ROYAL SALUTE MARRIES BLENDERS’ SKILL AND BRITISHCRAFTSMANSHIP
Royal Salute, the skilfully crafted and timeless Scotch whisky, is delighted to unveil The Age Collection – a tribute to legacy and longevity. Comprising ten distinctive blends with the youngest containing only whiskies 21 years or older and the oldest containing whiskies at least 30 years old, The Age Collection gives whisky collectors a unique ‘taste’ of the passage of time and experience the subtle flavour changes from blend to blend.
Hand blended by Royal Salute’s expert master blending team, The Age Collection ascends in age year by year, with each possessing a unique story. Blends that feature include whiskies from long closed distilleries to others stored only in first fill American oak barrels.
To reinforce the brand’s ongoing investigation on time, Royal Salute commissioned British creatives Sally Mackereth, from Studio Mackereth architects, and craft workshop Jack Badger. The Age Collection is presented on Mackereth’s designed rare handcrafted plinth carved by Jack Badger using 8,000 year old Neolithic wood taken from ancient river beds in the heart of Croatia. This second instalment follows the reveal of the Royal Salute Neolithic Bar, which debuted at Salone de Mobile, Milan earlier this year.
Each blend comes in a dark blue crystal decanter hand crafted using techniques dating back to the First Century AD by Dartington, a traditional glass manufacturer based in England.
Vadim Grigorian, Global Brand Director, Royal Salute said: “The Age Collection combines timeless tradition with contemporary understanding to create a celebration of longevity and dedication in the year Queen Elizabeth becomes Britain’s longest serving monarch. As sources of this naturally preserved material are very limited, this rare oak is the perfect way to display the time and craft behind these blends. The Age Collection unites time, craft and quality; all values encapsulated by Royal Salute.”
Sally Mackereth, Studio Mackereth says: “The rich dark timber we have used for the Royal Salute The Age Collection is from ancient trees that have been trapped in the rich peat of a riverbed in Croatia, which has been preserved it for 8,000 years from the natural decaying process. To witness the tree trunks being raised from their watery lair is an extraordinary sight. To have the opportunity to work with this ancient wood is a great privilege and the piece that we have designed consciously celebrates the beauty of nature and the passage of time.”
Ben Naylor, Director, Jack Badger said: “The morta wood used for the Age Collection plinths for Royal Salute is an elusive and rare wood. The material doesn’t need us to shout about it as the beauty of the wood truly does speak for itself. Once we shaped the ancient wood into the mountains and valleys, which the bottles nestle amongst, all that was left for us to do was to enhance the colour and patina of the wood’s rippling rich grain with a French polish, which amplifies the character and detail of this unique material.”
There are only 21 sets of The Age Collections (RRP $40,000) in existence – and Royal Salute has produced a one-off limited edition set for DFS Masters of Wines and Spirits 2015, with a unique and remarkable version of the plinth carved entirely from one single morta oak tree, formed when oak lies buried in waterlogged soil for thousands of years.
For further information about Royal Salute, please visit www.royalsalute.com.
Notes
A Taste of Time
Each of these blends is a bespoke, handcrafted one-off – they’ve been through no bottling plant, just hand mixed and bottled by our Master Blender in the sampling room over the course of months. After they’re finished – and we suggest you take it slowly – the world will never taste these pinnacles of the blender’s craft again.
Each begins with the big, rich finish of the classic Royal Salute blend.
The 21 Year Old is richer and sweeter than our signature 21 Years Old blend – there’s a high proportion of malt whisky added, bringing the voluptuous hints of toffee and peach. A sensual blend with a long finish.
Nose: Rich and sweet with notes of creamy toffee and ripe peaches in syrup.
Taste: Fondant orange smothered in milk chocolate, honeycomb candy and poached pears.
Finish: Long sweet and fruity.
The 22 Year Old contains a higher proportion ofmalts from first fill American oak barrels – the casks, full of maturation potential, are sweet, adding traces of vanilla and honey like a first kiss in the buds of spring, and the thrilling shiver of the tangy nights that follow.
Nose: Honey and vanilla in abundance, soft red apple toasted almond and a sensation of treacle toffee.
Taste: Runny honey and vanilla echoing the nose, sweet homemade orange marmalade with a touch of ginger.
Finish: Long and tangy.
The 23 Year Old is the old fashioned kind, containing somewhiskies from distilleries that are no longer in existence. This blend contributes totheir legacy – flavours that can never be reproduced, like the memory of your finest hour.
Nose: Old fashioned boiled sweets (barley sugar) vanilla, a touch of milk chocolate and hazelnuts.
Taste: Incredibly creamy, smooth and perfectly balanced. Concentrated vanilla with a mixture of luxurious ice cream texture and Peach Melba.
Finish: Medium and very slightly dry.
The 24 Year Old contains whiskies matured in top quality Hogsheads. The background of subtle, nutty oak recalls the quiet moments of the outsider with a purpose. Its finish is long and slightly dry – like the wit of a wise man.
Nose: Apricot jam, subtle sweet oak notes, crusty bread and creamy banoffee pie.
Taste: Replicates the nose perfectly with a rich creamy toffee and ripe banana flavours. Also a background of subtle nutty oak.
Finish: Long and dry.
The 25 Year Old blend is the most faithful to its family – the Royal Salute bedrock malts – including Strathisla – contribute perfectly to this blend’s character, with their hints of spice, cinnamon and sweet pink lady apples. The finish is sweet and smooth like the first moment of a long holiday.
Nose: Creamy toffee, moist Madeira cake and a touch of spicy liquorice root.
Taste: Sweet red apples (Pink Lady) soaked in honey and cinnamon, soft creamy caramel toffee.
Finish: Sweet and silky smooth.
The 26 Year Old boasts two brothers from a single Glen. Rich and delicate with the floral blossom of the gorse that surrounds them, its finish is long and sweet like a summer evening.
Nose: Soft ripe fruits, predominantly peaches in syrup, and delicate notes of vanilla and toasted oak.
Taste: Luxuriously sweet with rich fruity flavours, namely raspberry and soft fudge and a delicate floral blossom (gorse) note in the background.
Finish: Long and sweet.
The 27 Year Old contains a Speyside classic – a generous proportion of malts from the first legally distilled whisky in Scotland. You could say these are where the story of fine whisky began. Speyside malts are legendarily smooth and this elegant blend offers deep fruitcake flavours and a long, spicy, tangy finish.
Nose: Old fashioned pear drop sweets stewed plums, a touch of spicy gingerbread and moist sultanas.
Taste: Deep and fruity with a concentrated desert pear and rich fruitcake flavours.
Finish: Long, spicy and tangy.
The 28 Year Old is the rich fulfilment of the 23 year old’s promise – similar in style but softer, finer with the insolent demands of peaches and fudge claiming the tongue. Compare and contrast and feel the difference.
Nose: Notes of vanilla chocolate and ripe honeydew melon, sweet clementine orange and a sensation of bonfire smoke.
Taste: Engulfs the mouth with wonderful sweet fruity flavours (peach) allied with this are flavours of rich creamy raisin fudge.
Finish: Long, full and sweet.
The 29 Year Old contains whiskies that have been matured in sherry casks – European oak with the influence of the Spanish plains. Expect ripe damson plums and a long, sleepy finish – like drifting Andalucian afternoon.
Nose: Rich and spicy, raisin fruitcake and ripe damson plums and dark chocolate ginger sweets.
Taste: Perfectly complements the nose with the sweet and tangy flavours of dark chocolate and ripe plums followed by ginger, aniseed and liquorice.
Finish: Long and fruity.
The 30 Year Old is the venerable head of the clan – there are whiskies that are older than some European countries in this blend. Based on generous, tropical base notes of Speyside single malts and the rich, sweet creamy touch of Orkney malts, its long, sweet finish may never quite leave you.
Nose: Rich ripe pears, concentrated pineapple, almost tropical in appearance honeycomb candy smothered in milk chocolate.
Taste: Chocolate Orange liqueur sweets, moist raisins, rich sweet mango and pineapple, vanilla, incredibly creamy.
Finish: Long sweet and syrupy.
About Royal Salute
Royal Salute is a careful blend of matured malt and grain whiskies – with its youngest blend matured for a minimum of 21 years. Created to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and the 21 gun salute that honoured her, the brand is steeped in tradition, but is firmly engaged in the modern world by constantly pushing the art of blending into new, creative and ambitious forms. Royal Salute is deeply involved in polo – the world’s oldest surviving team sport and a game that’s expanding in the modern era. The brand sponsors more than 15 international tournaments from the UK and the USA through Argentina and China to Korea.
www.royalsalute.com
About Chivas Brothers
Chivas Brothers is the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard, the world’s co-leader in wines and spirits. Chivas Brothers’ award-winning portfolio features some of the world’s most revered Scotch whisky brands including Chivas Regal, the world’s first luxury whisky and the No.1 Scotch whisky in China; Ballantine’s, Europe’s No.1 Scotch whisky; The Glenlivet, the world’s No.1 single malt whisky; and Royal Salute, the world’s only exclusively prestige Scotch whisky range. The portfolio also includes two of the world’s leading English gins – Beefeater, the world’s most awarded premium gin, and Plymouth gin – plus a selection of highly acclaimed single malt whiskies, including Aberlour, Longmorn, Scapa, Strathisla and Tormore. The range is completed by a collection of blended Scotch whiskies operating in many of the world’s key whisky markets which includes 100 Pipers, Clan Campbell, Something Special and Passport Scotch.
www.chivasbrothers.com
About Pernod Ricard
Pernod Ricard is the world’s co-leader in wines and spirits with consolidated Sales of € 8,558 million in 2014/15. Created in 1975 by the merger of Ricard and Pernod, the Group has undergone sustained development, based on both organic growth and acquisitions: Seagram (2001), Allied Domecq (2005) and Vin&Sprit (2008). Pernod Ricard holds one of the most prestigious brand portfolios in the sector: Absolut Vodka, Ricard pastis, Ballantine’s, Chivas Regal, Royal Salute and The Glenlivet Scotch whiskies, Jameson Irish whiskey, Martell cognac, Havana Club rum, Beefeater gin, Kahlúa and Malibu liqueurs, Mumm and Perrier-Jouët champagnes, as well Jacob’s Creek, Brancott Estate, Campo Viejo, Graffigna and Kenwood wines. Pernod Ricard employs a workforce of approximately 18,000 people and operates through a decentralised organisation, with 6 “Brand Companies” and 80 “Market Companies” established in each key market. Pernod Ricard is strongly committed to a sustainable development policy and encourages responsible consumption. Pernod Ricard’s strategy and ambition are based on 3 key values that guide its expansion: entrepreneurial spirit, mutual trust and a strong sense of ethics. Pernod Ricard is listed on Euronext (Ticker: RI; ISIN code: FR0000120693) and is part of the CAC 40 index.
www.pernod-ricard.com
