A Bonhams in Hong Kong became the latest site for a world record when a bottle of Yamazaki 50 years old was sold for a whopping $343,318 (£269,522). The bottle’s pre-sale estimate was US$229,310-US$305,749, but it managed to smash the previous record for the most expensive Japanese whisky which had been set earlier this year when another bottle of Yamazaki sold for US$312,105 also at a Bonhams auction. The buyer joined the auction by phone but remained anonymous.
“The Yamazaki 50-year-old is an exceptional whisky and, of course, very rare indeed,” said Daniel Lam, Bonhams head of fine wine and whisky. “This new world record for a bottle of Japanese whisky – just a few months after we set the previous one – and the world record we set for Scotch whisky in May demonstrate that the auction market for single malt whisky is in good health.”
This seems to be the year of whisky. Earlier this year two bottles from the Macallan with limited edition labels designed by Sir Peter Blake and Valerio Adami, sold for just under $1.2 million each smashing their pre-sale estimates of about a half million each.
[Via:Thespiritsbusiness]
