FAQ 17: How old can a kavalan get?

bedlamborn

As usual a very good FAQ. When watching it a thought popped into my head. How long can a Kavalan cask be stored in their warehouses before the ABV level drops to low?

I imagine that we will never see 50 years old Kavalan since they mature to fast in the climate. But how old whiskies can Kavalan make in this climate?

Will older whiskies be intense due to the fast maturation? For Scottish distilleries I know that if they want to mature a whisky for a long time they normally use a refill cask.

horst_s_2

@bedlamborn 

Sorry. No idea. I was lately told, that the climate is not as intense as I was told. But I heard from South India, that a 10yo is already quite difficult.

hwchoy

however, purely as a logical thought, that a fast maturation at sub-tropical weather is not exactly equivalent to a long maturation in temperate countries.  I give an analogy of yoga or taichi exercises in deep breathing, vs hard panting.  the total volume of air drawn and expelled may be equivalent, but in deep breathing the air has time to fill the little crevices of your lungs.

so I think in a similar way, a slow maturation in high altitude (as claimed by ron Zacapa) or temperate zones, would allow time between each "breath" for the compounds to interact and change, whereas if the breathing is too fast, there is hardly any time for chemical changes or interaction.