Taiwan’s Kavalan woos global whiskey aficionados

2016/04/08

Single malt whiskeys made by Kavalan Distillery in Taiwan’s northeastern Yilan County recently claimed top honors in two of the most prestigious liquor competitions in the world.

Kavalan Solist Amontillado Sherry Single Cask Strength was named the best of its kind at the World Whiskies Awards held March 17 in London. Four other Solist series whiskeys were double-gold winners in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition later in the month, with Moscatel Sherry Cask earning the Best Other Whisky of the year award.

Last year, Kavalan Vinho Barrique surprised whiskey aficionados worldwide after bagging the distillery’s first WWA honor. A flurry of international media attention followed, including the Time magazine article “You Won’t Believe Where the World’s Best Whiskey Comes From.”

Lee Yu-ting, president of Kavalan’s parent company King Car Group, said back-to-back WWA honors are a great accomplishment for the distillery. “After just 10 years in business, we have made a big splash in a business dominated by long-standing Scottish, Canadian and Japanese outfits.

“The secret of our critically acclaimed single malt whiskeys is Yilan’s clean environment, pristine water and seasonal temperature variations.”

According to Lee, what really makes Kavalan stand out is a commitment to quality and willingness to put its products to the test on the global stage. “Our latest accolades are testament to this open and progressive philosophy,” he said.

Established in 2006 as Taiwan’s first whiskey distillery, Kavalan is named after the aboriginal tribe residing in Yilan prior to large-scale Han immigration in the 18th century. The distillery’s offerings have won 181 golds in global competitions to date, and are available in 38 markets across Asia, Europe and North America.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=243641&ctNode=2194&mp=9)