There’s a moment, just before the first sip, where the air itself seems to hold its breath. That’s the kind of anticipation the Kavalan Solist Ex Bourbon creates. Born from Taiwan’s bold whisky revolution, it carries the tropical intensity of the island and the precision of single barrel craftsmanship. It’s a whisky that doesn’t whisper, it sings in bright, golden notes.

Kavalan Solist Ex-Bourbon Single Barrel Whisky
Brand: Kavalan | Category: Single Malt / Cask Strength | ABV: Varies per barrel (~57–59%) | Origin: Yilan, Taiwan | Vol: 70cl

Tasting Profile:
Nose: Like opening a vanilla pod under the sun, creamy, fresh, and laced with coconut, toasted oak, and ripe banana.
Palate: Full bodied and silky with waves of white chocolate, honeycomb, citrus zest, and buttery pastries. The strength gives it a warming tropical punch.
Finish: Long, smooth, and bright, a slow fade of vanilla, oak spice, and lingering fruit sweetness.

Production Details:
Matured in first-fill ex-bourbon casks, each bottle is drawn from a single barrel and bottled at cask strength, no dilution, no chill filtration. The subtropical climate of Yilan accelerates aging, meaning more intense flavors in fewer years. Every bottle is numbered, making each release one of a kind.

Perfect For:
A slow, reflective night with jazz playing low and the lights dimmed. Best enjoyed with someone who understands the difference between good whisky and extraordinary whisky.

Expert Notes:
Awarded multiple golds at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and consistently praised by critics like Jim Murray, who called it “sensational.” It’s a whisky that proves Taiwan deserves a seat at the top shelf globally.

Customer Reviews:
🗣️ “I didn’t believe a Taiwanese whisky could knock my Scottish favorites off the shelf… until now.”
🗣️ “It’s got the power of a cask strength and the finesse of a dessert wine, dangerously easy to sip.”
🗣️ “The nose alone made me pause. I sipped it neat and it changed my whole evening.”

Interesting Fact:
Kavalan’s warehouse team rotates barrels from top to bottom regularly, an old school method that ensures balanced maturation in Taiwan’s humid climate.

Serving Suggestions:
Try it neat first to appreciate the barrel strength fire. Then add a few drops of water, watch the fruit open up and the vanilla sing. Best sipped slowly, with your phone far away.

Distillery Background:
Established in 2005, Kavalan Distillery was Taiwan’s bold answer to the global whisky scene and it stunned the world in less than a decade. Nestled between mountains and ocean in Yilan, the distillery combines mineral rich spring water, copper pot stills from Scotland, and the blazing tropical heat to create whiskies that mature faster and bolder than most. It's not just innovation, it’s a reinvention of what whisky can be.