When beloved Taiwanese whisky brand Kavalan does something, we take notice.
The pioneering single malt distiller located in Yilan, Taiwan, has always captured our hearts with stellar releases such as their cask strength Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique, which even beat Scotland at their game when it was named the World’s Best Single Malt by the World Whiskies Awards in 2015.
Now appealing to whisky connoisseurs and art purveyors alike is their new Kavalan Artist Series. Their inaugural edition sees the launch of four whiskies in collaboration with Taiwanese artist Paul Chiang. His interpretive style can be seen displayed vividly across all four bottle labels in the collection.
The four single cask, cask strength (ranging from 50-63% ABV) whiskies include the Puncheon, Virgin Oak, French Wine Cask, and Peated Malt varieties, with label designs inspired by the four elements of ocean, air, sunlight, and earth.
Only 198 sets of four 700ml bottles will be released, with each set being individually numbered. They all include a signed edition of one of two silkscreen prints by Chiang. An additional 4000 1L bottles will be released separately as well. The RRP of the 1L bottles are at $12,000 NTD, or US$421 each.
Each of the whiskies are aged in their correspondingly named casks, with the Peated Malt being aged in shaved, toasted and recharred red wine barrels, akin to how their famed Vinho Barrique is made.