Taiwan’s whisky maturation capacity is set to enjoy a new boost with the upcoming completion of Kavalan Distillery’s Third Maturation Warehouse.

At present, the Taiwanese whisky maker’s full production capacity reaches up to 10 million bottles. Kavalan distillery is home to 10 pairs of copper stills and two maturation warehouses, with construction of the upcoming Third Maturation Warehouse currently 75% of the way through.

The new warehouse is said to combine a mix of palletized and dunnage warehousing. The largest butts will be placed in dunnage style on the higher floors, on their sides, while the smaller barrels will be placed upright and strapped together on the lower floor to withstand Yilan’s notorious seismic activity.

True to Kavalan’s whisky-making tradition, the warehouse will not have climate control mechanisms, apart from throwing open windows and doors to encourage air circulation. The distillery has often embraced Taiwan’s subtropical climate with large oscillations in ambient temperature – a characteristic that is often credited for imparting added complexity to Kavalan whiskies and increasing the pace of maturation.

| Read more: Our deepdive into Kavalan Whisky, the distillery that put Taiwan on the whisky-making map!

King Car Group CEO Mr YT Lee had this to say about the upcoming maturation warehouse: "In this exciting phase of Kavalan's expansion, we're blessed with the island’s subtropical climate, which not only helps age our whisky faster with enhanced complexity but also enables us to explore more experimental casks, unlocking greater possibilities for innovation in our whisky-making process."

Prior to the pandemic, Kavalan Distillery played host to over 800,000 visits annually. The company expects visitor levels to rise back to such levels, just in time for new visitors to experience the new maturation warehouse.

Kanpai!

88 Bamboo Editorial Team