I just reviewed a very fine Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask earlier this week, but as luck would have it, I stumbled upon another one. I tasted this as part of the Virtual Blind Tasting of the Dutch Whisky Forum. I immediately recognized it for what it is: a mighty, over the top, super sherry bomb from Taiwan. Fun fact: this one is distilled on the same day as the Solist that won the most recent Malt Maniacs Awards.
Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask (57,8%, OB, C# S060904016)
Nose: Extremely sherried. Cherries, coffee beans, dark chocolate and dried red fruit. Also rusty metal. Fairly spicy with a good amount of black pepper. Also soy. A very raw and rough whisky. With water the nose turns into more of a sweet syrup.
Taste: More coffee and dark chocolate. Extreme flavors, super concentrated. Not much left of the red fruit I detected in the nose. It is spicier though, with cloves, cumin and more black pepper. It also has a metal (no, not heavy) quality.
Finish: Spicy, raw and a bit dry.
Rating: 85
This is a sherry monster. Not even something like the Aberlour a’bunadh comes close, maybe some single casks from Glendronach compare a bit. Good stuff. The metal and overall rawness keep it from a higher score.
Spot on, couldn’t agree more.