BiziBB

Dear DiningBuzz Brains Trust , I'd like to pull together our combined knowledge, tips and traps in duty free - especially the drinks retailing.

Would you mind adding your own favourite Duty Free info below?
I'll save this and the next message for an index and updates.
Thanks to MissyDarlin for your attention, too.

Please report the rip-offs, too. Note SJU recently [Feb '10] jacked up prices.

Index:

• Airport DF
• In the air DF
• Off-airport DF
• Online DF
• Cruise ports
• Suggestions

Airport DF

• ATL
• AUH
• BEY
• BOS
• CGN (or any German airport)
• CPT
• DAM
• DEL
• DXB
• MEL
• MEX JW Blue
• MIA
• ORD
• SGN
• SIN
• SJU [previous SJU deal]
• SJO
• SYD
• TPE[JWB sale!]

In the air DF

• United UA DF:
  - Johnnie Walker Blue $120
• Emirates EK DF
• Singapore SQ DF:
  - JW Blue, 75cl.: $128 (S$175.00 - per the catalog)
  - JW Gold, 75cl: $59 (S$81.00 - per the catalog)
  - JW Black, 1L: $31 (S$42.00 - per the catalog)
  - Remy Martin, 700ml: $104 (S$142)
  - The Macallan, 700ml: $99 (S$135)
  - Chivas Regal, 1L: $31 (S$42)
  - Jack Daniels, 1L: $28 (S$38) [all on xe.com 2.Jun.08]
  Details by SuperFlyBoy, here.
  

Products (all prices at posting converted to USD$ with www.xe.com)

• Beer
  
  
• Champagne
  • Dom Perignon hike to $135 [1L] (at SJU) Dom Perignon 2000 $99USD
  • Veuve Cliquot NV(?) $30USD (at SJU)
  
  
• Spirits
  Brandy
  St Remy Brandy 1125ml $12
  
  Cognac
  Henessy VSOP
  Henessy XO
  
  Gin
  Tanqueray 1 ltr $17.70
  
  Rum
  Bacardi 1L $11.50
  Bacardi Limon 750ml $6
  Bacardi Coco 750ml $7
  Bombay Sapphire 750ml $12
  Captain Morgan 1 ltr $12.25
  Havana Club 3 yr old 1 ltr $12.25
  Ron del Barrilito 3 star $15 (in SJU)
  
  Tequila
  Centenario Reposado $15
  
  Vodka
  26000 Crystalline Vodka 750ml $48
  42 Below Manuka Honey (or other 42 below range) 1000ml $34
  Absolut $7 (3 for $20 in BEY)
  Absolut Vodka 1000ml $23
  Finlandia Vodka 80P 1000ml $23
  Grey Goose Vodka 700ml $34
  Grey Goose Premium Vodka 1000ml $48
  Smirnoff Blue Label 1000ml $26
  Smirnoff Red 750ml $17.65Smirnoff Red 1L $21
  Smirnoff Black $20
  Stolichnaya 1000ml $23
  
  Whisky / Whiskey
  American & Canadian
  Bourbon
  Cougar Premium Bourbon 1125ml $16
  Jack Daniels 1000ml $30
  
  Canadian Club
  Canadian Club 12 yr old 1 ltr $21
  
  Irish Whiskey
  Jameson Irish Whiskey 1000ml $26
  
  Jameson 1780 12YO 1000ml $39
  Paddys (anyone seen it?)
  Tullamore Dew 1000ml $24
  
  Scotland Whisky -> is PEK the best place right now?
  blended whisky
  Ballantine's 17 Years Old $73
  Ballantine's 21 Years Old $119
  Ballantine's 30 Years Old $376
  Famous Grouse 1125ml $16
  
  Johnnie Walker Blue:
  Amazing China exchange rate: (option 1) 750ml $94 in PEK!;
  (option 2) 750ml $110 in TPE (35% off sale, free gym bag!)
  (option 3) 750ml $132;
  (option 4) 750ml $135;
  Johnnie Walker Gold: 750ml $48
  Johnnie Walker Green 750ml $32
  Johnnie Walker Black Label $10 (2 for $20) &
  DEL BTGOF deal $19
  
  
  best shops & deals
  (e.g. USA: ORD & BOS $135; Bahamas/Caymans $120, Mexico $110 (?))
  Grants 1.125L: $12.75 (SYD)
  
  Single malt whisky
  Aberlour 10YO Malt Whisky 1000ml $39
  Glenlivet Malt 1000ml
  
  
• Fortified wine
  - Port
  Portuguese
  Port-style wines, non-Portugal
  - Tawny Port
  
• Liqueurs
  Baileys 1.1L $27
  Kahlua
  Tia Maria
  
• Wine - sparkling
  Jacquart Brut Mosaique $17 ($19 CHF)
  
• Wine - red
  Penfolds Grange 2004 [98&99/100 reviews] $417 (AUD$550)
  
• Wine - white
  Inniskillin Vidal icewine $50 [375ml half-bottle]

Transporting Drinks (successfully)

• Packing in checked luggage
  Packing tips (lots of tips there)
• Freight, courier options

Miles Accumulation

• BA - 2 BA Miles for every Ł1 you spend instead of Ł5
• SYD - QFF miles per dollar spend, for QFF members. ($2,000 spending spree draw for registered QFFers, too)

Currency converter XE.com

Discussion
There are already a few good topics around DB and generally FT.
FT Duty Free Guide (new; please try it)
Best food finds in airport shops while transiting
Best places to buy cigars

Off-airport
Borders
Arizona-Mexico border. Organ Pipes NP - Bacardi 151 proof $10
Maybe cruises are the best source for drinks deals.

Special Offers
Any bogof offers? July specials at your airport / off-airport 'duty free'?
DEL offers including bogof or b2gof (thanks Raffles longhaul!)

BiziBB

Any additional info to the index I'll keep here.

This could include an index or link to carryon restrictions, strange rules peculiar to airports re security such as those which may be traps for unwary DF buyers.

Allowances:
Country Spirits Wine Cigarettes/Tobacco
Bali 1 Ltr or 1Ltr 200 or 100g
Canada 1.1 Ltr or 1.1 Ltrs 200 or 200g
China 1.5 Ltr or 1.5 Ltrs 400 -
Cook Islands 2 Ltrs or 2 Ltrs 200 or 500g
Fiji 2 Ltrs or 4 Ltrs 250 or 250g
Hong Kong 1 Ltr or 1 Ltr 60 (or 15 cigars) or 75g
[Edit: HK: No duty on wine any more!]
Indonesia 1 Ltr or 1 Ltr 200 or 100g
Japan 3 x 750ml 400 or 250g
Korea 1 Ltr or 1 Ltr 400 or 500g
Singapore 1 Ltr and 1 Ltr none none
Samoa 1 Ltr or 1 Ltr 200 or 250g
Tonga 2.25 Ltrs or 4.5 Ltrs 400 or 500g
United Kingdom 1 Ltr and 2 Ltrs 200 or 250g
United States 1 Ltr or 1 Ltr 200 or 100g

Australia t. 1300 363 263

• 2.25L
• 250 cigs/250g tobacco
• poolable amongst your group.
• Duty Free Concession (Australian Customs Service) [from 1 Feb 2005]
  SYD Airport Tax and Duty Free (Info & shop contact details: arrivals, departures, public. T1 Intl, T2 Domestic)

Canada
How much duty would one pay on a $40 dollar bottle of scotch in Canada?

NZ
Allowances
Other products of interest

• Fresh Lamb (in dry ice)

Savings DF v Retail
Australia 35% (JW Blue is AUD$95 less ($35%) than low-price retail of AUD$270)
NZ: ?%

BiziBB

Probably #1 on my DF list, once I know the best place to get it!
(All prices quoted in USD$ at time of posting, using xe.com calculator. Note: I'll always update the #1 post first, so check there, before checking here!)

Johnnie Walker Blue Label

• Australia USD$155.47
• Denmark (CPH) USD$
• Ireland USD$
• Malaysia USD$
• New Zealand USD$
• Singapore $167 (1L: USD$222)
• Sri Lanka USD$
• UK USD$
• USA $135 (BOS & ORD)

Other sources?

• AUH, BAH, DOH, DXB
• Japan
• Korea
• South Africa

missydarlin

I'm going to sticky this thread for the next couple weeks to see how it fares and if it needs a permanent home here in Dining Buzz

Soames

A few years ago, (6?) we got some fantastic lamb filets, portion packed/frozen in a nice little sealed container with dry-ice, in SYD. It had all kinds of goverment "seals" of approval and the LAX customs were fine with it. (took it all the way to NAS and was still frozen when we arrived).

dannyr

I've foudn SYD better than KUL
In fact paid $14.95AUD recently for a 1125ml Grants Scotch

BiziBB

SYD Duty Free's standard offer is currently a 2-for-$59 deal.
2x 1.125L @ $59 works out, per bottle:
USD$27/EUR$17.75

2 for $49 promo ($22.70 ea)
2 for $59 promo ($27 ea)
(URL indicates these are for Feb-Mar 08)

Plus promos: QF $2k shopping spree draw (QFF members only).
(There is also a spend $1 for 1 QFF mile bonus. Wish I'd given my QFF#!)

JY1024

I was on a ORD-FRA run a few weekends ago and checked-out the DF stores both in the US and in FRA.

ORD DF had a 750mL JWB for $135 (which is what I remember seeing at the BOS DF store too - operated by the same company, I think).

In FRA, JWB was 125-130 Euros, which is almost $200 USD.

When I was on a cruise a few months ago, JWB was about $130 on the ship and about $120-140 at the stores in the Grand Caymans.

oldpenny16

Help! BiziBB! What is the name of that wonderful port made in Australia that you can get at the DF in SYD?

Worth flying 12 hours to get!

Bravo to the Australian airports that have Duty Free shopping for ARRIVING passengers! A wonderful idea!

SuperFlyBoy

I used to fly in & out of CMB quite often (unfortunately, before I knew about, or joined FT), but chocolate prices there (arrivals DF) were the lowest I had seen for Duty-Free (definitely better than SIN!)...I did buy some whiskey/wine, but I cannot recall how good the pricing was, but I think it was decent...

Time for the FT'ers MR'ing down there to advise...I've refunded 2 of mine already...

Don't discount Indian airports nowadays either - they used to be outrageous, but have come down to market levels, I think-will check next time I fly & report!

BiziBB

Thank you JY - I have linked your finds to the index.
Keep them coming - there must be some good ones around.

Hopefully some especially good deals from Euro zone countries or more realistically, former eastern states that are now in the EU.

(Even Shannon Airport, Ireland, if it is feeling the sting of reduced flight traffic thanks to the US flights being able to stop in DUB instead)

BiziBB

Penny, I'll have a look over Easter.
Will also look in at MEL airport's duty free, for all the normal stuff and any good local finds.

SYD has a pretty big red wine selection, so I'll just look for the fortified wines section.

djk7

Generally, I've found the best liquor prices at non "DF" stores in places with low liquor taxes. Cruzan rum (light or dark) at $2.99 US at the K-Mart in St. Thomas, for example. Non-local liquor wasn't quite as much of a steal, but still better pricing at K-Mart and the grocery store than at any of the "duty-free" stores, and much better prices than the local stores here in Florida.

Italy also had good pricing, again better at the local stores than the DF.

Best price I've seen on Kahlua was $8.00 a liter at a grocery in Tijuana.

Edited to add, I found this thread from last July on CruiseCritic.com, listing these prices at a place called Riise in St. Thomas or St. Johns.
A 1 ltr bottle of Absolut cost 9.95
1 ltr. Grand Marnier 22.95
1 ltr. Baileys 17.95
1 ltr. Jose Cuervo Gold 13.95
1 ltr. Glenlivet Single Malt Scotch 24.95
1 ltr. Bombay Sapphire Gin 14.95

oldpenny16

Thank you! BiziBB! We drank it all!

BiziBB

I can't think of the port you're thinking of, oldpenny.
Brown Brothers?
Can you remember anything about the location of the wine label in Australia, the label itself or any story that would help?


As for SYD DF, seeing as the arrivals gate IS the DF shop, it's hard to miss.
I wish there was still the immigration gate for DF shoppers.

When in an Aussie airport DF, have your QFF number ready in case you score miles .