One of the best things to do in Yilan, a trip to Kavalan Distillery will likely result in high ‘spirits’ – from learning about the production process to tasting or even blending your own unique Kavalan whisky, this is a treat for curious travellers or seasoned whisky connoisseurs.
Yilan was chosen as the location for the Kavalan distillery due to the region’s clean water supply from the snow mountains which is used in the brewing process.
Visitors can see the production process up close, take part in various activities or just enjoy some food and drinks in the splendid Spirit Castle.
From making your own whisky to the rather excellent gift-shop (plus free souvenir ink stamps), raise your glass to our guide to Kavalan Distillery – we visited in February 2026.
Disclosure – we were hosted by Kavalan (and damn, their whisky is good).
Taiwan checklist
We love using agoda.com, expedia.com and booking.com for researching and booking all our hotels.
For booking tours, transfers and buying SIM cards/eSIMs we recommend Get Your Guide, Viator, KK Day or Klook. You can also purchase eSIMs from Airalo.
For booking rental cars visit Discover Cars. For private drivers and taxis, check out our Transfer guide >
For more recommendations, check out our Taiwan travel booking resources page >
All set for Taiwan? Do one final check with our Taipei first timers guide and our packing list guide. Travelling with kids? Check out our Taipei For Kids eBook >
The Kavalan Experience
Kavalan Distillery is open 7 days a week from 9am to 6pm – an easy day trip from Taipei, the distillery is a short 15 minute drive or taxi ride from Yilan Railway Station, with lots of free onsite parking – and the backdrop is stunning, surrounded by Yilan’s mountains and natural greenery.
As of 1 March 2026, there is a small admission Kavalan Distillery admission fee of NT$200, NT$100 for elderly, students and Yilan residents and free for children under 12.
The overall distillery experience and surrounding buildings are huge so this represents great value for money – plus you could make a day of it and ‘reward’ yourself afterwards in the onsite bars and restaurant (a ‘Mr Brown Cafe’) in the Spirit Castle.
Other Kavalan Distillery experiences are available to purchase like tasting and blending which we will go into more detail later on.
If you are unable to travel independently to Kavalan Distillery, then you can join a group/private tour from Taipei that includes a trip to Kavalan:
- Yilan Kavalan Whisky Distillery, Jim & Dad’s Brewing and Shenkeng tour from Taipei on Viator >
- Yilan East Coast & Kavalan Whisky Distillery day tour from Taipei on Klook >
- Yilan Winery private day tour (Kavalan Whisky/Jim & Dad’s Brewing Company/Yilan Distillery/Shenkeng Old Street) from Taipei on Klook >
- Private Taipei day trip: Kavalan Whisky, Yilan Craft Beer & Beach on Viator >
You might like – Our guide to the best things to do in Yilan (coming soon) >
Taiwan Whisky Time
We were lucky enough to spend an afternoon in February 2026 with David Chen – Kavalan’s brand ambassador, as part of a hosted experience.
Kavalan Distillery in Yilan was established in 2005 and was Taiwan’s very first dedicated whisky distillery.
Accessible to visitors and whisky drinkers from all over the world, this huge complex is capable of the whole whisky making process, from milling, mashing and fermentation to distillation, maturation and blending.
One of our favourite Kavalan moments was watching the controlled toasting of the inside of a wooden barrel – this helps release aroma from the oak and influence the flavour of the whisky. It looks pretty cool too!
In a relatively short space of time and blessed with pure waters from the nearby Lanyang Plain and Snow Mountain, it has won over 200 awards and already put Taiwanese whiskey on the global map – so what better place than to try Kavalan Whisky at the source – ganbei / cheers!
Join our Facebook Taiwan Travel Tips (TTT) Group!
Need help with your Taiwan itinerary or have any questions? Head on over to the most fun and fastest growing Taiwan Facebook group with 170,000+ members and ask the experts!
Click here to join our group >
Or if you just want to see more of our Taiwan photos, follow our Taiwan Facebook page >
A Whisky Walk
A trip to Kavalan Whisky distillery can be in any order you so desire, but likely the best way to do it is take walk around the distillery floor first where you can get up close to oak whisky barrels imported from all over the world (and some of which are made on site).
Here you can peer through huge windows watching Kavalan’s workers brew up batches big and small – it is an excellent insight into how this world class whisky is created right here in Yilan, before it matures and is shipped and sipped across the world and in Taiwan.
After a walk around the distillery area, guests can do a premium warehouse tasting with 3 to 5 premium whisky pours for NT$1,500 to NT$2,000 – or you can do whisky tasting in the Spirit Castle area for NT$100 – 200 per 10ml glass.
We were lucky enough to have a private tasting workshop with David Chen, who demonstrated how to drink whisky in the correct way (for instance, make sure you sniff with both your left and right nostril for the full olfactory experience).
We tried several premium Kavalan whiskeys and were excited to try extracting the whisky ourselves from the oak barrels using a traditional ‘whisky thief’.
Kavalan Distillery Lunch Stop
After our Kavalan tasting session, it was time to have some lunch – well, all that tasting is hard work! The Spirit Castle is a large open plan dining and drinking area home to various experiences, workshops and the gift shop.
We opted to have a light lunch at the Mr Brown cafe – also owned by King Car Taiwan (of which Kavalan is part of).
Mr Brown has been a staple of Taiwanese coffee since the early 1980s and has around 20 coffee shops like this one, including their Mr Brown coffee castle and windmill complex overlooking the ocean in Toucheng (we really want to visit this on our next Taiwan trip as it looks epic).
Food here consists of hearty fare like pasta dishes, paninis, sandwiches and a large selection of side dishes. We also enjoyed a classic Taiwanese caramel egg pudding dowsed in Kavalan Whisky – talk about a decadent dessert!
Nearby, you can also grab some Buckskin Beer (their inhouse award-winning craft beer) but we opted to do something rather cool – blend our Kavalan Whisky…
Kavalan DIY Whisky Blending
This was one of the most fun things to do in Yilan during our time there – and it makes for such a beautifully packaged and unique souvenir (or enjoy it on your hotel balcony at night during your Taiwan trip like we did).
Costing NT$1,800 per 300ml bottle, this is a fun experience – and when we talked about this in our Taiwan Travel Tips (TTT) Facebook group, we heard lovely stories like one member who does this once a year with her mother, as a boozy bonding experience.
In the whisky blending room, you are given four test tubes of different Kavalan whiskeys – Ex-bourbon, vinho, oloroso and peaty, each with different qualities.
Here you can experiment with varying amounts of each to come up with your own unique blend of whisky (and with plenty of tasting opportunities along the way).
You can make tasting notes as you go along before deciding on your own wonderful whisky creation – I went for more of a smoky / peaty concoction whilst Caroline did a 4:2 ratio of ex-bourbon and vinho.
Afterwards, helpful Kavalan staff assist and bottle your DIY whisky and it is presented in a high-quality gift box. It is almost too good to drink (almost…)
Gift Shop
Once we had our DIY blended whisky, we made our way to the gift-shop on the ground floor of the White Spirit Castle.
Well stocked with both Kavalan branded merchandise and whisky, you can also purchase other King Car beverages here to take home like Mr Brown coffee cans and Buckskin beer.
Prices were also very reasonable – we decided to enjoy our own brand of whisky in style by also purchasing Kavalan whisky glasses and wooden coasters.
As you exit the gift shop, there are also several free Kavalan souvenir stamps, which Taiwan is also famous for – so do bring your stamp book!
Kavalan Distillery – Overall Experience
We really enjoyed our afternoon at Kavalan Whisky Distillery in Yilan. From getting up close to the whisky making process (including the barrel toasting – hot stuff!) to the novelty of making a premium whisky to your specific taste, this is a Taiwan tasting experience to savour.
Whether you are a whisky connoisseur or a casual visitor to Yilan, we think this is a fun way to spend a half day and enjoy the ‘rewards’ afterwards.
Found this Kavalan Whisky Distillery article helpful?
Did you enjoy our article? Let us know in the comments or by sharing it on social media.
You can follow Taiwanderers on:
Instagram
Facebook
TikTok
YouTube
Pinterest
