With only 21 bottles up for grabs (well 20 actually) and a price tag of £122,000, the Royal Salute from Chivas Brothers must rank as one of the most expensive whisky packages to date.
I say ‘package’ because an awfully big chunk of the price of this whisky is the cost of the flagon the whisky comes in, rather than the liquid itself.
The world’s only exclusively prestige Scotch whisky range, Royal Salute, has crafted a blend so rare that only one man in the world has tasted it – creator and Master Blender, Colin Scott.
‘Tribute to Honour’ has been introduced to pay homage to the oldest crown jewels of the British Isles: The Honours of Scotland. The narrative of the Honours comprises glorious legends and intrigue and remains a powerful and inscrutable ode to Scottish history. Royal Salute Tribute to Honour marks a historical pinnacle in whisky making.
The most exquisite, precious and scarce whiskies used to create Tribute To Honour, have been carefully selected from the Royal Salute Vault at Strathisla. Expertly blended by Colin Scott, just 21 bottles of Tribute to Honour have been created and also mark the pinnacle of Colin’s 21 years of expertise in blending.
Explains Colin, “Chivas Brothers has a phenomenal archive of high-aged whiskies, some of which, after decades of careful maturation, have acquired a rich intensity and deep concentration of sumptuous characters. It is these very few whiskies which I have personally selected to compose Tribute To Honour – this opulent and rarest of blends.”
Fittingly, only the finest aged whiskies – at least 45 years old – are presented in the spectacular bejeweled bottle, dressed by Garrardin flawless diamonds and shimmering gold.
As the world’s oldest jeweller to royalty Garrard has embellished the Royal Salute Tribute to Honour flagon – hand cast and perfected, black porcelain – with 413 flawless white and black diamonds. Some of these exquisite jewels form the shape of the Sword of State: one of the trilogy of treasures that are The Honours of Scotland. Set in gold and silver, 22 carats of gemstone adorn the decorative collar and stunning flagon’s visage. Golden lions sit either side of the diamond encrusted sword.
Craftsman at Garrard have spent days perfecting each flagon by hand. The prestigious jeweller has served six successive British monarchs and pays tribute to the ancient Scottish Sword of State as its landmark.
Each flagon of Royal Salute Tribute to Honour will be available from September 2011. The bottles are individually numbered and priced at $200,000 (about £122,000) . One of the 21 bottles will be kept in the Royal Salute Vault.
About Royal Salute
The pinnacle of Scotch whisky, award-winning Royal Salute was first created as a tribute by Chivas Brothers to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II upon her coronation in 1953. This defining luxury whisky has a very powerful and sophisticated style, and has become the world’s leading luxury Scotch whisky brand.
Royal Salute has a long legacy of paying tribute to nobility and leadership, it is part of the brand’s DNA
• 1953: Royal Salute created to pay tribute to Her Majesty the Queen’s coronation
• 2003: Royal Salute 50 Year Old launched for the 50th anniversary of the coronation, also paid tribute to Sir Edmund Hillary’s and Sir Tensing Norgay’s on the anniversary of their successful ascent of Everest
• 2005: Royal Salute 38 Year Old launched – a tribute from Scotland, inspired by the Stone of Destiny
• 2010: Royal Salute 62 Gun Salute launched paying tribute to the craftsmanship of four master blenders who have safeguarded the Royal Salute legacy
• 2011: Royal Salute Tribute to Honour launched, the most notable and compelling symbols of Scottish royalty
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.