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.

A whisky distilled at the Kavalan distillery, founded in 2005 by the King Car group in the Yilan County of Taiwan. Bottled from a single Pedro Ximenez cask (#PX100714032A). Pedro Ximenez is a sweet sherry produced from the grape variety of the same name. After harvest, the overripe grapes are left to dry in the sun to increase the concentration of sugar. Fermentation of the must is stopped through fortification, which makes the wine very sweet. The Solist range includes only single casks selected from the best casks stored in the distillery’’s vaults and aged in a tropical climate, meaning there is lots of interaction between the wood and the whisky, and a higher angel’’s share. The result is whiskies with a strong wood influence and a high concentration of aromas, similar to rums aged in similar conditions. This limited edition of 547 bottles is part of a series showcasing the influence of different sherry casks on the whisky, from Amontillado, to Moscatel, Manzanilla and Pedro Ximenez.