Royal Salute Whisky Review

Polo is known as the sport of kings and is a game we mostly associate with the English upper classes. But who knew – I certainly didn’t – that polo is in fact the world’s oldest surviving team game, and it’s played in countries as diverse as South Korea, Colombia, Brazil, China and Italy. And that far from being confined to grassy pitches in the home counties, it’s now played on beaches worldwide.

I only know this now thanks to Royal Salute whisky, which has released its latest limited edition of its annual Polo Collection: Royal Salute 21 Year Old Beach Polo Edition. Royal Salute sponsors over 15 polo tournaments around the world, from Santa Barbara to Beijing.

Royal Salute

The Royal Salute brand began back in 1953 and was launched on the day that Queen Elizabeth II was crowned. it’s named after the 21-gun salute, fired as a sign of respect at coronations and other royal occasions. It’s a blended whisky and no whisky in the blend can be younger than 21 years old. That’s some seriously mature whisky.

Brand Ambassador

One of Royal Salute’s Brand Ambassadors is Malcolm Borwick, former captain of the England polo team and a lover of Scottish whisky. ‘Beach polo is experiencing a surge in popularity around the world,’ he says. ‘It’s a thrill for me to see this trend in polo be matched by innovation in Scotch whisky, my other passion.’

Making Royal Salute

Royal Salute is produced at the Strathisla Distillery on Speyside, the oldest continuously-operating distillery in Scotland, going back to 1786. The task of producing this latest in the Polo Collection fell to Master Blender Sandy Hyslop. Hyslop says: ‘Our ambition was to deliver an exotic journey through salty sea winds, warm sands and subtly smoky beach bonfires, while keeping the Royal Salute house style firmly at the heart.’

Handsome Packaging

The bottle comes in a heavy-duty cardboard box, featuring Malcolm Borwick’s signature and a graphic of him playing polo wearing his distinctive red hat.

And what a bottle! This collector’s item is made of bright blue porcelain, and is truly handsome – and rather heavy too. If you can resist the temptation to open it, it will be a whisky worth saving, and savouring sometime in the future. It would also make a wonderful gift for someone special in your life.

Royal Salute Whisky Review

Some of us, though, aren’t allowed to lay down spirits but are obliged to drink them to deliver our verdicts. Well, it’s not really a hardship, is it?

With talk of smoky bonfires and salty sea winds, I was expecting this one to really hit me with some strong aromas right from the off. I was expecting Islay peatiness. What you get is much more subtle than that. There was a freshness on the nose, a hint of a newly-sliced apple, with pears and a dash of citrus too. Let the aromas linger, though, and that smokiness does emerge with a very gentle mix of tobacco and peat, with that touch of saltiness that was promised.

Sipping it, the whisky is unbelievably smooth and clean. There’s a little more peatiness but balanced by a sweetness that conjures up bananas and caramel, with pears and apples still evident too. The smokiness gets stronger as it goes down the throat, for a really satisfying finish. Beach bonfires? Yes, I’d go along with that.

All in all this is a whisky that Sandy Hyslop and Strathisla can be proud of. Mind you, with a price tag of US$140, it ought to be. You’ll have to act quickly and hunt around to find it, as it is a limited edition and you’ll need to check those whisky specialist stores and websites like Master of Malt to get your hands on a bottle.