57.8% ABV Cask# F1100707013B Bottle #051/562 Nose - (w/o water) Dark oaky apple/pear juice, hints of golden raisins & prunes, dark caramelized sugar (w/ water) Oddly more ethanol, fruity peppercorns, golden raisins, oak, tannic smell Taste - (w/o water) Initially really hot, tropical fruity sweet, Tahitian vanilla, fruity hot heat, very drying, light bitter/nutty sweet fruit (w/ water) Burn is all but gone, fruity floral sweet, light bitter apple stems/seeds, golden raisins, less dry Finish - (w/o water) Heat fades, oddly bitter, fruity dry, walnut skin nutty/bitter (w/ water) Less dry, lingering sweet apple/pear/golden raisins, lightly medicinal Score - 65/100 Final Thoughts - I'm not sure if I got a bad Fino cask or something but this was quite the letdown. It was a struggle to pick out any specifics from the nose other than a generic "sweet" and oak. The taste wasn't horrible but it felt very unbalanced with and without the addition of water. This super drying sensation lasted throughout and made the entire experience a bit unpleasant. The weird bitterness throughout wasn't a pleasant one and the addition of water made it taste a bit medicinal. Here's to hoping I got a bad batch? Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe, just to see if I got a bad batch Would I buy a bottle? - Not another
About this bottle
King Car Distillery originates from Yuanshan, Taiwan. Construction of the distillery was completed and the distillery started production on March 11th, 2006. It has been a leader in researching the effects of tropical maturation, with Kavalan whisky losses averaging around 15 percent per annum. The Solist Whisky series is a range of single cask, cask-strength whiskies aged entirely in the barrels for which the whisky is aged, in this case Fino Sherry.
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 13 parsed reviews.
Wow. Just wow. A perfect score whisky. Bottled at 57.8%abv, this taiwanese gem is something else. What a powerful, fruity dram. I have never had before a whisky that has been matured in fino casks (fino is a type of white wine sherry) Chesnut color. On the nose, an Orange madness. Red Fruits, Cinamon, Cherries, Tobbacco, Oranges, Coffee, Vainilla cookie dough, Lemon. Winey and sherried. Toffee. So much going on in here. On the palate, it is powerful due to alcohol content, but also delicious. It is a dry dram with sherry notes, chocolate, oranges, toffee, dulce de leche and apricots. Aftertaste is amazing too. An atomic spice bomb. Wasabi, salt and pineapple heart. Mouth numbing. Overall this is one hell of a dram. I truly recommend it. Get your hands on it. 100/100.
Great nose full of marzipan and toasted oak. Taste is complex and layered with sweet cherries, vanilla, currant and cinnamon. But the finish is where this shines. Literally a backdraft in your mouth as the dryness rushes in. Followed by waves or repeat notes each more vibrant than the last. A long intense and complex finish that truly boggles the palette. Intense as all Kavalan bottles are. But also more complex than most everything else. Loving this bottle.
Cask S060814024. Complex nose and taste. Flavors continue to evolve in the glass and throughout the life of the bottle. Takes well to water.
Cask FI100707024A. 5 year. Wow. Very flavorful with notes of chocolate, coconut, mango, and kiwi.
Very hot, strong vanilla and sherry. Quite nice quite watered down but very hot until then
7 more reviews were collected for this bottle. The longest ones are shown first.
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