Scots look away – the best whisky in the world is made in Taiwan
The best whisky in the world is made in Taiwan by a company that started off making mosquito repellent and root beer.
The King Car Group’s Kavalan 10th Anniversary Sky Gold Wine Cask Matured Single Cask Single Malt Whisky has just been named “Best of the Best” single malt at the recent Tokyo Whisky & Spirits Competition (TWSC).
Awards are nothing new for Taiwanese whisky. From 2010, when its whiskies beat three Scottish whiskies and one English in a blind tasting in Scotland on Burns’ Night (owch), Mr Tien-Tsai Lee’s Taiwanese distillery has spearheaded warm weather maturation with the help of the late Dr Jim Swan, the consultant behind India’s Amrut, Penderyn of Wales, and Kilchoman on Islay. But despite Taiwan being the third largest consumer of single malt whisky in the world and fostering a burgeoning export market, Kavalan whiskies have only been available outside Taiwan and China since 2013.