The Macallan 25 Year Old Anniversary Malts are amongst the most collectible bottles of Macallan whisky. It is easy to say this about many bottles of vintage Macallan. After all, they do hail from the most luxurious scotch whisky distillery in the world.
However, the Anniversary Malts stand out to me because of the incredibly simple yet effective marketing ploy that thrust them into the public consciousness. So, let’s discuss The Macallan Anniversary Malts and what makes them, even today, some of Macallan’s most famous bottlings.
If you are looking to add a Macallan Anniversary Malt to your collection, we have a few available on The Whiskey Wash Shop, including a Macallan 1967 25 Year Old Anniversary Malt for £6,645.
The Origins of The Macallan 25 Year Old Anniversary Malts
The first Macallan 25 Year Old Anniversary Malt was released in 1983: a 1957 vintage. Purchasers paid £25 per bottle. Whilst this seems like an absolute bargain in the context of today’s market, £25 was relatively expensive for a bottle of single malt scotch back in 1983. This is for a few reasons.
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- In the 1980s, the scotch whisky industry was in the middle of the Whisky Loch – an overwhelming supply compared to lackluster demand.
- Single malt scotch whisky was not the preferred spirit of the time. Even in the midst of the Whisky Loch, which saw a rise in the popularity of lighter spirits such as vodka, blended scotch was preferred by the majority of consumers.
Given all of this, why did Macallan choose to charge what was, at the time, a price way over the odds for a bottle of scotch? Well, the prevailing theory was that the £25 price tag contributed to The Macallan’s punchy marketing ploy.
The Marketing of The Macallan 25 Year Old Anniversary Malts
What were The Macallan 25 Year Old Anniversary Malts celebrating the anniversary of? Well, as far as my research tells me, nothing.
The theory goes that The Macallan called them ‘The Anniversary Malts’, as a marketing strategy that would encourage whisky drinkers to purchase the bottles for ruby wedding anniversaries, 25th birthdays, and retirement gifts. The packaging of the Anniversary Malts really hammers home the theme, with the bright red ‘25’ indicating the whisky’s age, price, and purpose.
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So, did the marketing work? Well, the answer to this is evident in the number of these bottles that came to market, and their value in the current day. From 1983 until 2004, The Macallan bottled no less than 18 different versions of The Anniversary Malts with vintages ranging from 1957 to 1975. See the full list below:
You will notice that there are some missing vintages from the table above: 1960, 1961, and 1973. It is thought that whiskies from the 1960 and 1961 vintages were used in the non-vintage 75cl bottling. As 75cl was the standard bottle size in the UK in the 1980s, we can safely assume that this non-vintage was bottled in the 1980s, when the 60/61 whisky would have been turning 25 (in 1985 and 1986, to be exact). Though, this has not been confirmed.
Additionally, the 70cl non-vintage expression is thought to contain some whisky from the missing 1973 vintage.
The Prices
Whoever paid £25 for a Macallan Anniversary Malt in the 1980s will have seen an incredible rise in value. For example, the Macallan 1957 25 Year Old Anniversary Malt has an auction record of £7,400 (~$9,415), achieved in August 2023. This is a testament to the continued power of Macallan’s marketing. Today, thanks to the early advocacy and release of single malts, The Macallan is considered the pinnacle of luxury scotch whisky.
Of course, the elephant in the room is that the scotch whisky market is extremely soft at present. After arguably hitting its peak in 2018 (which incidentally is when The Macallan unveiled its new state-of-the-art distillery), the whisky market has slowed in the last 12 months.
The good news is that, if you are interested in buying a Macallan 25 Year Old Anniversary Malt, the market is in your favor.
The Macallan 1967 25 Year Old Anniversary Malt
Logically, the Anniversary Malts are harder to acquire in the USA than they are in the UK (and it’s not exactly easy here, either). Lucky for you, we recently announced that The Whiskey Wash Shop is now offering free shipping to 42 US states, meaning that you can pay UK prices for a whiskey that will set you back five figures in the US.
We currently have a Macallan 1967 25 Year Old Anniversary Malt in superb condition listed on our store. The level is high, the capsule is uncompromised, and the red ‘25’ is bright. It is also complete with its presentation box. Buy it here for just $6,645.
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