Kavalan

Taiwanese Single Malt Whisky

Established in the year 2005 in Taiwan, the Kavalan Distillery has set the bar high as a relatively new player in the single malt whisky market among its numerous Scottish distillery veterans. In the year 2016, the Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique Single Malt was awarded as the worlds “best single malt” by the much respected World Whisky Awards! A staggering achievement, not only for being Taiwan's first whisky distillery, but mostly for the astonishing quality of single malt whisky that Kavalan Distillery has managed to produce in such a short amount of time in its existence.

Kavalan is a dream coming true for Lee Tien-Tsai, the founder of King Car Chung Li Plant (also known as King Car Group) which is a Taiwan's leading beverage brand. By establishing Kavalan, Lee realized his ambitions of producing a single malt whisky by the traditions of those used in Scotland, but yet under the subtropical environmental circumstances which characterize the climate in Taiwan. Due to the warm and muggy outside temperatures, the spirit’s maturing process takes place much faster compared to the spirit’s aging process in Scotland. The Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique matures in old American oak casks, which have been toasted after a long period of holding both both red and white wines. This is a remarkable new way of whisky distilling with an “out of the box thinking” strategy that suits them well.

The Kavalan Distillery is located in the Taiwan’s northeastern Yilan County, once inhabited by the native tribe named "The Kavalan” until the late 19th century. The clash of conflicting civilizations inhabiting Taiwan resulted ultimately in the disintegration of the Kavalan society, leading to its acculturation and assimilation of its tribe.

Bearing the name of the county’s former tribal inhabitants, the Kavalan Distillery is both a successful distillery and a glorification of the legendary tribe roots of the Kavalan, that once was the leading dominant culture in the agent history of feudal Taiwan.