Whisky Auctioneer Hosts Exclusive Japanese Auction

Exclusive Japanese Whisky Auction

Whisky Auctioneer is delighted to host a dedicated Japanese Whisky Auction, bringing an exclusive collection of over 400 bottles under the hammer. 

Examples from a wide range of Japan’s most revered distilleries, both open and closed, will feature.  Lots include many single-cask examples and older age statement releases. A particular highlight is the Yamazaki 50 Year Old, a bottle that has broken auction records in the past and is expected to achieve a hammer price in excess of £150,000.  

Alongside this, a sensational selection of Karuizawa single cask offerings, including the very rare Karuizawa 50 Year Old Single Cask #6223 / Aqua of Life and 45 individual bottles from the legendary and highly collectible Hanyu Ichiro’s Malt ‘Card’ series.  There are also a range of unique and rare bottles of Yoichi, Chichibu and Hibiki. 

Over the past decade the Japanese whisky industry has experienced a meteoric rise of increasing interest and a raft of high-profile awards won. Older vintages are particularly prized for the quality of the liquid, however this surge in popularity is reported to have created widespread stock shortages resulting in the withdrawal of many age statement ranges. 

This incredible rise has been mirrored on the secondary market, as Whisky Auctioneer has seen a volume increase of 80% year on year in Japanese whisky lots in their monthly auctions. 

Whisky Auctioneer is a leading auctioneer of Japanese whisky, with a team of experts handling in excess of 8,000 bottles of Japanese whisky every year. This will be Whisky Auctioneer’s first exclusive Japanese whisky auction held since the record-breaking sale of Karuizawa in April 2017.  That auction featured the incredible Karuizawa 1960 Single Cask #5127 / The Archer, which at the time broke UK and European records for the most expensive bottle of Japanese whisky sold at auction. 

Iain McClune, Managing Director, said: “We are delighted to bring so many incredible bottles to our audience of whisky enthusiasts. Japan’s reputation for producing exceptional whisky is well-deserved and we have curated an auction that truly encompasses the very best of the industry”. 

Stefan Van Eycken, Japanese whisky expert, writer and editor of Nonjatta, said of the auction, “Browsing through the over 400 bottles of Japanese whisky on offer in the forthcoming Whisky Auctioneer auction is like traveling back in time: bottles galore of legendary closed distilleries, age statements everywhere and vintages most of us are unlikely to ever see again on Japanese whisky shelves in our lifetime. This sort of liquid gold doesn't come cheap, of course, but as I've learned from experience, you pass chances like these up at your own risk.”