Royal Salute is delighted to announce The Eternal Reserve, which uses an innovative blending technique to create an exceptional whisky that will literally live forever.
Royal Salute has selected rare and precious whiskies with an exceptionally long finish to blend and marry together in 88 casks to form the inaugural batch. Using a unique process called Circular Blending™, Royal Salute has committed to including this original blend in each subsequent The Eternal Reserve release for decades to come.
Each time a new batch is unveiled, half of the blend will be re-casked in the Royal Salute Vault to conserve the precious liquid created in 2015. Thus, the original blend is forever preserved by this perpetual re-circulation – creating a smooth, voluptuous whisky that justifies its original name: uisge beatha (the water of life).
From the carefully crafted whisky, to the new porcelain flagon design, Royal Salute The Eternal Reserve is a dedication to the art of true craftsmanship. With distinctive features, the porcelain flagons have all been created with meaning to combine age-old techniques with a contemporary signature icon, which reflects the Circular Blending™ process.
Royal Salute Global Brand Director, Vadim Grigorian comments: “Time is at the heart of Royal Salute – our youngest blend is 21 years old but the brand was born alongside a thoroughly modern monarch so we constantly blend tradition with the contemporary. The Eternal Reserve is inspired by artists, writers, and philosophers – all dedicated to understanding the possibility of continuity in the modern world. This superb whisky is our suggestion that eternity doesn’t mean living forever. It means timelessness – and it belongs to those who live in the present.”
The first batch of 88 casks will be released in 2015 and sold exclusively in Global Travel Retail, supported by a digital and experiential promotional and merchandising campaign bringing the Royal Salute The Eternal Reserve story to life.
Royal Salute The Eternal Reserve will be available from September, priced $180 per 70cl.
Circular Blending™ Process
The very first creation of Royal Salute The Eternal Reserve began with the preparation of 88 casks of incredibly rare and precious whiskies, all aged in their casks for over 21 years. These whiskies were carefully selected using two criteria: firstly, that each whisky possessed an exceptionally long finish that could be further extended through blending and marrying process and secondly, that the whiskies chosen could be beautifully harmonised in each new batch, while keeping the original signature style forever.
Once selected, the precious whiskies were blended together and then further married in 88 casks in the Royal Salute Vault for a period of six months. This original blend is then blended with other 88 casks worth of precious whisky of exceptionally aged whiskies to complete the first batch.
Before bottling this first batch, our expert blending team holds some of the blend back, returning it to the original 88 casks, so they can form the basis of the next batch. These 88 casks are always safeguarded in the Royal Salute Vault in Strathisla distillery. Each time a new batch is blended, the same process – circulation of 88 casks – is repeated; the whiskies of the 88 casks from the previous batch are added to the new blend of the next batch.
Tasting Notes
A dreamy sensation of ripeness is the first to arrive. Pears in syrup, honeycomb and creamy vanilla. An unmistakable promise of intense sweetness to come.
Like the changing of green to gold and the falling of the leaves, the burst of the rich sensuality of liquid honey, juice-laden oranges and tangy liquorice. Mellow, graceful and serene.
Time passes to reveal a beautiful and incredibly long lingering culmination.
Like the eternal cycle of nature. A finish that lasts and lasts; never-ending.
The Packaging Design
The creation of each porcelain flagon is handcrafted by Wade Ceramics using traditional, age-old techniques; each individual flagon takes up to 5-6 days to make before being checked to make sure it completely free from any imperfections. To ensure this, each flagon must produce a perfect F sharp note. The flagon is then glazed using traditional artisan techniques with Royal Salute The Eternal Reserve glaze taking a shiny lustrous aubergine hue.
The brand logo, name and unique Circular Blending™ symbol are then hand applied onto the flagon using water slide transfer and the bottle neck is wrapped in a cream parchment label with the signature of the Master Blender and the Eternal Reserve stamp as a seal of approval.
The precious flagon is housed within a rigid box that also features the unique Circular Blending™ symbol. The rigid box continues the aubergine colour of the flagon and combines it with gold accents for striking premium on-shelf impact.
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 Twitter @RoyalSalute
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.2 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