It is about 10,000 kilometres from the home of Scotch to little Taiwan, where the makers of Kavalan (named after an aboriginal tribe that once roamed this misty, mountainous part of Taiwan’s coast) hope to follow in the footsteps of successful Japanese distilleries. The plan: Produce a top-shelf single-malt whisky, 100 percent distilled and aged locally.

The challenge is a tough one, as the Taiwanese tend to go for status, and products like Johnny Walker hold claim to a lot more status than a local brand. As well, single-malt whiskey snobs insist a product must be aged at least three years to be worthy of consumption. This Taiwanese product is not yet available in properly aged versions. The producer’s blender has argued that with the warmer climate in Taiwan, a good whisky can be ready in a shorter time.

The market is there. Research shows that whiskey is the 2nd most popular category of spirits in Taiwan.

More details about Kavalan can be found at the King Car company website, and in this article.

(webmaster comment: Note that I have mingled the 2 spellings “whiskey vs. whisky” in this post. The King Car website uses “whisky”, whereas many writers will use whiskey for brands outside of Scotland. It is an interesting dilemma, which I should cover in a future post)