Kavalan Distillery

The Gold Standard of Taiwanese Whiskey 

Kavalan Distillery is named after the indigenous Kavalan people, who originally inhabited the Kabalan Plain of modern-day Yilan County. The distillery was completed in December 2005, produced its first spirit in March 2006, and released its first bottling in December 2008.   Kavalan Distillery has been pioneering the art of single malt whisky in Yilan County, Taiwan since 2005. Kavalan sources the mineral-rich meltwaters of Snow Mountain and is aged in a unique combination of intense heat and humidity together with sea and mountain breezes.

Kavalan takes Yilan County's old name. A land of blessings, it was here that entrepreneur Mr. Tien-Tsai Lee dreamed of a new whisky homeland and a ‘century-old’ distillery to last generations.

Mr. T.T. Lee’s ambition to create Taiwan’s first whisky took him across the old world to the sacred distilleries of Scotland and Japan. He knew to compete, Taiwan must be world-class, and this tested every sinew of his resolve.

In January 2010, one of the distillery's products caused a stir by beating three Scotch whiskies and one English whisky in a blind tasting organised in Leith, Scotland, to celebrate Burns Night.

The distillery was named by Whisky Magazine as the World Icons of Whisky "Whisky Visitor Attraction of the Year" for 2011, and its products have won several other awards.

Kavalan brings together a highly skilled R&D team which takes on the legacy of renowned whisky specialist, the late Dr. Jim Swan. It is backed by King Car Group and its more than 40 years of beverage experience and knowledge.