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WORLDWIDE WHISKEY PRODUCER OF THE YEAR TROPHY:
KAVALAN DISTILLERY
From humble beginnings, Kavalan has grown to become a worldwide whisky heavyweight. Founded in 2005, it is the only family-owned whisky distillery in Taiwan and is produced at the King Car distillery in Yilan Province.
Kavalan shot to global prominence in 2010 after one of its whiskies beat a trio of premium Scotch whiskies in a blind tasting organised by Time magazine on Burns Night. The success of that tasting led to sales tripling and demand outstripping supply. Five years later, in 2015, Kavalan’s Solist Vinho Barrique was named the World’s Best Single Malt Whisky at the World Whiskies Awards. The distillery has also been recognised by the IWSC in the past, winning the Asia Pacific Spirit Producer of the Year award four times in a row from 2011 to 2014, and the Worldwide Whisky producer trophy in 2016 and 2017.
Recognising it could not yet compete with Scotch in terms of age, given its short history, Kavalan has instead chosen to carve a niche for itself with Sherry cask-aged whiskies matured at its warehouses in Yilan, south of Taipei, where temperatures average 33oC in the summer. Combined with the region’s humidity, which accelerates the ageing process, maturation can be cut down by a third, with four years in the Taiwanese heat comparable with around 10 to 12 years in Scotland, depending on the warehouse location and cask.
Nearing the end of an ambitious expansion drive, Kavalan announced plans for a second distillery at the
end of 2016 at its site in Yilan, doubling its
number of copper stills to 20 and its production
capacity. This year, it hopes to produce nine million litres, making it one of the largest single malt whisky distilleries in the world.
SCOTCH WHISKY PRODUCER OF THE YEAR TROPHY:
WHYTE & MACKAY
Whyte & Mackay was founded on the docks of Glasgow in 1844 by James Whyte and Charles Mackay, who had a mission to create a “truly Scottish blended whisky”.
This partnership laid the foundations for extraordinary growth over the next century, with the company now known for producing and distributing some of the most highly respected whisky and spirit brands.
Demonstrating the level of experience at the heart of Whyte & Mackay’s operation, in 2016 its master distiller, Richard Paterson, celebrated 50 years in the whisky industry, having begun his illustrious career in 1966. At the age of just 26 he became Whyte & Mackay’s master blender. This year he was awarded the IWSC’s Lifetime Achievement award (see page 17).
The company’s award-winning portfolio includes its flagship Whyte & Mackay Blended Whisky, The Dalmore Highland Single Malt, Jura Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Fettercairn, Glayva Liqueur and Mackinlay’s. This year Whyte & Mackay launched a new blended Scotch malt whisky brand called Shackleton, inspired by charismatic British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton who led the first expedition to the South Pole in 1907. Shackleton set sail on a ship packed with 25 hand-selected cases of Mackinlay’s Rare Old Highland Malt Whisky. He and three companions became the first to set foot on the South Polar Plateau in January 1909 – but abandoned pursuit of the pole itself as the team was close to starvation and
suffering from severe exhaustion. In 2007 three
cases of the whisky were uncovered, frozen into
the ice beneath Shackleton’s base camp. Richard
Paterson analysed and re-created the whisky,
using it as the foundation to create Shackleton.
Scotch Whisky Producer shortlist
 Atom Brands
 Douglas Laing & Co
 The Glenmorangie Company
 The BenRiach Distillery Company  William Grant & Sons
 Distell
 Whyte & Mackay
Worldwide Whiskey Producer shortlist
 Knob Creek (Multiply)  Sazerac
 Kavalan Distillery
 Campari America
 William Grant & Sons
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