Rare whiskies mark Queen's Diamond Jubilee

WHISKY distillers, big and small, are celebrating the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's accession to the British throne. John Walker & Sons has created 'Diamond Jubilee', a blend of rare scotch whiskies distilled in 1952, whilst Gordon & MacPhail launched a 60-year-old Single Malt Whisky.
At Royal Lochnagar Distillery, on the edge of the Queen's Balmoral Estate, David Gates, Grantee of John Walker & Sons' Royal Warrant, will oversee the filling of The Queen's decanter, as well as 60 further editions for sale around the world. The profits from the sale of these editions are being donated to the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) with a guaranteed amount of at least ￡1million and will support the excellence of craftsmanship as symbolised by the Royal Warrant of Appointment.
Each edition also includes a pair of lead Cumbria Crystal glasses engraved by Philip Lawson Johnston and a commemorative artefact book, hand bound by Laura West at her Isle of Skye bindery and personalised for each owner by Sally Mangum, Calligrapher By Appointment to

Her Majesty The Queen. All the elements will be housed in a chest made by the cabinetmakers at N.E.J. Stevenson, incorporating oak from Sandringham to echo the whisky marrying casks and Caledonian pine from The Queen's Balmoral Estate.

Gordon & MacPhail, the Elgin based and family-run single malt whisky specialist, has released only 85 bottles of Glen Grant 60 Years Old. Distilled on 2nd February 1952, four days before the Queen acceded the throne, the whisky was bottled on 2nd February 2012 at cask strength, making it exactly 60 years old.