To paint a picture of just how valuable some whiskeys are, check out this listing by Bonhams Skinner. While the esteemed establishment usually caters to automotive collectors, it also handles the sale of other rare collectibles. Lot number one in the ongoing “Whisky Immortal: The World’s Most Coveted Spirits” auction presents The Yamazaki 55 Years Old.
Unless you have been completely disconnected from society for years, Japanese whiskey is held in such high regard among enthusiasts. As such, whenever the country’s top distilleries launch small batch expressions with older age statements, expect bottles to fly off the shelves. In fact, the bottle in question here is one of only 200 released.
Those who were able to score The Yamazaki 55 Years Old upon launch were extremely lucky, by the way. In 2020, Suntory’s original allocation of only 100 bottles was exclusively available via a special lottery only in Japan. Another 100 bottles shortly followed, which were shipped to global markets such as China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Taiwan.
“The whisky, a blend of precious single malts, honors the passage of time. The first was distilled in 1960, aged in mizunara oak casks and created by legendary founder Shinjiro Tojii. The second, completed with Tojii’s son—Keizo Saji—in 1964, was filled into white oak casks,” reads the official footnotes.
Furthermore, both fifth-generation chief blender Shinji Fukuyo and third-generation master blender Shingo Torii are behind the blend. The Yamazaki 55 Years Old that is up for bidding includes the original presentation case and distillery booklet. With a starting bid of $140,000, we will know how high offers take it in about 10 days from this writing.
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Images courtesy of Bonhams Skinner
