Duty Free Report -- Tokyo Narita

[Barrel_Proof]

Well fellow bourbon lovers, the report from Tokyo Narita duty free is a lackluster one. Here are the available premium and/or rare bottlings available at Japan DFS and/or Empire DFS:

Wild Turkey 8yo 101 750ml 2100 Yen;

Wild Turkey 12yo 101 1Liter 3800 Yen;

Maker's Mark Black 750ml 2500 Yen; and

I.W. Harper 12yo 750ml 2900 Yen.

There are approximately 105 Yen to the U.S. dollar these days.

Although not one of these bottlings is available currently in the domestic market, none has the excitement or rarity of the two JFK duty free finds two weeks ago. The two Wild Turkeys are well priced, especially the 12yo, which many of you know was last available domestically for about $50. The MM is what it is....yawn. The only rarity in the bunch is the I.W. Harper 12yo, in its distinctive incised rectangular bottle.

I picked up an 8yo WT, because I only had one of the older true 8yo bottles with the red 101 on the label in the bunker. I also scored the Harper oddity to share with straightbourbon.com friends who have missed adding this one to their collections. Although the price on the WT 12yo is great, I found it for a bit less at Hong Kong duty free.

[Dave_in_Canada]

the older true 8yo bottles with the red 101 on the label

Is this a domestic rarity? I see it at duty free all the time and did not know that it was not available domestic. Cliff, please clarify. Thanks

[Barrel_Proof]

To clarify, as the globe trotting time zone jumping may have made me less than crystal clear--

None of the true 8 year old and the 12 year old WTs are available in the US any longer. In Canada, only the 12yo is still currently being distributed.

Some years back, the 8yo was bottled with this rather funny lozenge shaped bubble near the bottom of WT labels in which the 8 years of barrel aging was proclaimed in striking red type. The new bottles and labels are way more stylish, but the old, red lozenge bubble variant is way kewler by a long shot!