Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask

Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask (Cask no. S100209019A, abv. 56.3%), bought at Changi Airport DFS.

Colour: Mahogany. It's a darker shade of colour than the teak wood furniture I have in my room. 

Nose: Raisins and vanilla. It smells like very rich rum and raisin ice cream. Rich in rum, raisins, and vanilla. The raisins are so rich, this smells like a brandy than a whisky. With a little bit of swirling, chocolate notes rise up. Fruit cake. The sort that I grew up eating with preserved fruits and a little bit of something that smells like cereal. Guess this is a whisky after all. A little smell of tanned leather. Faint, and rather pleasant. The vanilla comes out more readily when the whisky has had time to breathe. This is true from the nose through to the palate and finish.

Body: Not very thick and mouth coating. Feels kinda watery in the mouth. Very richly flavoured water.

Palate: Raisins. An explosion of raisins. Neat, the high strength burns a bit, but it quickly fades into a warming chocolate. Like chocolate coated raisins. A bit of leather, and some other fruits. Like...stewed strawberries? A small bit of bitterness, like what you get from chewing coffee beans. Vanilla is released slowly, and a bit of wood comes out as well. A second sip brings out some sour notes, like a slightly acidic wine, with nice tannins. The sherry cask did a very thorough job on this one, I think. 

With water: The raisins explosion gets tamed a little, but somehow the alcohol stings even more. Odd. A bit more leathery/rubbery, and a little more woody. Otherwise, its character remains largely the same.

Finish: Wood and spice, a little like spiced wine at 56.3% abv. The finish is fairly short, but breathing through my mouth brought back sensations of chocolate. Yum yum. A bit of vanilla lingers as well.

On the whole, this is, I think, my favourite thus far. Richly sherried, and a nice mix of flavours. I'm sure there are other flavours in this that I'm not picking up due to the powerful raisins, but I've never complained about having too much rum and raisin ice cream. All is well. This is a great dram. Perhaps the Solist series isn't as polished, smooth and refined as some other 30 year olds, but it's a superb sherry bomb for its age. Apart from the slight burn, this tastes like something that's been sitting in a sherry cask for more than 20 years - it's sherry flavours are richer and more intense than the Glendronach 18 Allardici, for example. It's richer in raisins than the Aberlour a'bunadh (batch 50) as well. Stay away from the Kavalan if you don't like sherry. But if you do, this is fantastic.

For single casks, one always runs a risk when buying - it's not likely that a buyer is going to get a bottle from the same cask as the reviews he/she's read, so there is going to be some variation between the reviewed bottle, and what the buyer can find. Between batches, there might be some differences. The Kavalan Solist Sherry, however, should be fairly safe. Almost every batch has received great reviews, except for one - whiskyfun.com rated several Kavalan Solist Sherry five stars, but gave only 2 to #S081217038. Apparently, it was too sulphury. No idea why. But apart from that, nothing but good reviews.

Price wise, many places in Singapore are selling this at about $250. Compared to the prices of other stuff, maybe this is a bit over-priced. The Aberlour a'bunadh can be found at under $200, the Gldndronach 15 and 18 are both under 200 as well. I've seen a bottle of Amrut Intermediate Sherry for less than $150. Guess that's what being a multiple award winner does to you. 4 gold medals were awarded by the Malt Maniacs in 2015, and 3 went to different casks of the Kavalan Solist Sherry, with a couple more picking up silver medals. 

At the airport Duty Free Shop, however, you can pick up a bottle of the Kavalan Solist Sherry at about $130. Which, in my opinion, is real value-for-money. I bought mine at the DFS, and I'm really pleased with the purchase.

Happy sipping!