/ 13 May 2005

Japanese snap up whisky at a million yen each

One million yen ($9 360) may seem a fortune for a liquor bottle, but a Japanese seller said on Friday its premium whisky distilled over half a century has been such a hit it stopped accepting orders within a day.

Suntory announced the sale of the liquor, Yamazaki 50 Years, billed as ”a jewel of single-malt whisky”, on its website on Wednesday afternoon for 50 bottles only, with orders accepted through liquor shops and department stores.

”We have already stopped accepting orders as we received more than 50 orders by 11am on Thursday,” company spokesperson Aya Takemoto said.

”Orders came in much faster than we expected,” she said.

The bottles, each set in a special oak box, will be delivered in late June.

Suntory said the whisky is the longest distilled, at least in Japan.

One bottle contains 700ml of whisky, meaning a tiny shot of one milliliter costs 1 429 yen ($13). – Sapa-AFP