When a bottle of Karuizawa 52-year-old Zodiac Rat sold for a whopping ?363,000 (about ?47 million) at auction in London to an Asian private collector on March 18 ¡ª a record for a Japanese whisky ¡ª the eye-watering price capped a long-building trend: Japan¡¯s take on the liquor is serious business.
Although yet to match its Scottish counterparts ¡ª a bottle of Macallan sold for $1.9 million (about ?204 million) late last year ¡ª the upward trend has been clear for some time and, bolstered by the drink¡¯s scarcity, looks set to continue for the foreseeable future.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.