Nearly 20 years ago, the history of whisky in Asia changed. When the doors opened to the Kavalan Distillery in Taiwan’s north-eastern Yilan County in December 2005, it marked a major step change for the Asian whisky scene. For Taiwan’s growing whisky community, Kavalan’s opening meant that, for the first time, whisky was not just being enjoyed locally but made locally, too.
The distillery’s setup is highly innovative, and the area’s sub-tropical climate provided an opportunity for its whisky makers to create and mature single malt in a way that had never been explored before. This was combined with an exciting new type of cask — the STR, or ‘Shaved, Toasted, Re-charred’ — pioneered by the late whisky icon Dr Jim Swan, who worked in collaboration with the distillery in the early days of its operations.
Surrounded by mountains and the sea, Kavalan experiences extremely hot summers and very cold winters. Harnessing this environment, Kavalan’s team developed a pioneering approach to sub-tropical maturation — taking a historic whisky style that was well-known and loved locally, single malt, and expressing it in a way whisky fans had never seen or tasted before. Looking back, Kavalan’s founding and innovative methods seem nothing short of prescient.
“Making whisky in a traditional way but in a non-traditional environment is so crucial to our identity,” explains YT Lee, the distillery’s CEO. “The evaporative loss during maturation, known as the ‘angel’s share’, at Kavalan is around two to three times that which is experienced at distilleries in Scotland — a fact that creates both challenges and opportunities for flavour development.”
This unique combination of high-quality casks and sub-tropical maturation means Kavalan’s spirit achieves remarkable colour, aroma, and complexity in just a few short years. Indeed, the deep and appealing colour of Kavalan’s whiskies has become something of a calling card for the distillery — colour that whisky enthusiasts will be pleased to learn is always derived naturally from the cask.
When the distillery took home the awards for World’s Best Single Malt and World’s Best Single Cask Single Malt at the 2015 and 2016 World Whiskies Awards, respectively, the rest of the world sat up and took note. These accolades helped push the idea that distilleries in new whisky-making regions could compete with the old guard on the world stage, and Kavalan has continued to be recognised internationally at several prestigious spirits awards. Since then, the distillery has been awarded more than 900 gold medals by various competitions and the title of World Whisky Producer of the Year by the International Spirits Challenge for four consecutive years.
Every aspect of whisky making, from milling to mashing, fermentation, distillation, maturation, and even bottling is undertaken on-site at the distillery in Yilan County. Currently, 10 sets of copper pot stills distil wash fermented in more than 40 washbacks, making this a sizeable operation. A third on-site maturation warehouse — so crucial to the liquid’s unique style — was completed at the end of 2024, raising the distillery’s total storage capacity to more than 300,000 casks.
Kavalan takes particular pride in its use of different types of sherry casks. On account of its widespread use of casks seasoned with all major styles of sherry, Kavalan has been described as the most comprehensive sherry cask user in the world of whisky. These bespoke casks, made to order by the best cooperages in Jerez and seasoned with high-quality sherries — including oloroso, fino, manzanilla, palo cortado and Pedro Ximénez — help to impart a huge range of flavours to Kavalan’s whiskies. Particularly known for the rich flavours of dried fruit, chocolate, and spice, this bold flavour profile continues to enrapture whisky enthusiasts worldwide.
However, the company continues to push boundaries, ensuring that no stone is left unturned when it comes to cask experimentation. This can be clearly seen in LÁN, a new expression produced specifically for export markets — a first for the company. This new single malt shines a light on the more delicate, nuanced side of Kavalan, and this expression is particularly notable for its floral flavour profile. LÁN is made using a combination of whiskies fully matured in ex-bourbon, ex-port, and the distillery’s signature STR wine casks, which are married together over several months to achieve balance and develop aromatic complexity.
Each cask type brings unique flavours to the final product, with refreshing vanilla notes garnered from the ex-bourbon barrels, nutty and floral aromas from the port casks, and a caramelised, fruity sweetness from the STR casks. LÁN has been bottled at 43% ABV, the perfect strength to showcase the lighter and more floral notes that its whisky makers wish to champion with this new expression.
For the first time, this Kavalan whisky has also been named and created in honour of its homeland. LÁN has several meanings, but the most important is that it’s the Mandarin word for ‘orchid’ — a nod to the whisky’s floral flavour profile. As it happens, another wing of Kavalan’s parent company, King Car Group, has a lab dedicated to orchid cultivation. The King Car Honey Peach orchid — the most revered variety cultivated by the company — features prominently on the new whisky’s packaging, intertwined in the calligraphy for the word LÁN. Alongside this is the fact that LÁN appears in both the distillery’s name (Kava-LAN) and its home county of Yilan, creating a triple symbolism for this very special release.
“We sometimes find that people have a stereotype of what Kavalan is, that it’s only sherry cask whisky, but we have so many other things to discover,” says Lee. “This new release is about opening up people’s opinions about what Kavalan is and showcasing its softer side.”
However, for Lee, LÁN is also about so much more than just the experience one has when smelling or tasting it. “I specifically love it because it has so many meanings,” he concludes. “It’s not just about flavour, but with its name, it is also about our culture, our environment. Whisky is a language that people all around the world understand, and we wanted to create not just a whisky but to showcase the spirit within Taiwan.”
LÁN is available in several markets worldwide, including the UK, EU, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Canada. Discover more at www.kavalanwhisky.com.
