Judgement of Leith

We mentioned the Judgement of Paris in a previous entry and we talked about whisky tasting very recently. Blending the two together gives you the Judgement of Leith, with no doubt equally shocking results to the country which prides itself for the whisky distillery expertise, Scotland. A Taiwan-distilled whisky, Kavalan, beat three Scottish blends and one English blend in a blind tasting arranged by The Times in Leith, Scotland, north of Edinburgh.

The event was meant to be a celebration for Burns Night, after Robert Burns. Presumably the winning whisky was going to be paired with the Scottish national dish, the haggis in the traditional Burns supper.

Here's an excerpt to the secret of this Taiwanese whisky:

But the real talking point was Kavalan, which is not marketed in Britain. Frantic research swiftly revealed the secret of its success. Although only two years old, this whisky is distilled with a blend of Taiwanese enthusiasm and Scottish expertise (a Dufftown firm built the distillery) seasoned with a large dose of equatorial heat and humidity.

In Taiwan, temperatures are persistently 20C higher than on Speyside, a differential which ensures that its spirit matures more quickly than its Scottish cousins. In other words, this whisky may have a young label, but the contents of the bottle are more mature than rivals of a similar age.

The Kavalan Whisky website
The Times article on the blind tasting