Im Jahr 2020 haben wir das Erscheinen des Yamazaki 55yo in Japan in einem Artikel angekündigt. Damals wurde er über ein Lossystem zum Preis von umgerechnet 25.000 Euro vergeben. Dazugekommen wären noch die Reisekosten nach Japan – man hätte also mit etwas Glück eine der 100 Flaschen zum Preis von unter 30.000 Euro erhalten können.
Jetzt wird eine dieser Flaschen bei Sotheby’s in New York versteigert, und man erwartet sich einen Verkaufspreis von ca. 370.000 bis 470.000 Euro (umgerechnet), allerdings haben wir schon einen Verkaufspreis von über 670.000 Euro gesehen, im Jahr 2020 in Hongkong (unseren Bericht dazu finden Sie hier).
Hier die Pressemitteilung zur Auktion – über das Ergebnis werden wir natürlich wiederum berichten.
| Presseartikel | Für den Inhalt ist das Unternehmen verantwortlich |
Bidding Now Open on Sotheby’s Sale of a Bottle of Japan’s Oldest Whisky
NEW YORK, 9 JUNE 2022 – Bidding is now open on Sotheby’s single-lot sale of a bottle of Japan’s oldest whisky, namely the Yamazaki 55.
Estimated at $400,000-500,000, the Yamazaki 55 is the oldest and most valuable whisky ever bottled in Japan. Having been initially released in 2020 in Japan via ballot for only JP¥3.3 million (around $31,000) each, and internationally the following year in an extremely limited offering, bottles have since achieved six-figure prices at auction.
“A rise in whisky prices has led to new releases increasing in value, with Japanese whiskies among the most sought-after on the secondary market. Aged whiskies are now quite limited in Japan, so much so that Suntory’s aged statement brands have either been discontinued or are only released on highly limited allocation. The Yamazaki 55 is the preeminent whisky from this scarce supply, and it sits in a league of its own. An example of when price is matched not just by rarity, but by quality, this whisky epitomises the key elements collectors search for in a collectible whisky: dark, heavily sherried whisky released in limited numbers with a very high-age statement.”
Jonny Fowle, Sotheby’s Head of Whisky, North America and EMEA
Japan’s love of whisky began in 1853, when a US naval officer named Matthew C. Perry arrived on Japanese shores towards the end of the Edo period. The Tokugawa Shogunate enforced a strict rule of isolation, meaning that no Japanese nationals could leave and no foreign visitors could enter. Commodore Perry brought peace offerings – namely a white flag and a barrel of American whiskey (presumably rye) – and the Shogunate was wooed by his approach to negotiation. As laws concerning isolation relaxed, whisky imports began. This dark spirit enchanted the Japanese palate and encouraged local brewers and distillers to re-create the foreign elixir.
The genesis of whisky distillation in Japan can be largely attributed to two men: Shinjiro Torii, an Osaka-born apprentice pharmacist and wine merchant, who began his journey into spirits with his blend Torys Whisky in 1919; and Masataka Taketsuru, the son of a sake brewer in Hiroshima, who was equipped with the Scottish know-how for distillation following a three-year sojourn in Scotland, where he studied chemistry at Glasgow University and worked at Longmorn, Bo’ness and Hazelburn Distilleries.
Three years after returning to Japan with his wife, and a journal entitled “Report of Apprenticeship: Pot Still Whisky” – which would become the ultimate manual for Japanese whisky-making – Taketsuru entered Shinjiro Torii’s employ as the whisky-maker at Kotobukiya, now known as Suntory. After a hunt for a perfect location for their distillery, they landed on the village of Yamazaki on the outskirts of Kyoto in 1923. And on 11 November 1924, the first spirit ran from their stills.
At this time nobody could have anticipated the quality of the whiskies that Japan’s first ever Single Malt distillery would go on to produce, nor the values that their bottles would command at auction.
The Yamazki 55 Year Old was vatted from Mizunara and American White Oak casks distilled by Shinjiro Torii in 1960 and 1964 respectively, and laid down over half a century ago for three generations, until current Chief Blender Shinji Fukuyo, grandson of the founder, selected and blended these casks to create what is considered a true masterpiece in the world of whisky.
Housed in an immaculate black Mizunara box, reflecting the casks used to age this historic whisky, the bottle is wrapped in layers of ink-black handmade echizen washi paper and fastened with a plaited cord made up of 24 individual strands – the total sum of its packaging reflective of traditional Japanese crafts.
The Yamazaki 55 | Japan’s Oldest Whisky is open for bidding until 17 June. The sale of the Yamazaki 55 is just one of the standout offerings in Sotheby’s New York Luxury Week this June, a bi-annual multi-category auction series dedicated to the increasing trend of cross-collecting in the luxury categories. The series of nine auctions, encompassing Jewellery, Watches, Designer Handbags, Sneakers, Spirits and Wine, is expected to be one of the most valuable in New York to date.
