james21_h

local Aeon liquor had Yamazaki 12 at ¥8500 + tax today. It’s worth checking your local Aeon!

daizawaguy

The one on the left is a superb dram indeed

I didn’t quite pick up the Sakura casks here, but for Y300 I realized the Yen 60,000 or so this bottle has stabilized at is way over the top!

JapanFlyerT

My two local liquor shops seem to have more stock now than in the past six months. Nothing at retail though.
Yamazaki 12yr ¥20,000
Hibiki 21yr ¥65,000 (I seem to remember)
and then Blenders Choice and Harmony (not Blossom) for ¥12,000.
Hakushu 180ml ¥2,000

PastisDetox

Thanks Daizawaguy for your posting on this tasting, which I was lucky to do as well this past Sunday. The Yamazaki is very distinct and reminds me of the y12 in many ways, though it will never be as good as the 18. As for the Blossom I tried in vain to see if I could get any hint of anything from the Sakura wood that they were said to have used. Either way both are retailing far above their true value, I mean, objectively should these be costing USD600-800 (which is what they seem to be fetching on auctions)?

There was one other I tried and would recommend strongly: the Kanosuke 2021. It actually costs more at retail than the LEs, and the 10ml sample was similarly 100 yen more expensive. But it is a fantastic drink, with far more complexity than either of the two, and a deeper color that would probably look amazing in a glass. If you can get your hands on a bottle of the debut from this distillery then do so. Even on the secondary market on Rakuten it retails for an “affordable” 25K or so, nothing like the prices that you’d have to pay for either LE.

PastisDetox

Thanks Daizawaguy for your posting on this tasting, which I was lucky to do as well this past Sunday. The Yamazaki is very distinct and reminds me of the y12 in many ways, though it will never be as good as the 18. As for the Blossom I tried in vain to see if I could get any hint of anything from the Sakura wood that they were said to have used. Either way both are retailing far above their true value, I mean, objectively should these be costing USD600-800 (which is what they seem to be fetching on auctions)?

There was one other I tried and would recommend strongly: the Kanosuke 2021. It actually costs more at retail than the LEs, and the 10ml sample was similarly 100 yen more expensive. But it is a fantastic drink, with far more complexity than either of the two, and a deeper color that would probably look amazing in a glass. If you can get your hands on a bottle of the debut from this distillery then do so. Even on the secondary market on Rakuten it retails for an “affordable” 25K or so, nothing like the prices that you’d have to pay for either LE.

daizawaguy

Thanks for the recommendation on the Kanosuke - think I saw it on a shelf.

As for the Blossom Harmony and LE, I made it down to a local Kakuyasu as well as Shinanoya - both had "sold out" within minutes of June 25th (I think that was the day it was released in memory, or was it May, come to think of it - it was May 25th), but there was no evidence at opening time any had been placed on the shelves - not at Kakuyasu anyway, and at Shinanoya main store, there was a space next to other cheaper Suntory products but no bottles at 10 minutes after open - so who bought these!? I suspect it was secondary market dealers bidding up the market (Daikokuya is Yen 30,000 bid now on the BH), and did they really hit any shelves or did employees participate in the mark up scam? Given that was it 30,000 bottles were made for sale, the fact that very few people reported buying at Yen 8000 list seems to indicate to me something is going on here. I'm a buyer of Hibiki 21 around Yen 70,000-72,000 and have accumulated a good stock - this is far better value and has risen 10 percent sense I started buying earlier this year. Interesting you didn't notice the Sakura flavors too - I have an unopened bottle of the Chita Essence Sakura cask - I will open it someday and see what flavors are in there. Happy hunting everyone!

james21_h

I got a set at donki in the morning of 5/27 (¥12800 each) and a set at kakuyasu (¥8800 each) in the afternoon on 6/2. So most of stores did not put them on the shelves on 5/25 the official release day. I guess you just have to be at the right place at the right time....
Or you can find a bar that carries them! A decent bar charges ~¥1500 a shot.

invalyd

I think most stores conducted a lottery prior to the release. I saw tons of winners on fb/twitter. Additionally, I know of at least one person who was allocated one of each bottle due to their purchase history with Takashimaya. So it seems there was no shortage of people buying at retail price.

Looks like you got a nice tasting at Aloha Whisky, can't wait to go back there!

james21_h

Saw them at a local Donki today. Not retail...

invalyd

​​​​​​Wow, they were quick to adjust the price! Haha

Topcare

Ya. I'd take "Royal salute out of frame at substantial less for $1000 Alex".

invalyd

I am sure plenty of flippers will still be buying them at 50k.

james21_h

What about this! New donki osake inside Tokyo station! Just wow!

daizawaguy

https://item.rakuten.co.jp/liquorfro...9-0bac5def2aa5

Haven't seen this one offered with the wooden box and free postage before

Topcare

can i post a pick of what puncheon used to cost when it was a regular staple in the gift shop. Haha. Makes me laugh. No wonder my dad auctions off all he special bottles and owners casks.