To mature their Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique expression, the King Car distillers in Taiwan use casks which have held both red and white wines, before being re-toasted. The whisky is fully matured in these casks to help their Taiwanese single malt develop a bold, expressive flavour profile brimming with berry, plum and caramelised sugar notes. At the Los Angeles Wine & Spirits Competition this exciting Taiwanese whisky received a Gold Medal and an impressive score of 91 out of 100.
This is a fantastic whisky. I almost couldn't believe how young it is. Do note: This is a single-cask whisky (this means that every individual cask will produce a whisky with a slight difference.) The winning cask at the World Whisky Awards 2015 was cask number W120120021A with an ABV of 58.6%
The nose is very welcoming, not brash, but inviting. You can smell fruity aromas from a variety of fruit like a fruit cocktail. You can smell the wine influence in the nose. Subtle on the palate, no real spice on the tongue until you sample, and a bold presence hits you that isn't overpowering but feels like red wine/ cognac like an armagnac. Almost like a cabernet sauvignon. Dark fruit, plums, red apples, blackberry. Delightful to smell, great dark color and thin legs on the glass. Maybe 8yr-11yrs. Overall, very enjoyable. Grab a bottle.
Taiwanese whisky is said to mature faster than scotch because of the weather being hot and humid. "Angel's share" is around 10%. This whisky is an amazing expression of the King Car Distillery. Best single malt in the world 2015. "tastes like bourbon infused chocolate milk".
Gave it a try a number of times. Appearance: caramel / dark amber / red Nose: Fresh fruity notes with vanilla, honey and raisins. Taste: Big hit of alcohol with dark chocolate, dried plums and raisins. A bit peppery. Finish: Pepper fades into a warm feeling of burnt caramel and vanilla and quite quickly disappears. Personal opinion: This whisky seemed fabulous at first, but then the feeling went away. The taste comes with a lot of alcohol, adding the water does not help this liquor, and the finish is too short. Overall this seems like a quite young whisky and could use a bit more of aging; it is being easily beaten by my favourites in the 'wine cask maturated' category.
Had my first encounter with this whisky yesterday and it was a night to remember! Nose: Endless discoveries when nosing this one. Honey, chocolate, cafe latte, and a really nice bourbon feel to it. Adding water will give you dark tea, toffee, burnt sugar and sweet corn. Taste: Really intense dark chocolate at first, a lot of vanilla and honey, burnt sugar, cream and spice! Adding water decreases the taste of this whisky. Finnish: Not the longest finish but really and very pleasant. The chocolate follows trough amazingly as well as the cream and burnt sugar
