New Japan member's liquor cabinet

[spy247]

Welcome Rob, nice selection you have there.

Have you toured any of the Japanese distilleries ? Maybe Hanyu ?

[B.B. Babington]

yep, Japan is a great place to sample the best. and the Japanese producers make a super great product, too. you may find it's as wonderful as Elysian Fields.

[Robmo]

Thanks for everyone for your warm and humorous words of welcome. I'm a US citizen who only recently came to appreciate the national treasure of bourbon. Better late than never, eh?

As for expensive Japanese tastes, I've noticed a lot of really expensive bottles over here that aren't available anywhere else. One example is the Royal Household Blended Scotch which sells for about $350 bucks. I tried to find some info about it on the Web but there was practically nothing. Apparently it's only produced for the Japanese market.

There's a lot of interesting stuff here on the bourbon side too...
There's a premium version of Booker's available exclusively at the upscale supermarket Seijo Ishi...it sells for about 3 times the price of standard Booker's http://www.seijoishii.com/d/42466

Very Olde St. Nick's also looks really interesting. Beautiful bottles. Haven't yet tried what's inside because it's pricey and there's only so much space on my liquor shelves at home. (Cramped Tokyo apartment! )

I would really like to get out and visit some of the Japanese distilleries and tour Scottland and of course Kentucky one day. Dreams, dreams...

[B.B. Babington]

in Japan, just because it's way more expensive doesn't mean it's way better. Japanese tastes have a peculiar way of driving prices higher than expected and beyond reason, look at the price of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee for an example.

[Robmo]

in Japan, just because it's way more expensive doesn't mean it's way better. Japanese tastes have a peculiar way of driving prices higher than expected and beyond reason, look at the price of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee for an example.

Very true. Which is why I'm not willing to shell out all that extra dough for the Seijo Ishi Booker's. At least not at my current pathetic salary.

Also in Japan I've seen standard (not "gold" or "silver") Blanton's range in price from 30 bucks up to over a 100 bucks a bottle, depending on where you buy it.

[StraightBoston]

Hi Rob. Welcome to the board!

A good next step in your bourbon education would be to seek out Craftheads in the Jinnan neighborhood north(?) of Shibuya station. The owner, Koji (a/k/a Michael), is a longtime member of SB.com, speaks great English, plays great tunes, and has an awesome selection of bourbon that you could sample before buying in the local bottle shops.

(Oh, and I just discovered his 100% Wagyu beef burger on a homemade bun -- ichiban!)

[p_elliott]

Yeah Rob hook up with Koji he's a cool dude.

[chefnash51]

So I take it it's not too easy to find in the states?

Very hard to come by. I have kept an eye out for several years and just was lucky enough to find some.

Buffalo Trace stopped selling that label 4 years ago or so. I'm sure someone else more facts on this. But stateside, it's not available anymore, unless you come across an old stock of it.

[fishnbowljoe]

Welcome aboard Rob. Not much I can add to what has already been said. So, have some fun and enjoy the site. I'm looking forward to your posts. Cheers! Joe

[Robmo]

Hi Rob. Welcome to the board!

A good next step in your bourbon education would be to seek out Craftheads in the Jinnan neighborhood north(?) of Shibuya station. The owner, Koji (a/k/a Michael), is a longtime member of SB.com

Thanks for that excellent tip! I'll try to check it out when I get a chance.