The winner of the coveted 2025 Whisky of the Year went to an amazing orange colored spirit. Kavalan’s Solist Fino Sherry Single Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky has been awarded the 2025 Whisky of the Year.
Most people know the Kaalan and have tasted its unique whisky flavors. However, the 2025 International Whisky Competition has voted overwhelmingly that it is the best whisky.
A recent report by Food & Wine said that Kavalan Solist Fino Sherry Single Cask is distilled, aged, and bottled in Taiwan, with flavors influenced by the Spanish Fino Sherry casks used in maturation. The whisky is bottled at cask strength, typically between 50 and 59.9% ABV. It is non-chill filtered and bottled in its natural color.
Kavalan Named the 2025 Whisky of the Year
At the competition, the Solist Fino Sherry earned the highest score of 97.04 points based on a blind tasting. This means that scores are based on sight, nose, taste, and finish. Judges have no idea which whisky has been handed to them.
However, the expression also pulled off other tenets, including Best World Whisky and Best Single Malt Whisky.
Kavalan has described the expression as having a “rich aroma of sherry, with its creamy toffee and rich fudge qualities and the slightest hint of chocolate. The palate exhibits an early natural sweetness and flavors of fudge, alongside complex fruit notes including mango, ripe citrus, and green apple. The finish is long and rounded.”
Food & Wine pointed out that it was a glamorous night for the distillery, which finished with many awards.
- Kavalan also received the Distillery of the Year award, thanks to strong showings by several entries, including its Solist Manzanilla Sherry, which ranked 9th with 95.78 points.
- Zerose Yang, head of research and development at Kavalan, was named Distiller of the Year, reinforcing the Taiwanese distillery’s dominance at one of the world’s most rigorous whisky competitions.
