Well, youre in the right part of the world to provide us an informed opinion, Colbrook. What can you tell us about how the locals prefer to enjoy rum?
Neat, preferably old. White rum is best used as a mixer, if you deign to even recognise it's existence. Spiced rum is sometimes acceptable, if it's done well. Flavoured rums (and novelties like the pictured bottle) are for selling to tourists and cruise ship visitors. Decent rum is a sipping drink, like good whisky. Appleton estates do some reasonable bottles on the higher end, 7 Fathoms is probably the best of the local mass production but I'm not really a connoisseur (and a little biased as I play D&D with the distillery owner). Like most spirits it ranges from cheap mass produced swill to aged small batches that even I can tell its amazing. I never got much of a taste for spirits myself though, Yorkshiremen are beer drinkers by nature and my preferences go in that vein. I could rattle on for hours about blondes, IPAs, red ryes, porters, session ales, etc etc Not that I'm drinking much at all currently, antidepressants and booze aren't the best of friends.
Makes sense for the local stuff to be reasonably priced but very surprised that Scottish malt is as well. Tax on alcohol in the UK is horrific sadly so we pay through the nose for decent stuff. Most of the Japanese malts are around the £45-50 mark, about the same as Lagavulin.
Yeah, this seems very strange to me. I'll take a look at the supermarket shelves to confirm if my impression is borne out by closer scrutiny. But they're a highly competitive people, in their way. They buy up old Scottish stills, for example, and import yeasts and such like. Then endlessly tweak the technology and the process to make it better (as you may've noticed with their automobile industry).
Japanese whiskies are my soft spot or confort zone as I'm used to say. What I like about them is that they all share a common quality I appreciate above everything else: balance. I don't find them that much overpriced here (France) compared to other good stuff but I agree that most of them have raised during the last years because of: - popularity worldwide growing - stock decreasing thus making some rare (ie Hibiki Japanes Harmony created as Hibiki 12 years old is switching to higher price range) Beside, I still enjoy plenty of Scottish ones peat or not.
Rum you say? I used to be a big fan of Sailor Jerry before they changed the formula for the UK market (took out the vanilla and lime which absolutely ruined it for me, but apparently 'Old J' is made by a bunch of guys that quit sailor jerry and are using the original formula again). Got a bottle of 'Duppy Share' sitting in the cupboard I'm quite eager to crack open over the festive season.
Yamazaki 12 please. Getting it in the States is a pain and prices range from acceptable to down right crazy. Silly state level laws, control systems and distribution Shenanigans.
The Japanese are also very protectionist about some things, but I don't remember foreign booze being particularly expensive. I was used to $65 a bottle scotch and Porfidio Plata (Porfidio Anejo was $130 a bottle), anyway. Oddly enough, a 24-pack of Asahi super-dry cans was like 5800yen when I was there, which is nearly $60 at reasonable exchange rates and was more like $75 at the time (ouch!). But Asahi is only good when it's hotter than hell in the summer. If we're going back to ryes, though, raise your hand if you've had Penderyn. ZOMG, that is the smoothest stuff I have ever had. It's probably a good thing it's annoying to acquire (cheapest to buy 6 bottles, since shipping is same cost for 3-6 bottles), because I can drink that stuff all day. It's a bit sweet, so it's best for dessert.
Well, the season is uopn us, and international flights means Duty Free shopping, so i had a few to choose from and Christmas presents money in my pocke to spend. : grin: My choice was Ardberg Corryvrecken, which is new to me, and having never been quite persuaded of the regular Ardberg, I’m delighted to discover a breathtakingly good whiskey; perhaps my new favorite. Highly recommended! https://www.ardbeg.com/en-int/whisky/ultimate-range/corryvreckan What are others on this season?
I did some favours for a neighbour (they had to run off to Japan for 5 weeks, so we watched their house and looked after stuff) and as a reward, he gave me a 6-pack of Asahi Dry Black (imported). Then did another favour and he gave me more of it. It's not a bad drop.
@chromedog you couldn't say that Asahi Black is rare in Japan - it'll be found in any decent-sized supermarket, but you also wouldn't say it's an obvious choice of beer. So, I think your friends probably chose it deliberately for you, and have fine taste.
Oh, them Czechs do know how to make beer! And generally Czech beers agree with me better than German ones (Germns doknow how to make beer too, I just prefer the Czech ones).
It's the original pilsner, Urquell. A nice beverage. Nicer now that it is no longer shipped to the USA in green bottles. Green bottles are a terrible thing into which to put beer. The Czech Budweiser is sold as Czechvar here in the USA, if one is inclined to look for it. I'd say do so. it's worth trying. I like Urquell better though. Here's excellent seasonal beer here in the US, the east coast, Mad Elf. You'll have to click through the age warning.
Yeah, I used the "(imported)" comment because it's also brewed here under licence and like any other international beer done locally, has been modified for local tastes/ingredients. Guinness is also brewed here, but the imported stuff is a far better product. The neighbours are a local ceramic small business, doing tableware for restaurants in the Japanese style (he learned his trade there) and he's friends with the current Japanese Ambassador to Oz, too.
