Chivas Regal

Chivas Regal is a blended Scotch whisky produced by Chivas Brothers, owned by Pernod Ricard. Chivas Brothers was first established in 1801. The Chivas Regal brand's home is Strathisla Distillery at Keith, Moray in Speyside, Scotland, the oldest operating Highland distillery which was founded in 1786.

It is the market-leading scotch whisky 12 years and above in Europe and Asia Pacific. Chivas Regal sales grew by 61% between 2002 and 2008.

Chivas Regal line

 * Chivas Regal 12 Year Old: Blended from whiskies matured for at least 12 years.
 * Chivas Regal 18 Gold Signature: Blended from whiskies matured for at least 18 years.
 * Chivas Regal Original 25 Year Old: Created using whiskies aged at least 25 years; available only in limited quantities with a retail price of c$300.

History
The House of Schivas, a large mansion, was built at Schivas in Aberdeenshire in 1640. The name is derived from the Gaelic seamhas ("narrow place").

Chivas Brothers traces its roots to the opening of a grocery store at 13 King St, Aberdeen in 1801. The store sold luxury foodstuffs such as coffee, exotic spices, French brandies, and Caribbean rums to a wealthy clientele. In 1842, Chivas Brothers was retained to supply provisions to the royal family at Balmoral Castle upon Queen Victoria's first visit to Scotland.

In 1843, Chivas Brothers was granted a Royal Warrant to supply goods to Queen Victoria. The May 8, 1890 edition of Scotland Magazine described Chivas Brothers as "undoubtedly the finest purveying business in the north of Scotland".

During the 1850s, James Chivas decided to respond to his affluent customers' demands for a smoother whisky, by beginning to blend whiskies to create a blend proprietary to Chivas Brothers. The firm's first blended Scotch whisky, Royal Glen Dee, was launched, followed in the 1860s by a second proprietary blended Scotch whisky, Royal Strathythan.

In the early 1900s, Chivas Brothers decided to create its most aged blended Scotch whisky to export to the U.S, where the booming economy after the turn of the century was fueling demand for luxury goods. The whisky was named Chivas Regal.

Chivas Regal 25 Year Old was launched in 1909 as the original luxury Scotch, and became a leading brand in the U.S. Chivas Regal continued its success until Prohibition in the 1920s.

Chivas Regal was purchased by Seagrams in 1949, which provided a much wider distribution and marketing system.

In 1950, the company Chivas Brothers was able to buy the Strathisla Distillery, which produces the Strathisla Single Malt used in the Chivas Regal blend.

Chivas Regal was re-launched as Chivas Regal 12 year old in the US following the disruption of both Prohibition and World War II. Chivas became a fashionable brand of the era, and became associated with Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack. Chivas Regal was the Scotch whisky requested by Sinatra, along with other spirits brands backstage at performances, and Chivas sponsored Frank Sinatra's Diamond Jubilee Tour in 1990.

In 1997, the Chivas Regal range was expanded with the launch of higher aged whiskies, with the launch of Chivas Regal 18 year old, and in 2007 with the launch of Chivas Regal 25.

Chivas Regal was acquired by Pernod Ricard.

Strathisla distillery
The home of Chivas Regal and location of its visitor centre is located at the Strathisla distillery. The distillery was founded in 1786, and is the oldest working distillery in the Highlands of Scotland - Strathisla Distillery, located in Speyside.

The Strathisla distillery is owned by Chivas Brothers, and Strathisla Single Malt is one of the malt whiskies used within the Chivas Regal blend.

Strathisla Single Malts have a natural sweetness and help to define the taste of Chivas Regal.

Chivas Regal as a sponsor and in popular culture
Within the first six minutes of the film The Spook Who Sat By the Door (1973), the top 10 African American candidates for the CIA "spook" position toast to their success to that point, and one notes the Chivas Regal they are drinking costs $3.

In 2008, Chivas Regal launched a new global advertising campaign, to run across all continents. "Live with Chivalry" was created by the Euro RSCG advertising agency. The campaign features TV, press, and outdoor advertising.

Chivas Regal also sponsored The Black Eyed Peas', Robbie Williams', Beyoncé's, and Christina Aguilera's tours in Asia.

Chivas Regal is also featured during the closing of the TV series Boston Legal.

Chivas Regal is featured in several episodes of the TV series Banshee, among many others episode 5, season 2.

In 2011, Chivas Regal sponsored The Asian Awards Outstanding Achievement in Sports Category.

In the Mad Men season 6 episode, "The Better Half", Ted Chaough compares Fleishchmann's margarine to Chivas Regal (because it's a relatively expensive brand of margarine), while Don Draper compares it to Ballantine Beer (because he compares margarine to butter).

In the Bollywood film Shahenshah the main villain JK drinks Chivas regal.

Critical acclaim
Chivas Regal whiskies have performed well at international spirit ratings competitions. In 2013, the San Francisco World Spirits Competition jury awarded its Double Gold Medals to the Chivas Regal 18yr, 21yr and 25yr whiskies.