Japan trip

[RedVette]

On Saturday I fly to China (Bourbon Wasteland) and then a week later I fly to Japan (Bourbon Promised Land). I plan on hitting the duty free at LAX to pick up some WT 12 yr old or other equally promising bottles on the way out of the country and then grabbing some stuff in Tokyo.

What should I get, and where would I have the best chance of finding something cool?????

[mozilla]

Rob,

Seems like I have seen quite a bit ot WT 12 here in town. Maybe the 14,15 or 16 would be something to look into? I hear Early Times has a KSBW or WT 8yr. I have not been in a duty free shop in some time and can't remember how good thier prices are.

[luv2hunt]

Wild Turkey Master Distillers Selection

Old Rip 12 yr old

Evan Williams 15 yr old

Four Roses Super Premium

Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye--look for lawrenceburg bottlings

Hirsch 13 yr old rye--still can be found on the shelves

Four Roses Single Barrel Black Label

Four Roses Black Label

Wild Turkey Tribute (15yr)

[No Chaser]

Are there any good Japanese whiskeys? A little off-topic, but I've been wondering for some time if there's anything worth trying.

[nor02lei]

On Saturday I fly to China (Bourbon Wasteland) and then a week later I fly to Japan (Bourbon Promised Land). I plan on hitting the duty free at LAX to pick up some WT 12 yr old or other equally promising bottles on the way out of the country and then grabbing some stuff in Tokyo.

What should I get, and where would I have the best chance of finding something cool?????

Old St Nick winter rye

Leif

[Hedmans Brorsa]

Four Roses Single Barrel Black Label

Never heard of this one before. Is it a brand new item or do you possibly mean the 86 proof version, which indeed has a (albeit small) black label?

Rob, I have no idea what items that have been discontinued in recent years but if you can find I.W. Harper President´s reserve, go for it.

[mozilla]

Wild Turkey Master Distillers Selection

Old Rip 12 yr old

Evan Williams 15 yr old

Four Roses Super Premium

Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye--look for lawrenceburg bottlings

Hirsch 13 yr old rye--still can be found on the shelves

Four Roses Single Barrel Black Label

Four Roses Black Label

Wild Turkey Tribute (15yr)

Great suggestions, though FR Super Prem and Black label are not as good as our single barrel version or small batch, IMO.

[RedVette]

I have not been in a duty free shop in some time and can't remember how good thier prices are.

The prices vary from good to horrible, depending on the store. I posted in a different thread about some $70 Woodford I found in Europe, but I have also been able to get Rare Breed at $30 out the door in other shops. It is not the price but rather the unique expressions like WT Freedom that I am really after.

[RedVette]

Wild Turkey Master Distillers Selection

Old Rip 12 yr old

Evan Williams 15 yr old

Four Roses Super Premium

Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye--look for lawrenceburg bottlings

Hirsch 13 yr old rye--still can be found on the shelves

Four Roses Single Barrel Black Label

Four Roses Black Label

Wild Turkey Tribute (15yr)

Nice list, I would l love to find a stash of some of these, the Old St Nick as well.

Now I need to figure out how to tell my Japanese host that I need to go to a store in Tokyo that sells Bourbon, without having him go out and buy a bunch of stuff for me. Their honor code almost forbids them from letting me spend money in their country.

[robbyvirus]

Now I need to figure out how to tell my Japanese host that I need to go to a store in Tokyo that sells Bourbon, without having him go out and buy a bunch of stuff for me. Their honor code almost forbids them from letting me spend money in their country.

Tell him you want to find a store that sells bourbon because a friend asked you to find out what brands they have for sale in Japan and you want to make a list.

[RedVette]

Tell him you want to find a store that sells bourbon because a friend asked you to find out what brands they have for sale in Japan and you want to make a list.

Ooooohhhh, I like that. Thanks.

[barturtle]

Tell him you want to find a store that sells bourbon because a friend asked you to find out what brands they have for sale in Japan and you want to make a list.

That is very nice...my thought was "I'm a collector, and I have to buy it myself or it doesn't count." I would think that even the most stubborn person could understand having rules for what counts and what doesn't would understand.

[RedVette]

DFS here in LA, 2 bottles of WT 12 year old for $36 ea. That ought to last me until I get to Japan. Be back in 2 weeks.

[Virus_Of_Life]

DFS here in LA, 2 bottles of WT 12 year old for $36 ea. That ought to last me until I get to Japan. Be back in 2 weeks.

Rob, was there no Heritage left?

[luv2hunt]

If somebody travels where there's Heritage.....grab me one!! I don't have that one either!

Dawn

[HighTower]

If somebody travels where there's Heritage.....grab me one!! I don't have that one either!

Dawn

I'm still hunting that particular bird, and look what flew my way this morning....a good friend dropped this in to me.

I have a friend who may be able to get me some next week.

My mother is also going to Hawaii in December. Dawn, if I can get a spare I will send you one.

Cheers

Scott

[nor02lei]

There was a Heritage up on E-bay here in Europe a week ago. It went for + 200 euro. Very much for a current brand.

Leif

[luv2hunt]

Very Nice I'll let you know if someone else comes through to fill the empty space on my shelf :skep:

Dawn

[RedVette]

Rob, was there no Heritage left?

Nope. The last special WT's I was able to grab at a DFS were in Sydney a couple years back. I am not sure what is happening in the world of Duty Free sales, but the selections are getting pretty thin.

I gave away my last bottle of Heritage as a house warming gift, thinking that A) it was a cool gift (it was) and that I could easily replace it (not the case).

Tomorrow we go dusty bottle hunting in downtown Tokyo.

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

Tomorrow we go dusty bottle hunting in downtown Tokyo.

Have a good hunt! I don't have any specific advice on what to look for or where to go as I live in Sapporo and don't know Tokyo well at all, but if you find a good store you are sure to find some good bourbon.

Someone asked if Japanese whisky is good, and I can answer that, yes, Japan makes world class whisky. It is more like scotch than anything made in America. There have been some threads on Japanese whisky in the Forign Whiskey section of the forum.

Ed

[Nebraska]

Ed!

I'd been thinking alot about you lately, especially when this thread popped up. I'll PM you in a day or two. Good to know you're still alive and kicking!

[RedVette]

Things have not gone as planned, it is a holiday here and traffic is insane. Work has now fully interfered with pleasure. I did manage to find an interesting bottle today, but it was not what I was hoping for. Oh well, tomorrow is another day, and it is our last day over here as well.

[TBoner]

Good-looking bottle. I have an Old Charter 10 from the UD days in an identical decanter/bottle. Bottled in 197?, I believe. I think that's a pretty nice find.

[RedVette]

Not all stories have a happy ending.

After much planning and anticipation, I have arrived home with a 12 yr old Turkey, the aforementioned I. W. Harper and a pretty nice Blue bottle of Japanese Sake. That is all.

When typhoon Wipha hit Shanghai last week it set into motion a series of changes in our plans that ultimately meant I came home nearly empty handed. To make matters worse, at the duty free shop in Narita I found the same bottle of Harper for $10 less than I paid for it in Yokohama, making it both less valuable and less special all at the same time.

And I ended up with an eye infection to boot. Anybody feeling sorry for me yet?

Oh well, that leaves something for me to do the next time I head to the far east.

[Luna56]

Wow, sounds like your trip to Japan was a bit chaotic to say the least. I'm going there in late November for a week or so and am hoping to bring back some cool stuff. I usually get a nice bottle of sho-chu or some great sake but this time I'm gunning for some Four Roses, either the Single Barrel 100 or 90 proof. Didja see any in the duty free at Narita? I got a couple bottles of the SB 100 while in Kentucky earlier this month and am completely bowled over by this beautiful, beautiful whiskey. Hoping I can find a bottle or three for less than the cost of driving to Kentucky from New Hampshire to buy 'em.

Hope you feel better soon.

Domo,

luna56