Hi, i'm from Taiwan. The cask No.S060710009 means distill in 10.07.2006. The last number 009 represents the 9th barrel distilled on that day. (2006 was the first year that kavalan began distilling)
Love the shelving and set up too! Do you worry about having so many open bottles or do you use an inert gas? Would be great to see a video of your collection.
I used to use inert gas but realized I don't really need it that much. I make sure to wet the cork from time to time and open the bottles to give em a little sniff. Working out for me so far.
Kavalan are a big gap in my drinking cupboard. I've had two samples of the Solist Sherry and they were both heavily sulphured so not a good start. However, I defer to all the great reviews and opinion from people I respect such as your good self and must acknowledge that there is some great Kavalan out there. Here's the next niggle though and it refuses to go away. The price. I've always felt that Kavalan is a kind of Asian Macallan targeted at the 'aspirational market' - "I can afford it" and it comes with trendy Asian connotations. Three or four years of hot maturation might produce flavour and colour but that is not the same as 20+ years of slow maturation as some suggest. I love young, tropically aged rum, so that's not a bad thing but it produces a powerful dram rather than a mature, eloquent one with 20+ years of cask management and it's the same price. Finally, it's a sherry bomb. A good sherry bomb no doubt, but a sherry bomb is a sherry bomb and this is an expensive one. Amrut make great whisky in similar conditions and are far cheaper which is why I buy Amrut. To sum up. I would love to buy a bottle if it were cheaper. Whisky is expensive but this is excessively so without any justifiable reason. I could buy incredible Scottish whisky for that money, let alone excellent rum, Armagnac and real sherry. Even the fino and manzanilla expressions cost a bomb and those casks are a dime a dozen. I love the review and I'm sure I'd love the whisky but I think I'll just let it this one go. Peace!
I understand where you're coming from. I've had my fair share of sulphured whiskies from Kavalan. I also agree that their single casks are extremely overpriced and your comparison of them as a Macallan of the East is quite justified. However, there are some Kavalans that are extremely tasty (like these) and at times I feel that maybe these different flavors are a result of said hot maturation. Amrut has been doing that rather successfully with all their sherry monsters and single casks. And personally I don't compare one whisky maker to another because they all have their nuances. Having said all of that the issue of price is a thorny one. Of course, the price of whisky has gone up unfairly. Of course there are still alternatives available for much less - for every expression that is out there. But then that would mean buying only the cheapest version in that flavor profile. I thought of addressing the issue of price in my videos but what's expensive to me may be cheap as hell to another. So I just call it the way it is. Are the Kavalan single casks ridiculously and unfairly expensive? Absolutely. I don't want to spend that kind of money on 7 year old whisky. Are some of them good? Yes, I truly think so. And so that's how I call it. If you like this flavor profile and don't mind spending money on it then by all means. Frankly I don't think I'm qualified enough to judge whether the price tag is justified or not. In my opinion if there are enough people buying it then it's justified - if no one is then I guess it isn't. And the thing is regardless of what happens there will never be an end to this price debate. Hence, I try to steer clear of it.
@@MaltActivist Excellent reply and that is what I love about our community. It is a conversation between enthusiasts that enjoy mutual respect. We love our whisky and should be happy to engage as we are doing. By the way, I never have a cut off. If people are happy to spend their hard on cash on whatever they please that is up to them. WT
@@welshtoro3256 I love this whisky, it's one of my favs which is why i paid a pretty penny for it...but yeah...it's too expensive. Everything out of Japan, Taiwan etc are way overpriced. Love Nikka, Yama, Hibiki etc but so overpriced. Nikka 12 year is like $230CAD here, that is ridiculous. Bourbons have gone from $22 a bottle in 2006 to $100ish...insane jump. I only got into Whisky about 8 or 9 years ago, i really wish i got into them 20-25 years ago when it was much cheaper and easier to come by.
Oh, you should come to Taiwan and buy it, and it’s around $100 USD. Consider damn cheap. Tons of scotch arrived U.S. and became way overpriced for such flat taste. Don’t forget logistics, custom, and mark up. Ppl have to make $. Lots of Macallan are truly overprice. Only talk about how long the age is which is too simple. Scotch did 2 times on distill and Irish the whiskey inventor did 3 times on distill, scotch tend to make more money and focus on production volume.
@@MaltActivist Not in India :D - its very difficult for us to get hold of any good stuff -- not too much of difference - only 15% price difference - hence asked :)
@@kapilkk06 hmmm in that case - get the Kavalan Solist first (different drinking experience) and then when you're ready get the A'bunadh - and do a side by side. I personally think the Kavalan will win.
@@MaltActivist Excellent - Thanks :) Love your reviews - simple to understand and direct to the point :) Please make a video - what to buy/ stock - because liquor looks never ending and every day something new keep coming all the time - most the companies has already start charging too much of premium - which one whisky from every region ( budget ) would be love to drink everyday :)
