Kavalan named Asian Whisky of the Year

Jim Murray has named Kavalan’s Solist Moscatel Sherry Single Cask Strength as Asian Whisky of the Year in the 2017 edition of the Whisky Bible.

Kavalan’s founder YT Lee says the Moscatel’s nose is “floral, rich in honey and sweets and has a touch of toffee and caramel. On the palate, it’s has dry fruit and nutty flavours. We’d describe it as creamy, silky smooth buttery with chocolate notes.”

Previously, Taiwanese distillery, Kavalan won the 2015 World’s Best Single Malt Whisky from the World Whiskies Awards (WWA) for its Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique and the 2016 World’s Best Single Cask Single Malt Whisky for its Solist Amontillado Sherry Single Cask Strength.

The Moscatel expression was rated alongside 4,600 other whiskies for Jim Murray’s 2017 edition of the Whisky Bible.

Kavalan’s whiskies are aged in American oak bottles with the distillery location benefiting from sea and mountain breezes and pure spring water from nearby Snow Mountain.

Kavalan takes its name from the old name for Yilan County and is owned by King Car Group. It exports more than 40% of its production to 40 countries and counts France and the US as its main markets.

Murray also named Booker’s Rye 13 Year Old Bourbon as World Whisky of the Year, describing it as having a “brain-draining, mind-blowing” nose with a finish of “amazing depth”, adding that it is a “staggering example of a magnificent rye showing exactly what genius in terms of whiskey actually means” and scoring it 97.5 out of 100 points.