Most Expensive Bottle Of Japanese Whisky Yet Sells In Hong Kong

Last week, a threshold was crossed that should make whiskey enthusiasts everywhere quiver with dread, especially if they are world whisk(e)y enthusiasts. At Bonhams Whisky Sale in Hong Kong, a city already noted as a buzzing whisky auction marketplace, a bottle of Yamazaki 50 Year Old sold for a staggering $343,318 (HK$2,695,000). The bottle became the most expensive in Japanese Whisky history, at least insofar as public transactions can account for.

The 50 year old Yamazaki was released in 2005 as a 50-bottle batch, and is the oldest expression of Yamazaki yet released. It is thus a hot item among collectors, so much so that the previous record for most expensive Japanese Whisky sale ever was also for a 50 year old Yamazaki. That bottle was also sold at a Hong Kong auction, going for $298,879.