Hi all, really just starting to get into whiskey, especially world whiskey. Only recently did I feel confident enough in my palate to try and review what I have drunk. Got a 1000ml/100cl bottle of Kavalan Sherry Oak (46%) at a good price. I seem to only find 700ml/70cl bottles online, but not the larger bottle. Anyone know if it's a travel retail special?

World Whiskey Review #1: Kavalan Sherry Oak 46%

Distillery: Kavalan

Region: Taiwan

Price: 112SGD (~78.80USD) for 1000ml/10cl (sale at duty-free store at Singapore's Changi Airport)

Cask Type: Spanish oloroso sherry casks

ABV: 46%

Color:1.4, Tawny.

Nose: Plums. Not fresh plums. Intense, sour, dried, preserved plums. If it weren't for the robust oak notes, hint of malt and the colour, one could almost mistake it for umeshu. I don't really get any of the other stone fruits that other reviews mention. Even if there were, it's definitely swamped by the intense plums. After a few minutes, cocoa powder and cherrywood emerges. Unfortunately, the wood notes, while forward, also lean toward raw by a tad. Edit: 2 more days after first opening it, there's now durian on the nose.

Palate: Oily mouthfeel, like an over-extracted pourover coffee. Sour-and-sweet plum and oak carries over from the nose. Tannic cacao nib tea. I don't really taste much, if any, roast to it. Allspice.

Finish: Bird's eye chili dancing around the middle of the tongue - definitely not alcohol burn. Dark chocolate, bitter more than sweet, as it goes down. Reminds me of one of those fancy bean-to-bar chocolates with chili a friend once gave me actually - they meld together. One braces for the alcohol burn when the prickly heat of the chili starts to emerge, only to realise it goes down smoothly. Quite a short finish though, with the dark chocolate fading long before the chili. Chili gives way to ginger too.

Conclusion: I just had to try something from Kavalan, and this came at what seemed a good price at the right time. It's not the Solist, but is still quite the sherry bomb. Unfortunately, the sherry influence is too much for my liking. I think it lacks something rich that could balance out the pre-dominant cask influence and preserved plum. Or the wood could be smokier (not peat). Alternatively, something floral or herbal could help soften the wood. But Kavalan has never really promised it to be anything more than what it is - a very easy-to-drink exemplar of the sherry bomb that does the basics right. I appreciate that, but I don't love that. Just a little more complexity and balance while keeping the base notes would have elevated this whiskey. I have no big quibble with the base notes.

edit: For reference - quick takes on some other whiskies I had recently. Nikka from the Barrel (81) - fantastic creamy mouthfeel, like the vanilla in it. But weirdly, barn hay or alfafa on the palate? Taketsuru pure malt NAS black label (74) - smokiness was spot-on for me, and went well with the espresso notes. No over-extracted pourover there. But alcohol burn in the finish. Dalwhinnie 15 (83) - the honeyed fruitiness is what I like, but a bit too thin to enjoy. I'm starting to develop a preference for moderately-smoky wood, baked fruits, honey, vanilla, a creamy mouthfeel, floral peat. Any recommendations a step up from all these, triangulating between these few whiskies? Thanks!

Score: 76.

World Whisky Review #1, Taiwanese Whisky Review #1

H.Y.