Paul John Indian Single Malt & Kavalan Taiwanese Whisky

Whisky age statements

You might have noticed what are called age statements on various scotch and whiskey offerings, like Balvenie Doublewood 12 year or Tullamore D.E.W. 15 year.

Generally speaking, the longer the spirit is aged, the mellower it becomes. In the cooler regions of scotch distilling, cask aging is an important part of the production process.

The mellowing the spirit gets during aging really can't be rushed. It's integral to the experience a drinker has with an expression.

The rise of scotch from Asia

But now we're seeing scotch being produced in the Scottish style but in warmer climates.

I had the opportunity to taste two different distiller's lines from Asia: Paul John  from India and Kavalan from Taiwan. Because the climate is so much hotter there than in Scotland, the scotch ages much faster, around 4 to 8 years.

These expressions still offer the basic flavor components of scotch produced in Scotland. Think cask aging flavors such as vanilla, toffee, caramels, the peppery notes from the alcohol, even peat smoke if that is included in the malting process.

And the terroir of the region from the water and climate plays a major role as well. There is a much higher "Angel's Share" (the amount of spirit lost to evaporation) in these hotter regions that also affect the final product.

These distilleries are young themselves, but the whisky world is taking note of their nicely crafted expressions.

Paul John Single Malt Whisky from India

The Paul John Distillery came to Gordon's DTX at the behest of the North Shore Whisky Club.

This was my first exposure to scotch produced outside of Scotland, and it was really different. Their collection consists of a unique range of single malts both peated and unpeated, along with a cask strength edition.

Paul John Indian Single Malt

At Gordon's DTX, February 24, 2017

Kavalan Whisky from Taiwan

Gordon's DTX also hosted a tasting from Kavalan Whisky.

This distillery has adapted the distilling process to take advantage of the microclimate. They pay attention to very small details every step of the way, from the ratio of grain sizes when milling, to precise vat temperatures during fermentation, to tasting the wine from the casks they plan to reuse for maturation their new make spirit.

Even the location of the casks within the maturation warehouse is strictly monitored to ensure a specific maturation rate. 

[Side note: I re-tasted the Kavalan lineup again in March 2018, and had a different opinion then. Interesting how time and experience change things. I also went to a Kavalan seminar in April 2018, and then became a fangirl. It's good to have an open mind (and palate!).]

Final thoughts

My overall impression is that these faster-aged brands seemed to be more aggressive, yet lacking in body and asserting more tropical overtones.

These expressions are good to drink, yet something is missing. It's almost as if the shorter aging pulled out the cask wood flavors without mellowing out the other scotch characteristics.

Aging whisky can't be rushed, but it's good to be able to harness the locale to produce something unique.