Malt, Grain & Cane (MGC) is a Singaporean independent bottler whose works has been covered quite extensively on the site, you can find a whole slew of their reviews here (Whisky and Rum).

They've been around for a couple of years now, and they've kind of themed their bottlings almost by the vintage of their history - Year 1, Year 2, and then with this Kavalan bottling, kicks off Year 3.

So in that sense you sort of get to follow along and see their progression with each year's edition of their works, which is pretty nifty.

With Year 1, the theme was kind of getting off the ground, Year 2 saw the artist series, and now Year 3 - we haven't a clue what the theme is yet.

Yilan County, where Kavalan is, is known for having incredibly pure waters and also an incredibly hot and humid climate that accelerates whisky aging - one of the main factors for Kavalan whisky's intense flavours. (Image Source: Peak Visor)

Nonetheless, we have this very richly coloured Kavalan to work with.

Kavalan itself is a whisky that's pretty contentious - almost a victim of its own fame. Its meteoric rise was sure to draw skeptics, especially given that it isn't a country with any history of whisky-making - that is until Kavalan stepped in.

But isn't that the very nature of fame? To be famous, is to be elevated, which almost means that by virtue, you're going to face some folks who don't agree with that.

And yet, that hasn't even remotely been an issue for Kavalan, as it continues to do pretty well for itself - so think what you will, distillery's doing fine.

This bottling selected by MGC comes from Kavalan's Solist range, which focuses on various types of cask maturations and are marked by being single cask, cask strength bottlings - basically the apex of the Kavalan range.

It's also colour-themed by the type of cask used - in this case, Port Cask corresponds to the green label.

Tasting Notes

Color: Copper Red, Mahogany

Aroma: Dark plums, brown sugar, figs, raisins, with a touch of light tannins. More on cinnamon, clove and anise spices, with dried autumnal leaves. There’s a light touch of tart hawthorns. Rich and dense, really aromatic. 

Taste: Sweet, dark treacly notes, more on sweet spiced mulled wine, fig jam, prunes, demerara brown sugar as well as kokuto black sugar - lightly herbal and densely sweet. Sweet, ripe, juicy black grapes, with a lightly nutty touch of walnuts. This is overall sweet but it is amalgamated with a a good touch of herbal and tannic notes.

Finish: Herbal manuka honey, sweet mulled wine, clove spices, cinnamon, as well as lightly tart hawflakes.

My Thoughts

My Rating: 🍷

This is really one for the wine lovers - heavy, dense, dark fruits, but wait, it’s not one dimensional, it comes with a herbal side and also aspects of spices, which gives it an overall complexity that takes it beyond those simply sweet wine notes.

What also stands out is how aromatic it is - it takes some time but opens up into these lovely shades of rich, dark, and sweet notes, that’s very luxurious.

Still available at Malt, Grain & Cane.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot