Japanese whiskies see ‘fantastic’ results

Auction house Zachys has reported “fantastic” results for Japanese whiskies at its most recent sale in Hong Kong.

The Japanese whiskies were 100% sold at the sale on 24 January and achieved US$337,072 against a pre-sale estimate of US$210,516. The sale overall realised $2.6 million.

Jeff Zacharia, President of Zachys, commented: “We were delighted to kick off the auction season in Hong Kong with such phenomenal results. In a packed saleroom, bidding was consistently active throughout this exciting sale, pushing the prices for many lots beyond their estimates.

“Whisky performed exceptionally well and blue chip Burgundy and Bordeaux were highly sought after. All of the 98 lots of Japanese whiskies on offer were sold at impressive prices, clearly reflecting the enormous interest and strong demand in the market for this category, especially in Asia.

“The interest for whisky in the auction market has started to build up in the past few years and I believe that its popularity will continue to grow in the global marketplace.”

Top picks included whiskies from the Karuizawa Distillery with a bottle of the 1981 selling for $3,794, a bottle of 1984 making $3,161 and three bottles of 12-year-old making $4,742.

The Malt Card series was also highly sought after, a bottle of Hanyu Ichiro’s “Ace of Clubs” going for $3,477 and five bottles of Hanyu Ichiro’s Malt Card made $13,435.

As well as whisky, wine was a key part of the auction and there was a lot of bidding for Bordeaux first growths such as Mouton Rothschild and Haut-Brion as well as Burgundy’s premier label Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.