This $25,000 Limited Edition Whisky Just Launched at Westminster Abbey

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."

With the coronation of King Charles just around the corner, Royal Salute is marking the occasion with a limited-edition whisky.

Royal Salute is a brand rooted in royal history; it first launched in 1953 to mark Queen Elizabeth's coronation, using whisky from Strathisla, the oldest working distillery in the Scottish Highlands. The name comes from the 21 gun salute, fired to commemorate notable events, including the coronation.

Seventy years later, the brand (now part of Pernod Ricard) once again is producing a coronation whisky. The Royal Salute Coronation of King Charles III Edition is touted a tribute to the heritage of the brand and the British monarchy, and features a blend of 53 rare malts and grain whiskies in a nod to the year the whisky was first created.

"The coronation of the King is an exciting moment, especially for us here in the UK," Royal Salute's Master Blender Sandy Hyslop tells T&C. "It’s also a moment that sees history repeat itself for us, as Royal Salute creates a new blend for a new monarch. I wanted to create an expression that was as iconic and special as the original Royal Salute 21 Year Old Signature Blend that was created in honor of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II exactly 70 years ago."

A launch party for the special edition was held last week at Westminster Abbey, which T&C attended. No expense was spared for the launch. "It was very special," Mathieu Deslandes, the Global Marketing Director for Royal Salute, tells Town & Country. "The brand was created for the coronation. It's so much part of the DNA, so much part of the birth of a brand, that having the opportunity to celebrate a new era, a new beginning, a new page of a book of a history book, made it very special." A cocktail hour was held within the Cloisters, and dinner was in a tent in the College Garden—thought to be the oldest garden in England.

From the very start of the conversation with the Royal Salute team on how to launch this special edition, it was Westminster Abbey or bust. "It is not easy to celebrate something at Westminster Abbey," Deslandes says. Yet, he and his team made it happen. "I couldn't think of a better place for something of that level of importance—it was, for me, quite emotional. It's more than just a launch of a new product, or launch of a new edition, or a luxury event for influencers—it's a key moment."

During the event, Hyslop led the guests through a tasting of the King Charles coronation whisky. He tells T&C that the favor is "beautifully rich and exudes flavors of ripened fruits and creamy toffee with a long rich finish that has a playful spice on the palate." This is "completely different" than the blend created for Queen Elizabeth in 1953. Hyslop says, "Their flavor profiles are distinct; the original expression has a blend of vanilla and orchard fruits that‘s crowned with subtle notes of sherry and a whisp of smoke which lingers in the finish, whereas the new expression has more of a spicy finish with elevated sweet and fruity notes, with it having been finished for more than two years in a first fill Spanish oak Oloroso sherry butt." (For those unfamiliar, that means the barrel used to age this whisky was previously used to age Oloroso Sherry.)

Only 500 bottles of the Royal Salute Coronation of King Charles III Edition will available worldwide. And, of those 500, only 56 will be available in the U.S., and each bottle will retail at $25,000. The brand is leaning into the limited edition appeal of the run; each sapphire blue Dartington Crystal decanter will be individually numbered, and the color is meant to evoke the jewels set within the Imperial State Crown. In addition, the decanter will come in a wooden box carved to look like Westminster Abbey.

Royal Salute was planning to present King Charles with a bottle of the whisky during his visit to France, but since that trip was canceled, they have other plans in the works. "What is very likely going to happen is that one of the guests of the coronation will have the role of bringing the bottle to him," Deslandes says. So after King Charles is crowned with St. Edward's Crown, maybe he'll crack open a very expensive bottle of Scotch.

You Might Also Like

• 12 Weekend Getaway Spas For Every Type of Occasion

• 13 Beauty Tools to Up Your At-Home Facial Game