Japanese Whisky Achieve Fantastic Results at Zachys Asia New Year Sale
Lot 652
Rare Japanese whisky took center-stage at Zachys Asia’s on 24 January at Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong. The Japanese whisky section was 100% sold and achieved a spectacular total of over HK$2.61 million/US$337,072 against a pre-sale estimate of HK$1.6 million/US$210,516. The sale realized a grand total of over HK$20.7 million/US$2.67 million offering a stunning array of exceptional Scottish and Japanese whiskies alongside Bordeaux and Burgundy gems.
Jeff Zacharia, President of Zachys, commented: We are 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 the 98 lots of Japanese whiskies on offer were sold out 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 marketplace.”
A SPECTACULAR OFFERING FROM THE HISTORIC CELLAR OF GRAHAM LYONS
There was keen interest for wines from the cellar of Graham Lyons which was 100% sold. It is one of the greatest collections of rare wines in the world and almost all wines were purchased on initial release and have since been stored at Octavian in the United Kingdom until this auction.
Lot 653 Elliot Faber,
EXCEPTIONAL JAPANESE WHISKY
Bidding was spirited in the saleroom for rare Japanese whisky and resulted in remarkable prices well above pre-sale estimates. Rare bottles from Hanyu Ichiro’s “Playing Card” series were eagerly sought after. Each bottle of the series has a different card face and contains whiskies from casks distilled as early as 1985 and as late as 2000.
The top lot was a Suit of Diamonds of 13 bottles from Hanyu Ichiro’s Malt Card series that realized HK$318,500/US$41,097 (Estimate: HK$260,000-400,000 /US$34,000-55,000, Lot 652, illustrated on P.1). Two bottles featuring the extremely rare Black & White Joker and the Colour Joker, the two final cards of the series released in 2014, commanded a strong price of HK$116,375/US$15,016 (Estimate: HK$60,000-90,000/US$8,000-12,000, Lot 653), well exceeded pre-sale expectations.
Lot 653 Elliot Faber, Hong Kong based whisky specialist, said: “With 100% of all Japanese whisky lots being sold at record prices, The Zachys New Year Auction showed that there are still increasing demands for rare and limited bottlings not only from the closed distilleries of Hanyu and Karuizawa, but also from the distilleries who are still in operation such as Suntory’s Yamazaki, Nikka’s Yoichi and Miyagikyo. This year, collectors and enthusiasts alike will be thirsty for more single casks and older vintage bottlings from all of Japan’s
distilleries.
“People haven’t forgotten Scotland either. If there were less attention to the Scotch this time around, that only means there is a lot of room to grow in this category and Zachys’ offered some extremely collectible bottles. I look forward to seeing the offers at the next auction,” said Faber, who is also Beverage Director for Ronin, Yardbird, and Sunday's Grocery.
For enquires: www.zachys.com/auctions | www.zachysasia.com