Royal Salute introduces glass flagon to cut carbon footprint

Royal Salute, a master of exceptionally aged, blended Scotch whisky under the international spirits and wines group Pernod Ricard, has replaced the signature porcelain flagon of its 21-Year-Old Signature Blend with a beautiful and more sustainable coated glass flagon. It marks an exciting development for the brand's sustainability and responsibility roadmap and is a critical step toward its aim for all packaging to be recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025.

The 21-Year-Old Signature Blend bottled in the coated glass flagon is now on sale, and there are further moves across the portfolio to follow, said the company.

According to the brand, Royal Salute took a lot of time to find the right alternative to its well-loved porcelain flagon. Teams on this project were on a mission to ensure the quality of the exceptional Royal Salute blends were maintained, while limiting its impact on the environment, and replicating almost identically the now nearly 70-year-old design of the porcelain flagon.

By switching to the coated glass flagon, the carbon footprint of the brand will be reduced by more than 70 percent per bottle, thanks to a less energy intensive production process and using a material that is easily recyclable around the world.

"It is incredibly important to us that we play our part in taking care of the world around us, by reducing the environmental impact of our whiskies, saving precious natural resources, and helping mitigate climate change," said Mathieu Deslandes, global marketing director at Royal Salute. "The introduction of this new, more sustainable flagon is a crucial step in our journey to ensure all our packaging will be 100 percent recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. Looking to the future is at the very heart of Royal Salute; our whisky that is laid down in casks today will be aged for a minimum of 21 years, so we need to act today to meet Royal Salute lovers' expectations in the future."

Since its inception in 1953, the 21-Year-Old Signature Blend has always been presented in a porcelain flagon, so while this is a significant change, the meticulous design process undertaken has made it possible to replicate almost identically the flagship porcelain flagon. This means that whisky lovers will continue to enjoy the same exceptional blends, distinguished visual identity and the high standard synonymous with Royal Salute. The changes have been made without compromising on the distinctive presentation of Royal Salute's high-aged product or changing the unique spark of enchantment that comes with tasting the blend.

In recent years, Pernod Ricard has been launching new projects to contribute its sustainability. For example, Absolut Vodka, a brand under Pernod Ricard, joined hands with fashion brand Windowsen to reinterpret the concept of "circular making".

It also promoted "circular making" during the fifth China International Import Expo in November. According to the group, hundreds of empty Martell bottles were reused to construct its bar countertop at the booth through a process of cleaning, crushing, blending, and melting the bottles, as part of its sustainable commitment.