A night with Chivas Regal

The sophistication and complexity of a glass of Chivas Regal is a map of flavours pioneered by brothers who truly emanate style and craftsmanship.  This is why, when the opportunity came to sit down with Whisky guru Rachel MacDonald (@ChivasRachel) from Chivas Regal (@ChivasRegal) to journey through their range, I committed wholly to passing myself over to learning about this historical malted gold. Launched in 1909, Chivas Regal is the world’s first luxury whisky and is considered to a benchmark in quality and taste, style, substance and exclusivity – it doesn’t get much better.

Personally, enjoying a glass of Scotch whisky goes deeper than the libation itself.  It is knowing and truly appreciating that a certain dedication and passion has filtered down through generations of hard working craftsmanship. That is why I take such pleasure in toasting a glass of Chivas after my own hard working week .

I was fortunate enough to share this experience with friends and fellow entrepreneurs who share the same reflective appreciation of Chivas Regal.  The complexity of flavours open discussions of nostalgia and experience, which is why it is better enjoyed with friends and in my case I was alongside Tim Johnson (@timpjohnson01) and Leif Lyons (@leif.lyons).

We all sat down for an intimate dinner with Rachel, who ran us through the Chivas Regal range in it’s entirety however it was the Chivas 18 that stood out.

Chivas 18 is a profound blended Scotch whisky, crafted by one of the world’s most experienced master blenders – current Chivas Regal Custodian Master Blender Colin Scott. The reason it stood out for us comes initially from its story. Mr Scott’s famous blend is a perfectly balanced marriage of 20 rare single malt Scotch whiskeys. To add to the complexity and depth, the 18-year-old boasts over 85 flavour notes in each bottle, truly making this a must try for the whisky enthusiast.

Whiskey is truly personal, but the indulgent nose of Chivas 18 portrayed dried fruits and just a hint of spice combined with an intricate blend of oak which was noticeably subtler than younger blends. Once we tasted this particular Scotch, we were initially met with the same characteristics that met the nose. A familiar embrace.  As the whisky goes down, that hint of spice I detected on the nose evolves into a warm, smooth finish that combines intricately with an earthy must and vanilla tone. Once again, this experience made all the more profound with the presence of Rachel who carefully leads us down our own flavour journey.

During the evening it was clear that each bottle had its own personality with its own unique flavour that strongly differentiates itself from the other in the range. So my natural recommendation is to slowly work your way through to each, savouring and selecting your personal favourite.

Let us know what you think about our magical evening with the Chivas team.

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