Macallan Royal Marriage 2011

It may be hard to imagine today, but for much of the 20th century, Macallan was primarily a constituent malt in blends. It was not until the 1980s downturn in the market that the distillery decided to focus on its single malt brand. Fortuitously, this coincided with the crest of a wave of enthusiasm for the high quality releases that the distillery had licensed to Campbell, Hope & King and Gordon & MacPhail in the 1960s and 1970s. These remain some of the most collectible on the market. While global single malt sales volume is still lead by Speyside neighbours, Glenfiddich and Glenlivet, Macallan is easily the most sought after. So much so in fact, that they had to open a brand new distillery in 2018, a subterranean architectural masterpiece within the Easter Elchies estate, boasting 36 copper pot stills.

This royal release from Macallan is a limited edition bottling of only 1,000 bottles, celebrating the marriage of Prince William to Catherine Middleton on 29th April 2011. Bottled from two casks, both filled on 29th April – one from 1996 and one from 1999.

The creation of this special bottle follows the release of a commemorative edition to mark the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. This comprised two casks, one from each of their birth years. At the time, the bottle sold out and today is highly sought-after by collectors of The Macallan around the world.

In keeping with this original bottling, The Macallan commissioned the creative force behind the 1981 bottle, David Holmes, who was also one of the architects of their advertising campaign in the 1980s and the early 1990s, to create the label and packaging design.

One of 1,000 bottles.