Scotch Whisky Legends: Macallan 25 Yr Outdated Silver Jubilee Christopher & Co.

In celebration of The Macallan’s launch of TIME : SPACE, the oldest whisky on the earth at 84 years, I assumed that this week on Scotch Whisky Legends, I might return to my roots. One of many very first Scotch Whisky Legends articles centered on The Macallan 1938 Handwritten Label. This week, I’m taking a deep dive into the often-overlooked Macallan 25 Yr Outdated Silver Jubilee, launched in 1977 by Christopher & Co. 

Wanting into the historical past, tasting notes from WhiskyFun’s Serge Valentin, and public sale costs – right here is all it is advisable find out about The Macallan 25 Yr Outdated Silver Jubilee Christopher & Co.

The Macallan 25 Yr Outdated Silver Jubilee Christopher & Co. 

As beforehand mentioned on The Whiskey Wash, The Macallan has no scarcity of bottlings that honor the British Royal Household. From The Macallan Coronation to the Diamond Jubilee, and all the way in which again to the wedding of Charles and Diana, the distillery has lengthy produced luxurious whisky that echoes the status of the monarchy. 

This explicit bottle, The Macallan 25 Yr Outdated Silver Jubilee, was bottled in 1977 by Christopher & Co., underneath license from The Macallan Distillery. The event was the Silver Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who got here to the throne in 1952 following the loss of life of her father, King George VI. 

The Macallan 25 Yr Outdated Silver Jubilee Christopher & Co. accommodates 25 12 months outdated single malt from Macallan distilled (on the newest) by 1952. Apparently, it was additionally bottled as a magnum (1.5 liters), making it all of the extra fascinating. The whisky clocks in at 45.5% ABV. 

This magnum is arguably the rarest of all of Macallan’s Royal whiskies – there have been by no means any launch numbers confirmed, however the bottle has remained extraordinarily elusive on the secondary market. 

Regardless of having held a Royal Warrant since 1902, Christopher & Co. ceased buying and selling within the Eighties. Nevertheless, its shut relationship with distilleries corresponding to The Macallan and The Glenlivet remains to be seen right now in legacy bottlings corresponding to this one. 

So, now that we’ve the historical past down, let’s see what Serge Valentin needed to say about this whisky magnum. 

Serge Valentin’s Tasting Notes On The Macallan 25 Yr Outdated Silver Jubilee Christopher & Co.

“A incredible magnum that was issued in 1977 to have a good time Elizabeth II’s silver jubilee. This child was, most clearly, distilled within the early Nineteen Fifties. 

“Color: amber/bronze. 

“Nostril: similar fashion because the 1958, with once more these fino-ish notes, walnuts, leather-based, tobacco, humidor… It’s relatively much less expressive than the 1958 however there’s additionally extra menthol and eucalyptus, so perhaps the casks have been slightly extra lively. Onerous to say… Additionally touches of outdated ham, almonds, even concepts of yellow curry… So yeah, the complexity is fairly immense. 

“Mouth: oh sure, this one is incomparably extra on menthol than the 1958 and it appears that evidently there’s far more peat as properly. It’s even fairly medicinal and type of Taliskerish. Some tar, cough lozenges, angelica, chartreuse, even slightly aniseed, perhaps wormwood, marzipan, crystallised oranges… This time we’re having an enormous whisky but it surely’s true that it was bottled at 45.5% vs. 43. Good even when no whisky lover who would have by no means tried some outdated Macallan would inform you this may be, properly, Macallan. 

“End: lengthy this time, with some pine sap, eucalyptus drops, After Eights, mint, fir honeydew… In reality, it’s fairly resinous. A bit of outdated wooden within the aftertaste. 

“Feedback: an enormous one, not simply because it was a magnum (hahaha, S.!) Superb whisky, I say no extra. SGP:573 – 93 factors.” – Serge Valentin, WhiskyFun.com, March 2013

Public sale Costs (or an absence thereof…) 

In line with my database, The Macallan 25 Yr Outdated Silver Jubilee Christopher & Co. magnum has solely been bought at public sale 16 instances. The present public sale document is £8,600, achieved at Whisky Auctioneer in 2019. None have seen the hammer fall since December 2023, when costs have been hovering round £7,500-£8,200. 

The Twin Enchantment Of The Macallan x Royal Household Bottlings 

Now, I’m certain I’m proper in saying that not many people have £8,000 to drop on a bottle of whisky with the intention of consuming it. The truth that Serge was in a position to pattern this whisky (and, certainly, lots of the whiskies he tries) is an unimaginable feat. Nevertheless, irrespective of how excessive the whisky’s rating is, that isn’t why nearly all of individuals are shopping for these bottles (when they’re out there). As a substitute, they’re principally for accumulating and investing functions. 

Firstly, for collectors, we should contemplate the twin attraction of The Macallan x Royal Household bottlings. The Macallan is taken into account the top of luxurious scotch whisky, and the Royal Household is taken into account the peak of grace and aristocracy each within the UK and past. As such, every time these two worlds collide, the attraction to each luxurious whisky followers and Royal household followers is nice. Add this to the obvious rarity of the bottle and you’ve got a major driving drive for progress. 

This brings us, neatly, to the traders. Once more, The Macallan 25 Yr Outdated Silver Jubilee Christopher & Co. has solely bought at public sale 16 instances in keeping with out there data of on-line public sale gross sales. Because the bottle was launched in 1977, it’s virtually not possible to know what it was promoting for at public sale again then.

The oldest consequence I can see was achieved in 2007 when the bottle bought for £1,630. Utilizing the public sale document of £8,600 we are able to see an unimaginable progress of 427% over 12 years. In fact, those that bought the bottle again in 1977 can have seen an excellent larger return on funding. 

The Whisky Market Now 

We’re presently in a market dip. As Mark contemplated in his article about The Macallan’s 2 hundredth anniversary, this dip has brought about nerves in regards to the state of the whisky market and its capability to get well. Nevertheless, we do anticipate the market to bounce again. The Whisky Loch of the Eighties and the next premiumization of single malt scotch taught us that the market is resilient. 

So, the market is down, sure. However it’s not all doom and gloom. The decrease public sale costs for a lot of high-end bottles imply that it is rather a lot a purchaser’s market for the time being (so long as you purchase the fitting bottles). To seek out out extra about whisky bottle funding learn Mark’s article ‘The Macallan Is 200, However Is The Whisky Market Executed?’, and the entire free assets on the Mark Littler website.