Kavalan Whiskey

 
Having just returned form the East Coast I think this would be an appropriate time to mention this:

From the Taiwan News:

Taipei, Jan. 26 (CNA) A Taiwan-distilled whisky has shocked connoiseurs by beating a trio of top Scottish blends in a blind taste test arranged by an English newspaper. According to a report in London-based The Times, Taiwan's Kavalan brand came out on top in a recent test against three Scottish and one English whisky in a historic hostelry in Leith, Scotland, north of Edinburgh.
The Times organized the test itself, in what it called a "piece of mischief-making" in hopes of catching the experts by surprise with Scotland's traditional "Sassenach" English rivals, but to the newspaper staff's surprise, it was the Taiwanese whisky that took the honors.
"It's tropical fruits. Tropical fruit jam, " said author and whisky connoisseur Charles MacLean, who headed the jury panel, after Kavalan, which is not marketed in Britain, came out on top with 27.5 points out of a possible 40.
Langs, a three-year-old Scottish premium blend, scored 22 points, and was followed by another Scottish blend King Robert with 20 and the English three-year-old malt with 15.5.
Quadruple-distilled Scottish blend Bruichladdich X4+3 came in last with only 4.5 points.
"Asians are not only some of the world's most sophisticated consumers of Scotch, but have begun distilling malts that compete with the best Scottish distilleries," The Times wrote.
The blind taste test was also organized to mark Scotland's annual Burns Night festivities, named after 18th century poet Robert "Rabbie" Burns. The festival competes with St. Andrew's Day as a focus for traditional whisky-fueled celebrations in Scotland and by Scots around the world.

Kavalan is distilled on the East Coast of Taiwan in Yilan County, which is really just tall mountains and clear, clean mountain streams. It is named for a group of Aboriginal Taiwanese who lived in the mountains years before. The obvious whiskey enthusiast at Whisky for Everyone has more to say about the whiskey.

The link to the Kavalan website is here.

And here is the advert.