Diageo, the world’s biggest distiller, will sell 60 decanters of limited-edition Scotch whisky at £100,000 apiece to commemorate 60 years of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign in 2012.

The “Diamond Jubilee Blended Scotch Whisky by John Walker & Sons” is a blend of whiskies distilled in 1952, partially aged in a cask made from oak trees grown at Sandringham, Diageo said. The whisky will be sold in a lead crystal decanter, decorated with a silver collar featuring a half-carat diamond and an individually numbered seal.

Each decanter will be accompanied by a pair of hand-engraved crystal glasses and a personalised leather-bound artefact book, all housed in a bespoke cabinet made of wood from the Balmoral and Sandringham estates.

The first bottle will be presented to the Queen as a gift, while the others will be offered for private sale by invitation only. They will be bottled on February 6, 2012, 60 years after the Queen acceded to the British throne. The London-based company will donate “all profits” from the sale, with a guarantee of at least £1m to the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, which will help “enable traditional craftsmanship to flourish in Britain".

The £100,000 price tag compares with £19.95 for a bottle of standard Johnnie Walker Red Label and £2,250 for The John Walker, its more exclusive cousin.

Diageo’s Johnnie Walker whisky is the world’s leading Scotch brand. Johnnie Walker, which was established in 1820, was awarded a royal warrant of appointment by George V, Queen Elizabeth’s grandfather, to supply whisky to the royal family.

While the Queen has inherited a taste for Dubonnet and gin from her mother, the Royal Family's connection with Scotch whisky goes back centuries. George IV was partial to a Glenlivet, while Queen Victoria liked the occasional dram of Royal Lochnagar, distilled close to her beloved Balmoral.

The Prince of Wales is said to prefer the peatiness of Laphroaig, a single malt from Islay. -07 Jun 2011

Diageo's Johnnie Walker whisky is the world's leading Scotch brand Photo: Alamy