Royal Salute (whisky)

Royal Salute boasts the only collection of blended Scotch whisky that begins exclusively at 21 Years Old. It is separated into permanent editions that can be purchased all year round and limited editions that are released in smaller numbers.

Permanent Editions

• The 21 Year Old Signature Blend: The original and most popular Royal Salute blend, rich and smooth with deep fruity flavours and a subtle smokiness.
• The 21 Year Old Malts Blend: The first blended malt from Royal Salute made from over 21 Single Malt whiskies.
• The 21 Year Old Peated Blend: Featuring whiskies from the now silent Imperial Distillery, a smokey whisky with  notes of rich fruits and spice
• The 25 Year Old Treasured Blend: Made from whiskies matured for a quarter of a century, a blend with a sweet flavour and a hint of spice. Only available in global travel retail.
• The 32 Year Old Union of the Crowns: Aged for a minimum of 32 years, a rich and complex blended Scotch whisky.
• The 38 Year Old Stone of Destiny: Aged for a minimum of 38 years, named after the legendary Coronation stone of the ancient Scottish Kings.
• The 62 Gun Salute: Created to celebrate the tradition of the 62 Gun Salute, the highest ceremonial honour in Britain. A powerful and opulent expression blended from rare and highly-aged whiskies.

Limited Editions

• The 29 Year Old Pedro Ximénez Sherry Cask Finish: Created to commemorate Queen Elisabeth II’s first visit to Spain, a whisky finished in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks.
• The 21 Year Old Richard Quinn Edition: The first release in the ‘Couture Collection’ that pays tribute to the world of British fashion, created in collaboration with acclaimed British designer Richard Quinn.
• House of Quinn By Richard Quinn: The second release in the Couture Collection in collaboration with Richard Quinn, only 200 limited edition hand-blown crystal decanters were released worldwide.
• The 21-Year-Old Polo Estancia Edition: The first in the ‘Polo Destinations Collection’, a whisky finished in Malbec casks paying tribute to the famous polo destination of Argentina.
• The 21-Year-Old Snow Polo Edition: A special strength blended whisky housed in a white flagon, paying tribute to the sport of Snow Polo.  

The Pinnacle Blends

• The 51 Year Old Time Series: The pinnacle of Royal Salute’s collection blended from whiskies aged for 51 Years, created as a tribute to the magic of Time
• The 52 Year Old Time Series: The pinnacle of Royal Salute’s collection blended from whiskies aged for 52 Years and fully finished in a single oak cask, created as a tribute to the magic of Time.

Past Expressions

• The 21 Year Old Polo Edition

• The 21 Year Old Beach Polo Edition
• The 28 Year Old Kew Palace Edition
• The 30 Year Old Flask Edition
• The Royal Wedding Edition
• The Age Collection

Created as a gift for Queen Elizabeth II to mark her Coronation Day, the brand’s history is rooted in the British Monarchy, with many of its later expressions created in tribute to royal milestones. In 2002 a 50-Year-Old whisky was released to mark Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee, in 2011 the "Tribute to Honour" was launched - a series of 21 bottles decorated by jewellers Garrard , and in 2012 was the "Diamond Jubilee", another 21-Year-Old blend which commemorated the 60th Anniversary of her coronation.

The first Royal Salute whisky was housed in a green porcelain flagon emblazoned with the Royal Coat of Arms. Since then the 21-year-old blend bottle has been made in several colours including burgundy and brown, with the current and most famous colour being Sapphire Blue. The crest on the front of the flagon was also updated to feature Robert The Bruce in 1959, followed by the Royal Salute lion signifier in 2014.

Although Royal Salute is a brand rooted in history and tradition, it is working on innovation and new product development. In recent years it has expanded its whisky portfolio to tap into Polo, Fashion and Art through several brand collaborations. With a focus on digital innovation, Royal Salute was the first blended Scotch whisky and oldest whisky brand to launch a non-fungible token on BlockBar.com, the world’s first direct-to-consumer NFT marketplace for luxury wine and spirits.

During its close to 70 year history, five Master Blenders have presided over Royal Salute’s incredibly rare and highly aged whisky collection, creating many new and distinguished blends., and ensuring the continuity of the iconic 21 Year Old blend. The current incumbent is Sandy Hyslop, who has held the position for 6 years.

1949-1958 - Charles Julian

Responsible for creating Royal Salute 21YO in 1953 and defining Royal Salute’s signature style.

1959-1965 - Alan Baillie

Upheld the blending traditions and secrets learned from his predecessor to produce whiskies that excelled in quality, taste and consistency.

1966-1988 - Jimmy Lang

Knowledgeable and exacting in his approach to selecting and blending whiskies to ensure their consistency and high-quality year on year.

1989-2016 - Colin Scott

Upheld the legacies of blending secrets and craftsmanship passed down from his predecessors, and responsible for several new products and special releases.

2016 - Present  - Sandy Hyslop

A strong focus on innovation and blending high-aged whisky, he is responsible for all Royal Salute releases including the pinnacle Time Series Collection.

The brand's distillery and visitor centre are at the Strathisla distillery, located in Speyside. The distillery was founded in 1786, and it is the oldest working distillery in the Highlands of Scotland.[5][6] The Strathisla distillery is owned by Chivas Brothers, and Strathisla Single Malt is one of the malt whiskies used within the Royal Salute blend.

Malcolm Borwick, Barnabe Fillion and The Duke of Argyll all hold the role of Brand Collaborator for Royal Salute, which involves hosting events, collaborating on new releases and upholding the brand values.

Polo Partnership

Royal Salute has a longstanding affinity with polo and the lifestyle it accompanies. The brand has sponsored more than 10 international tournaments from the UK and the United States through Argentina, China and Korea. Royal Salute has also released several whisky collections that pay tribute to the world of polo, celebrating the varied terrains that the sport is played on as well as famous polo locations.

Royal Salute has partnered with several creators in the fields of art and design to release unique special edition whiskies, current collaborators include:

Kristjana Williams

Award-winning artist Kristjana Williams has been a brand collaborator since 2019, designing the gift pack illustrations for the brand’s Classic Blends as well as for several special editions.

Richard Quinn

Critically acclaimed British Fashion designer Richard Quinn collaborated with Royal Salute on the first edition in the ‘Couture Collection’, which celebrates the institution of British Fashion. Richard designed a bespoke pattern for the brand which emblazons the Special Edition bottle.

Feifei Ruan

Award-winning Chinese born US-based illustrator FeiFei Ruan collaborated with Royal Salute on their latest Lunar New Year Special Edition gift pack.

Royal Salute supports two charities, both with links to the British Royalty.

• Historic Royal Palaces

Historic Royal Palaces is an independent charity that looks after the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, the Banqueting House, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace and Hillsborough Castle. HRP aims to help everyone to explore the story of how monarchs and people have shaped society, in some of the greatest palaces ever built.

• Sentebale

Sentebale is the Duke of Sussex’s charity that supports the mental health and wellbeing of young people affected by HIV in Lesotho and Botswana.

Royal Salute 21 Years Old The Signature Blend

TSWM - Gold - 2010

ISC - Silver - 2010

IWSC - Silver - 2010

SFWSC - Gold 2011

USC - 94 Points - 2011

ISC - Silver - 2011

IWSC - Gold Best In Class - 2011

IWSC - Gold Outstanding - 2012

ISC - Silver - 2021

SFWSC - Gold - 2012

SFWSC - Double Gold - 2013

USC - Chairmans Trophy - 2013

ISC - Gold - 2013

IWSC - Silver Outstanding - 2013

JMWB 2014 - 92.2 - 2014

USC - 89 - 2014

SFWSC - Gold - 2014

JMWB 2015 Winner (19-25yo)

JMWB 2016 Winner (19-25yo)

JMWB 2017 Winner (19-25yo)

JMWB 2018 - 96

ISC - Gold - 2018

SFWSC - Gold - 2018

WWA - Bronze - 2019

JMWB - 2019

ISC - Gold - 2019

WWA - Silver - 2020

ISC - Gold - 2020

IWSC - Silver - 2020

ISC - Double Gold - 2021

IWSC - Silver - 2021

Royal Salute 21 Years Old The Malts Blend

WWA - Best Scotch Blended Malt - 2019

ISC - Gold - 2019

IWSC - Silver - 2019

ISC - Double Gold - 2020

IWSC - Silver - 93 pts - 2020

WWA - Gold - 2021

ISC - Gold - 2021

IWSC - Gold - 95 pts - 2021

Royal Salute 21 Years Old The Lost Blend/Peated Blend

WWA - Category Winner - 2019

ISC - Silver - 2019

IWSC - Silver - 2019

ISC - Gold - 2020

IWSC - Bronze - 2020

ISC - Gold - 2021

IWSC - Gold - 95 pts - 2021

Royal Salute 21 Years Old The Polo Collection

WWA - Gold - 2020 (Snow Polo)

Royal Salute 25 Year Old The Treasured Blend

IWSC - Silver - 2019

ISC - Double Gold - 2020

IWSC - Silver - 90 pts - 2020

ISC - Gold - 2021

IWSC - Gold - 95 pts - 2021

Royal Salute 32 Year Old Union of the Crowns

JMWB - 96.5 - 2018

JMWB - 2019 (26 - 50yo)

IWSC Gold - 95 pts - 2021

Royal Salute 38 Year Old Stone of Destiny

SFWSC - Double Gold - 2013

USC - Finalist - 94 pts - 2013

CWA - Platinum - 95 points - 2013

USC - 96 - 2014

SFWSC - Double Gold - 2014

WWA - Bronze - 2021

ISC - Gold - 2021

IWSC - Gold - 96 pts - 2021

Royal Salute 62 Gun Salute

JMWB - 95.5 - 2014

JMWB - 95.5 - 2018

WWA - Silver - 2021

ISC - Double Gold - 2021

IWSC - Gold Outstanding - 98 pts - 2021

ISC - Trophy - 2021

KEY:

ISC = International Spirits Challenge

IWSC = International Wine & Spirits Competition

TSWM = The Scotch Whisky Masters

SFWSC = San Francisco World Spirits Competition

WWA = World Whisky Awards

JMWB = Jim Walker Whisky Bible

• Scotland of Today magazine; published May 3, 1890.
• Walpole Yearbook 2009; published on behalf of Walpole Group by WorldWide Communications.

• official website