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Consolidated "Buy Whiskey in Japan" thread (was: Haneda/Narita Duty Free Whiskey)

Old Oct 18, 2019, 5:22 pm
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Consolidated "Buy Whiskey in Japan" thread (was: Haneda/Narita Duty Free Whiskey)

Old Oct 4, 2018, 2:54 pm
  #916  
 
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 166
Originally Posted by DGibb
I am seeing a lot of discussion about Narita & Haneda, but I am flying through Nagoya. How is the duty free at NGO? Would I be able to find some Nikka FTB, Yamazaki 12, and Nikka Gold & Gold Samurai bottles? A friend of mine is getting married, and they'd love the samurai bottle, but I've only heard about it at the Narita airport.

FYI, I am traveling to Kyoto, Nagoya, and a day trip in Tokyo during my visit to Japan. Not much shopping opportunity in Tokyo, however.
If you cannot find it elsewhere, my feeling is someone has cleaned out Nagoya as well, but keep us in touch! I wouldn't ask for Yamazaki 12, but the 50! List was 1,000,000 and now on Rakuten for 25,500,000 and international auctions for $300,000+! Just seen Air China flies through NGO, so reckon all stocks have been cleaned out already.

BTW, was in Ginza Sokuhai last night, and they has a bottle of Yamazaki 18. A chinese gentlemen wanted to buy 10, but couldn't understand all they had was 1 bottle. A quite heated conversation was going on...
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Old Oct 4, 2018, 4:08 pm
  #917  
 
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Originally Posted by daizawaguy
If you cannot find it elsewhere, my feeling is someone has cleaned out Nagoya as well, but keep us in touch! I wouldn't ask for Yamazaki 12, but the 50! List was 1,000,000 and now on Rakuten for 25,500,000 and international auctions for $300,000+! Just seen Air China flies through NGO, so reckon all stocks have been cleaned out already.

BTW, was in Ginza Sokuhai last night, and they has a bottle of Yamazaki 18. A chinese gentlemen wanted to buy 10, but couldn't understand all they had was 1 bottle. A quite heated conversation was going on...
Duty Free only gets 1 bottle of anything >25 years at a time and Ive never seen them carry a 50 year old so not sure what stocks you would be referring to.

Last edited by invalyd; Oct 4, 2018 at 7:24 pm
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Old Oct 5, 2018, 7:46 am
  #918  
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
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Originally Posted by daizawaguy
If you cannot find it elsewhere, my feeling is someone has cleaned out Nagoya as well, but keep us in touch! I wouldn't ask for Yamazaki 12, but the 50! List was 1,000,000 and now on Rakuten for 25,500,000 and international auctions for $300,000+! Just seen Air China flies through NGO, so reckon all stocks have been cleaned out already.

BTW, was in Ginza Sokuhai last night, and they has a bottle of Yamazaki 18. A chinese gentlemen wanted to buy 10, but couldn't understand all they had was 1 bottle. A quite heated conversation was going on...
Yeah, I can't afford that kind of money at all, regardless of resale. I'm only looking for Yamazaki 12, not 50 for $USD 10,000. Can anyone help with the question about the Nikka Gold & Gold Samurai?
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Old Oct 5, 2018, 11:11 am
  #919  
 
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Originally Posted by DGibb
Yeah, I can't afford that kind of money at all, regardless of resale. I'm only looking for Yamazaki 12, not 50 for $USD 10,000. Can anyone help with the question about the Nikka Gold & Gold Samurai?
I have never seen a Yamazaki 12 at duty free and highly doubt they will have one. Its cheaper to buy in the US these days anyway. You should be able to score the Nikka Samurai.

On an unrelated note, scored an entire case of H17 today


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Old Oct 5, 2018, 11:14 am
  #920  
 
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Originally Posted by invalyd
I have never seen a Yamazaki 12 at duty free and highly doubt they will have one. Its cheaper to buy in the US these days anyway. You should be able to score the Nikka Samurai.

On an unrelated note, scored an entire case of H17 today
Nice score, how'd you find that?

And do you mean you think I'll see G&G Samurai at Nagoya instead of Narita?
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Old Oct 5, 2018, 11:41 am
  #921  
 
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Yes, the samurai bottle should be at duty free. The Y12 will not be, I suggest you try to find it elsewhere if you're intent on bringing one back.
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Old Oct 5, 2018, 11:43 am
  #922  
 
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Perfect. Appreciate the insight. I'm planning on going by the Yamazaki distillery and seeing if I can get their on-site bottle as well as a bit of tasting.
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Old Oct 5, 2018, 9:45 pm
  #923  
 
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Originally Posted by invalyd
On an unrelated note, scored an entire case of H17 today
Those drops on top of the box are the tears of people trying to find a reasonably priced bottle. I note they're the small bottles (50ml).
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Old Oct 6, 2018, 3:49 pm
  #924  
 
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Originally Posted by invalyd


I have never seen a Yamazaki 12 at duty free and highly doubt they will have one. Its cheaper to buy in the US these days anyway. You should be able to score the Nikka Samurai.

On an unrelated note, scored an entire case of H17 today


"Location: SFO"

When and where is the party??
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Old Oct 6, 2018, 7:33 pm
  #925  
 
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Originally Posted by JHunter
"Location: SFO"

When and where is the party??
Had my friend in Tokyo pickup the case, so once I get back in a few weeks
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Old Oct 10, 2018, 9:54 am
  #926  
 
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Originally Posted by DGibb
Perfect. Appreciate the insight. I'm planning on going by the Yamazaki distillery and seeing if I can get their on-site bottle as well as a bit of tasting.
Does the Yamazki Distillery have items you can't get elsewhere? Also, does anyone have any numbers in regards to the pricing? And (last question), if we just get the tickets for the museum (not the tour) can we still taste items in the tasting room?
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Old Oct 10, 2018, 1:24 pm
  #927  
 
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Originally Posted by jmj10
Does the Yamazki Distillery have items you can't get elsewhere? Also, does anyone have any numbers in regards to the pricing? And (last question), if we just get the tickets for the museum (not the tour) can we still taste items in the tasting room?
Yes, they have a bottle that you can't get elsewhere when I went last year, although I didn't opt for it. You can still go for tasting if you're not on the tour. In fact, we went back a second time to do tasting only.
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Old Oct 10, 2018, 3:12 pm
  #928  
 
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I didn't go to Yamazaki, but when I visited Hakushu (perhaps because they are closer to Tokyo and get more visitors?) had no bottles of even Hakushu! Even NAS, nothing! They had a few Chita bottles. If you are thinking of going to pick up something rare, I`d call in advance...
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Old Oct 10, 2018, 5:07 pm
  #929  
 
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Hakushu is not really closer to Tokyo, in fact you could probably make to Yamazaki quicker since it involves less transfers.

As for the question, they have one distillery bottle you can't get elsewhere, but it's just a malt sampling, one of the many that make up a Yamazaki bottle. Costs about $10 I believe. Not really worth going out of your way to buy. Same bottle is available at Hakushu (different malt of course).
They do have some cool accessories and of course the tastings and highball classes are what make the distillery trips worth it.
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Old Oct 10, 2018, 8:50 pm
  #930  
 
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As regards Yamazaki location, I guess you are considering a Shinkansen at Yen 14,250, but I drove. In that case, and for bus tours too, it is considerably closer to Tokyo - like 2 hours versus 6.

As for the malt sampling , on the day I went there was nothing more than bottles of Chita.
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