A bottle of Japanese-made whisky has sold for over 370,000 dollars at an auction in London.

Sotheby's placed 271 bottles of rare Japanese whisky on the auction block on Friday to commemorate the centennial of the construction of Japan's first distiller.

"Karuizawa 1960" made by a distiller in the namesake town in Nagano Prefecture earned the highest bid of 300,000 pounds, or about 373,000 dollars.

Its rarity added to the value as the distiller no longer exists. It is also highly recognized for its rich taste and has been traded at high prices.

The winning whisky is 52 years old. Only 41 bottles from the same cask were put on sale in 2013.

Jonny Fowle, the global head of spirits at Sotheby's, says collectors particularly love dark Japanese whisky that has been aged for years in sherry casks.

Japanese whisky has been rising in global popularity.

Last year, a bottle of another Japanese-made whisky was bought for 600,000 dollars at an auction in the United States.