The Glenlivet 25 Year Old Special Jubilee Reserve was bottled in 1977 in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee – 25 years on the throne. Despite being old, rare, and limited, this Glenlivet whisky has flown under the radar on the secondary market, often being overlooked in favor of everyone’s favorite Royal bottlings – those from The Macallan.
So, where can you buy The Glenlivet 25 Year Old Special Jubilee Reserve? Should you? And, why do I believe that this bottle deserves far more recognition than it receives? The first question is easy to answer. You can buy The Glenlivet 25 Year Old Jubilee Reserve on The Whiskey Wash Shop for just $1,004.
The Age of The Glenlivet 25 Year Old Special Jubilee Reserve
By virtue of being 25 years old, and bottled in 1977, the youngest whisky inside The Glenlivet 25 Year Old Special Jubilee Reserve was distilled no later than 1952. Let’s put that into context.
In 1952:
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- Elizabeth II succeeds her father, George VI, as monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as the British dominions.
- The United States Senate ratified a peace treaty with Japan following World War II.
- The first Mr. Potato Head toy was created
- The Diary of Anne Frank was first published in English
And, of course, the spirit that would become The Glenlivet 25 Year Old Special Jubilee Reserve flowed from the stills at The Glenlivet Distillery.
The Rarity
Each bottle of The Glenlivet 25 Year Old Special Jubilee Reserve is individually numbered. Following extensive trawling of auction and retail results, the highest bottle number that I can find is 876.
This does not mean, of course, that there are only 876 bottles in existence. Just that this is the highest bottle number ever to come to market. However, it can be used as an educated estimation of the bottle count – bottles are usually only numbered when the release is limited. Could there be fewer than 1,000 in existence?
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What we can be certain of is that the whisky is very scarce on the secondary market. According to my research, the whisky has only appeared at auction just over 100 times since its first recorded appearance in 2006. That is an average of around 5.5 bottles per year over the past 18 years.
The Glenlivet’s Standing In The Whisky Market
The Glenlivet is one of the most recognizable names in scotch whisky history.
Founded in 1824 by George Smith, The Glenlivet was soon renowned for its quality and innovation. This led to the use of the infamous ‘Glenlivet suffix’. This practice saw other scotch whisky distilleries tack ‘-Glenlivet’ onto the end of its name to enhance its market standing and capitalize on The Glenlivet’s popularity.
Although ‘The Glenlivet’ was later trademarked in the 1880s (after a lengthy legal battle, which I will not get into here), bottles named ‘XXXX-Glenlivet’ serve as a testament to The Glenlivet’s market presence and the continued quality of its single malts.
Today, The Glenlivet is one of the best-selling single malt scotch whiskies in the world, just behind Glenfiddich.
The Price of The Glenlivet 25 Year Old Special Jubilee Reserve
For a 25 year old single malt scotch whisky from 1952, The Glenlivet Special Jubilee Reserve is extremely reasonably priced. For example, you can purchase a bottle at The Whiskey Wash Shop for just $1,004 (~£782). Whilst there are no other bottles currently available at retail in the US, many other retailers around the world sell the bottle for upwards of $1,900 (~£1,500).
By comparison, the 2024 Macallan 25 Year Old will set you back £2,100 (~$2,668) on The Macallan website.
We offer free shipping to 42 US states. You can purchase The Glenlivet 25 Year Old Special Jubilee Reserve here.
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