Top Japanese whiskies revive Hong Kong’s rare spirits auctions

Hong Kong’s secondary market for rare spirits is showing signs of renewed activity, led by top Japanese whiskies and supported by tax changes that have made the city more competitive as a trading hub for collectors in Asia.

Recent sales at Sotheby’s and Bonhams point to a selective recovery rather than a broad rebound. In May, Sotheby’s held its first online cognac sale in Hong Kong and recorded a 95% sell-through rate from May 20 to June 3, according to the auction house. The sale brought in HK$2.2 million, with nearly three-quarters of buyers coming from mainland China and Hong Kong. The rest of the demand came mainly from the United States and Southeast Asia.

Bonhams, meanwhile, set a world auction record in Hong Kong on May 30 for a bottle of Yamazaki 50-Year-Old created exclusively for Club Natsume. The result added to evidence that the strongest demand remains concentrated in the most collectible end of the market.

Paul Wong, head of wines and spirits for China at Sotheby’s Asia, said Hong Kong has remained resilient despite weaker global spirits markets because of its role as a regional center for buyers across Greater China and Southeast Asia. He also pointed to lower taxes introduced since 2024 as a factor helping support activity.

Still, auction results suggest that the recovery is uneven. Some bottles continue to sell well below earlier peaks. Sotheby’s had previously noted that prices for high-ticket whisky lots in its 2025 whisky and Moutai online sale were down by nearly 50% from 2014 levels. Even so, Wong said interest has returned since the second half of 2025, especially for what he described as blue-chip Japanese whiskies, including single malts and blended malts from Yamazaki, Hakushu and Karuizawa.

Bonhams’ recent online sale, “A Dialogue of Time,” showed the same pattern. A 1975 Karuizawa Cask sold for HK$100,000 including premium, far below the HK$225,000 it achieved at a Sotheby’s auction in 2023. A Rosebank 25 Year Old Cask Strength from 1981 sold for HK$9,375 including premium, almost half what it fetched at a Bonhams sale in 2018.

At the same time, some labels have moved higher. A Hibiki 30 Year Old Ceramic Aritayaki sold for HK$62,500 in May at Bonhams, above the HK$49,600 it reached at another Bonhams auction in 2020. The mixed pricing underlines how narrow and volatile this market remains, with values often shaped by rarity, provenance and shifts in collector sentiment rather than by a broad rise across all categories.

Amayès Aouli, Bonhams’ global head of wine and spirits, said the buyer base is still changing and that price benchmarks are not yet firmly established. He described fine spirits as a relatively young auction category where even small changes can move prices sharply at the top end.

According to Aouli, ultra-rare Japanese whiskies remain the most sought-after bottles in Hong Kong, but he cautioned that tax cuts alone are unlikely to lift the whole market. He said fine spirits are still exposed to consumption trends and wider economic conditions, including real estate, currencies and overall investor sentiment. At the highest end of the market, he said, bidding is driven more by knowledge and connoisseurship among wealthy collectors than by general demand.

That distinction matters for drinks companies watching Asia’s premium segment. Auction activity does not reflect everyday retail demand, but it can offer an early signal about collector appetite, price formation and brand prestige in a market that influences positioning for luxury spirits. For producers and distributors of high-end whisky and cognac, stronger bidding in Hong Kong could support decisions on allocation, limited releases and broader strategy in the region.

For now, the evidence from Hong Kong suggests that rare spirits are regaining attention, but mostly at the very top of the category. The strongest momentum appears tied to iconic Japanese whiskies and highly scarce bottles rather than to a full recovery across collectible spirits as a whole.