number of the distilleries opened across the world over the last 15 years, including Penderyn (Wales), Cotswolds (England), Victoria Caledonian (Canada) and several other projects in Scotland, such as Clydeside (Glasgow) and Lindores Abbey (Cupar). It was in 2006 that Kavalan distilled its malt for the first time. Since then, the distillery has frequently caused a stir with bottlings that reflect its perfect mastery of ageing in ex-bourbon casks and Oloroso and Fino sherry casks below subtropical latitudes. Like new distilleries, Kavalan has released numerous single cask and cask strength bottlings to respond to massive demand around the world.

It is in the heart of this 100% Taiwanese distillery that this special 10th anniversary edition was produced to celebrate Kavalan’’s dedication to traditional Scottish methods for the production of its whisky in Yilan County. This bottling finished in ex-Paulliac casks is part of a pair, with the second finished in ex-Margaux casks (the two boxes are stamped with the Roman numeral X to mark the commemoration). Bordeaux’’s elegance is therefore combined with the complexity of Kavalan’’s whisky in a project named First Growth Bordeaux. For each bottling, production was limited to 3,000 bottles.
An opulent and complex whisky, on the nose this nectar is quite vinous, with red fruits constantly echoing the casks used in maturation, along with spice and smoke. The palate of course reveals red fruits and spices, accompanied by more herbaceous flavours. The finish envelops the throat and is fairly dry. We highly recommend this whisky for the end of a meal, to be mulled over, or for pairing with a cheese or dessert, such as a red fruit tart to mirror its fruity flavours.