[WHISKY TASTING] World Whiskies Awards Winner 2015: No True Scotsman 💧
The word whisky comes from the Scottish Gaelic Uisge beatha, which literally means "water of life." Maybe my brother had that in mind when he visited me today with a bottle of whisky, considering the nasty flu I've contracted. Luckily the flu hasn't affected my taste buds or sense of smell this time, so I'll share my thoughts with you on this rather special whisky before I tuck myself in.
When the world's best single malt was crowned at the World Whiskies Awards in March of 2015, the winner was, somewhat unexpectedly, neither a Scot, American or Japanese - no, it was the single malt Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique from Taiwan. Neither did it have an age statement. This single malt has been matured in American oak barrels that previously contained red and white wine (Portuguese wine I suppose, considering the name?) Before the casks are filled they are shaved on the inside and then charred and toasted over fire. The jury described the whisky as "Bourbon infused milk chocolate" and "surprisingly smooth on the palate." Besides the "Vinho Barique", there are 9 other bottles in the soloist series; ex-bourbon, sherry, Finho sherry, PX sherry, Manzanilla, Amontillado, Port and Moscatel. The soloist bottles are all single casks and are thus very limited and difficult to obtain. The particular bottle I was tasting today was one of 238 bottles.
The success story of Kavalan began in December 2008, when the very first bottle was released. The same year the distillery also opened a visitors' center, which currently has over 1 million visitors per year (compared with the major Scottish distilleries, which have about 80,000 visitors per year!) However, The Yuan Shan Distillery where Kavalan is produced opened already in 2005 and is owned by King Car Group (which started as a producer of insecticides and other chemical products - I sure hope that isn't reflected in the whisky). The name Kavalan comes from the first tribe that inhabited Yilan in northeastern Taiwan.
Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique, 2016
ABV: 57.1%
Age: NAS
Cask No. W120727016A
Bottle No. 164 / 238
Region: Taiwan
Average price: ~240 USD / 0.7L
Non chill-filtered and without any artificial coloring (yaaay!)
👁 Appearance: Deep copper-red
🐽 Nose: Without water very prickly. Adding a few drops opens it up and sweet milk chocolate as well as fresh strawberries and peonies emerges. Hints of clove and vanilla.
👅 Palate: Peaches! But rather those candy gummy peaches. It's very vinous for sure, but immediately balanced by a caramel saltiness. More candy-like esters. Strawberries. Raspberries. After a while in the mouth it becomes rather peppery and prickly on the tongue. With the milk chocolate and pepper it's like eating chili-chocolate-covered berries. There are also some more tannin rich berries, such as cranberries, and a gingery note. The peppery notes are quite surprising considering it's American oak. How is it even possible to create a malt as complex as this with, say 8-9 years of maturation? The answer must lie in the warm climate of Taiwan. The high temperature in Taiwan makes the maturation almost uncontrollably fast. The average annual temperature is 15-20 degrees higher than in Scotland and the warehouses are often over 40 degrees. Under such conditions, the evaporation happens at a terrific pace.
🏁 Finish: Fiery wine sweetness with hints of cocoa and wood. The chocolate notes become gradually more bitter. Whereas the palate offered a childlike delight, the long finish is more mature and refined.
💡 Conclusion: Extremely impressive and complex, especially considering it's a NAS whisky with less than 10 years of maturation, and it's not even from Scotland. I can't wait to try their sherry versions! One of the best whisky's I've had this year, probably only beaten by a 22 year old Rosebank from "Rare Malts Selection". I have no idea how this particular cask differs from the 2015 cask that won the WWA award of course, but this one is right up there with the best that I've tasted. The final verdict: 94 points.
If you have any whisky related questions don't be afraid of asking! I'll do my best to answer them. Cheers, or as they say in Scotland: Sláinte! (Or Kan-poe as they say in Taiwan.)
— SteemSwede
Great article