On the eve of the Italian Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc did not spend his Monza warm-up in a simulator. He spent it across a board from Hikaru Nakamura, one of the sharpest minds in world chess.
The two met on 1 September 2026 at the Chivas Regal Arena of Mastery, a live one-off staged in Monza in the days before the race. It was billed as a first-of-its-kind head-to-head, and it tied together the two things Leclerc has built with Chivas Regal: Chivas Regal 16, his debut co-created whisky, and SE!ZE, a chess-inspired strategy game he helped design. The shared idea behind both is simple enough to fit on a bottle. Every move matters.
For a whisky publication, the interesting part is not the celebrity chessboard. It is that Chivas Regal 16 Charles Leclerc is the first 16-year-old expression in the brand’s history, and that a Formula 1 driver pushed for it to exist.
What is Chivas Regal 16 Charles Leclerc?
Chivas Regal 16 Charles Leclerc is a limited-edition blended Scotch whisky co-created by Leclerc and Chivas Regal master blender Sandy Hyslop. It brings together 16 different whiskies, each aged for at least 16 years, and it is bottled at 40% ABV in a 70cl bottle carrying a bespoke black-and-red label, the Roman numeral XVI, and Leclerc’s name along the base.
The number is the whole point. Sixteen is Leclerc’s racing number, and it is also where the name SE!ZE comes from, since “seize” is French for sixteen. The blend, the game and the packaging all orbit the same figure.
According to Chivas Regal, the project started with Leclerc setting Hyslop a challenge: build a completely new expression around his taste. Leclerc travelled to Scotland, worked through the components, and kept coming back to sherry cask-matured Longmorn single malt, which became the signature heart of the blend. Longmorn is a Speyside distillery whose malt has long sat at the core of Chivas Regal, so this is less a left turn than a doubling down on the house style, aged longer and leaning sherried.
Who makes Chivas Regal, and why Longmorn matters
Chivas Brothers began as a grocery and provisions business in Aberdeen in the early 1800s, founded by James and John Chivas, and moved into blending spirits as the trade grew. The Chivas Regal name arrived in 1909. Today the brand sits under Pernod Ricard, which bought it in 2001, and it remains one of the best-selling blended Scotches in the world.
Longmorn is the detail worth knowing here. It is a Speyside malt prized by blenders for its weight and fruit, and it is a familiar backbone in the Chivas range. Building a 16-year-old around sherry-matured Longmorn signals what this bottle is going for: depth, dried fruit and warm spice rather than light and grassy.
Chivas Regal 16 Charles Leclerc tasting notes
We have not tasted this bottle ourselves yet, so the notes below are as described by Chivas Regal and UK retailers rather than our own assessment. When we get a pour in the glass, we will update this piece.
Colour: Deep amber-gold with coppery undertones and a mahogany glow
Nose: Sweet mandarin, manuka honey, buttered almond, raisin, cinnamon, sticky toffee
Palate: Orange marmalade, apple cake, toasted oak, dark toffee, ginger spice
Finish: Long, velvety and spiced
ABV: 40% | Format: 70cl | Key component: Sherry cask-matured Longmorn single malt
On paper this is a classic sherried Chivas profile taken up an age bracket. The 40% ABV keeps it soft and approachable rather than intense, which is a deliberate choice for a blend built to be poured widely rather than dissected at cask strength.
SE!ZE: the game built on the same idea
SE!ZE is the second half of the story. It is a bespoke chess-inspired board game developed with Leclerc’s involvement over roughly a year, with the driver testing successive versions as it took shape. The aim is to seize your opponent’s pieces, and, like chess, it rewards patience, position and reading the board rather than luck.
That is the thread Chivas Regal is pulling between the game and the whisky: deliberate decisions, composure under pressure, nothing left to chance. It is marketing, but it is coherent marketing, and it gives the collaboration more to stand on than a signature and a photo.
The Monza showdown
At the Arena of Mastery, Leclerc and Nakamura played SE!ZE rather than conventional chess, in front of a live crowd. Nakamura is a five-time US Chess Champion and one of the highest-rated active grandmasters in the world, so the framing of driver versus grandmaster was doing a lot of work. It followed earlier Leclerc chess encounters that have involved Carlos Sainz and grandmaster Teimour Radjabov.
The event forms part of Chivas Regal’s wider “I Rise We Rise” platform, and it fits a brand that has leaned hard into sport, including its tie-up with Scuderia Ferrari HP and its role as official whisky partner of Arsenal FC.
Price and where to buy Chivas Regal 16 Charles Leclerc
The whisky first appeared as a travel retail exclusive, debuting at Miami International Airport in May 2026 ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, before rolling out to other airports and select retailers.
Expect to pay around £64 to £65 in the UK and roughly $70 in the United States, with some collector-focused listings sitting higher, near $85. In the UK it has appeared at retailers including Master of Malt and Hard to Find Whisky. In the US it has been listed at ReserveBar and through Amazon and select stores. As a limited edition it will not stay on shelves indefinitely, and airport stock in particular tends to move.
For international readers: this launched through global travel retail, so if you pass through a major duty-free, that is often the most reliable place to find it, frequently at a competitive price against domestic shelves.
Is it worth it?
At around £64 for a 16-year-old, sherry-forward blended Scotch in collectable packaging, the pricing is fair for what it is. Part of what you are paying for is the F1 tie-in and the presentation box, and the 40% ABV means this is built for easy pouring rather than high-proof intensity.
It is a strong fit for Leclerc and Ferrari fans, for gifting, and for anyone who already enjoys the richer, sherried side of Chivas and wants a longer-aged version. It is less aimed at cask-strength hunters and single malt collectors chasing power and rarity, which is not a criticism so much as a description of who it is for. If a well-mannered, dried-fruit-and-spice blend at an approachable strength sounds like your evening dram, this delivers exactly that brief.
SE!ZE, for its part, is due to go online later in 2026. If the game interests you, Chivas is running a sign-up for early access.
FAQ
What is Chivas Regal 16 Charles Leclerc? It is a limited-edition blended Scotch whisky co-created by Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc and Chivas Regal master blender Sandy Hyslop. It combines 16 different whiskies, each aged at least 16 years, and is the first 16-year-old expression in Chivas Regal’s history. It is bottled at 40% ABV in a 70cl bottle.
What does Chivas Regal 16 Charles Leclerc taste like? Chivas Regal describes it as rich, velvety and spiced. The nose shows sweet mandarin, manuka honey and buttered almond, with raisin, cinnamon and sticky toffee. The palate adds orange marmalade, apple cake, toasted oak and ginger spice, leading to a long, velvety finish. Sherry-matured Longmorn is the signature malt.
How much does Chivas Regal 16 Charles Leclerc cost? It sits at roughly £64 to £65 in the UK and around $70 in the United States, with some collector listings closer to $85. It is a 70cl bottle at 40% ABV. As a limited edition and travel retail launch, pricing varies between airports, domestic retailers and online stores.
Where can I buy Chivas Regal 16 Charles Leclerc? It launched through global travel retail, debuting at Miami International Airport in May 2026, and has since reached select retailers. In the UK it has appeared at Master of Malt and Hard to Find Whisky. In the US it has been listed at ReserveBar and via Amazon. Major duty-free stores remain a reliable option internationally.
What is SE!ZE by Charles Leclerc? SE!ZE is a bespoke chess-inspired strategy game co-created by Leclerc, where the goal is to seize your opponent’s pieces through deliberate, considered moves. Its name comes from “seize,” the French word for sixteen, Leclerc’s racing number. It is due to launch online later in 2026, with a sign-up for early access.
Who won the Chivas Regal chess showdown at Monza? Leclerc and Nakamura played SE!ZE, not conventional chess, in a one-off live event at the Chivas Regal Arena of Mastery in Monza on 1 September 2026, ahead of the Italian Grand Prix. Chivas Regal presented it as an exhibition of two masters testing each other rather than a ranked result.
What is Chivas Regal known for? Chivas Regal is one of the world’s best-selling blended Scotch whiskies, with roots as a grocery and blending business founded by the Chivas brothers in Aberdeen in the early 1800s. The Chivas Regal name dates to 1909. Speyside’s Longmorn malt is a long-standing signature component across the range.
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