Albert Lee

It took only seven years for Taiwan’s first whisky distillery to produce an award-winning spirit—and one that takes only half the standard time to barrel-age. In 2015, Kavalan won World’s Best Single Malt Whisky at the World Whisky Awards, and a score of other honors followed in the succeeding years.

Kavalan was King Car’s first foray into spirits, the food conglomerate known for making the canned coffee Mr. Brown, now with 50 cafes on the island. CEO Albert Lee, son of King Car founder Tian Tsai Lee and the visionary behind the whisky, set the distillery into motion and put together a crack team of international experts as soon as Taiwan opened up its alcohol market.

Once it conquered the world whisky market, Kavalan turned to making Bavarian beer and now craft gin, using the same pure spring mountain water that flows from Snow Mountain in Yilan County.

Kavalan took home three awards at the Whisky Industry Awards in 2022, including the Distilled Winery of the Year in the World, Production Area, the Best Popular Winery of the Year in the World, Production Area, and the Brand Ambassador of the Year in the World, Whisky.