Bonhams Hong Kong Sets New Record for Japanese Whisky With Yamazaki 50 Year Old
A bottle created for a private club in Nagoya has become the most expensive Japanese whisky ever sold at auction. At Bonhams Hong Kong on May 30, a unique Yamazaki 50 Year Old single-malt fetched HK$8,250,000, or about $1 million, after bidding from three collectors. The result nearly doubled the high estimate and overtook the previous record of HK$6,200,000, set at Bonhams Hong Kong in 2020 for a Yamazaki 55-Year-Old.
The bottle was made exclusively for Club Natsume, the private club founded in 1953 and nicknamed “Japan’s Chamber of Commerce for Nightlife.” Bonhams said the 700 ml example bears a washi label and Shinji Fukuyo’s signature. It was aged in Japanese Mizunara oak and offered with its original wooden presentation case, a scuffed neck charm, and the original pouch. According to the auction house, the bottle is believed to have been released in the mid-2000s and has remained in private hands since then.
The sale also reinforced Bonhams’ position in the category. In press materials, the house said it now holds the top three prices ever achieved at international auction for a bottle of Japanese whisky. Another standout lot, Karuizowa 52 Year Old Cask 5627, 1960 – Treasure Ship, estimated at HK$3.2 million, sold for HK$6,250,000, or about $797,000.
The result reflects how sharply the market for rare Japanese whisky has matured. Yamazaki, which opened in 1923 as Japan’s first malt whisky producer, has become one of the category’s most closely watched names. Sotheby’s described its 50 Year Old First Release in 2023 as “the peak of rare, collectible Japanese whisky,” noting that only about a dozen bottles remained from the original 50. This latest sale suggests that the upper end of the market is still finding new ground.
