CHARLES LECLERC INTRODUCES A 16-YEAR-OLD BLEND WITH CHIVAS REGAL

words by FELICITY CARTER

The Formula 1 driver collaborates with Chivas Regal’s Master Blender Sandy Hyslop on a limited 16-year-old expression built around his racing number.

Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has partnered with Chivas Regal to release Chivas Regal 16 Limited Edition, a 16-year-old blended Scotch developed with Master Blender Sandy Hyslop, and it's the first time the house has released a 16-year-old expression in its history.

all images courtesy of CHIVAS REGAL

Leclerc worked with Hyslop throughout the blending process, focusing on the number 16, which he has raced under for much of his F1 career. The result? Well, the final composition brings together 16 whiskies, each matured for at least 16 years, to offer a lot of heritage and even more taste.

During development he travelled to Scotland to visit the distilleries and taste across a range of casks before selecting a direction led by sherry cask-matured Longmorn single malt from Speyside, a whisky long associated with the structure of Chivas Regal blends.

On the nose, mandarin and raisins open into manuka honey, followed by cinnamon and sticky toffee. The palate moves through orange marmalade and apple cake towards toasted oak and ginger spice, with a long finish. The whisky was introduced in Miami ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, where Leclerc and Hyslop spoke about the development of the blend among connoisseurs and F1 fans alike.