Japanese Whisky Bottle Sells for More Than $1 Million at Auction, Breaks Record

Sharon Chan hammers down the bottle of whisky that sold for HK$8.25 million (about US$1.05 million). (Photos: Bonhams)

A bottle of Yamazaki 50-Year-Old has become the most expensive Japanese whisky ever sold at auction after fetching HK$8.25 million (about US$1.05 million) at Bonhams Hong Kong.

The record-setting sale took place during Bonhams’ “The Legendary Japanese Whisky” auction and nearly doubled the bottle’s high pre-sale estimate of HK$4.2 million.

The bottle surpassed the previous auction record for Japanese whisky, also set by Bonhams in Hong Kong, when a Yamazaki 55-Year-Old sold for HK$6.2 million (about US$790,000) in 2020.

The whisky’s rarity played a major role in the result. While Yamazaki 50-Year-Old is already one of the distillery’s oldest and most sought-after releases, this particular bottling was created exclusively for Club Natsume in Nagoya to mark the club’s 50th anniversary. The bottle features a distinctive washi paper label and was signed by Suntory Chief Blender Shinji Fukuyo.

According to Bonhams, bidding came from multiple collectors in the room and on the phone before the hammer finally fell at the record price.

The auction’s second-highest lot was another ultra-rare Japanese whisky, a Karuizawa 52-Year-Old Cask #5627, 1960 “Treasure Ship,” which sold for HK$6.25 million (about US$797,000).

The two highest-selling lots at the auction, Yamazaki 50-Year-Old and Karuizawa 52-Year-Old Cask #5627, 1960 “Treasure Ship.”

Bonhams Global Head of Wine & Spirits Amayès Aouli called the result “an important milestone” for the category and said the sale demonstrates continued demand for rare Japanese whiskies among collectors worldwide.

The auction house noted that it now holds the top three prices ever achieved for a bottle of Japanese whisky at international auction.

The whisky sale followed another successful Bonhams Hong Kong auction focused on fine wine, where all 350 lots sold and total sales exceeded HK$23 million (about US$2.93 million).