A bottle of Japanese whisky has fetched 600,000 dollars in a New York auction.

The Yamazaki 55 single malt whisky by Suntory Spirits was sold by Sotheby's on Friday. The price was 100,000-200,000 dollars higher than expected.

Yamazaki 55 is a blend of malt whiskies from the same distillery, which have been aged in different casks for more than 55 years. A limited number of bottles went on sale in 2020 for about 22,000 dollars each.

Sotheby's website says Yamazaki 55 sits at the "pinnacle" of collectible Japanese whisky, "as not only the oldest but also the most valuable bottle in the country's history."

The price of Japanese whisky has been driven up by growing global demand and a shortage of materials. In 2019, a set of 54 bottles of Ichiro's Malt Card Series whisky produced in Saitama Prefecture sold in a Hong Kong auction for about 910,000 dollars.

Source: ANNnewsCH