A four-bottle set of Hanyu Ichiro's Malt (Ace of Spades, Hearts, Clubs and Diamonds) is to cross the block at Bonhams Hong Kong on February 6 with a $20,627-25,784 estimate.
The issue was released as a full 52 piece set during the 1990s and is highly sought after among collectors of Japanese whisky.
 Hanyu Ichiro whisky is highly sought after |
Individual bottles regularly sell for sums around the $10,000 mark.
Daniel Lam, of Bonhams Hong Kong's wine & whisky department, commented: "Japanese whisky has now well and truly arrived on the international stage and no serious buyer or collector of whisky will want to miss the chance to own these exquisite and rare whiskies."
Also on offer are a number of exceptionally rare bottles from the renowned Karuizawa distillery.
The popular, small-scale operation closed for business in 2001. Today the few remaining bottles are traded among collectors.
Lam explained: "Karuizawa still baffles me. The distillery was closed as a result of economic forces and the downturn in the Japanese economy, but it could have been reopened given the global interest in Japanese single malt. It is a disgrace that it never reopened."
Estimates for the lot are unavailable, but one bottle of Kurizawa made $33,165 at Bonhams Hong Kong last year.
The lot is a reminder of the importance of "silent" distilleries to the collectible whisky market - with the laws of supply and demand pushing up prices. Collectible defunct Scottish distilleries include Brora, Port Ellen and Lochside.
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