Royal Parade

The Peak was in Seoul recently to celebrate a new era for luxurious premium blended whisky Royal Salute.

- CHRISTY YOONG

It was supposed to be Summer in Seoul, but it hasn’t acted anything like it since we arrived. South Korea’s capital was more overcast than sunny, gloomy rather than bright. It reminded me a little of the last time I was in Scotland, actually. Which wasn’t all bad considering I was here to discover how Royal Salute, the luxurious premium blended whisky, was preparing for the future.

GENESIS

The story of Royal Salute began with the coronation of a queen. To mark the ascension of HM Queen Elizabeth II in 1952, the house of Chivas Brothers created an exquisite blend of Scotch whisky that had been matured for at least 21 years old for opulence of taste and elegance. Each bottle was housed in beautifully crafted porcelain flagons made by Wade Ceramics (founded 1867) and named after the 21-gun salute that honoured the queen. Every step of its creation had been carefully calibrated to ensure that Royal Salute was nothing less than a whisky stepped in history and tradition, a gift befitting of a queen.

For more than 60 years, Royal Salute remained essentially unchanged – with the exception of intermittent extensions of its range, including the Royal Salute 38 Year Old Stone of Destiny and Royal Salute 62 Gun Salute, that broadened its prestige, the original 21-year-old expression, instantly recognisable in its porcelain flagon, remained the same. In that time, it has also become a brand synonymous with the pinnacle of Scotch whisky expression. It’s taken a while but, finally, Chivas Brothers felt a time for a change: not only will Royal Salute have a new look, there would also be two new 21-year old expressions to join the original.