After tasting the ‘vanilla’ it’s time to continue with a cask finished version of the same spirit. This expression was finished in Portuguese ruby, tawny and vintage Port wine casks and then reduced to 40%. It will be interesting to see how the port finish affects this already, very fruity and exotic profile.
The packaging is a bit weird, with a green bottle, more reminiscent to a gin bottle than a whisky, but let’s see what’s under the hood.
For the next three days, Josh of the JSMWS and I will be sharing our thoughts on the Kavalan range. While I’m not tasting these whiskies blindly, Josh and I will not be sharing our thoughts on these whiskies prior to our posting them. Be sure to check out Josh’s notes on this whisky.
Kavalan Concert Master Port Cask , 40% ABV
Colour: Copper Red. This one is not coloured with caramel which is a good start
Nose: If you thought the previous Kavalan was tropical , be ready for more surprises. This one is Ultra tropical. Even more than the regular version. In addition there is quite a lot of Prune jam, some oak and wine notes.
Palate: Sweet plum sugar, Tamarind , Fruits mostly plum and prunes. Tropical and sugary. Prune jam is back on the second wave of flavours sensation.
Finish: Lingering on sweet fruit jam and bitter oak. Sugars and wee cocoa.
Bottom line:
This is a very sweet and tropical dram, with a lot of jam and prunes going on , the Port cask finish in my opinion lends too much sweetness on top of the intrinsic character of the spirit. It can make a nice desert dram, to be consumed at the end of a meal, or with some liver Pate for starters. I do prefer the ‘Naked’ Kavalan without this finish, when it comes to the core range of 40% Kavalans.
Stay tuned for the next two Cask Strength high end Kavalans coming your way tomorrow and the day after.
Slaint! / Le’Chaim
Sincere thanks to Ian Chang of Kavalan for the generous sample
On my last trip to Taipei last September the stewardesses were pushing this scotch whiskey. So I asked her for a shot to try. She gave me like a four shot sample. It tasted really good. I bought a bottle. I should have bought two. It tastes really good and tastes even better on the rocks.. On my next trip I will buy two bottles..
Bonjour, comment se procurer KAVALAN CONCERT MASTER?? merci de me répondre
Hi,
currently it’s available in duty frees in the far east.
where do u life?france?
merci mais je n’ai pas bien compris la réponse, en france à quel endroit? sinon j’ai des contacts à taiwan possible d’en trouver où? merci
Il nya pas en france… dans la duty free de taiwan / chine…
Sorry I do not speak French. I plan to visit Taipei in October for ‘double ten’ festivities. I will attempt to visit the distillery when I am there. Iylan is a beautiful place to visit as well.