CRYSTAL CLEAR VISION

SANDY HYSLOP AND HIS TEAM AT CHIVAS REGAL HAVE UPENDED THE WHISKY INDUSTRY WITH ITS LATEST RELEASE, CRYSTALGOLD. HE TELLS US ABOUT THIS INCREDIBLE CRYSTAL-CLEAR LIQUID.

- WORDS FARHAN SHAH PHOTOS CHIVAS REGAL

THE BEST IDEAS can be found in the most unexpected places. For Sandy Hyslop, that revelation came while staring at a bottle of Chivas Regal. For centuries, whisky has been a seductive blend of brown and gold colours, in part because of its maturation process in oak casks. Whisky aficionados also prize the liquid's natural colours. Adding food colouring is a cardinal sin in the industry. But what if you added by subtraction, pondered Hyslop.

Chivas Regal Crystalgold is the result. As the name suggests, it's a crystal-clear whisky that resembles gin or vodka. Yet, when you open a bottle, pour yourself a dram, and nose it, the signature butterscotch, vanila, and caramel notes reveal themselves. It's a whisky—that looks nothing like one.

We speak to Chivas Regal’s master blender Hyslop about the distillery’s latest and perhaps most intriguing release this year.

How would you explain the production process of Chivas Crystalgold to a child?