The Oldest and Most Valuable Whisky Ever Bottled in Japan is Up for Auction
From the depths of Japanese cellars to the heights of global prestige, one of the rarest single malts ever crafted returns to the world stage.
A single bottle of The Yamazaki 55 Year Old, one of the rarest Japanese whiskies ever released, is set to appear at Bonhams’ upcoming online auction Whisky Immortal: The World’s Most Coveted Spirits, running from 31 May to 12 June 2025.
Fewer than 200 bottles of this extraordinary single malt exist worldwide, and it has become one of the most sought-after whiskies ever produced.
First released in 2020 to commemorate the Showa era of the 1960s, Yamazaki 55 is a blend of two whiskies: one distilled in 1960 by Shinjiro Torii, founder of the House of Suntory, and matured in mizunara oak, and the other from 1964, crafted by Keizo Saji and aged in American white oak.
The final composition was completed by Fifth-Generation Chief Blender Shinji Fukuyo and Shingo Torii, the family’s Third-Generation Master Blender.
It was inspired by the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi—finding beauty in imperfection and depth in age.
The bottle is a work of art in its own right, presented in a crystal decanter engraved with gold dust lacquer, wrapped in handmade Echizen washi paper and fastened with a traditional braided silk cord.
It comes in a bespoke box carved from Japanese mizunara and finished with Suruga lacquer.
Also included is the original presentation case and distillery booklet, with a fill level at the bottom neck and an alcohol content of 46 per cent.
Few bottles have ever surfaced at auction. Those that do often become the centrepieces of elite collections, rarely changing hands again.
For the collector who values legacy as much as rarity, this offering is an invitation to own something quietly profound, timeless, intimate and entirely irreplaceable.
