A good friend got me these samples of Kwun Cheung, a Chinese single malt whisky. It is a fairly young brand from Guangzhou which attracted some attention through its use of indigenous Chinese wood types and good results at the 2025 World Whiskies Awards. Apparently the name 觀橡 means something like observing oak. Especially the especially Mongolian oak from the Changbai Mountains in northeastern China is used.
In fact the company behind the brand, Guangzhou Shunchangyuan, has a history of producing fruit wines and they work with the Maltology team for this whisky project. Our first whisky matured in a cask of their own lychee wine.
Kwun Cheung (55,4%, OB +/- 2025, Lychee wine seasoned Mongolian oak cask #047)
Nose: a rich and sweet oakiness. Sweet floral notes, hints of condensed milk and honey. Then definitely also a candied, syrupy side that could be the lychee wine. Hints of butter caramel and some hazelnuts. Just echoes of oriental herbs and spice.
Mouth: powerful and sweet again. I’m getting peach syrup, oranges and lychee, evolving towards caramel and hints of coffee candy. Underneath there is a warm woodiness that comes close to virgin wood at some point, with ginger and hints of juniper, as well as some resinous hints.
Finish: medium, mostly marked by woody notes and a faint metallic / citrusy edge.
Not bad. Still young and heavily marked by the experimental cask. The exotic and candied lychee footprint is highly uncommon but I’m sure they can get a really balanced whisky from this.
Kwun Cheung (59,3%, OB +/- 2025, Changbai mountains Liaotung oak cask)
Nose: less sweet, this time much more focused on the floral side of wood. White flowers, some gin botanicals, and lemon. White pepper and ginger as well. Excellent freshness but a limited profile.
Mouth: a bit too much now. Lemons and lemon peels, plenty of resinous notes, mint, white pepper and juniper. A little eucalyptus, some cedarwood and earthy cereals. There’s little fruitiness to be found in the spirit, it’s all about the wood. Subtle bitterness towards the end.
Finish: quite long, because of the wood.
Here it crosses a line for me. There’s too much oak involved to really assess the spirit. Especially the floral and bitter edge makes it harder to enjoy for me. Score: 74/100
Kwun Cheung (53,3%, OB +/- 2025, peated Mongolian oak cask #037)
Nose: the (mild) peat brings it together, balancing the wood. Still a resinous side, a lot of citrusy freshness and lemon oil, eucalyptus and cracked peppercorns. It does feel oriental, verging towards young Japanese distilleries at times.
Mouth: a lovely juiciness now, combining juniper, lemon peelings, even a little yuzu, and crushed mint leaves. Really vibrant. Here the resinous touches and peppery notes from the oak blend in nicely, coming close to artisan European or Japanese whiskies for instance.
Finish: quite long, with a nice sharpness to it, along with peppery notes and puffs of smoke.
The combination of oriental spice and juniper reminds me of Japanese whisky from Mizunara casks. This feels the most craft and the most integrated of all three. Score: 85/100