Whether it’s the Royal Salute 21 Year Old The Signature Blend, Stone of Destiny 38 Year Old or the 62 Gun Salute Scotch Whisky, the drink is tasty, smooth and palatable—even for a non-regular whisky drinker—but at the same time, its complex formulation comes with different layers, which often excite the most seasoned of whisky lovers. Pairing Royal Salute whiskies with food is also quite the joy as the spirits bring out different flavour profiles of the dishes.

For our gastronomical experiment, we invited Matthew Parry, Royal Salute brand ambassador, and Karen Tan, Gen.T honouree and founder of independent cinema The Projector Singapore. Parry is the whisky expert and enjoys pairing his drams with different types of food but admits that he has never ventured in the territory of vegetarian gourmet burgers. Tan, on the other hand, is a vegetarian and known to appreciates her drinks. Like Parry, she has never eaten vegetarian gourmet burgers with Scotch whiskies. 

Parry and Tan began the experiment with the From Russia With Love burger from Three Buns. A plant-based Tindle patty is breaded and deep-fried before it’s slathered with truffle aioli and served within toasted brioche buns. Noting the “strong umami component and creaminess”, Tan says: “With roasted garlic miso, parsley, butter, with pickled onions and truffle aioli, there is lots of umami going on here.”

To that end, Parry suggested pairing the burger with the Royal Salute 21 Year Old The Signature Blend. “It’s a bit lighter with more of a citrus-y note. And it should make a nice contrast to the creamy umami in the burger,” he says. 

“Ooh, the whisky is actually quite floral,” says Tan, taking a whiff. 

On the nose, one can detect hints of pears and citrus fruits with a floral fragrance before a mixture of vanilla and dry oak comes to the fore. Particularly delightful is the subtle hint of sherry with a wisp of smoke. Sipping it, one can immediately taste the warmth of orange marmalade and pears before notes of spices and hazelnut explode in the mouth with a lingering smokiness. 

“The 21 Year Old is actually great to have on any occasion—whether it's before or after dinner,” said Parry. 

“I think you can agree it’s quite meaty,” says Parry after tasting the Beyond Burger, which features a plant-based gluten-free and soy-free burger patty, from Mezza9 at Grand Hyatt Singapore. “So, my house rule is if you are having red meat, I would pair it with a more ‘showy’ whisky.”

Hence his recommendation of the Royal Salute Stone of Destiny 38 Years Old—matured for nearly four decades, this whisky is packed with notes of rich dried fruits and bold spices, which combine to give a floral scent. 

“This has the intensity, and you also have subtle hints of dark fruit notes coming through—raisins, plums. When having something like the burger char, you want to amplify that smoky sensation,” he adds. 

In the mouth, one can instantly experience a strong punch of woody notes from cedar and rich, sherried oak. The nuttiness of almonds also come through quite strong.  

Tan notes that the Royal Salute 38 Year Old has “a surprisingly long finish”, calling the pairing of the Beyond Burger with the whisky “an excellent complement”.

“The umami of the vegetarian beef really fits well with the smokiness of the whisky,” she adds. Concurring with her, Parry says: “The idea is not for the whisky to overpower the burger or vice versa. they’ve got to complement each other.” 

Finally, The Falafel Burger from Black Tap. Going through the ingredient list that includes a falafel patty, tahini, pickled onion, Greek feta, and hummus, Tan said: “It’s a Mediterranean riot.”

“I think just because it’s our final burger, we can kind of save the best till last with the Royal Salute 62 Gun Salute,” Parry suggested, noting that the burger boasts “very strong flavours”.

A rich concoction, the 62 Gun Salute boasts generous notes of plums with dark chocolate and cinnamon, which come together to give a powerful and intense burst of sweet orange and a dark, nutty flavour with hints of oak. With a faint hint of smoke, the whisky also features a long, velvety finish that lingers on the tongue and in the mouth. The 62 Gun Salute's midnight blue, hand-crafted Dartington Crystal decanter is also quite the showstopper. Handcrafted from start to finish, it's adorned with 24-carat gold and crowned with a cut crystal stopper—definitely one for the big occasion and in line with the prestige level of the highest ceremonial honour it is named after. And because of its prestige and rarity, each bottle comes with a heftier price tag of $3,888.

Sampling the whisky together, Parry explains: “It has a huge burst of power—the flavour the whisky is oakier than the previous whiskies we tried as it has been at least 40 years in the oak casks.

“Now as the whisky starts to subside, the generosity starts to fade away and we are left with the oaky flavour, it should pair nicely with the feta in the burger,” he adds.

“Well surprisingly, it actually brings out the saltiness of the feta cheese,” said Tan as she took her second bite of The Falafel Burger.

When asked for her favourite after savouring the three burger-whisky pairings, Tan praised the ultra-luxurious 62 Gun Salute for being “powerful and beautifully oaky”.

But her heart lies with the Stone of Destiny 38 Year Old. “It was beautifully complex and had a long finish, with many layers of flavours in between. And, it complimented the burger [Beyond Burger from Mezza9] really well.”

For more info, visit royalsalute.com. Click here to purchase or for further enquiries.