Kavalan ex-Bourbon Oak

Tasted during Kavalan Nosing and Tasting session, November 2015

Delicious, exotic fruity. Weak point: sharpness on the palate.

See nice whisky with good PLV. Something for fans of rather strong, rich whiskys.

Good profile of a bourbon cask. Better than king car.

On the nose fruity notes (not apples, not citrus, maybe mango?), marzipan, hint of vanilla. The smell is very strong. after sipping it for quite some time there's also caramel, earl grey, or generally speaking tea. Moderately sweet in taste, leaves a bitter fruity cocoa mark.

After leaving the bottle open for about 2 months, I returned to this whisky and it was incredible. Very complex and elegant, all this without adding water, yet it has a certain youthful quality that's noticeable in the glass.

I'm not a big fan of bourbon cask whiskies, but that being said, I rather liked this one.

Pretty good dram. 50ml mini at 46%. Bottled 2018. Ropes, cowhide, and sawdust. Hints of fruits (bananas, pineapples, mandarins, and lemons. Minty vanilla. Some metallic edges. Not a very balanced dram, but the beginning of something nice. Tbh, this is almost like a youngish Yoichi. Quality stuff.

One of the best in the price range!! This is my first Kavalan, definitely not gonna be the last!

good! surely not everybody´s taste but from time to time I could enjoy it. 87/100

Kavalan ex-bourbon oak 46%. 30ml at home, Aug 2021. Golden. Aroma is mango, apple, soft vanilla. Distinct fruity notes and clean as you like. Good actually. Taste is soft and biscuity, citrus and bubblegum notes come in later … building to a salt and pepper finish. A very literal woodiness lingers. The slightest burnt coffee bean note comes in late. Good and clean. Increasingly bitter char but never gets distracting. Another impressive Kavalan. 3.575/85A.

The golden color. Light oily.

Solid, slightly one-dimensional whisky. Very barrel-heavy, for his 46% very intense. Average ex-bourbon.

Kavalan released more recently two brand new expressions in order to bridge the gap between their core range and their single cask range called “Solist”. Both new expressions, which go by the name of KAVALAN Ex-Bourbon Cask respectively KAVALAN Ex-Sherry Oak, are produced in bigger batches and between four and six years old when bottled. http://dramlicious.com/worldwide-wednesday-episode-12/

Nose:- Spirity and heating initially, rather unpleasant. Let it breath or try with small splash of water. Soft aromas of compote sour fruits and honey, enveloped around earthy tree branches and mineral soda notes. Mild and soothing. Palate:- Soft plum and aniseed. Limey, sour fruits carry on from nose. Fresh and malty, fragrant sweet. Pleasant. Finish:- Lightly harsh on the finish, but delightfully chewy and bold, lasting spicy and warming. Sweet malt lingers. — at The Whisky Bar, Kuala Lumpur.

My first Kavalan! How has it taken so long to get here? I've been missing out, it seems. Anyway. That nose is truly an assault on the senses and fantastic all by itself. On the tongue it's much more restrained, while still staying true to the theme. Much more recognisably an ex bourbon whisky profile, showing the vanilla and spice but combined with the creamy coconut and banana notes, I've not come across anything quite like that before. There's a bit of astringency that picks up at the end, but it never manages to dry out the experience and unusually, brought more of its own sweetness. This was different in the way I always hope world whisky is going to be.

Normally I’m not that enthusiastic about bourbon’s and ex-bourbon cask matured whisky’s (due to the solvent tones) but this one was a nice surprise. Not that I expect that this one will make it in my collection but it was interesting enough to taste. The solvent tones fade slowly after giving this dram some aeration tome and slightly warming it. All in all a surprisingly enjoyable ex-bourbon cask matured whisky.

Spicy Sweet Kavalan scores big with its single casks in the Solist range. But recently the also released a standard version on both sherry and bourbon. Today I will try the Kavalan ex-Bourbon Cask, cut to 46%. The aroma of Granny Smith apples, banana, coconut and red berries is somewhat hindered by some wood glue, that thankfully evaporates quickly. It makes room for ginger, vanilla, dried grasses and a whiff of cinnamon. A couple of drops of acacia honey and a handful of nuts appear. Yes, this turns out the be wonderfully fruity after all. But if you leave it to breath for long, it gets a bit candy-like as if from Haribo bears or wine gums. It is fairly oily and immediately sweet on the palate. A nice continuation of the nose, although the spices become a tad louder. The oak rears its head. I also get a slight bitterness as if from a grape pith and some green herbal notes. But the emphasis remains on the sweet fruit and honey. In the medium long finish, which offers herbs and some pepper, some tannins appear, making it very dry at the death. A nice but rather young Kavalan, I think. I do prefer the sherry cask version. The oak is quite loud in this one. Around 60 EUR.

A nice nose, but unfortunately overall "only" an average good ex-Bourbon barrel whisky.

Nose: pleasantly sweet, vanilla, toffee, fudge, citrus, fresh fruit, green apples, melon, ginger, spices. Palate: creamy and light, vanilla, honey, toffee, burnt caramel, citrus, grapefruit, orange peel, a bit of astringency, wood, pepper, Finish: medium short, vanilla, caramel, wood, grapefruit, cocoa, spices.

On the nose, the almond, the core, the vanilla and the characteristic glue of the bourbon finish! On the palate, vanilla, exotic fruits, a bit of banana, the acidulous sweetness, the sweet spices tending towards cinnamon, then the malt comes back in force, with the glue again! In the finish, oaky and vanilla, a little honeyed. An austere dram, more bourbon than whisky, with a final too marked!