12 Years (700 ml)

When Charles Stewart Howard launched Chivas Regal in 1909 as a 25-year-old blend, no competitor carried an age statement at all — a deliberate act of category invention that established the luxury blended Scotch template still followed today. The heart malt is Strathisla, distilled at Keith, Moray, in continuous operation since 1786, drawing process water exclusively from the Broomhill Spring, naturally filtered through granite bedrock roughly one mile from the stillhouse. That mineral-clean water, combined with traditional wooden washbacks providing thermal stability during the approximately two-day fermentation, builds a new make of notable weight and texture. Strathisla's short-necked wash stills deliberately allow heavier vapours to ascend, producing a full-bodied, generously fruited spirit; heart cut is collected at 65–70% ABV. Component whiskies rest in a combination of ex-bourbon American oak and ex-Oloroso sherry European oak, with the 12-year statement marking the youngest whisky present — older parcels from Longmorn, The Glenlivet, Miltonduff, Braeval, and Allt-a-Bhainne contribute without declaration. What separates this expression from grain-heavy peers is its malt-centric architecture and the near-total absence of peat influence — a house philosophy of smoothness-over-smoke held since 1909. Bottled at 40% ABV, the 12-year-old drinks with orchard fruit, heather honey, hazelnut, and vanilla cream; approachable now, with no meaningful cellaring upside on an NV blend.