The Macallan Diamond Jubilee is one of the most collectible bottles of Macallan due to its celebratory nature. The whisky was distilled and bottled in celebration of Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne in February 1952. But which date in February?
Most websites that list the Macallan Diamond Jubilee assert that the Macallan whisky was drawn from the cask on the 8th February, on the anniversary of Elizabeth II’s accession. However, keen royalists and watchers of Netflix’s The Crown will know that this was not the date on which George VI, Elizabeth’s father, passed away. In fact, he passed away on February 6th, 1952 and Elizabeth immediately succeeded her father as the new queen. In addition, the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012 began on February 6th, 2012. So, why was the whisky in the Macallan Diamond Jubilee drawn on the 8th?
Queen Elizabeth II did in fact ascend the throne on February 6th, 1952 as The Accession Council met on that morning to confirm the accession of the new Queen following the death of her father in the early hours of that morning. However, the accession was not truly made official until February 8th, 1952, when Elizabeth herself made a personal declaration in the presence of her husband, The Duke of Edinburgh, and Commonwealth representatives.
So, it seems that when creating the limited-edition whisky, Macallan chose to celebrate the day on which the Queen personally accepted her new position as monarch and Head of the Commonwealth.
This celebratory bottling is now one of the most sought-after Macallan bottles and achieves very high prices at auction. If you would like to read an analysis of the Diamond Jubilee’s performance at auction then why not visit our blog on the subject. Should you invest in The Macallan Diamond Jubilee? Let’s find out.
