We've followed the Royal Salute for some time now and have even gotten to sit down with its maker, Master Blender Emeritus Sandy Hyslop, who had spent two decades at the helm of Chivas Brothers, and have come to learn that if you're looking for the soft spot of any whiskymaker, you'll almost always find it with a blended whisky.
Blended whiskies are the Rubik's Cube for whiskymakers because it is at its core an intellectual and philosophical exercise in putting together something where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts - all whilst being granted very little wiggle room. It is stimulating and engaging and demands precision and expertise. Ask a whiskymaker where his or her ah-hah moments have come from, and again, you'll more than likely be pointed towards a blended whisky. This goes beyond Scotch by the way, and is a commonality that is shared by whiskymakers from around the world. The best of the best are always aching to get their hands on coming up with a blended whisky. And yet on the surface, this most demanding show of mastery presents itself in the most subtle of ways, often overlooked by whisky lovers who in modern times have gone on to the very singular bandwagon that is single malt whiskies.
Master Blender Emeritus Sandy Hyslop.
And so whenever we hear of a new release from Royal Salute, we know we're in for something that will definitely surprise us - this time, taking the form of the new Royal Salute 21 Year Old Blended Grain Scotch Whisky. The theme here is contemporary and so the inspiration for the new release was to create an expression that resonated with a sort of modern and fun sensibility. Now, from the get go, we were admittedly rather smitten by the glass decanter that's of course a departure from the standard Royal Salute ceramic and also thoroughly opaque ones - for once we're getting to see that beloved amber tone right from the whisky itself! To the credit of the folks who've crafted this, this definitely wow-ed! We concede that this is a most beautiful decanter. But what about what's inside? Here's where we find yet another first for Royal Salute - this is the brand's first ever all-grain blend that's been added to its core range! Granted, the Royal Salute did tease a prior all-grain blend in the form of its also 21 Year Old Snow Polo Edition which was a one-off, which then makes the new Royal Salute 21 Year Old Blended Grain only the brand's second grain whisky. We have been touting grain whiskies as making a serious comeback and it appears that Royal Salute is making good on that!
To produce the new Royal Salute 21 Year Old Blended Grain, Master Blender Emeritus Sandy Hyslop was thus charged with the task of picking out select casks, of which he included that of Strathclyde and Dumbarton, with the latter now no longer in existence. There are a number of other distilleries from which the grain whiskies were picked from although these have not been disclosed. As with Royal Salute blends, this is kept at the brand's minimum of 21 years old, paying tribute to the 21 Gun Salute tradition that is fired to show respect for royalty (the brand itself created in 1953 to honour the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II), where it has been aged solely in American oak casks.
And so with that said, let's give it a go!
Whisky Review: Royal Salute The Blended Grain 21 Year Old, 40% ABV
Blend of mature grain whisky from a number of distilleries including Strathclyde Distillery and Dumbarton Distillery, matured in predominantly refill American ex-Bourbon casks.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Deep copper.
Aroma: Plush, jammy and layered. It opens with luscious ripe red fruits, particularly strawberry and peach jams, backed by warm maple syrup, caramel, toffee, brown sugar and creme caramel. As it sits, we start to find more dense fruitcake notes. More honey, dried apricots, dried dates and shaved orange zest. Some warm cinnamon, cloves and light toasted coconut flakes.
Taste: Rich with surprising heft and a lightly oily texture. It’s dense and weighty like the nose, with thick caramel and warm spices. Opens with a core of butterscotch, vanilla and sweet glazed cinnamon rolls, and with poached pear, and then denser strawberry jam and marmalade folded in. The mid-palate draws out increasingly heavier spices, with warm cinnamon, cloves, toasted hazelnuts and cocoa powder.
Finish: Medium length, with lots of warm baked pastry sweetness carrying through from the mid-palate. Continued notes of banana bread, hot cross buns in sticky glaze, honey and vanilla, dusted with cinnamon sugar, nutmeg and a touch of ginger.
My Thoughts
This is a superbly flavourful Scotch grain whisky that centres on jammy red fruits, glazed pastries and warm baking spices. It is really accessible and drinkable, and it also delivers much more weight than a typical blended Scotch whisky, not to mention a blended grain whisky. It is remarkable that texture and mouthfeel-wise, it actually seems to come pretty close to that of the Royal Salute 21 Signature Blend. And while we are not privy to the full list of distilleries used to assemble this blended grain, the use of some spirit from the closed Dumbarton Distillery (said to make a heavier style of grain spirit) could explain the density and oilier texture of this. This is a very compelling demonstration of what a well-matured grain Scotch can become after 21 years of maturation. It’s an easy post-dinner pour on its own, and it would certainly be excellent in a highball.
@CharsiuCharlie
