Kavalan Whisky Distillery Tour

 On Friday I met up with my friend Tex for his last full day in Taiwan and went to the Kavalan Whisky Distillery in Yilan (previous visit with whisky mixing here)

We'd almost botched the date, and so were unable to get a time slot for the distillery tour in English, but did manage to tag onto a Chinese tour time slot ^u^v

KC, cardigan, JSK, socks: BABY THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT

Blouse: Little Dipper

Underskirt: Forest Song

Bag: Swimmer

We took the train from Songshan station to Yilan station and then got a cab over to the distillery.  First we got some food at the Mr. Brown cafe inside!

To be honest, the salad and potato wedges were pretty disappointing >_<;  The egg salad sandwich itself was fine, though the bread a bit dry.  The latte was the best part!

Tex got an Ethiopian stewed meat of some sort and a Kavalan latte which tasted nice.

It was a rainy day again, just like when I went in February, but it wasn't a big rain so just a bit chilly!

The tour was nice, though I honestly don't understand much about whisky.  The tour guide introduced the grains and process.  Something about charring the barrels (:  And using barrels that used to hold brandy or wine to infuse the whisky with different flavors.  I'm sure whisky nerds would understand all the details better!

The giant distillery machinery pieces were interesting to see!

Apparently the temperature of Taiwan means the whisky matures(?) faster so it can be produced more quickly.  It also evaporates more easily, and the missing bits were considered to have been drunk by angels, so it's called "Angel's share" or something like that!

At the end of the tour we could do a tasting for about NT$200/10ml depending on which type of whisky you wanted to taste.  I passed on that part ^^;

Along the walkway was also some barrel art!

To end our trip, we got some drinks at the bar.  I got a mojito as it's been years and years since I had one!

There wasn't as much mint and lime flavor as I would have liked, but maybe that's so people can appreciate the gin(?) flavor more.  What do I know about alcohol? XD  I just like sweet or tangy cocktails!

We took a cab back to the train station and took the train to Taipei Main Station (Tex had to meet an aunt and family for dinner) before we parted ways.

It's always lovely to see friends!

When I got home, I fell asleep far too early and ended up awake at 2AM @_@  Oops!  My sleep schedule is very screwy lately (:

Do you have a favorite cocktail or mocktail?  To be honest, I never know what to order when there is alcohol served, and just go with what sounds fruity or sweet!  Even alcohol-free drinks are nice when they're fresh or dessert-like!