“For relaxing times, make it Suntory time.”
When Bill Murray’s Bob Harris spoke those words in Lost in Translation and single-handedly turned on an entire generation to the wonders of Japanese Whisky, he certainly didn’t mean a 50-year-old Yamazaki, because there is no way we can have a “relaxing time” drinking a $343,318 bottle of anything. Don’t get us wrong, we adore whisk(e)y and imagine that whatever kind of “time” we’d have with that dram would be a great one, but if you can relax with a bottle that pricey then you’ve got some serious “f*ck you” money. Nevertheless, two summers ago that’s the exact price a 50-year-old bottle sold for at auction. While you’ll likely never get the chance to experience such a bottle, you may be lucky enough to taste one even older and for a much cheaper (albeit still expensive) price.
Japanese distillery Suntory has announced that later this year they’ll be selling bottles of their 55-year-old Yamazaki single malt whisky at the cool price of $30,313. Japan Times reports that only 100 bottles will be sold, and Food & Wine suspects that because of Suntory’s dwindling whisky supplies, you can fully expect the price of Suntory’s 12, 18, and 25-year Yamizaki’s to begin to rise. While widely considered well worth it, bottles of Yamazaki already cost a pretty penny with the 12-year averaging about $120 a bottle.
If you’re lucky enough to ever get your hands on a 55 year, Suntory’s chief blender Shinji Fuku describes the whisky as sweet and woody “with a mature fruity aroma and a long aftertaste.”
Buyers can fill out an online application between February 5th and the 14th, and will then be chosen at random through a lottery system. Unfortunately, the lottery is only open to Japanese residents with a Japanese delivery address, so if that isn’t you, bummer. But hey, non-Japanese residents, fear not — there are many other whiskies out there well worth your time.
