Kavalan Solist Port

”Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”

Whisky Review # 894

Country: Taiwan
Region: Yuanshan (North)

Brand: Kavalan Solist Port - Limited Edition
Distilled at: King Car's Kavalan Distillery

Type: Taiwanese Single Malt Whisky
Age: NAS (Said to be between 3 and 7 Years)

Alcohol By Volume (ABV): 59.4% (Cask Strength)
Maturation: Scraped and Burned Ex-Port Wine Casks
Chill Filtration: No

Sample Provided by Mauricio from Brazil. Many Thanks!
Average Price: US$ 170 (November 2020)
Price/Quality Ratio: 😐 It's nice but expensive for a Young Whisky
Buying Advice: 👍If you like Sherry-Bombs and X-mas Cake, this is your Malt!

Colour:

Chestnut with Hues of Red (Natural Color)

Nose:

This is quite Sweet. Huge influence of the Port pipes. This is in fact quite similar to a liqueur. It's quite Dark, Thick, Heavy, Oily & Mature despite its relative Youth. But we know that Whisky matures much quicker in the hot & humid Taiwanese climate. It's a bit Musty as well. The Alcohol is quite strong but does not spoil the Nosing procedures. Dark Red (Dried) Fruit & Spices are the main drivers. Xmas is in the air!

 
Main Aromas:

Toasted Barley, Brown Sugar, Vanilla, Port, Dried Fruit like Figs, Plums and Dates, Dark Red Berries, Rum-Soaked X-Mas Cake, Pepper, Cloves, Dried Herbs, Espresso, Seville-Orange, Pumpkin and Dark Chocolate (70%).

Supportive Aroma Accents:

Honey, Caramel, Buttery Pastry, Resin, Nougat, Roasted Nuts, Sweet Red Apple, Glue, Charred Oak, Floral Soap, Mandarin, Leather, Tobacco, Cinnamon, Nutmeg & Cardamom.

Palate:

Thick, Mature and Bitter-Sweet with a few Sour notes. Dry but certainly not in a bad way. The Alcohol is there of course but it's reasonably well-integrated. It's a well made Single Malt.

Main Flavours:

Toasted Barley, Brown Sugar, Vanilla, Rum-Soaked Raisins, Dried Fruit like Figs, Dates and Plums, Dark Berries, Seville-Orange, Charred Oak, Strong Espresso, Dark Chocolate, Pepper, Cloves and Nutmeg.

Supportive Flavour Accents:

Honey, Toffee, Resin, Glue, Nougat, Roasted Nuts, Dried Herbs, Leather, Tobacco, Cinnamon and Cardamom.

Finish:

Middle-Long and Bitter-Sweet with a few Sour notes for balance. Increasing Dryness towards the end. The Alcohol is noticeable of course. I find Toasted Barley, Vanilla, Caramel, Brown Sugar, Nougat, Dried Fruit, Dark Berries, Port Wine, Resin, Seville-Orange, Charred Oak, Dark Chocolate, Tobacco, Leather, Strong Espresso, Pepper, Cardamon, Cloves, Nutmeg and Dried Herbs.

Drinking Advice:

With a little Water you tame the strong Alcohol of course. It's more Fruity as well this way. Nougat and Seville-Orange steal the show on the Nose. Palate and Finish become more Creamy and beg for another sip. I strongly advise to add a few drops of Water to this Kavalan.

Rating: 87.5

Nose: 22 - Taste: 22 - Finish: 21.5 - Overall: 22

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion:

The King Car's Kavalan distillery is a new & technically sophisticated facility, located in the city of Yuanshan on the Northern part of the island of Taiwan. The Kavalan is named after an indigenous tribe that lived in the region where the distillery now stands. It was built in 2005/2006 and has a current production capacity of 6 million bottles per year. The Kavalan Whiskies are usually bottled after a relative short time in the casks. In the humid climate of Taiwan, the whiskies mature much faster.

The Solist limited Edition series was first launched in 2009 and enjoyed success. I'm not really sure if the Solist Port I'm reviewing today was completely matured in Port pipes or received a lengthy Finish in those vessels after a first maturation in Ex-Bourbon casks. If you have this info please let me know via the Comments sector. In any case, this is a solid well-made Fortified-Wine matured Single Malt. It's also quite coherent from Nose to Finish. Some of you might find it overly Sweet and it's certainly not your everyday Single Malt. But it's got the perfect Christmas spirit and as such I can fully recommend it.

Cheers!

Jan van den Ende                                                                   November 23, 2020

Kavalan Solist Bourbon Review

“Bourbon with an Oriental Twist”

Country: Taiwan

Brand: Kavalan Solist Bourbon 

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: NAS (Said to be between 3 and 8 Years)

ABV: 58.6 %

Colour: Light Gold

Nose: This smells like a Young Whisky without any doubt as the Alcohol and Fresh Oak influences are quite clear. It also presents Bourbon characteristics with Vanilla, Pencil Shavings, Coconut, Orange and Cinnamon. I further find All Butter Puff Pastry with Warm Apricot Preserves, Butter Toffees, Caramelised Bananas, Canned Pineapple, Wax, Floral tones, Wood Polish and a distant hint of Rubber. It's amazing to see how the local climatic conditions allow Kavalan to do a lot with their Spirit in a relatively short number of years. The Alcohol is quite Strong and not fully integrated. 

Palate: Medium-Sweet with Bourbon influences like Vanilla, Orange, Oak, Coconut, Banana and Cinnamon. I also find Honey, Butter Pastry, Pear Drops, Strawberry Jam, Lemon Zest, Pepper, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Dark Bitter Chocolate and light Licorice.  

Finish: Middle-Long, slightly Bitter and a bit Hot with Toasted Cereals, Charred Oak, Orange, Grapefruit, Almonds, Pepper, Butterscotch and Honey. Dryer towards the end with a touch of Lemon.

I added a few drops of Water and the Nose becomes more accessible as the Alcohol retreats. But it doesn't change a lot. Perhaps a bit more Vanilla and Orange. More Malt and Citrus on the Palate as well. All in all however I prefer to sip it neat despite the quite strong Alcohol.

Rating: 83

Nose: 21 - Taste: 20.5 - Finish: 20.5 - Overall: 21 

General Remarks: The King Car's Kavalan distillery is a new and technically sophisticated facility, located in the city of Yuanshan on the Northern part of the island of Taiwan. The Kavalan is named after an indigenous tribe that lived in the region where the distillery now stands. It was built in 2005/2006 and has a current production capacity of 6 million bottles per year. The Kavalan Whiskies are usually bottled after a relative short time in the casks. In the humid climate of Taiwan, the whiskies mature much faster. The Kavalan Solist Bourbon I am reviewing today matured in an Ex-Bourbon Cask # B08090825 and was bottled at Cask Strength in June 2011. It's Uncoloured and Non Chill-Filtered. It's too expensive for what it offers in my opinion being priced at around 145 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: I think I can safely state that Kavalan has surprised the world in the last 8 years or so with the quality of their whiskies. The climatic conditions on Taiwan certainly favour the production process but nevertheless I can't think of any other "new" whisky producing country that has achieved so much in so little time. Still, I must also conclude that the Solist Bourbon is my least favourite Kavalan so far after having tasted the Conductor and Solist Fino earlier. The Solist Bourbon is still good but it wrestles a bit with its relative Youth and High ABV. The relatively small number of years in the Ex-Bourbon Cask were not quite enough to give the Kavalan Solist Bourbon its own character. In fact, you might call it a Bourbon with an Oriental twist!

Additional information: After I had posted these Tasting Notes, my good friend Robert Hoekstra (Van Zuylen, the Netherlands) gave me the following info on the Bourbon Solist. Robert participated in a Masterclass with Kavalan's Master Distiller. Robert informed me that the Solist matured for around 7 Years. The humidity on Taiwan is such that Water and Alcohol evaporate at roughly the same rate. Actually, Water evaporates a little faster. This results in a lower harvest of bottles from the cask. It also makes the Spirit quite thick and compact with the Alcohol in a very prominent role. On Taiwan there is a law that states that the Whisky MUST mature on the same estate where it was distilled. The owners of Kavalan are trying to change this law but mainland China opposes this change. A second and more probable solution would be to open a new distillery in the mountains as the lower humidity there would allow Kavalan to produce older whiskies. According to Kavalan, all Spirit for the Solist series comes from the first batches which means they must indeed be 7-8 years old despite the fact that the Kavalan Bourbon tastes like a 3 Year Old on steroids! Thanks for the info Robert!

Jan van den Ende                                                                     December 2, 2014

Kavalan Solist Fino Review

Country: Taiwan

Brand: Kavalan Solist Fino 

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: NAS (Probably around 3 Years)

ABV: 57 %

Date: 25/10/2013

Colour: Dark Amber/Reddish Brown. One of the darkest Whiskies I've tasted so far. 

Nose: Very mature for a Whisky of around 3 years. It's evident that Whiskies mature much quicker in the warm and humid climate of Taiwan. If this was not the case, the production of whisky would probably not be economically viable there as you loose an average 10% per year to the Angels as opposed to the 2% in Scotland. 

The good quality Oak and the Sherry are immediately present, making the Nose a bit Heavy and quite Sweet. In a blind tasting session I would have likely assumed that this Single Malt matured in an Ex-Oloroso Cask as Fino is dryer and less sweet. Bourbon, Rye Whiskey and Brandy came to mind as well. Still, not bad at all with Dried Fruits and Nuts, Toast with Salted Butter and Orange Marmalade, Mango Chutney, Caramel/Toffee, Treacle, Nougat, Rye Bread, Malt, Pepper, Honey and traces of Cinnamon, Menthol, Tobacco and Leather. There is some Alcohol present but you can work your way around it.

Palate: Very Sweet and Mature with Sherry, Cooked Dark Fruits, Treacle, Dark Chocolate, Malt, Oak, Toffee/Caramel, Vanilla, Red Wine, Brandy, Herbs, Pepper, Nutmeg, Dried Fruits, Nuts and Menthol.   

Finish: Quite Sweet and Dry at the same time with Sherry, Fruit Candies, Toffee, Oak, Malt and Spices. Bit of Alcohol right at the end.

I added a few drops  of Water and the Nose gets a bit more Fruit (Apples), Butter, Malt and Honey. Palate and Finish don't really benefit from added Water. But there's certainly room for you to play with a couple of drops and see where it leads! 

Rating: 85.5

Nose: 21.5  - Taste: 21.5  - Finish: 21  - Overall: 21.5

General Remarks: The King Car's Kavalan distillery is a new and technically sophisticated facility, located in the city of Yuanshan on the Northern part of the island of Taiwan. The Kavalan is named after an indigenous tribe that lived in the region where the distillery now stands. It was built in 2005/2006 and has a current production capacity of 6 million bottles per year. The Kavalan Whiskies are usually bottled after a relative short time in the casks. In the humid climate of Taiwan, the whiskies mature much faster. The Kavalan Solist Fino matured in     Fino Sherry Casks rather than in Ex-Oloroso Casks. It's expensive at around 220 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: This is my second Kavalan and again I'm impressed. This one is not as good as the Conductor but nevertheless a high quality product. The Oak Management is very good. It's very Sweet and some people might even find it too sweet. The Solist Fino is an interesting mix of Scotch Whisky, Rye Whiskey and Brandy (Cognac or Armagnac). The Aroma and Flavours are very mature and only on the Nose and in the Finish the Alcohol shows us that it's a young whisky. But many people (including me) would probably judge this much older than it actually is. It is quite expensive. Still, personally I believe that Kavalan has a great future if it succeeds in maintaining this high quality. Gam-Bei! 

Jan van den Ende                                                         October 2013