Rare Japanese whisky collection to be auctioned this month

The Hanyu Ichiro Full Card Series.

Bonhams has set an estimate of €700,000 to €1,200,000 (£586,000 to £1,004,000) for the Hanyu Ichiro Full Card Series.

The collection comprises 54 bottles, each of which has been signed by renowned master distiller Ichiro Akuto.

Amayès Aouli, global head of wine and spirits at Bonhams, said: ‘This is an incredible opportunity to acquire the most collectible of Japanese whiskies, with excellent provenance.

‘For each bottle to be personally signed by the master distiller, Ichiro Akuto, makes this set truly unique.’

Isouji Akuto, a 19th generation descendant of a long line of sake brewers, founded Hanyu distillery in 1941. His goal was to produce high-quality single malts, inspired by the finest Scotch whisky.

Hanyu distillery ceased production in 2000, but not before his grandson, Ichiro Akuto, secured approximately 400 casks.

Ichiro Akuto, who inherited his grandfather’s passion for whisky, used the remaining spirits to create the Full Card Series.

The series comprises 54 bottles, which are designed to represent the 54 cards in a full deck (including two jokers).

Each ‘card’ was bottled from a single cask of whisky laid down between 1985 and 2000. The single malts were released between 2005 and 2014, but they are now extremely rare, and it is unusual for one collector to hold an entire ‘deck’.

According to Bonhams, only a few sets of the full series exist. In 2015, Bonhams became the first auction house to sell a complete Hanyu Full Card Series. It sold for HK$3,797,500 (£377,000), which was a