Traveling to Europe - options for acquiring interesting bottles

[Jacket]

Hi guys,

I'm traveling to Frankfurt , Krakow and Bielsko-Biala next week for work, and I'm wondering if anyone knows of options to acquire "hard to find" bottle here in the US.  I'm thinking specifically of Blanton's Straight from the Barrel, but maybe there are other interesting whiskey choices.  The Frankfurt airport had a bourbon "booth" late last summer that I missed, but might there be anything unique in duty free there, or some other way to find something interesting.  I'll pretty much just be "passing through" Frankfurt and most of my time will be in Poland.

I have brought home some good vodkas in the past, and I'm not much into malt whiskeys, but it would be cool to find a bourbon or rye over there that I can't seem to find here in the good ole US (odd as that may be).

If anyone has any suggestions, let me know.

[BonVivant84]

on my recent travels i didnt grab any bourbon (couldnt find straight from the barrel in Amsterdam or Italy), but did bring back Havana Club 3 year and 7 year rum, as well as Amer Picon amaro.  Unlike a lot of things that get hyped just because they are not available in the US, the Amer Picon was even better then I could imagine.  If you like dark spirit cocktails I highly suggest a bottle.

[tanstaafl2]

If I were in Poland I would look for Miodula which is not whiskey but a rather interesting and tasty honey liqueur that is vodka/NGS based. The Frankfurt airport is worth a look for the Blanton's and as I am a fan of all things whisky to include Japanese malt I might look for the sibling of the Nikka Coffey Grain whisky which is Nikka Coffey Malt. The Coffey Malt is not currently available in the US but is excellent stuff if you like malt whisky.

 

Picon Amer is an odd bird. The version that was used in cocktails of old was discontinued many years ago and was much higher in proof than the version today (and tasted different according to those who have been able to try it). In addition, depending on where you are there are currently several versions to include Amer Picon Biere, Amer Picon Black Label and Amer Picon Club (which may now have changed the label yet again to say Picon A L'Orange).

Many substitutes have been suggested to include Torani Amer and Amaro CioCiaro (which can be punched up in proof a bit with Everclear and a touch of angostura orange bitters in an attempt to recreate the original).

[jsrudd]

One thing you might consider is ordering the bottle online and shipping it to you hotel. I think the rules about shipping alcohol are much more permissive in the EU and so you should be able to order from the UK, Germany or the Netherlands and ship to Poland. If you are willing to pay a little extra, this should be a full proof way to get BSFTB. 

In addition, BSFTB, where it is disturbed, should be carried by most serious/specialty whiskey stores.  I would ask the concierge in you hotel to recommend one. 

[Jacket]

A bit of extra effort on my end paid off.  Just got to get them home...

 

 

[meadeweber]

Great pick up!  Hope they get home safely and you enjoy them.

[Jace]

Is it really that good, the Blanton's SFTB? Or is it just hyped because of unavailability in the US? Considering buying a couple... Worth it? Price is about the same as Booker's, ECBP and Stagg Jr. Blanton's Gold is a couple of bucks less.

And jsrudd is correct. except for Germany(because of lower alcohol-taxes), you can buy any bottle, from any website, from anywhere in the EU. 

Edited March 17, 2016 by Jace

[BigPapa]

14 minutes ago, Jace said:

Is it really that good, the Blanton's SFTB? Or is it just hyped because of unavailability in the US? Considering buying a couple... Worth it? Price is about the same as Booker's, ECBP and Stagg Jr. Blanton's Gold is a couple of bucks less.

And jsrudd is correct. except for Germany(because of lower alcohol-taxes), you can buy any bottle, from any website, from anywhere in the EU. 

Why isn't this Blanton's available in the USA?

[tanstaafl2]

4 hours ago, BigPapa said:

Why isn't this Blanton's available in the USA?

That question is probably better directed to Mark Brown, CEO of Sazerac, because it is certainly a mystery to me.

If you get an answer to your question that explains it do let us know! I will be over here in the corner holding my breath...

[flahute]

2 hours ago, tanstaafl2 said:

That question is probably better directed to Mark Brown, CEO of Sazerac, because it is certainly a mystery to me.

If you get an answer to your question that explains it do let us know! I will be over here in the corner holding my breath...

Not sure even he can answer that question. Blanton's is owned by Age International and I believe they determine where it's distributed.

[The Black Tot]

It's a single barrel product so it will vary barrel by barrel, but the ones I've had really are that good, yes.

[tanstaafl2]

1 hour ago, flahute said:

Not sure even he can answer that question. Blanton's is owned by Age International and I believe they determine where it's distributed.

I suspect he would have some insight on the reason if he chose to share. Which seems unlikely!

[fishnbowljoe]

2 hours ago, flahute said:

Not sure even he can answer that question. Blanton's is owned by Age International and I believe they determine where it's distributed.

What Steve said. Age International owns the Blanton's brand, and determines all the distribution. IIRC, it's been posted somewhere here before at one time or another. There is, or were, a few variations of Blanton's. The one sold here in the US (brown/tan neck label?), SFTB, a green neck label, and a black neck label. Maybe more. I seem to recall there were five, but I could be wrong. FWIW, one time many years ago, I was lucky enough to procure small samples of each. I also have some or all of the neck labels somewhere in all my 'bourbon stuff'. Might have to see if I can find 'em. 

Cheers! Joe

[tanstaafl2]

5 minutes ago, fishnbowljoe said:

What Steve said. Age International owns the Blanton's brand, and determines all the distribution. IIRC, it's been posted somewhere here before at one time or another. There is, or were, a few variations of Blanton's. The one sold here in the US (brown/tan neck label?), SFTB, a green neck label, and a black neck label. Maybe more. I seem to recall there were five, but I could be wrong. FWIW, one time many years ago, I was lucky enough to procure small samples of each. I also have some or all of the neck labels somewhere in all my 'bourbon stuff'. Might have to see if I can find 'em. 

Cheers! Joe

Well, then I guess we need to give Takara Shuzo a buzz! But if Sazerac owns distribution rights for Age International brands in the US (and as far as I know they do based on what Chuck has written) then either Shuzo won't give them access to those versions of Blanton's or he will and Mark Brown would be the one to say why they choose not to sell it here.

It is certainly one of the stranger relationships in the strange business that is whiskey!

[fishnbowljoe]

Speaking of Blanton's, here's a pic from a Florida vacation my wife and I took a few years ago. A sunset sailboat cruise in the Gulf. The pic says it all. 

Cheers! Joe

[jsrudd]

9 hours ago, fishnbowljoe said:

There is, or were, a few variations of Blanton's. The one sold here in the US (brown/tan neck label?), SFTB, a green neck label, and a black neck label. Maybe more. I seem to recall there were five, but I could be wrong.

There is also Blanton's gold and silver. Gold is 104 proof with a gold horse on top and gold writing directly on the bottle. Silver is 98 proof duty free bottling with a silver horse on top that has been discontinued. 

I believe the green and black are the same bourbon, but for different markets. The black is only available in Japan and the green is sold in markets that have high alcohol taxes based on proof.  

 

19 hours ago, Jace said:

Is it really that good, the Blanton's SFTB?

.Yes, it's really that good and should be easy to get if you're in Europe. 

[PaulO]

This is just my guess.  The brands that come from this mash bill seem in short supply.  I don't think Ancient Age could sell BSFTB in the USA without cutting into the other brands they already sell here.  

Edited March 18, 2016 by PaulO

[tanstaafl2]

7 minutes ago, PaulO said:

This is just my guess.  The brands that come from this mash bill seem in short supply.  I don't think Ancient Age could sell BSFTB in the USA without cutting into the other brands they already sell here.  

But to my knowledge it has never been sold here and there was a time when it appeared they had plenty. Too much even! So I doubt that is the reason. Age International seemed to always have a focus on the International and especially Japanese market back in the glut era so I suppose the current president of Takara Shuzo, Toshio Kakimoto (who happens to be Japanese), is content to keep it that way.

[Jacket]

My two new bottles of Blantons SFTB are now safe and sound here on US soil.  I'm always a bit worried about the journey and the risk of breakage or theft when it's not carry on/duty free, but all is well in this case. 

My path this time to find these bottles was to reach out to someone I found on the internet, from Poland, who was blogging about whisk(e)ys and other things on his hosted site.  I pinged him via email, and he was unbelievably friendly and helpful, and willing to use his contacts to find me what I was after.  I thought it might be a matter him of pointing me toward a local retailer in the areas I would be working, and that I'd do most of the work from there.  But the guy I reached out and tracked down 4 bottles of Blanton's SFTB in Poland within 2 hours of my emailing him, and worked with the holders to get the bottles ID'ed, sold and ready for shipment in less than a day.  In the end, jsrudd is correct, it was just a matter of finding and shipping the bottles over to my hotel in south Poland, which took ~ 2 days.  I paid about $90 shipped apiece,  which I thought was very reasonable, and payment was through Paypal so it was really easy and safe.  There are probably many other ways to do this with more publicized European sellers, but I got a kick out of working with this guy in Poland, and I felt like he genuinely enjoyed helping me as well.  Win win.

FWIW - the shelves in Frankfurt and Poland (airport duty free, and a few stores I checked out) were pretty weak with bourbon supplies as you might expect.  Lots of JD, MM, Woodford - and that's about it.  So there's very little in terms of "interesting bottles" of bourbon in the standard places one might look if you have limited time and resources.  If Scotch, Irish whiskey or brandy is your poison, then that's a different story.

[The Black Tot]

I get the sense that duty frees are owned by a small handful of people who always offer the same stuff. The offerings are just too consistent to not suspect that something has been negotiated.

Once in a long while you find an oddball, but all the major airports seem to have the same stuff plus or minus a bottle or two the world over.

[vlado_mato]

Hi there!

If there's someone here from Krakow Poland or maybe someone has been there already, please suggest me a liquor store. I will be going there in November, but from my search on the internet I didn't manage to find a proper one. There is a suggestion about a really good store called Scottish House which is on the outskirts of Krakow, but there is no address for it.

 

I'll appreciate your help guys.

[birdie]

Just a note, Coffey Malt is on the shelves, just takes a bit of finding, I have bought bottles in CO recently.

[OldDrinker1978]

Blanton's SFTB is some of the best juice available to me. Just a notch under GTS for me.