Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Japanese Whiskies Under the Hammer


Lauren Eads from The Drinks Business has recently written an article named: 'Rare Japanese Whisky Auction Set For HK'. According to the article Asia's largest auction house declares that it will host "the most comprehensive collection of Hanyu and Karuizawa whisky in the auction history of Bonhams HK". Apparently the auction will feature over 200 lots that includes more than 170 bottles of Karuizawa. Readers may recall a similar article posted by the leading drinks trade publication, which Whiskies R Us announced back in May, 2013 (here). Although this large public sale can easily highlight the growing popularity of Japanese whisky the question is, which has been covered more than once, and by various sources, how many people will actually buy to personally consume opposed to buying for investment purposes? Either way, consumer or investor, a hefty price tag is attached when buying on the resale market - you will be paying through the nose. The auction market often has mixed reactions, ask everyone who buys and drinks whisky. Some say that it is a good opportunity to obtain bottles that they would never of had the chance to find elsewhere, while others, including the producers of the whisky, say it often leaves a bad taste in their mouths to see the astronomical prices. One thing which is clearly evident: a large amount of rare Japanese whisky has been sourced, making it even harder for dedicated drinkers such as you and I to obtain. Perhaps given the geographical market place of the auction the majority of the whisky could be snapped up by drinkers (personal speculation only)? What's your take on the subject?


Image kindly taken from Bonhams HK auction listing: Japanese & Rare Whisky

8 comments:

  1. My take is that most won't be bought by drinkers but by speculators from mainland China who have more money than sense! This is what I've been told has been the case at previous Bonhams HK auctions.

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    1. No one can disagree with the fact that there are quite a few well off people from the area. Some may not use their money as wise as others :) but I'd of thought the cashed up punters would buy purely for drinking as they may have disposal funds to splash out on an extremely overpriced whisky simply because they have a penchant for something premium. Just would have thought it to be logical that if you have the cash in the first place why become a speculator? But I guess there is that saying "a lot is never enough". If there are investors/speculators buying at these extreme prices do they honestly think their efforts will be much more fruitful? Well...I guess the answer to that will be in the final hammer price. Shame if it is the case.

      Again mixed reactions on this topic by drinkers, readers, consumers - either Yah or Nay. Most places here have become completely dry. It's even hard to find a Chichibu right now. If it is purely just the case of Japanese whisky continuing to be popular than its good for the industry, or drinkers grabbing a few for down the track then it's all good.

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  2. My take is that whisky auctions in general and Bonhams in particular should be avoided. Below is a famous example why this is better done.

    http://www.lawhiskeysociety.com/pages/Bonhams-Whisky-Auction-Obfuscation

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    1. Thanks for that interesting link, Pierre. I Have read on a few occasions that some of the big auction houses have had trouble with wine - miss informing customers, it appears also with whisky hey. What's that saying Ralphy always say: "buyer beware, buyer take care".

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  3. On! a! certain! auction! site! in! Japan! there is a constant stream of empties being sold of rare bottles, particularly of Ichiro's Card Series, I wonder how many refills have made it to the market already. So hard to know what you are getting at auction these days.

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    1. Thanks for addressing this issue Bret. This is a topic that justifies a post in itself. I've wondered if the people who buy empties are doing so purely for display purposes, because they couldn't have the real deal and are settling for the next best thing, or date I say buying them for wrong doings? It would be a shock to ever find refilled Japanese whisky bottles on the market, but I guess it is inevitable given the current status. Take a look at Macallan, just one example, as soon as prices hit the roof among speculators a flood of refills hit the market. We see this with not just whisky but anything that is highly sought after because people are continuing to drive the popularity by paying extreme prices. While taking a look myself I saw, what I believe to be, a non ethentic bottle pop up. Again as I said in the above comment (taken from Ralfy): "buyer beware buyer take care". When and where you can record bottling numbers from empties that spring up to use as a future reference. The best bet is to buy locally but unfortunately not everyone can do that.

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  4. This is an ongoing discussion that's been going on for a while now, except that Hanyu has clearly joined Karuizawa in the frantic hunt.

    Living in Paris, i had the opportunity for years to buy Karuizawa of course (lucky me, lucky parisians), and have been doing so as much as i could, given my own budget limit, because i love this very whisky (currently open, i have the 1981 cocktail series, the 1981 c.7924, a 1970, a 2000 TIBS and the blue dragon 2000).

    There always was a good supply of Hanyu malt cards at LMDW stores here, and i wanted to buy some from time to time. Suddenly, sometime early in 2014, as i actually wanted to buy one, both stores were totally out of stock on Hanyu (and Karuizawa too, but that was expected).

    One month earlier, there were about 7 or 8 different cards in stock (i even had taken pictures to make my choice), sometimes 3 bottles of the same card (one card especially was on sale in february…), and i had finally decided which one i would buy: and then suddenly everything was gone, almost overnight! i was told in both stores that asian buyers had come and simply bought every possible Hanyu and Karuizawa that was available!

    It's difficult to assess who those buyers were, and then again, we can imagine these are speculators or rich people who "need" to buy prestige drinks to show their social status. But the lack of balance in these massive purchases is clearly a problem for real amateurs.

    As it's difficult to assess the "authenticity" of such buyers from Asia (meaning whether they buy K and H to drink it vs to collect/invest/speculate), my opinion is that most buyers (not all, but the majority) here in Europe - at least in France - are true amateurs that do drink theses incredible beverages. Even though they might - as do many amateurs, and like me of course - buy more than they drink. I know many people around me who bought Karuizawa and open/empty bottles from time to time (of course, they won't open one every month… because these are not daily drams).

    But with the price madness growing, some will/might be tempted probably to resell instead of drinking their last bottles… That's another downside of the price increase: those who'd enjoy those whiskies the most and had the chance to get some bottles (i do know some who still have 1967's)… might end up reselling them because "well, is this Karuizawa really worth the 2500 euros i can get with it, and subsequently buy 3 or 4 incredible bottles from another great distillery"?

    Chichibu seems to be still widely available in France (though expensive), but maybe it won't last...

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    1. Thanks again for the input with this post elskling (elskling also made a contributing comment back in May - Fierce Bidding for Japanese Whiskies). You have again addressed some interesting issues that I'm sure many readers appreciate reading.

      Yes, it is clear that Hanyu has now joined the ranks of Karuizawa in terms of popularity on the resale market, especially this year, and in my opinion, especially after the Jokers came out. Certain bottlings from the Card Series were rarely seen at auction, then it seemed like a flood of them appeared right after the Jokers debuted, well, perhaps they appeared more so than before as possible speculators saw the dramatic prices the colour/monochrome were receiving?

      Up until summer last year (2013) a reputable store in Osaka had a full shelf of various bottlings from the Card Series, the owner even used to bring them along to sell at festivals. On any given day you could go there and buy a bottle, then, one day the entire lot was bought up. So, there was a good supply here also until the real hype began, or that people jumped on the bandwagon. As for your experience with LMDW it appears it is happening all over really. It is difficult to asses. As I mentioned in my comments, as you have done also, it could well be that some of the people who buy up (everything) could be doing so simply to 'show there social status' - nothing but 'best of the best' is only drank in their circles in par with the current popularity? Or, are people looking to gain from their purchases? This alone will be forever an ongoing discussion.

      Interesting to read that in your opinion most Europeans are true consumers. Possibly slightly of topic but again, I wonder if geographic locations play a part in suggesting/determining who consumes vs selling for gain?

      As for buying 'more than you drink', I like to phrase it as 'buying extra for down the track'. In my opinion, for true drinkers who would like to appreciate/consume certain bottles now as well as in the future, and have the true intent on doing so, you (we) are not guilty of perhaps being sensible. It is only logical in my opinion that if you can buy a bottle that you truly adore today at a reasonable price you will buy a few, before that particular bottle will one day be way out of your reach. Often we kick ourselves for not doing so, well I do anyway. The topic of those who have bought something and consider "well, is this really worth the amount I can get for it, I can get three bottles of something else in exchange for it" is another matter open for debate.

      Good to see that Chichibu is still widely available in France. As mentioned you will have a serious hard time trying to find a bottle in Kansai, even Tokyo so I have heard.





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