I love kavalan solist bottles. I have 2 sherry, 2 vinho barrique, and 1 port solist. I recent bought Kavalan Vinho Barrique CNY 2020 and the bottle looks spectacular. I still remember every WhikyLive events yearly i always stopby at the Kavalan booth and try all the botrles especially the Solist lineup. Well worth it. One of the best whisky in the event and a great way to taste the whole lineup and what Kavalan has to offer.
Yeah Kavalan is almost always a standout. I've had some killer single casks at those WhiskyL, WhiskLive, etc. A lot of shop owners have some exceptional barrel picks!
Been sipping a sample of it and when I started I had some trouble with it. Found it too harsh even with water. But after some time and oxidation, even with a sample, it worked. It is a wonderful whisky. The red wine is so noticeable (I understand it was also matured in white wine casks but of course red wine is always stronger). The finish is so long, so creamy and fruity. I must get a whole bottle.
I have a bottle of the Amontillado Solist (very expensive even with a 20% discount) and would love to try other Solists like the Moscatel, Manzanilla, Sherry, Fino but they’re so so expensive.
Great to watch this series. I need to go to my store and take a picture of their selection and do some research... It sounds like if I see Solist..I should pull the trigger.. Cheers..
I've tasted several Kavalans, all of which were enviously good, and this one is my personal favourite so far ahead of the port cask finish. The price tag however means that they are still very nichey over here in Europe but with prices of quality single malts going to the moon, there is a maybe chance for Kavalan yet.
Yeah they're fantastic whiskies, it's a shame they went for the “premium” price tag. They pull it off, but that means a lot of ppl simply don't get the chance to taste these beauties.
I bought Port Cask for 410 PLN this week, which is a little over 90 USD via yesterday's FX rates. Certainly a lucky buy, as they normally go closer to 600 PLN. And this cask was almost 10yo
Wish I can get my hands on a reasonably priced soloist, but here in Canada that is an exercise in futility. Btw, not sure if you've tried the Tamdhu batch 6 yet, but you're in for a treat. It isn't the highest abv out of all the batches, but I recall hearing it going through more of a process, so while you'd be correct to say the newer batches are more "shiny" and "refined" (and no argument here) bottom line, is that with a blind tasting I had between batches 1 and 3, 6 beat them both based on just how incredibly dense and sweet (and older/rounder tasting) it (batch 6) was. I really would love to see you review batch 6 and get your thoughts, but don't be influenced by my praise, though I do think you'll love it. Also I just KNOW you will LOVE Port Charlotte PAC: 01 2011. It is so good that I got 3 of those bad boys which I can't even afford it! lol Slainta!
Yeah I've heard that Kavalan prices are absurd in Canada. Then again most whiskies are absurdly overpriced there. Thanks for the recommendations! I haven't seen the Tamdhu Batch 6 on the shelves yet in Taiwan. However I do have a bottle of the PC PAC bottle. I'm enjoying it! I'll get around to a review of it eventually. Cheers! 🥃
Love your reviews Geoff. I go through many whisky reviews but I think my nosing/pallet senses align very well with yours and everything you recommend are spot on with my tastes. Subscribed and you have my support! Please keep it coming and can't wait for your solist port review. I was about to order the port first but saw this and decided to go for the Vinho first.
God damn Geoff ,, I went straight to the liqor store, after seeing your review, to buy one. My first kavalan ever! Man this is good,,in fact so good I went back and also bought the port-version! Also very good, i only regret two things,, 1: not discovering kavalan earlier 2: an empty bankdiscount ha ha ha,,, slainthe!!
Been living in Taiwan for the last 3 years and have had the pleasure of visiting Kavalan distillery. They are really offering some of my favorite products when I want something a little bit different, all of their Solist expressions are incredible, and all have an interesting dark fruit flavor. Fantastic stuff. Even with the Vinho, with a bit of water, you can get those tropical notes so typical to Kavalan. Love them so much, dreading moving away and having to pay a premium to get them haha
Totally understand what you're saying, lived in Taiwan, visited Kavalan, loved the solist vinho barrique, bought a bottle and a few months later moved out of Taiwan, really missing living there and totally miss being able to buy this whiskey for 3500 NTD, instead of 200+ dollars 😢
@@sinori008 I find it between 95 and 110 US dollars in Taiwan, depending on the shop. Outside the country it can go for over twice as much or more. Which, I would be willing to MAYBE spend on it, because I love it and want to keep one on hand, but there's so much more good stuff I could get for the price. But if you are ever visiting I would recommend buying at least a dozen or so bottles of it :D
I've not tried a kavalan yet. Should probably start with the Distillery Select but a cask strength Sherry cask just came back in stock. Mucho money.. Question is:. Is this non Soloist any less of a whisky? It's also a CS single cask. I think the soloist bottles are double at $400.
Thanks for another great Review. (Just focused on the Whisky without any blablabla, exactly as a Review should always be) Add: Finally i got one of these Bottles in 2023 🥳
Last year, ex-bourbon, vinho and sherry SOLIST came to Ontario - all priced over 300 $CA : no one buying , now, Jan 2024 prices drop 26-28% each to 200-260. Great + helpdful review : will get the SHerry SOLIST (235$CA ~ 160 US ~ 130 UKP )
When started drinking, I aim to try as many diff whisky as possible. Hence usually I don’t buy the same bottle twice no matter how good they are. However vinho is the only 1 of the 2 whisky with repeated purchases. $150 for 1000ml, duty free here. Worth the price for such “complex” drink. not really for beginners to fully appreciate it. Love this drink and has nothing to do with the best whisky award gimmick.
Tasted two batches of this one, while there were distinct batch variations, both were very good. In terms of depth and nuances, my favorite from the Kavalan range (that I have tasted) is the Amontillado single cask. This one is a little sweet for my liking but you were spot on in your description that it holds its own and does not impact the distillate. Cheers!
The tasting profile sounds really interesting! I have tried that Glen Scotia 10 Red Wine Cask, and it's ok for me. How would you say about the difference?
Loving the reviews and you've definitely piqued my interest in Kavalan! I don't suppose you know of any stores in Taiwan that do international shipping? Thanks
There are shops that ship elsewhere in Asia (HK, Philippines, etc.). I don't know of any shops that ship to Europe or North America, unfortunately. Thanks for watching, Matthew! 🥃
For this Vinho, we have to thank the STR process for it. Without STR, I think it would be too acidic without sufficient oak to balance the spirit against the cask sufficiently.
I prefer the sherry over vinho/bourbon/port cask, personally I think the vinho is overrated, but my friends think vinho is better. Great review though, looks like Kavalan is going to have some loyal customers.
I like the sherry, too, but I understand why this one's more popular. There's more of a balance between the cask and the distillate. The sherry is 100% cask dominated, and I love it!
Also for those planning to visit the visit is free there’s no charge you can walk through the main building which is very nice it has these huge windows from which you can look down upon the factory floor so to speak and there are charts that explained the process then you can go over to their tasting room and get a tasting of their normal entry-level whiskey which was quite good I’m not sure tours to the warehouse are available there are guided tours at certain times of the day as well which are also free it’s a great visit Definitely go if you get the chance
I'm curious if that "disappointing bottle" was from 2012? I have one from July of 12 and it seems a bit rough for what Kavalan usually produces. Nothing like the sherry cask bottle I have.
This one is a mystery to me, I don't really see the "worlds best" in this one, mine needs tons of water before it gets to a level where it is really enjoyable and then it has a lot of exotic fruits. But.........it is weird to me, I rarely drink it and when I do I am not able to understand/enjoy it so much, it tastes.....weird(?)
I add only a touch of water and it opens up beautifully. "World's best" is a ridiculous title, though. Hah. Sounds like you got a lesser batch. I've had one bottle of this that wasn't up to snuff. It happens, unfortunately. Cheers.
I can´t confirm that all Kavalan Solists are good: I opened a Solist Bourbon on Christmas Eve 2019 and it is still almost full... 😞 Important detail in that context: I never have more than 30 bottles open in my bar.
~200 euros in Bulgaria. I don't see myself paying that money for a bottle which is lacking a gloryhole, pardon my French. Or at least say 100 euros tucked in the carton. I have no doubt in the quality of the malt though. As for the "Best whisky in the world" I remember Chris Goodrum saying something about it in a video on his channel. I believe Chris has been judging "World Whisky Awards" by the time this Solist Vinho Barrique was awarded. So he said that judges have fairly limited time to taste and assess numerous whiskies and by the end of the day their palates are totally fatigue. So, in order a given dram to stand out and be awarded it has to be very, very intense and in general no whisky matured in say refill bourbon casks stands a chance. In other words, in those contests subtlety is not a virtue :) Cheers!
Yeah you mentioned the prices previously. Honestly I can see why the entire brand is basically a no-go for you. Interesting point about how intensity might win over judges in a tasting lineup. I can definitely imagine that being the case. Honestly, the whole idea of having the "best whisky in the world" is ridiculous anyway. I love doing my "whisky of the year" stuff, which is all fun, but "best whisky in the world" is one hell of a bold title! Cheers!
It’s only fairly priced at the distillery itself And only the Solists are really worth the hype Everything else is economy class That seems to be what I’ve heard
I'm surprised you devote 25% of your review to a straw man argument; that of the kavalan vino varying wildly as a draw back where in reality it is the defining feature of single, cask strength expression. I've had perhaps 2 dozen vinos and, while it's not my favorite kavalan expression, a few of them, maybe three or four, were outstandingly balanced and complex. None of the mediocre ones didn't respond to a few weeks opening up when past the neck pour. Like you said, I did have a kavalan solist expression, a sherry, that disappointed after opening and after 3 months open. In my case, it probably was caused by an improperly seasoned barrel which was remedied by 6 months on the shelf.
@@Gwhisky It's worth mentioning if you explain what a single cask means correctly. Specifically I object to your use of the term 'batch' when referring to variability in a particular single cask expression since this is misleading; there is only the cask which produces X bottles with ABV of whatever the cask is, hence 'cask strength'. Variability and consistency of single cask whiskies depend on many things: where the casks are being sourced year after year; how they are seasoned; the physical condition of the cask; how and where stored ... Based on your video you might agree that Kavalan is a very cask-driven distillery and they maintain the quality of their whiskies despite these many variabilities that can interfere with producing an excellent product.
But to be fair I am not a whiskey expert and in fact my first tasting of their whiskeys even the solist I didn’t understand them and didn’t really know how to appreciate them that much My visit to their distillery was in 2009 when many of the expressions available today weren’t even available then so honestly I have yet to try many of the expressions that are available today because they’re not really readily available here in California and or they are very very expensive too much for me In 2009 when I was there the big bottles were about $100 each for the whiskey one what you call the ex bourbon , the sherry and the vinho while the Fino was $200 I didn’t buy that one They had all sorts of sizes for all of the expressions except Fino which only came in the 200 dollar 750 mL bottle everything else was available in half bottles and even tiny sampler bottles Not being a whiskey expert I only got tiny bottles of everything I could get my hands on I wish I had gotten bigger bottles because they were very unique even though I did not know anything about them I knew they were unique Previously only having drunk the likes of Johnny Walker black and old par and Jack Daniels I’ve watched a lot of reviews about them since and I sort of came to the conclusion that only the single casts are really worth the hype the regular expressions may be a bit too expensive for what you get out of them but I may be wrong Looks like one should be part of the 1 million visitors a year to this distillery and once there buy large bottles of every single cask expression that you can afford or two bottles because the prices are the best at the distillery Unfortunately Taiwan is still closed off due to Covid and no visitors are allowed on the island as yet far as I know Also not all expressions are available at all times even at the distillery so I have been told
I've been to the distillery, and they do have some cool options there. And yes, what's available at the distillery doesn't seem to be consistent. The core range of Solists are always there, but there are countless special releases that may or may not be around when you visit. Taiwan is closed for the time being, with strict quarantine rules for arrivals.
Was in Taipei last week. Test drank it and it was wonderfully delicious. Bought my Vinho Barrique at TWD3,080 (after special discount 12%)
Good deal! 🥃
Where did you find it? I’m in Taipei this week and planning on searching for it.
@@toekneedoovila6146 Taipei 101. There is a Kavalan counter near Custom refund counter.
“Vinho” is read “vigno” like in “cognac”. It’s Portuguese word for wine, similar to “vino” in spanish but with that difference.
Great review, Jeff! This is my all time favorite of Kavalans!
It's a great one. Cheers Tim! 🥃
I love kavalan solist bottles. I have 2 sherry, 2 vinho barrique, and 1 port solist. I recent bought Kavalan Vinho Barrique CNY 2020 and the bottle looks spectacular. I still remember every WhikyLive events yearly i always stopby at the Kavalan booth and try all the botrles especially the Solist lineup. Well worth it. One of the best whisky in the event and a great way to taste the whole lineup and what Kavalan has to offer.
Yeah Kavalan is almost always a standout. I've had some killer single casks at those WhiskyL, WhiskLive, etc. A lot of shop owners have some exceptional barrel picks!
Been sipping a sample of it and when I started I had some trouble with it. Found it too harsh even with water. But after some time and oxidation, even with a sample, it worked. It is a wonderful whisky. The red wine is so noticeable (I understand it was also matured in white wine casks but of course red wine is always stronger). The finish is so long, so creamy and fruity. I must get a whole bottle.
Glad you're enjoying it. These reviews are a bit outdated... this is my favourite from the bunch! 🥃
I have a bottle of the Amontillado Solist (very expensive even with a 20% discount) and would love to try other Solists like the Moscatel, Manzanilla, Sherry, Fino but they’re so so expensive.
Great to watch this series.
I need to go to my store and take a picture of their selection and do some research...
It sounds like if I see Solist..I should pull the trigger..
Cheers..
Depends on the price. No idea what these go for in Cambodia. But yeah... if it doesn't cost you an arm and a leg! 🥃
I've tasted several Kavalans, all of which were enviously good, and this one is my personal favourite so far ahead of the port cask finish. The price tag however means that they are still very nichey over here in Europe but with prices of quality single malts going to the moon, there is a maybe chance for Kavalan yet.
Yeah they're fantastic whiskies, it's a shame they went for the “premium” price tag. They pull it off, but that means a lot of ppl simply don't get the chance to taste these beauties.
I bought Port Cask for 410 PLN this week, which is a little over 90 USD via yesterday's FX rates. Certainly a lucky buy, as they normally go closer to 600 PLN. And this cask was almost 10yo
@@kajetanmalinowski892 Great find! 🥃
Hi Geoff, a good review of a whisky I can’t get and when, it’s too damn expensive. Slàinte Geoff, nice one.
Thanks David. It's unfortunate how expensive this stuff is in western markets. Cheers. 🥃
Great review and great score
Thanks Christopher! 🥃
Wish I can get my hands on a reasonably priced soloist, but here in Canada that is an exercise in futility. Btw, not sure if you've tried the Tamdhu batch 6 yet, but you're in for a treat. It isn't the highest abv out of all the batches, but I recall hearing it going through more of a process, so while you'd be correct to say the newer batches are more "shiny" and "refined" (and no argument here) bottom line, is that with a blind tasting I had between batches 1 and 3, 6 beat them both based on just how incredibly dense and sweet (and older/rounder tasting) it (batch 6) was. I really would love to see you review batch 6 and get your thoughts, but don't be influenced by my praise, though I do think you'll love it. Also I just KNOW you will LOVE Port Charlotte PAC: 01 2011. It is so good that I got 3 of those bad boys which I can't even afford it! lol Slainta!
Yeah I've heard that Kavalan prices are absurd in Canada. Then again most whiskies are absurdly overpriced there.
Thanks for the recommendations! I haven't seen the Tamdhu Batch 6 on the shelves yet in Taiwan. However I do have a bottle of the PC PAC bottle. I'm enjoying it! I'll get around to a review of it eventually. Cheers! 🥃
Love your reviews Geoff. I go through many whisky reviews but I think my nosing/pallet senses align very well with yours and everything you recommend are spot on with my tastes. Subscribed and you have my support! Please keep it coming and can't wait for your solist port review. I was about to order the port first but saw this and decided to go for the Vinho first.
Glad you're enjoying the reviews! Spoiler: I prefer the Vinho to the Port! 🥃
God damn Geoff ,, I went straight to the liqor store, after seeing your review, to buy one. My first kavalan ever! Man this is good,,in fact so good I went back and also bought the port-version! Also very good, i only regret two things,, 1: not discovering kavalan earlier 2: an empty bankdiscount ha ha ha,,, slainthe!!
Bankaccount pardon my english,,,,,
Hey Marco. Really glad you're enjoying them! Excellent whiskies, shame they're so pricey! Cheers! 🥃
Been living in Taiwan for the last 3 years and have had the pleasure of visiting Kavalan distillery. They are really offering some of my favorite products when I want something a little bit different, all of their Solist expressions are incredible, and all have an interesting dark fruit flavor. Fantastic stuff. Even with the Vinho, with a bit of water, you can get those tropical notes so typical to Kavalan. Love them so much, dreading moving away and having to pay a premium to get them haha
Yeah Kavalan is great stuff. Enjoy it while you're here! 🥃
How much does it cost in Taiwan so I may get an idea?
Totally understand what you're saying, lived in Taiwan, visited Kavalan, loved the solist vinho barrique, bought a bottle and a few months later moved out of Taiwan, really missing living there and totally miss being able to buy this whiskey for 3500 NTD, instead of 200+ dollars 😢
@@sinori008 I find it between 95 and 110 US dollars in Taiwan, depending on the shop. Outside the country it can go for over twice as much or more. Which, I would be willing to MAYBE spend on it, because I love it and want to keep one on hand, but there's so much more good stuff I could get for the price.
But if you are ever visiting I would recommend buying at least a dozen or so bottles of it :D
I've not tried a kavalan yet. Should probably start with the Distillery Select but a cask strength Sherry cask just came back in stock.
Mucho money..
Question is:. Is this non Soloist any less of a whisky? It's also a CS single cask. I think the soloist bottles are double at $400.
Sorry man no idea. I didn't know there were single cask non-Solist releases out there. It's probably delicious, but I've never tried one!
Nice make sure to do a final blind rundown and sum up at the end of the series
Will do!
Thanks for another great Review.
(Just focused on the Whisky without any blablabla, exactly as a Review should always be)
Add: Finally i got one of these Bottles in 2023 🥳
Glad you're a fan of the format. Appreciate the kind words Sebastian! 🙏
Thank you for this review Geoff. Have you had the chance to try the Brandy cask by any chance. If you did, any comments?
I haven't had a chance to try it yet. Hopefully someday!
Last year, ex-bourbon, vinho and sherry SOLIST came to Ontario - all priced over 300 $CA : no one buying , now, Jan 2024 prices drop 26-28% each to 200-260. Great + helpdful review : will get the SHerry SOLIST (235$CA ~ 160 US ~ 130 UKP )
When started drinking, I aim to try as many diff whisky as possible. Hence usually I don’t buy the same bottle twice no matter how good they are. However vinho is the only 1 of the 2 whisky with repeated purchases. $150 for 1000ml, duty free here. Worth the price for such “complex” drink. not really for beginners to fully appreciate it. Love this drink and has nothing to do with the best whisky award gimmick.
It's a beauty! I also rarely buy things over and over. Always happy to come back to a Solist, though! 🥃
Tasted two batches of this one, while there were distinct batch variations, both were very good. In terms of depth and nuances, my favorite from the Kavalan range (that I have tasted) is the Amontillado single cask. This one is a little sweet for my liking but you were spot on in your description that it holds its own and does not impact the distillate.
Cheers!
That Amontillado has firmly established itself on my wishlist. Cheers!
Geoff good rewiev. I saw thet whisky on one site and it costs 139 euro, i think i will buy it .
Oof! pricey! Hope it's worth it! 🥃
@@Gwhisky I hope : )
The tasting profile sounds really interesting! I have tried that Glen Scotia 10 Red Wine Cask, and it's ok for me. How would you say about the difference?
Huge difference in house style and cask influence. This has much more complexity and sophistication.
Loving the reviews and you've definitely piqued my interest in Kavalan! I don't suppose you know of any stores in Taiwan that do international shipping? Thanks
There are shops that ship elsewhere in Asia (HK, Philippines, etc.). I don't know of any shops that ship to Europe or North America, unfortunately. Thanks for watching, Matthew! 🥃
Great review! After kavalan port can you rank them, even if its gonna be hard from 1-4! Thanks 👍😁
I plan to. Blind tasting + ranking. Cheers! 🥃
@@Gwhisky nice! Cant wait!
For this Vinho, we have to thank the STR process for it. Without STR, I think it would be too acidic without sufficient oak to balance the spirit against the cask sufficiently.
Very insightful comment. It's likely! 🥃
I prefer the sherry over vinho/bourbon/port cask, personally I think the vinho is overrated, but my friends think vinho is better.
Great review though, looks like Kavalan is going to have some loyal customers.
I like the sherry, too, but I understand why this one's more popular. There's more of a balance between the cask and the distillate. The sherry is 100% cask dominated, and I love it!
Also for those planning to visit the visit is free there’s no charge you can walk through the main building which is very nice it has these huge windows from which you can look down upon the factory floor so to speak and there are charts that explained the process
then you can go over to their tasting room and get a tasting of their normal entry-level whiskey which was quite good I’m not sure tours to the warehouse are available there are guided tours at certain times of the day as well which are also free it’s a great visit
Definitely go if you get the chance
I love Vinho Barrique
It's my current favourite. Cheers! 🥃
I'm curious if that "disappointing bottle" was from 2012? I have one from July of 12 and it seems a bit rough for what Kavalan usually produces. Nothing like the sherry cask bottle I have.
Oh man I wish I could remember. It was years ago, so it's possible.
This one is a mystery to me, I don't really see the "worlds best" in this one, mine needs tons of water before it gets to a level where it is really enjoyable and then it has a lot of exotic fruits.
But.........it is weird to me, I rarely drink it and when I do I am not able to understand/enjoy it so much, it tastes.....weird(?)
I add only a touch of water and it opens up beautifully. "World's best" is a ridiculous title, though. Hah.
Sounds like you got a lesser batch. I've had one bottle of this that wasn't up to snuff. It happens, unfortunately. Cheers.
@@minghsiuchua8115 There are so many Solist releases. It's hard to keep track of the batches and to know how they compare to others.
I can´t confirm that all Kavalan Solists are good: I opened a Solist Bourbon on Christmas Eve 2019 and it is still almost full... 😞
Important detail in that context: I never have more than 30 bottles open in my bar.
I've never had a bad one personally, but I have had lesser ones. The risks of buying single cask whisky...
~200 euros in Bulgaria.
I don't see myself paying that money for a bottle which is lacking a gloryhole, pardon my French. Or at least say 100 euros tucked in the carton. I have no doubt in the quality of the malt though.
As for the "Best whisky in the world" I remember Chris Goodrum saying something about it in a video on his channel. I believe Chris has been judging "World Whisky Awards" by the time this Solist Vinho Barrique was awarded. So he said that judges have fairly limited time to taste and assess numerous whiskies and by the end of the day their palates are totally fatigue. So, in order a given dram to stand out and be awarded it has to be very, very intense and in general no whisky matured in say refill bourbon casks stands a chance. In other words, in those contests subtlety is not a virtue :)
Cheers!
Yeah you mentioned the prices previously. Honestly I can see why the entire brand is basically a no-go for you.
Interesting point about how intensity might win over judges in a tasting lineup. I can definitely imagine that being the case. Honestly, the whole idea of having the "best whisky in the world" is ridiculous anyway. I love doing my "whisky of the year" stuff, which is all fun, but "best whisky in the world" is one hell of a bold title! Cheers!
It’s only fairly priced at the distillery itself
And only the Solists are really worth the hype
Everything else is economy class
That seems to be what I’ve heard
I'd second that.
I'm surprised you devote 25% of your review to a straw man argument; that of the kavalan vino varying wildly as a draw back where in reality it is the defining feature of single, cask strength expression. I've had perhaps 2 dozen vinos and, while it's not my favorite kavalan expression, a few of them, maybe three or four, were outstandingly balanced and complex. None of the mediocre ones didn't respond to a few weeks opening up when past the neck pour. Like you said, I did have a kavalan solist expression, a sherry, that disappointed after opening and after 3 months open. In my case, it probably was caused by an improperly seasoned barrel which was remedied by 6 months on the shelf.
Beginners watch the channel too. The variability of single casks is worth mentioning.
@@Gwhisky It's worth mentioning if you explain what a single cask means correctly. Specifically I object to your use of the term 'batch' when referring to variability in a particular single cask expression since this is misleading; there is only the cask which produces X bottles with ABV of whatever the cask is, hence 'cask strength'. Variability and consistency of single cask whiskies depend on many things: where the casks are being sourced year after year; how they are seasoned; the physical condition of the cask; how and where stored ... Based on your video you might agree that Kavalan is a very cask-driven distillery and they maintain the quality of their whiskies despite these many variabilities that can interfere with producing an excellent product.
@@none0such 👍
But to be fair I am not a whiskey expert and in fact my first tasting of their whiskeys even the solist I didn’t understand them and didn’t really know how to appreciate them that much
My visit to their distillery was in 2009 when many of the expressions available today weren’t even available then so honestly I have yet to try many of the expressions that are available today because they’re not really readily available here in California and or they are very very expensive too much for me
In 2009 when I was there the big bottles were about $100 each for the whiskey one what you call the ex bourbon , the sherry and the vinho while the Fino was $200 I didn’t buy that one
They had all sorts of sizes for all of the expressions except Fino which only came in the 200 dollar 750 mL bottle
everything else was available in half bottles and even tiny sampler bottles
Not being a whiskey expert I only got tiny bottles of everything I could get my hands on
I wish I had gotten bigger bottles because they were very unique even though I did not know anything about them I knew they were unique
Previously only having drunk the likes of Johnny Walker black
and old par and Jack Daniels
I’ve watched a lot of reviews about them since and I sort of came to the conclusion that only the single casts are really worth the hype the regular expressions may be a bit too expensive for what you get out of them but I may be wrong
Looks like one should be part of the 1 million visitors a year to this distillery and once there buy large bottles of every single cask expression that you can afford or two bottles because the prices are the best at the distillery
Unfortunately Taiwan is still closed off due to Covid and no visitors are allowed on the island as yet far as I know
Also not all expressions are available at all times even at the distillery so I have been told
I've been to the distillery, and they do have some cool options there. And yes, what's available at the distillery doesn't seem to be consistent. The core range of Solists are always there, but there are countless special releases that may or may not be around when you visit. Taiwan is closed for the time being, with strict quarantine rules for arrivals.