The world’s first luxury blended whisky, Chivas Regal, celebrates its success and heritage of over 200 years through a series of events in Manila including a charity auction and a release of its latest blend variety, Chivas Mizunara. But on what’s behind its international success, its master blenders’ pursuit of new modern drinking experiences, as well as sacred responsibility to the brand’s DNA—Colin Scott, Kevin Balmforth and Hamish Houliston share their thoughts in this exclusive interview.

Among the numerous Scotch whisky brands available in the country, Chivas Regal is hard to miss. A household name enjoyed by countless generations, it has been present on every family’s reverie and continues to entice the younger breed with its innovations. 

“We are always experimenting with rare varieties of oak and new types of cask finishes, there are exciting times ahead from the House of Chivas Regal,” Kevin Balmforth, member of Chivas Regal’s blending department, says. Indeed, the whisky brand recently had its success in its release of innovative blends like Ultis and Mizunara, among others. But although the century-old whisky brand adapts to the changing times, the legacy of the Chivas Brothers, James and John, lives on in every bottle.

Take for example Ultis, Chivas Regal’s first blended malt Scotch whisky from its own variants. Released in 2016, it is a masterpiece created by Balmforth’s team of blenders. Five signature single malts from five Speyside distilleries were blended to perfection, all in honour of Chivas Regal's five generations of Master Blenders. It contains namely, the Tormore malt that presents the palate with rich citrus orange notes, the Longmorn malt that reveals a creamy smooth vanilla toffee character, the Strathisla malt with a malty fruity charm and subtle sweetness, the Alt A’Bhainne malt which brings balance and subtlety to the blend, and the Braeval malt that displays a complex floral taste including thick honey, leather, and green notes. Each blend represents the distinctive taste and character of erstwhile master blenders.

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Above Chivas Brothers Ambassador for the Philippines Hamish Houliston, Custodian Master Blender Colin Scott, Chivas Regal Blender Kevin Balmforth, and host Amanda Fernandez

“We, master blenders, are basically guardians of the past, present, and future,” Custodian Master Blender Colin Scott quipped. Scott was Chivas Regal’s Master Blender since 1989 until 2016 when he passed the baton to Sandy Hyslop, the new Blending Director. Now as Custodian Master Blender, Scott makes sure that the brand’s traditions, particularly the distinctive blends of its original variants, are maintained. “It is like passing down the teachings of previous master blenders,” he says. Scott explains further that because whiskies take time to mature in barrels and casks, the team of each master blenders overlap. “It is important that the heritage be embedded and the tradition to continue,” Scott says. “In a way, you never really lose the legacy,” Balmforth adds.

It is this brand philosophy that is the magic behind Chivas Regal’s success. Every new bottle of Chivas Regal 12, blended by its current sixth-generation of master blenders, still carries its predecessor’s distinct warm, luscious honey and ripe apple taste. “Once a product is established, our job is to ensure the consistency and quality year after year," Balmforth says. "I honestly believe I have the best job in the world—blending is my life!” 

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Above Kevin Balmforth

Mastering the ‘art of blending’

Balmforth joined Chivas Brothers not long after leaving university back in 1999. “It was Colin who interviewed me, and I remember we talked about a lot of things,” Balmforth recalls. “I also took a sensory test. I studied History, but I just thought I had a natural talent for it—”

“I guess I made the right decision,” Scott interjected and they both laughed.

“I have worked in the Blending Department my entire career over 18 years now and I was fortunate to have learnt from not just one master blender but two,” Balmforth explains. “I learned the basics from Colin and more recently I have further progressed my knowledge while working with Sandy Hyslop, Chivas Regal’s current Blending Director.”

For Colin Scott who has been in the company since 1973 and worked his way up until he became the Master Blender after Jimmy Lang in 1989, there are no schools, colleges, or universities where you can learn the art of blending. “The level of sensitivity of your nose is a gift we are born with, which can then be trained over time into the world of whisky,” he says. 

In another interview, Scott shared that living in the countryside of Scotland and having born into a family involved in the whisky business, he learnt the art of blending subconsciously. He explains to Philippine Tatler that fundamentally, a Master Blender has a ‘good’ and ‘sensitive’ nose that is able to recognize and differentiate the many different and complex aromas, characters, and flavours found in a Scotch whisky.

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Above Strathisla Distillery | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
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Above Colin Scott

“It is most important to learn and understand the role of ‘quality’ that ensures high standards and consistency in the flavor profiles of our Scotch whiskies,” he says. “Time plays a crucial part in our recognition and understanding all about the flavours and at Chivas Brothers, we believe it takes at least eight to ten years to master the Art of Blending, and the importance of the traditions behind the exceptional quality and consistency of the taste of Chivas Regal.”

Year after year the blending department continues to build up an immense knowledge on all the various malt and grain whiskies—in particular, how their natural characters and flavours develop over time from new spirit to mature whisky in the different oak casks, as well as how each whisky interacts when being blended together with each other.

“But I think,” Colin quickly adds, “it is ‘passion’. ‘Passion for Scotch whisky’ that is the most important attribute of a Master Blender. As it is 100% natural, it is a living creature. Therefore, the magic of Scotch whisky for me is that we are working with nature and never stop learning, even after over 45 years in the business.”

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Above Hamish Houliston

Heritage, innovation, earnest cause

Together with Scott and Balmforth, Chivas Brothers Brand Ambassador to the Philippines Hamish Houliston also joined the festivities in Manila and shared how the brand stays strong in the market today. 

“I would say the quality and provenance of the product has to be a key factor to the brand’s huge international success,” Houliston says. “When you listen to the craftsmanship that the likes of Colin and Kevin painstakingly put into each and every blend you can truly understand why this is a luxury product of the highest degree.”

For Houliston, millennial consumers can be quite demanding when it comes to what they want from brands. The younger market prefers products that both have heritage and innovations, as well as an advocacy or a cause. Houliston proudly shares that Chivas Regal already embodies these three. 

“Chivas launched the world’s first luxury whisky in 1909 and have Strathisla, the oldest running distillery in Scotland. We have been leading recent innovations with exciting uses of casks such as Mizunara oak (Chivas Mizunara) and Cognac casks (Chivas XV). Furthermore, Chivas can be turned into cocktail mixes that are very attractive to younger consumers. Finally, the brand stands for something. Giving back to local communities is something core to us from our beginnings when James and John Chivas were benefactors to local churches and hospitals in Aberdeen. We have stayed true to this vision with our global competition, the Chivas Venture where we give 1 Million USD to social entrepreneurs every year. Locally, we raised 210,000 PHP in aid of JCI Manila’s Sea of Life Museum, helping conservation in reefs around Batangas. I would say it isn’t a case of adapting but properly educating people about what Chivas Regal is.”

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Photo 1 of 8 Custodian Master Blender Colin Scott
Photo 2 of 8 Chivas Regal Blender Kevin Balmforth
Photo 3 of 8 Chivas Brothers Ambassador for the Philippines Hamish Houliston and Charles Tiu
Photo 4 of 8 James Younghusband
Photo 5 of 8 Phil Younghusband
Photo 6 of 8 Enzo Lim
Photo 7 of 8 Marlon Stockinger
Photo 8 of 8 Ron Poe

What do you like about scotch?
Kevin Balmforth: The flavour! It’s delicious. Unlike most drinks, Scotch and especially Chivas Regal, takes many years to create. It requires mastery of blending knowledge and skill as well as heritage and passion. To create something from what is only essentially three natural ingredients—water, malted barley, and yeast—into such a refined exquisite drinking experience is pretty unique.
Colin Scott: Scotch whisky has been a very traditional business. It commands great respect with millions of consumers around the world. As it is 100% natural, it the vast and complex array of aromas and flavours found in Scotch whisky that makes it stand among other spirits.

How do you like your scotch?
KB: I usually have half as much water as Scotch. For Chivas Regal which is 40% strength it will bring it down to 30% which for me is a comfortable drinking strength. I also on occasion would like to add a few ice cubes, which again dilutes the whisky slightly but also gives a different drinking experience.
CS: We believe at this lower strength that the barrier of the peppery alcohol is removed and the complex aromas, characters, and flavours of the whisky are then released and burst out to be more readily accessible to enjoy.

What are your tips to scotch drinkers, beginners and experienced alike?
KB: If it says Chivas Regal on the label then you can’t go wrong! I think you have to experiment to find how you like to enjoy Scotch and certainly not how someone tells you to drink it.
CS: I would say that there are no specific rules on the correct way to drink your Scotch whisky, and it should be drunk as how you personally enjoy it. If you are in a hot climate, the addition of no more than two ice cubes will cool, and not chill the Chivas Regal, which may hide the subtle flavours.
KB: I do have some advice though, be careful to not add too much water as you lose that warming effect, which is fundamental to the Scotch drinking experience. However, if you are lucky enough to try some very old whiskies such as Chivas Regal 25 then you may add slightly less water than you would normally. Whiskies at this age have an incredible array of rich flavours and that complexity gets easily upset with too much water.
CS: Moreover, there is nothing better than being with friends, colleagues, or family enjoying whisky together, especially if that Scotch is Chivas Regal. It is also most important to understand that drinking is for pleasure and friendship and it must be carried out responsibly.

What does the term “Whisky is the ‘water of life’” mean to you personally?
CS: Scotch whisky being the ‘water of life’ means that this is a totally unique and natural product, that is both magical and medicinal with its unprecedented array of aromas and flavours.

It is an extremely versatile drink that can be enjoyed as an aperitif, a digestive, or even throughout lunch or dinner. Just drink your Scotch as you enjoy it, and ensure you are joined by friends to make convivial moments—Slainthe mhath!

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