Aka "Kavalan Classic". Kavalan is a single malt made in Taiwan from barley imported from Scotland. Chill-filtered and color added. The flagship single malt from Taiwan's Kavalan. Only operating since 2005 they have wowed the world with their young but full flavoured whisky, concentrating on their signature flavours of tropical fruit.
Newer versions of the product are bottled at 43% ABV.
This has a nice nose, sweet and fruity with pears and some brandy notes, a bit of malt as well.
The palate is very straightforward with a sweet, maltiness, not unlike what you would find in the basic Glenlivet or Glenmorangie 10. It's fairly unexceptional, but certainly not offensive.
Juicyfruit gum in the nose. Palate... ewwwww. Alcoholy, with something fleetingly sickly sweet, then more alcohol. Finish has an odd, minty-chemical quality. Very disagreeable.
Deep gold-red color. Very fresh malty nose, a tad fruity, but overall not too much going on. The palate is not what I was expecting. Light, yes, but a very mild citrus zest, some grain and some vanilla. Finish dissipates too quickly. Overall very solid though. 43% [1/5/14]
n: soft and warming - full of honey and raw brown sugar. Mostly bourbon influenced nose with a hint of tropical fruit and ripe red berries at the back.
t: follows nose nicely, good viscosity and the sweet side really shows in the middle. Dry finish where the barrel starts to show with a hint of leather and more of the tropical fruit lingering. This develops nicely and has full flavour.
[B/B-; ratings for new release 43% ABV]
I tried the 40% ABV and it is quite different than the current 43% ABV version. I would give the 40% a C, but they must have changed the formula and age on the most recent version for the better!
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