The collection of 296 bottles, which had been built up over the last 10 years by a European collector, surpassed the pre-auction estimated value of around £500,000.
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| Karuizawa 1960 52 Year Old - Sold for £100,100 |
The auction which attracted worldwide attention, has resulted in more than 5093 bids for the bottles, resulting in 89 successful buyers from 19 different countries. A bottle of Karuizawa's 1960 52 Year Old, one of just 41 bottles originally released for £12,000 in 2013, sold for £100,100, setting a new UK and European record for a Japanese whisky.
Karuizawa has become one of the world’s most coveted whiskies since the distillery stopped production in 2000.The collection auctioned by Perth based Whisky Auctioneer, covered almost every expression created by the renowned Japanese distillery. It is the first time such an extensive collection has been made available for auction anywhere in the world.
According to rare whisky experts and analysts Rare Whisky 101, the RWK (Rare Whisky Karuizawa) Index, a selection of bottles from this now silent Japanese distillery, have increased in value by more than 300% since July 2013.
Commenting on the news, Iain McClune, Founder of Whisky Auctioneer said: “I don’t think we ever expected to have this much interest in our collection of Karuizawa, regardless of its rarity and collectability! Despite being a UK-based auction, only 37 of these bottles will remain on our shores. The international profile of the winning bids truly underline the global appeal of rare whisky at the moment, with these bottles soon heading off to 19 different countries, located across four different continents.”
The sale has been a huge success for the Perthshire based Whisky Auctioneer, which specialises in auctioning fine, old, rare and collectable whiskies via its website; whiskyauctioneer.com
Posted by Steve Rush