1/Royal Salute 21, $210: orchard fruit, a hint of passion fruit, oak rounded and supple. If that's your pour, the Chivas Regal 18 gives you about 85% of what it does, for 60% of the price.
2/The Chivas Regal 18, $125. Eighteen years old, 40%. Vanilla, almond slice and toffee on the nose; malt, dark fudge, leather and raisin through the middle; the wood spice and chocolate arrive last, into a warm, long finish.
3/What a Royal Salute 21 drinker gives up with the Chivas Regal 18 is mostly the name on the label and three years of age. The Royal Salute stays the one for its fans; the Chivas is the one for every other night. At $125, an easy yes for both.
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