Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask
The distillery was completed in December 2005. It produced its first spirit in March 2006, and released its first bottling in December 2008.
The distillery has since been named by Whisky Magazine as the World Icons of Whisky "Whisky Visitor Attraction of the Year" for 2011, and its products have won several other awards.
Kavalan was founded in 2005 in Yilan County, Taiwan by the King Car Group, with the name paying homage to the local indigenous people. The distillery was completed in just 9 months and the first spirit ran on the 11th March at 3.30pm. It wasn’t plain sailing as Kavalan did experience issues with its distillate, going so far as to purchase new stills that were only in use for a couple of years before being retired. The distillery still has some of these early spirit runs in maturation that are under observation, but unlikely to be released. Today, the distillery is a major tourist attraction, boasting over a million visitors annually and the Kavalan range is exported internationally, thanks to expanded capacity. After much experimentation and having to overcome the sub-tropical weather system, Kavalan is releasing well-received whiskies while trying to limit the angels share that their warehouses experience; a year in Kavalan is roughly equal to 3 years in Scotland. Thanks to the efforts of the late Dr Jim Swan, Kavalan is using its unique location to its advantage.
