Japanese Whisky
Japan has an incredible story to tell in its history of distilling whisky. In less than 100 years, Japan has established a world-leading whisky industry renowned for producing unique whiskies of exceptional quality, particularly from Karuizawa, Hanyu, Yamazaki and Hibiki.
Over the past decade the Japanese whisky industry has experienced a meteoric rise of increasing interest and a raft of high-profile awards won. Older vintages are particularly prized for the quality of the liquid, however, this surge in popularity is reported to have created widespread stock shortages resulting in the withdrawal of many age statement ranges. This incredible rise has been mirrored on the secondary market, as Whisky Auctioneer has seen incredible volume and value increases year on year in Japanese whisky lots in their monthly auctions.
There are a variety of distilleries in operation today that regularly release bottles onto the market and as in Scotland there are also several closed or 'ghost' distilleries that no longer produce whisky but whose remaining stocks are highly sought-after.
>> Read our Ultimate Guide to Japanese Whisky
Whisky Auctioneer is a leading auctioneer of rare and collectible Japanese whisky, with their team of experts handling close to 10,000 bottles of Japanese whisky each year. Browse all past and present lots or contact us if you are interested in selling a bottle of Japanese whisky at auction.
Distillery Highlights
Karuizawa
Perhaps one of the most well known of Japan's closed distilleries, renowned for producing incredible sherry cask matured whisky. Since its closure in 2001 the popularity of Karuizawa has grown massively and with the remaining stocks dwindling now is the time to secure your bottle.
Yamazaki
One of the first Japanese distilleries to win an international award for their whisky, Yamazaki are also at the head of the pack in terms of volume of liquid produced. Their limited editions and Single Cask releases are particularly popular and growing increasingly rare.
Hanyu
The short lived production of this whisky started in the 1980s and ceased in 2000, with subsequent closure of the distillery in 2004. Luckily the remaining stocks were acquired by Ichiro Akuto, whose bottling series have been widely acclaimed and are much sought after, particularly his Ichiro's Malt 'Card' Series.
Yoichi
Yoichi are famous for insisting on coal-firing their stills (which are modeled on the ones from Longmorn Distillery), and spent a vast sum on a filter to reduce the environmental impact of doing so. The distillery felt that taking the cheaper option and switching to steam or electricity would have a detrimental effect on the character of their spirit, so maintained their coal-firing methods. Kudos!
