Yamazaki 55 Whisky sells for $600,000

Jiji Press

11:10 JST, June 21, 2022

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — A bottle of The Yamazaki 55 single malt whisky from Japan’s Suntory Spirits Ltd. has sold for $600,000, or about ¥81 million, at an auction at Sotheby’s in New York.

The successful price was higher than the $400,000 to $500,000 estimated before the auction. The auction took place Friday.

The Yamazaki 55 uses unblended whisky aged for 55 years or longer at Suntory Spirits’ Yamazaki Distillery in Shimamoto, Osaka Prefecture.

In 2020, the company sold only 100 bottles of The Yamazaki 55 by lottery as the company’s oldest whisky at a price of ¥3.3 million each. Thanks to its rarity, a bottle of the whisky later sold for 6.2 million Hong Kong dollars, or about ¥106.6 million.