KAVALAN Whisky Distillery

Written by Ruey of The Ruey Review
Updated 01 Jan 2016



How appropriate it is for us to begin a new section here for the Ruey Review on the first day of a brand new year. While Ruey is no expert in Spirits, and is alcohol intolerant, he is nevertheless fascinated by the history, the making, and the tastes of whiskies. We wish to share with you our joy in exploring this popular subject and will start this journey with a visit to the most well-known whisky distillery in Taiwan, which produces the famous Kavalan whisky. 

Kavalan, meaning “flatland”, is the old name for the great plain of Yilan county, northeastern Taiwan. This name not only belongs to the land, but also the aborigines who inhabited in the area, the Kavalan people. Today, the Kavalan name also belongs to the prestigious single malt whisky.

The King Car Distillery that produces Kavalan whisky was named at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition the 2015 distillery of the year.

It belongs to a foods manufacturer owned by a local family of Yilan. When operation commenced in 2005, the company had in mind to build a hundred-year distillery with long-term, uncompromising pursuit for quality whisky. However, by the end of their first decade, they have already received countless medals in competitions across the world. Most importantly, in 2015 the Kavalan Solist Vinho was given the World’s Best Single Malt title by the World Whiskies Award.

Located near the northeastern coastline of Taiwan, the distillery enjoys access to water from Taiwan’s second tallest mountain at 3,886 m- Mt. Hsueshan, and the island’s Central Mountain range. It also receives everyday the Pacific Ocean breeze. Unlike Scotland and Ireland which belong to the northern Atlantic Ocean, this island on the Pacific Rim that sits beneath the Tropic of Cancer has a much warmer, humid environment. This allows the whisky faster and more vibrant interactions with the barrel, making the whisky more mature than other whiskies of similar age. With an area of just over 36,000 km², Taiwan contains of areas with temperate, subtropical and tropical climates, this unique environment allows Taiwan to produce various types of fruits, making it a fruit kingdom.

Such characteristics of the plain of Lanyang and the nation of Taiwan are adequately expressed via the Kavalan whisky. While there are various series of Kavalan from King Car, most carry a warm and soothing personalities with obvious- but not overpowering- fruity elements.

In comparison to the older distilleries in Scotland, Ireland or Japan, the distillery for Kavalan Whisky is situated in a much more spacious ground. It is part of a large King Car foods factory complex.

The route of the tour starts you off at a “conference centre”, where there includes a small theatre that plays a video introduction to the King Car group businesses. It is totally skippable. Then the distillery suggests that you go to distillery No.1, the only production site open to public. It provides a brief history of Whiskey, and Whisky. One can see there the machines that perform the mashing, distillation, and fermentation, bottling processes, and the barrell storage.

The tour walkway also allows you to smell the unsmoked and smoked wheat. One can also see there Kavalan’s choice of barrells and the burning process the distillery performs inside them before they are ready to age the new-makes. You hardly ever run into people working in the production of the spirit (perhaps because I almost always visit on weekends?). The distillation walkway is short, simple, easy-to-understand, but I really wish there to be a couple of tour guides to answer questions and perhaps provide further explanation and story-telling.

After the tour of the distillery itself it is time for the Whisky Castle, a large visitor centre with a cafe, whisky-tasting area, and a big Kavalan store. The building is quite new, as it is, like the distillery; it is also quite large and spacious so there is less of that homey, historic atmosphere. The main hall of the castle is also overcrowded by tourists. Several whisky tasting sessions are being held each day, each session lasting about 15 minutes. On the second floor, there is a large Mr. Brown cafe, a large coffee brand in Taiwan under King Car. However, what is more interesting is that there is a DIY whisky blending class that costs about $37US and you get to go home with a 300ml bottle of blended whisky with a label that says Master Blender: YOUR_NAME.

If you are a fan of Whisky, definitely pay a visit to the King Car Distillery, home to the 2015 Best Single Malt Whisky in the World- Kavalan whisky. The distillery lacks history, and operates differently than distilleries of the old world. However, is this not what Kavalan is about? Opening up a door for Taiwanese whiskies, and furthermore new-world whiskies, for whisky-lovers from around the world to explore and experience. It is relatively easy to access, mere 90 minutes from Taipei by car, if one ever comes to Taiwan, it is a good idea to take a day trip to Yilan, enjoy the pacific ocean, the local foods, the scenery, and definitely visit the King Car Distillery.