Flaviar – Liquor and Spirits Club

I am an avid whiskey fan and when Flaviar contacted me to give their service a try, I jumped at the opportunity. Flaviar is a self-described liquor and spirits club for people who love to try different brands or varieties of alcohol. The draw of the club is that members can order sample boxes of liquor they’ve wanted to try from the ever-changing list carried by Flaviar.
This works out extremely well because instead of paying $40 to $100+ for a premium bottle of just one liquor, members can try small amounts of five different liquors for the cost of about one moderately priced bottle. When I say small amounts, I don’t mean that the samples were paltry. In fact, I was genuinely surprised that each sample could easily supply two generous servings of neat or on the rocks liquor. In the image below, those little sample bottles go almost all the way to the bottom of the box!
When choosing which sample box I wanted to try, I went with the Asia and Oceania whiskey sampler. This particular box contained whiskeys from Asia and lands “down under” that not only did I never try before, but I’d never even heard of most prior to reading about them.

When the box arrived, it came with a pamphlet that described each whiskey in detail as well as explained the flavor profiles for each. I found the pamphlet extremely informative and it made tasting each whiskey that much more fun by knowing the history or intent behind the product. The whiskeys I tried were:

1. Lark (Tasmania) – This is a whiskey finished in rum casks. The flavor is a little smokey and sweet with a mild peat quality. The nose is somewhat fruity and it finishes dry. I really enjoyed this different take on whiskey.
2. Togouchi (Japan) – As a blended Japanese whiskey, this brand is somewhat of a weird one. They import unaged whiskey (moonshine) from Canada and Scotland before blending them in a 60/40 ratio respectively. They then age the whisky in barrels kept in an abandoned train station, which supposedly gives the whiskey a unique flavor. I could immediately tell that Canadian whiskey was the main ingredient here because of the hot, fiery finish that is a trademark of Canadian whiskey. While I love Japanese whiskey, I wasn’t a big fan of this one.
3. Milford 10-year (New Zealand) – This 10-year old whiskey was really dry and mildly peaty. It wasn’t very smooth despite the aging perhaps due to the dryness and the finish felt fiery.
4. Paul John Brilliance (India) – I was surprised to find an offering from India on the list. The nose on this whiskey is pleasantly interesting with a sweet oak and flowers. If you smell it immediately after pouring, the vapors sting, so it is good to let it rest a minute. As a young whiskey born in 2008, this distiller seems to have some work to do to tame the burn and smooth out the flavors.
5. Kavalan Single Malt (Taiwanese) – Last, but certainly not least, I tried this offering from Taiwan. I can’t sing its praises enough! The Kavalan has a mild aroma with vanilla and fruit notes. I found it extremely smooth with practically no burn despite clocking in at 80 proof. Really fantastic!
   

After trying five whiskeys that I never even knew about, I actually found one that I love and a couple that I wouldn’t mind purchasing. That’s the real value of Flaviar’s product and I would recommend it to any liquor connoisseur looking to expand their horizons without breaking the bank!