Nose - Tropical Tahitian vanilla, very floral, toasted coconut, plantain sweet. Taste - Tropical fruits, hint of vanilla/caramel, lightly drying yet refreshing oak, similar to a "dry cola", white pepper spice/heat, coconut milk creaminess, light banana/peach sweetness. Finish - Coconut milk creaminess lingers long, white pepper spice is still present, tropical fruit sweetness stays there and transitions to a lightly drying mouthfeel. Score - 89/100 Final Thoughts - Bourbon barrel influence can be seen in this one with the heavy vanilla and oak influence on what I take to be a nice tropical malt. Floral notes and tropical fruits are present throughout along with the white pepper kick I get, which probably gets some help from the proof too. Overall quite tasty although I think I'd like the tropical fruit to shine through a bit more against the vanilla/oak from the bourbon barrels.
About this bottle
Indeed, as the name states, this is aged in ex-bourbon casks and, unlike their Soloist Ex-Bourbon bottling, this is reduced from cask strength to 46% abv.
How it tastes
Measured across 14 flavor axes. Tap a note to find other bottles that lead with it.
Reviews
Showing the most detailed of 47 parsed reviews.
Kavalan has always been a mixed bag for me. One not great (TWE single cask strength sherry) one awesome (ltd run Soloist sherry cask)...and the rest slightly on or above average in the 3.5 to 3.75 range. This one I really like. With a few drops of water sweet toasted vanila coconut banana are the predominant and pretty much only characteristics. It's well balanced, short dry but only slightly bitter aftertaste. I could definitely drink a fair bit of this given I'm a sucker for first full whiskey offerings which I suspect this is in whole or part. Fair price at $90 USD. If it had a better aftertaste itd be up to the 4.25 range.
⌚: 🍾 First uncorking, let sit for about 5 minutes. 👀: First off, the packaging is impressive, suggesting that perhaps what's inside is also probably impressive 🤔; light golden hues, coppery, uniform legs; 👃: Honeysuckle notes, vanilla, baking spices, cola, some oak, ethanol on the back end; 👅: Sweet milk tea boba notes at the outset, more honey, creamy goodness, thick like simple syrup; 🏁: The creamy taste lingers for awhile, a little fruitiness develops in the middle which gives way to a floral taste similar to Hibiki, this isn't complicated, complex nor nuanced which might be a good thing for beginner tasters.
A delicious whisky with a nose that has hints of coffee, unripe apples (though I wouldn't necessarily describe it as fruity), faint smoke and at certain whiffs an undetectable presence of oak. The palate is outstanding, with granulated brown sugar, nuttiness and spice, and vanilla, as if you were putting all these ingredients together and whisking them in a bowl while baking. The finish is quite long, with a mouthfeel that is pleasantly bitter and anaesthesizing.
Nose - citrus fruits with a musty touch of oak. Fresh and refreshing, bright and very clear yet sharp and a bit acidic. Taste - Vanilla, vanilla yogurt, and vanilla icing. Light citrus, almost an orange bitter. Some light oak bitterness as well. Wow this is dessert with a long lingering oak and vanilla finish. Just a really high quality malt. I've seen this in fancy boxes and as low as 100, but I paid 150 and I got the cheap cardboard box.
My favorite member of the Kavalan family, this is the perfect marriage of their signature malt notes with cask selection. The classic bourbon/American oak notes are there in all their beautiful glory - sweet vanilla and coconut, plus banana cream, tropical fruit, and a dry oaky woodiness. Palate is light, clean, and focused, with fruit and creamy vanilla, but it's not so sweet as to seem dessert-like. Really well done!
41 more reviews were collected for this bottle. The longest ones are shown first.
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