Taiwan's Kavalan Wins IWC Whisky of the Year for Second Consecutive Year!

Pride of Taiwan Again! Kavalan Distillery Defends Highest Honor in International Competition

Taiwan's Kavalan distillery has once again written a brilliant record at the International Whisky Competition (IWC), winning the "Whisky of the Year" award for two consecutive years. The award-winning expression is the Kavalan Peatist Oloroso Sherry Cask Single Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky, which scored an impressive 96.97 points in rigorous blind tastings, demonstrating outstanding quality and strength.

The Perfect Balance of Peat Smoke and Subtropical Maturation

This award-winning single malt whisky is crafted from lightly peated malt and matured in Oloroso Sherry casks, belonging to Kavalan's Peatist Series. This series perfectly explores the balance between delicate peat smoke flavors and the distillery's signature subtropical maturation characteristics. Renowned whisky master Octavio Bernal noted that its aroma features rich leather, earthy tea notes, and a hint of star anise, while the palate blends chocolate raisins, figs, and a subtly smoked barbecue flavor, leading to a lingering finish.

Sweeping International Lists and Achieving Extraordinary Success

In addition to taking home the highest honor, Kavalan secured eight positions in the top 15 whisky list for 2026, and R&D team leader Zerose Yang was simultaneously honored as "Master Distiller of the Year". Chairman of the judging panel Max A. Solano highly praised Kavalan for winning this fiercely competitive blind tasting event for two consecutive years, calling it an extremely rare and extraordinary achievement.

Kavalan has been winning awards continuously since its inception, accumulating 11 World's Best titles over the past 11 years, along with 8 Distillery of the Year honors and over 1,000 international gold medals. King Car Group Chairman Lee Yu-ting stated that the continuous pursuit of breakthroughs and innovation has always been the distillery's core spirit, and the team will uphold its passion and dedication to continue exploring infinite possibilities for Taiwanese single malt whisky.

📅 Publish Date: 2026-07-23

🔗 Source: https://thewhiskeywash.com/whiskey-news/kavalan-wins-whisky-of-the-year-for-second-time-at-iwc/