Royal Salute Releases Sets Of Very Mature Whiskies

Chivas Brothers’ Royal Salute has unveiled The Age Collection of blended whiskies as a tribute to time, legacy and longevity. Comprising ten distinctive blends with the youngest containing whiskies 21 years or older and the oldest containing whiskies at least 30 years old, The Age Collection gives whisky enthusiasts a special opportunity to sample a range of whiskies anchored on the older end of the maturation range.

Hand-blended by Royal Salute’s expert master blending team, each expression of The Age Collection ascends in age, year by year, while possessing its own unique story. The line includes a range of blends, incorporaing whiskies from long closed distilleries as well as a blend comprising whiskies stored only in first fill American oak barrels.

To reinforce the brand’s ongoing investigation of time, Royal Salute commissioned British design creatives Sally Mackereth, from Studio Mackereth architects, and craft workshop Jack Badger. The Age Collection is presented on Mackereth’s bespoke 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 installment 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 1st 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 in the year Queen Elizabeth becomes Britain’s longest serving monarch. As sources of the 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 that we have used for the Royal Salute The Age Collection is from ancient trees trapped in peat beneath a riverbed in Croatia, preserving 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.”

The Age Collection will be produced in an extremely limited edition of 21 sets, with each set retailing at a recommended price of $40,000. In addition, 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.