Head to head · same category, comparable price
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old vs Kavalan Classic Single Malt
One axis separates these two: sherried, 6 against 3.
Compiled by WhiskeyCask Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30
Specifications side by side
| The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old | Kavalan Classic Single Malt | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Single malt | Single malt |
| Origin | Speyside, Scotland | Taiwan |
| Age | 12 years | No age statement |
| Strength | 43% ABV | 40% ABV |
| Cask | Ex-bourbon barrel, Oloroso sherry butt | American oak |
| Bottle | 700 ml | 700 ml |
| RRP observed | £50 | £60 |
| Per 10cl | £7.14 | £8.57 |
| Per litre of alcohol | £166 | £214 |
| Chill-filtered | Not stated | Not stated |
What separates them
Different countries: The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old from Speyside, Scotland, Kavalan Classic Single Malt from Taiwan.
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old states 12 years; Kavalan Classic Single Malt states none.
Cask as each producer describes it: The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old in ex-bourbon barrel and oloroso sherry butt, Kavalan Classic Single Malt in american oak.
Neither states chill filtration.
Neither set of specifications is producer-confirmed.
What the price buys
Kavalan Classic Single Malt is £10 dearer a bottle than The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old.
Strength keeps that ordering: £166 a litre of pure alcohol for The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old against £214.
Across the 32 bottles we can cost this way, The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old is 22nd cheapest and Kavalan Classic Single Malt 28th cheapest.
Flavour, compared
View as table
| Axis | The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old | Kavalan Classic Single Malt |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 0 | 0 |
| Sweet | 8 | 7 |
| Fruity | 6 | 8 |
| Spicy | 4 | 4 |
| Woody | 5 | 5 |
| Sherried | 6 | 3 |
| Cereal | 5 | 4 |
| Oily | 6 | 6 |
That is the only axis of the eight to reach 3 points. Next widest is fruity, 6 against 8.
Identical on peaty, spicy, woody and oily.
Each bottle in its own right
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old
Honey, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sweet without being cloying, and 43% helps.
Full record →Kavalan Classic Single Malt
Mango and coconut — subtropical maturation doing something Scotland cannot.
Matures in Yilan's heat, losing far more to evaporation each year than a Scottish warehouse.
Full record →No overlap in what we list them for: The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old for gift and after dinner, Kavalan Classic Single Malt for something different and fruit-forward drinkers.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old and Kavalan Classic Single Malt: thebalvenie.com, kavalanwhisky.com. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.