CHIVAS REGAL 18 YO

 THE TRANSFORMATION OF CHIVAS REGAL 18 YEARS OLD
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY

Two things set Chivas Regal apart from the rest of the Blended Scotch sector: their illustrious history and their line, which consists entirely of middle-aged and old whisky. The brand traces its roots, like so many Blended Scotch brands, to a grocery store blender. Chivas Regal’s grocery blend is somewhat older than the norm, however, and features on all bottles blended hitherto as ‘From 1801’. The statement on both the carton and bottle 'From 1801' is, however, without foundation. The Chivas brothers in question, James and John, from Strathythan farm at Overtown of Dudwick in Ellon Parish, 20 miles north of Aberdeen, weren’t even born then (1810/1814 respectively.) It is quite probably a legal loophole that is being exploited.

James Chivas’ first sniff of whisky came when he was 28 years old, in 1838, when he joined William Edward, fine grocer and wine-seller in Aberdeen, in his first job as a full-time hired employee. This fine grocery business, which was destined for fame under another name, had been founded in 1801 by John Forrest at 47 Castle Street, Aberdeen. Forrest died in 1828 and Edward, his manager, bought the company from the bereaved family and registered himself as a grocer, wine, and spirits purveyor and provision merchant, one of 209 others in Aberdeen, besides 193 vintners. Edward soon bought the cellar, 46 Castle Street as he expanded.

James Chivas, hired by Edward in 1838, rose to minor partner that very year, with almost total control over the wines and spirits department, as Edward was struck with a 'palsy' and died overseas just three years later in Madeira in March '41. As Edward had died intestate, his legacy went under judicial probate. In this indistinct period for business out of those premises, James left and joined a similar victuals provender, Charles Stewart as junior partner, registering themselves as Stewart and Chivas, 39 Woolmanhill Street. They bought the vacant 13, King Street property available post-probate later that year and relocated there as a “One-stop-shop.”

James Chivas remained the sole common partner/owner till his death. The company, when known as Edward and Chivas (1838-41) and later Stewart and Chivas (1841-57), had furthered the ex-Forrest company's reputation for excellence from the extravagant shop at 13 King Street and obtained a Royal Warrant to supply luxury goods to Queen Victoria in 1843, the second of thirteen. Between 1843-51, they expanded further and added 9,11 and 23 King Street. The company was dissolved in 1857 when Stewart left and renamed Chivas Brothers Holdings with the advent of John Chivas as Partner.

The home base of Chivas Regal is Strathisla distillery,earlier known as Milltown or Milton distillery, which predates the founding of the brand, dating to 1786 and standing as the oldest of the Highland region’s distilleries.

The Chivas Regal 18 Year Old is made from 20 different grain and malt whiskies, all 18 years old or older. It comes in the signature Chivas package: a squat, clear glass bottle with the crossed swords label. The bottle does a fine job of showing off one of Chivas Regal’s few consistently good qualities, namely it’s colour. The scotch is bottled at 40% ABV.

Chivas Regal 18 Year Old Gold Signature was first launched in 1997 when Chivas Brothers was still under ownership of Seagram’s, as Pernod Ricard didn’t gain ownership until after the turn of the 21st century. It is a uniquely rich and multi-layered blend that includes over twenty of Scotland’s rarest single malt Scotch whiskies. It claims to have 85 flavour notes packed into every drop as the epitome of complexity. Chivas claims its two most prominent brands here are Strathisla single malt and Strathclyde single grain.

The most difficult in producing branded whisky is consistency. On the one hand, from the business side of things, being able to offer the customer a product that is consistent in quality and flavour profile, it makes perfect sense when trying to build a brand and want to establish brand loyalty. On the other hand, dealing with a product where batch production, and therefore, batch variation, is an inescapable element of the whole process, makes for a host of variables like cask management, transportation, wear and tear effects, warehousing conditions, the odd changes in ownership, etc. The ‘copy-paste’ practice simply won’t work, compounded with the fact that one specific brand is sometimes not available, or is available in limited quantity.

Producing blends is less onerous than single malts where grain whisky from the column stills is more reliable, especially so for the brands that go by age. The availability factor will crop up with time as products from a bygone era distillery must dry up (Longmorn and Caperdonich being great examples of what used to be mandatory for the creation of Chivas.) Even so, the task of coming up with a consistent product every single time is challenging. For the Chivas brand alone, master blender Colin Scott works with some 200 different whiskies for the creation of the 12 year old, identifies those that would go into the 15 year old, others that are best left for the 18 year old and so on. Interestingly, with the idea of recreating the 1909 grand 25 year old on his mind, Sandy Hyslop found suitable aged whiskies while ferreting around for the 18 year old and the 25 year old was created in 2007.

In October 2024, Chivas Regal unveiled a bold sleek new look for its award-winning Chivas Regal 18. Featuring a 25 percent glass weight reduction on its flagship 70cl bottle and fully recyclable outer packaging, the elevated, redesigned bottle – housing the same award-winning Scotch – reaffirms not only Chivas Regal’s dedication to luxury, but also its wider commitment to reducing its environmental impact. The packaging is designed by Nude Brand Creation.

Whisky enthusiasts around the world will experience Chivas Regal’s award-winning blend in its elevated new look. The updated bottle features a taller, prouder silhouette with rounded shoulders, and a jewel-like, layered, and multi-faceted label. The iconic Luckenbooth, a traditional Scottish symbol that embodies Chivas Regal’s heritage and values, is now positioned at the heart of the label, and embossed into the glass base. The classic Chivas Regal shield and crossed spears – now embossed into the glass for a more refined and luxurious look – signify protection and loyalty, reflecting the brotherhood of James and John Chivas. The tagline ‘Since 1801’ has been removed.

In addition to the lighter bottle, the updated carton features opulent gold detailing and a gold-coloured tin lid, finished with Chivas Regal Master Blender Sandy Hyslop’s signature in gold lettering. The flagship 70cl bottle’s reduction in glass weight will result in significant environmental benefits, estimated to save over 500 tonnes of glass annually based on FY24 volume sales. The new design brings Chivas Regal 18 in line with Chivas Regal 12, which unveiled a contemporary new look in 2021, and follows the transformations of Chivas Regal Extra and Chivas Regal XV.