Royal Salute was created by Chivas Brothers in 1953 to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June of that year. The age — twenty-one years — was chosen to echo the twenty-one gun salute traditionally fired in honour of monarchy, and the bottles were originally presented in flagons of Wade ceramic in three colours referencing the Crown Jewels: ruby, sapphire and emerald. Those flagons remain the brand's signature today.
It is, technically, a blended Scotch whisky in which every component is at least twenty-one years old — a high bar then, and a high bar now. The malt content is substantial, drawn from the deep stocks of the Chivas Brothers group, with Strathisla again forming a significant part of the heart and notable contributions from sherry-aged Speysides.
For the first half-century of its existence Royal Salute was sold under the Chivas Regal umbrella; in more recent years Pernod Ricard has positioned it as a standalone luxury brand, with a proliferation of higher-aged and limited expressions. The standard 21 remains the foundation, and it is the one against which the rest should be judged.
The style is sherried, weighty and unhurried. There is no attempt at modernity here — this is blended Scotch in the grand mid-twentieth-century manner, presented with appropriate ceremony. As a piece of liquid history tied to a specific royal event, and as a genuinely accomplished old blend, it earns its keep.
