Kavalan

Kavalan is Taiwan's leading single malt whisky brand. Since their first single malt release in 2008, the brand has gone on to win multiple top prizes and awards in spirits competitions around the globe. The distillery has been a pioneer not just for Taiwanese single malt but for the new wave of world whisky also.

Kavalan is known for its rich, bold and complex style of spirit. Kavalan uses predominantly ex-bourbon in its core range and this accentuates the tropical fruit aromas in the spirit. However, they have also become known for their use of less traditional barrels for maturation. This has developed a specialist whisky range with a wide spectrum of flavours. They also produce a peated spirit on occasion for limited releases.

Kavalan has grown to be one of the world's Top 10 largest single malt distilleries. The annual production capacity is nine million litres. This has grown from 1.5 million when Kavalan started and follows a huge expansion in 2016. There are five mash tuns and these feed 40 stainless steel washbacks. The fermentation time ranges from 60 to 72 hours. The shorter time operates during hot weather, while the longer time runs during the very cold months. There are 20 stills - 10 wash stills and 10 spirit stills working in pairs. They also take a very narrow final cut of the spirit. This gives Kavalan spirit its complex profile.

The distillery has two massive warehouses. The maturing casks are stored on racks and have to be bound together to prevent damage if an earthquake strikes. The angel's share - the name given to the evaporation of spirit from a cask during maturation - is extremely high. This is due to the high humidity and temperatures during Summer. The level of 10% evaporation is similar to that in the American whiskey industry but much higher than for Scotch or Irish whisky. In Scotland, the angel's share is around 2% per year. As a result, maturation can be as little as two years in the cask at Kavalan.

Kavalan was founded in 2005 by the King Car Corporation, a major Taiwanese beverage company. It is located in northeastern Taiwan at Yanshan in Yilan County, one hour's drive from Taipei. Distillery and brand are named after the indigenous Kavalan people who used to inhabit the area. The distillery was the idea of businessman Tsen-Tsai Lee and his son Yu-Ting Lee, the current CEO of the King Car group. The first spirit came off the stills in March 2006.

The pair wanted to put Taiwan on the whisky map and to make an instant impact. They brought in the world renowned whisky consultant Dr. Jim Swan to develop the equipment, production methods, new make spirit and future cask management programme. He worked alongside Ian Chang, the Master Blender, who created Kavalan's whiskies for 15 years until leaving in 2020.

The inaugural single malt was released in 2008. The core range consists of Classic, King Car Conductor, Distillery Select No.1 and No.2, plus the Concertmaster (these appear in ex-bourbon, ex-Oloroso sherry and ex-Port finish variants). This is complemented by the Solist range, which was first released in 2009. These are small batch and cask strength whiskies that have been matured in unusual oak casks that have previously held wine, dessert wine or other spirits.