opened his store in 1801, but died in 1828. James became a partner in 1838. John began working at a wholesale footwear and apparel firm, DL Shirres and Co. This firm would be awarded distribution rights of Chivas Bros from 1860 to 1886, from around John Chivas' entry until James Chivas' death and again later. Edwards died in 1841, and Charles Stewart took over. In 1843, Stewart and Chivas was granted a Royal Warrant to supply goods to Queen Victoria. In 1850, Stewart and Chivas was appointed Royal Grocer to the queen's mother, the Duchess of Kent, and many other Royal Warrants followed over the years. The huge advantage of getting a Royal Warrant was that upper class gentry followed royalty without a second thought, to be seen as both conformal and of cognizable status. This automatically resulted in a considerably increased footfall of the wealthy. 1823–1893: legalisation of whisky distillation and origins of whisky production In Scotland, distilling whisky (uisge beatha in Gaelic) had been legalised in 1823, leading to a proliferation in the number of brands. Some were produced at 70–72% alcohol by volume (ABV), but the majority were at 60–65% ABV, imbibed after cutting with water. Arthur Bell defined a "fine whisky" as one that was sold at ~65% ABV. These were savoured after adding soda. Vatting of whiskies within bond warehouses was legalised in 1853 by The Forbes-Mackenzie Act, and, with blending, the number of brands made available for sale increased overnight. During this period, Stewart and James Chivas decided to respond to their affluent customers' demands for better whisky, by blending select malts to create a proprietary blend. The firm's first blended malt Scotch whisky, the Royal Glen Dee, was launched in 1854. Stewart left in 1857, making way for John and the company could now be named Chivas Brothers. In 1863, they launched a proprietary blended Scotch whisky, a smoothly crafted blend of 10-year-old malt and grain whiskies, Royal Strathythan. The May 8, 1890, edition of Scotland Magazine described Chivas Brothers as "undoubtedly the finest purveying business in the north of Scotland". 1893–present: post-Chivas family The last Chivas family member involved in the business, Alexander, son of James, died in 1893. Control of the company thenceforth was exercised by the board of trustees; Alexander Smith, the right-hand man of Alexander Chivas; and their Master Blender, Charles Stewart Howard. In 1895, Smith and Howard offered