TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA.COM / AUGUST 2019 29
malts,” says Ian Chang, Kavalan’s master
distiller. “It enables us to develop a rich and
complex whisky in just a few years. It’s not just
the heat of Yilan’s summer that causes the
accelerated maturation and the smoother,
softer finish, but also the cold Siberian winds in
winter, which maximize the process of
oxidation. “Yilan happens to be the first place in
Taiwan where the Siberian winds hit, making
it the best place on the island to make whisky.”
The distillery’s plum location was
determined by design rather than accident. In
fact, the remarkable rise of Kavalan is
testament to owner Tien-Tsai Lee’s painstaking
eye for detail. For years Lee, managing director
of the conglomerate that produces Kavalan,
dreamed of producing whiskies that could hold
their own on the global stage. In 2002, his wish
was granted when Taiwanese authorities
allowed private companies such as his to
manufacture liquor, previously a state-
controlled concern.
Lee cut no corners in achieving his goal.
Little expense was spared when constructing
the giant distillery. Stills were imported from
Scotland while premium wine, port, sherry and
bourbon casks were sourced from Spain,
Kentucky and Portugal. Chang, who studied
food technolog y in Engla nd, was sent back to
the U.K.—this time to Scotland—to immerse
himself in the distilling process. He was
mentored, meanwhile, by the late Dr. Jim Swan,one of the industry’s leading experts on wood
management who Chang describes as the
“Einstein of whisky.”ARRIVING AT KAVALAN, the distillery thrums
with the kind of activity and invention often
associated with this most industrious of
islands. Obsessive-compulsive tendencies, no
doubt, have played a part in the elevation of the
brand, but hard work has been a factor, too. In
the re-charring room, someone is blowtorching
the inside of a freshly shaved barrel, the flames
whipping out like a mini inferno from the
blackened receptacle. It’s part of a
reconditioning process where casks are shaved,
then toasted, then charred to remove any
unwanted flavors.
Elsewhere, things are equally dynamic. In
the main building where the whisky is made,
matured and tasted, a handful of the one-
million-plus visitors who arrive here every
year are sniffing malted barley and gazing in
awe at the giant copper stills. As tourists gawp
from the hallways above, workers manning the
maturation warehouse carefully survey the
barrels, which are stacked at different heights
according to vintage and stage of maturation.
It’s all a bit more organized than Willy
Wonka’s chocolate factory. Nevertheless, the
alchemy created here is every bit as compelling
as that of the fantastical laboratory at the heart
of Roald Dahl’s classic book. There are noFROM LEFT: At the
sharp end of
Kavalan Distillery;
the distillery’s
master, Ian Chang.FR
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