Hanyu leads the way at Bonhams Japanese whisky sale

Auction house Bonhams staged an online Japanese whisky online auction that ended this week, in which all the lots were sold, with five bottles of Hanyu’s Diamonds Straight Flush Ace to 5 topping the sale.

The online auction was held from 26 February to 8 March. In the sale, over 60% of lots sold were above high estimate with a total sales of HK$5.4m generated. A set of five bottles of Hanyu Ichiro’s Malt Poker series – Diamonds Straight Flush Ace to 5 shone in the sale and the top lot was sold for HK$1,178,000.

Nine lots out of the top tens of the sale were all bottles from the Hanyu Ichiro’s Malt Poker series, showing the market enthusiasm towards the collection is still very strong. Last November, a ‘full card series’ whisky was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong for a combined total of HK$11,890,360.

Commenting on the result, Daniel Lam, director of wine and spirits, at Bonhams Asia, said, “The Japanese whisky market is evidently off to a great start in 2021. The result of this online sale shows that strong demand exists not only at the top end of the market, but across all price bands.

“The sale, which comprised 82 lots with an average estimate of HK$32,000, attracted strong and competitive biddings. All lots found a buyer, with over 60% selling above their high estimates. We also saw stronger participation from whisky connoisseurs and drinkers, who attach greater importance to the quality of the actual whisky rather than the label. It suggests that the market is robust and healthy – this is a good time to sell.”

The next sale from the auction house is going to the Hong Kong spring auction in May.