What is Taiwanese and Indian whisky?

The name whisky is not tied to a country: Regulation (EU) 2019/787 sets requirements for raw material, maturation and strength, not for the place of origin.

For the European market the same lower limit therefore applies to whisky from Yilan as to whisky from Speyside: at least three years in wooden casks of at most 700 litres and at least 40 percent alcohol at bottling.

Only the name Scotch Whisky is tied to an area. According to the Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009 it is reserved for whisky distilled in Scotland and matured there.

A warm climate speeds up maturation: the exchange between whisky and wood goes faster and more evaporates per year.

In Yilan hot summers and cool winters alternate, which according to the trade magazine The Spirits Business affects both the extraction from the wood and the oxidation in the cask. In Scotland evaporation is around 2 percent per year; in the tropics it is higher.

A five-year-old whisky from Taiwan or India has therefore had more wood contact than a five-year-old whisky from Scotland.

Kavalan in Yilan is the best-known Taiwanese distillery; the company was built in 2005 by King Car Group and released the Kavalan Classic Single Malt in 2008.

The distillery started with a capacity of 2.5 million litres of pure alcohol per year and went to 9 million litres after the 2016 expansion. From 2010 the brand began winning international awards.

On the shelf in Bathmen, alongside Kavalan, there are also bottles from Omar and Yushan, both from Taiwan.

Amrut, Paul John and Rampur are the Indian distilleries that most often turn up as single malt in Europe.

Within Asia and the Pacific, India is the country where the most whisky is drunk, and premium single malt is the fastest-growing category there according to The Spirits Business. According to the same trade magazine, Paul John has won more than 300 awards.

On the shelves in Bathmen there are also bottles from Indri and Kamet.

More than thirty countries now make whisky, from Israel and Finland to Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

The whisky category as a whole grew by 8 percent between 2021 and 2022, and compound growth of 4 percent a year to 2027 was forecast for the premium segment. Scotland remains the largest country of origin, with 151 working distilleries according to the Scotch Whisky Association.

World whisky is therefore not a replacement for Scotch but an extension of the range.

Bottles of world whisky often carry no age, because many distilleries are young and maturation in a warm climate proceeds faster.

Look instead at the country of origin, the alcohol content and the mention of single malt or blend. These three details are on almost every label and say more than a missing year.

Not sure which bottle suits your taste? Walk in at Brink 2 in Bathmen or call 0570 541 278.