Yamazaki is Japan’s oldest distillery, and produces some of the best Japanese whisky on the market.
Founded in 1923 by the founder of Suntory, Shinjiro Torii, the distillery has continually distilled Japanese whisky since opening its doors. The distillery is located at the foot of Mount Tenno where the rivers Katsura, Uji, and Kizu meet, in the town of Yamazaki. The area experiences a misty climate, perfect for distilling whisky.
The continuous distillation and consistent quality of the drams have allowed Yamazaki to become one of the most famous distilleries in the world, let alone in Japan.
The Rise of Japanese Whisky
Japanese whisky has seen a significant rise in popularity in recent years, with some Japanese distillers struggling to cope with the rise in demand.
As a result, aged stocks and old bottles of Japanese whisky have seen an exponential rise in value as collectors grapple to get their hands on rare and collectible drams.
Yamazaki is no exception. High age statement, limited edition, and old bottlings of Yamazaki are highly sought-after by connoisseurs and collectors alike.
Top 5 Most Expensive Yamazaki Bottles At Auction
So, today we are taking a look at the top five most expensive Yamazaki bottles at auction, and just what makes them so special.
August 2020 Yamazaki Single Malt 55 YO £562,944
August 2018 Yamazaki Single Malt 50 YO First Edition £245,096
October 2019 Yamazaki Single Malt 50 YO Second Edition £242,668
January 2018 Yamazaki Single Malt 50 YO Third Edition £219,678
January 2019 Yamazaki Single Malt 50 YO Second Edition £198,400
As you can see, this list is mostly dominated by one bottle, and that is the Yamazaki Single Malt 50 Year Old.
There are three different editions of the 50 year old. The first edition was bottled in 2005 for 1 million Yen (£5,053 in 2005), the second in 2007 for the same price, and the third in 2011. The first edition release consisted of only 50 bottles, as did the second, and the third of only 150 bottles.
The most noticeable difference between the editions is that the first edition bottle is impressed with the words ‘SUNTORY SINGLE MALT WHISKY “YAMAZAKI”’, as opposed to the second two editions, where the bottles read ‘THE YAMAZAKI SINGLE MALT WHISKY’.
The first two editions come in a handmade wooden box, whilst the third edition comes in a black wooden box.
The Yamazaki 55 Year Old
Until 2020, the Yamazaki 50 Year Old was the oldest expression of Yamazaki available. That was until the release of the Yamazaki 55 Year Old, the bottle that takes the top spot on this list.
The Yamazaki 55 Year Old was released in June 2020 to great fanfare. It was distilled in 1960 and aged in both Mizunara and white oak casks (from 1964), and bottled at 46% ABV.
Suntory planned to release this bottle in celebration of the Tokyo Olympics 2020, alluding to the fact that 1964 (when this whisky began aging in white oak casks) was the year in which Tokyo last hosted the Olympics. Of course, the 2020 Olympics were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 55 Year Old was released in a limited run of 100 bottles that were available only to Japanese customers by ballot.
The bottle listed in the table above was the first Yamazaki 55 Year Old to appear at auction after huge anticipation, and it did not disappoint, smashing its pre-sale estimate of £50,000-£70,000 and selling for over £560,000. It instantly became the most expensive Japanese whisky ever to sell at auction.
There are hopes that Yamazaki will release two more editions of the 55 Year Old, as with the 50 Year Old. As such, it is possible that we will see Yamazaki break its own record in the near future.
The Top 5 Yamazaki Bottlings At Auction
August 2020 Yamazaki 55 Year Old £562,944
August 2018 Yamazaki 50 Year Old First Edition £245,096
July 2019 Yamazaki 35 Year Old £53,500
August 2019 Yamazaki The Century 1960 40 Year Old £45,240
November 2020 Yamazaki Mizunara 1979 Cask #RF1037 £29,406
As we have previously mentioned, the 55 Year Old and the 50 Year Old Yamazakis dominate the top 5 most expensive bottlings at auction. Therefore, in addition to looking solely at the top auction prices, we have compiled this list of the top 5 most expensive different bottles of Yamazaki. Of course, at number 1 there is the 55 Year Old and at number 2 the 50 Year Old First Edition, so let’s take a look at the next most valuable Yamazaki expressions.
The third bottle on this top 5 Yamazaki at auction is the 35 Year Old expression. This whisky consists of a blend of spirits distilled from 1966 to 1970 and was bottled in 2006. This 35 year old bottling was matured in a 90 litre Spanish oak sherry butt cask, an unusual capacity for this type of cask which are most commonly 500 litres. A smaller cask increases the whisky to wood contact ratio which increases the rate of maturation and imparts stronger flavour. Only 200 bottles of the 35 year old were released and as a result, these bottles don’t feature on the secondary market very often.
Next on this list is the Yamazaki The Century bottling. This was Suntory’s, owner of Yamazaki, first single cask single malt bottling and it was created to celebrate the company’s 100 year anniversary and the turn of the millennium. The whisky itself was distilled in 1960, making it a 40 year old single malt and one of the oldest Yamazaki expressions. The cask used for maturation was Mizunara oak which is notoriously difficult to create casks from but that impart a strong flavour, often with a note of spice, onto the whisky. The decanter is Kagami Crystal. Kagami are one of the most famous glassmakers in Japan and are the supplier for the Imperial Household Agency’s official receptions. Only 300 of these bottles were produced, making them rare and highly sought after.
Finally on this list of top 5 Yamazaki bottles at auction, we have the Yamazaki Mizunara 1979 single cask. This bottling is part of the ‘The Cask of Yamazaki’ series which was a series of carefully selected single cask bottlings. This whisky was distilled in 1979 and was matured for 29 years in a Mizunara oak cask. Mizunara oak is native to northeastern Asia and was used by Japanese distilleries after World War II prevented the import of north American ex-bourbon casks. When many Japanese distilleries returned to bourbon casks, Yamazaki continued their Mizunara expressions, including this 1979 whisky.
The Mysterious Case of Yamazaki 1924
Rumour has it that a very old cask dwells in Yamazaki’s archives, stirring excitement about a potentially legendary release in the near future.
According to Ulf Buxrud, author of Japanese Whisky: Facts, Figures And Taste (2008), “a cask from the distillery’s formative years still exists. It was filled in 1924 and is locked in a safe but it can be inspected with special permission”.
Of course, you will have to take this with a pinch of salt; this book is 12 years old, after all. And, there have not been any whispers of this cask since then.
If it exists, then it could be a very exciting opportunity for Yamazaki to release an extremely old single cask whisky. Let’s hope that the ABV has held above 40% on this mystery cask!
Make sure to check out our YouTube video on all things Yamazaki and the announcement of our next Round Robin series!
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