Head to head · unusually close flavour match
Chivas Regal 12 Year Old vs Kavalan Classic Single Malt
No flavour axis separates them, so the difference on record is disclosure: Chivas Regal 12 Year Old states 12 years, Kavalan Classic Single Malt states no age.
Compiled by WhiskeyCask Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30
Specifications side by side
| Chivas Regal 12 Year Old | Kavalan Classic Single Malt | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Blended scotch | Single malt |
| Origin | Scotland | Taiwan |
| Age | 12 years | No age statement |
| Strength | Not published | 40% ABV |
| Cask | Not disclosed | American oak |
| Bottle | 700 ml | 700 ml |
| RRP observed | £33 | £60 |
| Per 10cl | £4.71 | £8.57 |
| Per litre of alcohol | — | £214 |
| Chill-filtered | Not stated | Not stated |
What separates them
Different countries: Chivas Regal 12 Year Old from Scotland, Kavalan Classic Single Malt from Taiwan.
Chivas Regal 12 Year Old is a blended scotch, Kavalan Classic Single Malt a single malt.
Chivas Regal 12 Year Old states 12 years; Kavalan Classic Single Malt states none.
Kavalan Classic Single Malt lists american oak. Chivas Regal 12 Year Old publishes no cask detail at all.
Neither states chill filtration.
Neither set of specifications is producer-confirmed.
What the price buys
Kavalan Classic Single Malt is £27 dearer a bottle than Chivas Regal 12 Year Old.
Chivas Regal 12 Year Old publishes no strength, so we will not cost it per litre of alcohol.
Flavour, compared
View as table
| Axis | Chivas Regal 12 Year Old | Kavalan Classic Single Malt |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 1 | 0 |
| Sweet | 7 | 7 |
| Fruity | 6 | 8 |
| Spicy | 4 | 4 |
| Woody | 4 | 5 |
| Sherried | 4 | 3 |
| Cereal | 5 | 4 |
| Oily | 5 | 6 |
No axis reaches the 3-point gap we call meaningful. Widest is fruity, 6 against 8.
Identical on sweet and spicy.
Each bottle in its own right
Chivas Regal 12 Year Old
Soft, honeyed and inoffensive. Built for mixing rather than contemplation.
We cannot publish an ABV for this bottle. Chivas' own domains return HTTP 403 to us on every path, Pernod Ricard's brand page omits strength, and no major retailer exposes it in product data — so the widely repeated 40% is not something we can source. The blend is anchored to Strathisla, the oldest continuously operating distillery in Scotland, founded 1786.
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: Chivas Regal 12 Year Old for mixing and value, Kavalan Classic Single Malt for something different and fruit-forward drinkers.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for Chivas Regal 12 Year Old and Kavalan Classic Single Malt: pernod-ricard.com, reservebar.com, kavalanwhisky.com. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.