Turning Taiwanese: Kavalan

World whiskies are getting bigger all the time as more and more countries follow the example of Japan and make Scotch style single malts. Kavalan is a Taiwanese single malt whiskey made at the King Car Distillery that came on the scene in 2008. They started with the competent, if unexciting Kavalan Single Malt. Then, in 2010, they began releasing the Solist line, a line of single cask, cask strength expressions aged in different woods.

Kavalan isn't yet available in the US, but hopefully, we will see them before too long. I was lucky enough to have some relatives visit Taiwan and bring me samples from the Solist line so I thought I would see what they're like.


Kavalan Solist ex-Bourbon Cask, 58.2% abv. (As these are single casks, abv varies from cask to cask)

The nose is fruity with white wine notes as well as some hay and horse feed notes in the background. The palate has the same fruity/malty mix, starting sweet with pears and canned peaches, then malty notes and Cream of Wheat. The finish is just vaguely fruity. This is a nicely drinkable malt.


Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique, 57% abv.

This one is aged in American oak wine barrels that had held both red and white wine. The nose on this one has a very light wine note. The palate is very fruity in the way that sherry aged casks are with dried fruit, but then has some nice, dry woodiness to balance it out. The finish is fruity, with a distinctively grape note, along with a touch of anise. Tasting blind, I would likely guess this was a sherry cask, though maybe third or fourth fill.


Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask, 57% abv.

The sherry cask is aged in Oloroso sherry butts. Nosing this you get figs, sherry, maybe even balsamic vinegar, though not in a vinegary way, if that makes any sense. The palate has dry sherry notes and some earthy, rancio type notes. The finish is full of nice earthy sherry notes. This is certainly comparable to any of the standard, good sherried single malts from Scotland.


Kavalan Solist Fino Sherry Cask, 58.6% abv.

The nose on this is striking with big, sweet sherry notes. The palate is very sweet sherry (strange, since fino is a very dry sherry) just bursting with fruit and sweet wine. In the finish, the sherry fades to an Angostura Bitters type flavor.


This Kavalan series was quite good. Kavalan exhibits a sweet, fruity character which is quite drinkable, even at cask strength (tasting blind, I would never have guessed the abv on these was as high as it is). While I enjoyed all of them, the Fino Cask definitely stood out; it's a bold, fruity sherry without any sulphur which hits my sweet spot for sherry pretty well (though it's on the sweet side of my sweet spot). Hopefully, these will land on our shores before too long.

See the LA Whiskey Society ratings for the Kavalan Solist ex-Bourbon cask, Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique, Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask and Kavalan Solist Fino Sherry Cask.

Trader Joe's Scotch

Of late, it seems Trader Joe's has been increasing their house-label whiskey selection. Early last year, they introduced the Trader Joe's Single Malt Irish Whiskey, which was followed last fall by a Trader Joe's Bourbon. Now, they are reintroducing some private label single malts.

I say reintroducing because years ago, they had a line of Trader Joe's Scotch that was independently bottled and mostly pretty awful. Those malts listed that name of the distillery whereas the new malts only list the region; the actually distillery they come from is a mystery.

So far, TJ's has two malts: a ten year old Highland and an 18 year old Speyside. Both are bottled at 40% by Alexander Murray & Co., which bottled the previous series of TJ's malts and has also done bottlings for Costco. As with most TJ's items, the prices are extremely reasonable: $19.99 for the Highland and $25.99 for the Speyside.

Tim Read and I are doing a joint review of these whiskies, so be sure to check out Scotch & Ice Cream for his review.


Trader Joe's Highland Single Malt Scotch, 10 years old, 40% abv (%19.99)

The nose is sweet and malty with some nice fruit and white grape juice. The palate is very straightforward and malty without much else going on. It reminds me a lot of Glenmorangie 10, malty and sweet and not bad at all if a bit boring.


Trader Joe's Speyside Single Malt Scotch, 18 years old, vintage 1993, 40% abv ($25.99)

The nose on this one is light and fruity with fruit cocktail notes. The palate is also fruit forward but it devolves a sourness which lasts into the finish which also has a note of stale wine and a touch of bitterness.

These aren't going to win any awards, but they're decent for the (very cheap) price. The ten in particular, at $20, is a good deal if you want something straightforward, though I"d probably spring for five or six bucks more and get a Glenfiddich. The 18 year old has a bit more going on, but also has more flaws.

Both of these strike me as better than most of the malts Trader Joe's released in their last series, so I suppose that's progress.

Is the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection in Decline?

For the past decade, the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection has consistently distinguished itself as the best of American whiskey. Few other whiskeys have been able to even come close to the quality of the quintet of George T. Stagg, William Larue Weller, Eagle Rare 17, Thomas H. Handy rye and Sazerac 18 year old rye. Even while the whiskey have become hard to find, the price has remained fairly consistent, making them a great value...if you can find them.

Over the last two years, however, the quality of these whiskeys appears to have declined. They are still great, but they have come down to earth from their previously astronomical levels. In December, I wrote about my disappointment with the 2012 George T. Stagg, but the 2011 was also a bit off balance, especially when compared to the 2010 and other earlier versions, which were so bold yet also balanced and complex.

I recently sampled the 2012 Weller and found a similar phenomenon. Both the 2012 and 2011 lacked the complexity of earlier versions, especially the excellent 2009 edition. There were more off notes, sour and bitter, than in previous versions. (See LA Whiskey Society Reviews of George T. Stagg and William Larue Weller through the years).

I haven't been as consistent in trying the other BTAC whiskeys, but I've noticed a similar drop in quality in all of those I've tried over the last two years.

I want to reiterate that these are still great whiskeys, but before 2010, they were absolutely phenomenal. Time will tell if this is a steady decline or merely a dip in quality.

Have you noticed a difference in your BTAC?

Dickel Rye

Diageo made a big entry into the rye market with Bulleit Rye, which is distilled at LDI (now MGPI) in Indiana. Now, Diageo has released a second rye made from the same stuff under its George Dickel label. Like Dickel Tennessee Whisky (and unlike Bulleit), Dickel Rye is subject to the Lincoln County Process of filtering the spirit through sugar-maple charcoal. The difference is that Dickel Tennessee Whisky is filtered after distillation, before it goes into the barrel, whereas Dickel rye, since they purchase the whiskey from elsewhere, is filtered after aging. Let's taste this new rye and compare it to Bulleit.


George Dickel Rye (distilled at LDI), 45% abv ($20)

The nose on this is pure pickle juice, which is actually pretty typical of young LDI ryes. There's also a hint of oregano. The palate is the LDI rye spice box, bold and flavorful as ever. By the late palate, mint dominates. The finish is a tongue-numbing mint.


Bulleit vs. Dickel

The first thing you notice when taking these two head to head is that, unsurprisingly, they are very similar. For all we know, of course, Dickel is the exact same whiskey as Bulleit but run through the sugar maple charcoal. Between the two, Bulleit is more balanced and has more of the traditional rye character. Dickel has a stronger flavor, but between the pickle nose and the strong mint at the end, it's a bit overpowering...so much for "charcoal mellowing." Overall, I like them both, but I think Bulleit is the stronger whiskey.

See the LA Whiskey Society reviews of Dickel Rye and Bulleit Rye.

There's an App for LA Coffee: LA's Best Coffee

Coffee in LA has exploded over the past five years. You used to have to go out of your way to get a decent cup. Now, a new third wave espresso bar with a 45 minute pour over seems to open every week.

The good news is there's now an iphone app that helps you find the best third wave coffee near where you are in LA. The mapping function works well, and the best thing about it is it's all wheat and no chaff. The people who made this app clearly have high standards for coffee as all of the places listed are great third wave coffee bars, so if you're a fan of this style of coffee, there's little risk of disappointment or need to sort through reviews.

The app is made by Blue Crow Media and costs $.99.

Brandy Love

Wow, I have had a ton of fun reviewing brandies over the past few weeks. With whiskey, I feel like there isn't that much exciting being done these days, but just the small sampling of brandies I've tasted over the past few weeks has convinced me that brandy is something worth our attention. The last time I did a brandy series, around four years ago, I liked some of what I tasted, but I found much of it too sweet, too weak and too filled with additives. The market has started to change. While the big houses are still the big houses, there's a lot of innovation going, though you have to seek it out. In addition, you still get a lot of bang for your buck, though the prices tend to be more comparable to Scotch than American whiskey.

I've also been impressed with the amount of positive and enthusiastic feedback I've had with this series. Read through the comments on any of these brandy posts and you'll see wide ranging discussions by people who know far more than I (a particular shout out to commenters Numen, Tom Troland and NP who added a tremendous amount of information). There's a huge thirst for brandy knowledge and discussion out there and a real dearth of on-line resources.

It's funny that most whiskey drinkers don't drink brandy. We have these classifications in our minds...that whiskey is made from grain and brandy is made from fruit, and therefore, they are entirely different categories that have nothing in common. I used to think brandy was more an offshoot of wine, but its flavors have more in common with whiskey. Armagnac is much more similar in flavor to rye whiskey than rye is to Scotch, and I'm pretty sure I could convince someone tasting blind that the Navazos Palazzi Brandy de Jerez was the latest Glenfarclas. The fact is, these new brandies should be very appealing to whiskey drinkers, and their flavor profiles are going to be pretty familiar.

We'll get back to whiskey next week, but I'm going to keep drinking brandy, and I'll keep reporting on it. If you hear about something good, drop me a line or a comment.

Navazos Palazzi: Sherried Brandy from Jerez

Today we move over to Spain with a Spanish brandy from the Alvisa Distillery in La Mancha made from airen grapes. This was sourced by brandy importer/bottler Nicolas Palazzi and aged for six and a half years. For the last four and one half years, it was aged in a very old Oloroso sherry cask from Equipo Navazos, one of the most well regarded sherry bottlers in Jerez. It's bottled without coloring or additives.

There are only 720 half bottles from this cask. As the back label states, its goal is an authenticity that is currently difficult to find in Spanish brandies.


Navazos Palazzi, Single Oloroso Cask, Brandy de Jerez, Bottled March 2012, PM Spirits, 375 ml, 44.2% abv ($80)

The nose on this is pure, dry sherry with tons of dried fruit notes and some wood. The palate continues along the same lines with a dry wine feel, with some sweeter grape juice notes in the back. The finish has prunes and dried apricots.

This is fun stuff, and the strong sherry notes should appeal to lovers of sherried Scotch. At $80 per half bottle, it's not cheap, but it's extremely drinkable. Most of the brandies we've sampled in this series have been fairly old, but this bottle shows that brandy can do well at a younger age as well.