Royal Salute The Eternal Reserve blended Scotch whisky

Product of: United Kingdom

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Released in September 2015, the Eternal Reserve name references “an innovative blending technique to create an exceptional whisky that will literally live forever.” “Literally live forever” may be somewhat overstating this brand’s ability to achieve eternity and the “innovative blending technique”..

which Chivas call “Circular Blending”, with a ‘™’, is remarkably similar to the traditional Spanish solera system.

“Circular Blending” basically involves a selection of whiskies, each aged for at least 21 years, being blended together and left to marry in 88 casks (a very auspicious number in the brand’s key Asian market) for six months to form the original blend. This is then blended with another 88 casks of similarly aged whiskies to complete the inaugural batch. Future batches will use half of this integral batch, returned in the original 88 casks stored in the Royal Salute Vault at Strathisla distillery. This process will be repeated for subsequent batches, as I said in a similar manor to Sherry’s solera process.

Royal Salute The Eternal Reserve is presented in a porcelain flagon handcrafted by Wade Ceramics packed in a box.

Review and Tasting

Sampled on 25/09/2015

Appearance:

Clear, mid-deep golden amber.

Aroma:

Honey, soft leather, Demerara sugar, toasty oak, vanilla crème anglaise. Lavender emerges with water.

Taste:

Full-bodied and honeyed with orange zest, bitter toasty oak tannins and coal dust. Faint notes of black liquorice and lavender – practically with water.

Aftertaste:

Long toasty finish with herbal notes, coal dust, pear and faint liquorice.

Overall:

Starts rich and honeyed but ends dry and toasty with notes of coal dust and along the journey delivers zesty orange, liquorice and lavender but needs a splash of water to properly reveal itself.