Here is the eighth in a series of ten Kavalan whisky reviews. You can read more background in part 1 but the TL;DR version is that fellow local redditor /u/onewaybackpacking graciously brought back one of these cool Kavalan sampler packs back from Taiwan for me. Thus far in the series we have had:
Up today is the third of the Solists, this one being the Fino Sherry Cask. As pointed out in previous reviews, the proof on the Solists are much more in my wheelhouse and when it comes to malt whiskeys, sherry finishes are my jam so I am excited for this.
Taiwanese Single Malt Whisky; No Age Statement; 54% ABV
Nose: A bit charry and wood heavy with a nice fruity sherry backbone. I also get notes of tobacco and maybe some cigar-like aromas too. I am not getting as much of the tell-tale tropical island fruit vibes in the nose as I have in the other Kavalans to this point.
Taste: On the palate it opens up quite a bit more than the nose. There are classic high proof sherry finished malt whisky notes of sugar coated raisins and honey coated cereal/bran. The familiar island fruit notes that have dominated this series are now showing up as there is a good dose of lush mango/pineapple/kiwi types flavors in the mid palate. Like the nose there are some leather / tobacco qualities on the back end and finish. The proof is delivering plenty of depth of flavor as there are healthy doses of wood, fruit, sweet, and char.
Thoughts: This one is pretty good but not a real standout to me. The nose is a little coy and doesn't quite match the taste but the palate rewards with most of what I was looking for. To me it just falls a little flat all round, especially compared to the Oloroso Sherry Cask which is the proofy sherry bomb that is more my comfort zone.
Rating: B
Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.
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