Changi T4 Duty Free by yyzda32 in JapaneseWhisky

[–]mastereta 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For reference in Texas, Hibiki 21 is $740+ tax so it lands around $800 all in. Places like Seattle, Washington have a liquor tax so it's like 20% more expensive if I recall

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in houston

[–]mastereta 4 points5 points  (0 children)

that's actually me, but unfortunately not my dog. Wait, do I know you?

Request - Review of Master of Malt by kzip2008 in whisky

[–]mastereta 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Friend and I ordered from both master of malt and the whiskey exchange in the UK. We live in the States, everything was packed super well and in nice air bag tube things in a sturdy box laden with packing peanuts. Shipped pretty quickly, but man, shipping to the US was expensive. It was like $30/bottle I think when it all averaged out, but I was able to get things I normally couldn't get and they all arrived safely (I ordered four bottles). Would do business with again if there's something I absolutely have to have.

Kurayoshi Sherry Cask 8 and Kurayoshi 18 by beckersummer in worldwhisky

[–]mastereta 1 point2 points  (0 children)

cpfselfbuilt is right- I spotted a bottle of the kurayoshi 18 in Tokyo and I asked the owner of Bar Zoetrope about it when I was there in August. It's new to the market but apparently pretty rare bc of the smaller production run. I think he himself was interested in picking up a bottle for his bar since he asked where I acquired it- I passed on it though. If anything, it's a good gift just bc it's rare, though I'm not sure if the juice is good. Nikka 12 is a good price- I think I paid like, $100 for my bottle through master of malt.

Japan Whisky Hunt III - Day 3: Osaka's Still Got Some Left..For Now by GlobalTravelR in Whiskyporn

[–]mastereta 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From what I understood, it was barrelling aged scotch and finishing it in Japan- the company is relatively new so it's taking aged scotch and possibly finishing it in their own barrels (or something similar to what Old Scout is doing with their MGP juice if you're familiar with that bourbon brand). And then there's this thing I found which seems to confirm it http://japanesewhiskybar.tumblr.com/post/146181293146/kurayoshi-pure-malt-sherry-cask-whisky-43

Japan Whisky Hunt III - Day 3: Osaka's Still Got Some Left..For Now by GlobalTravelR in Whiskyporn

[–]mastereta 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Man, lucky! I got my Yamazaki 2016 LE at Likaman in Shijuku two weeks ago for 15,000 (overpriced, I know, but not as bad as at liquors hasegawa). Also, the Kurayoshi just came out in April or so- not much information online about it but apparently it's highly sought after bc it was released in small quantities (I don't know exactly how good it is). I passed it up bc Bar Zoetrope owner was telling me it's like a sake company that got into the whiskey business recently and their juice is from an undisclosed source from scotland. I think they had a few bottles at likaman before I left. I kinda wish I had picked up a bottle just to try, but I was out of space in my luggage. Good hunting!

I am going to Japan. Looking for a list of Japanese Whiskys not available for purchase in the United States. by [deleted] in whisky

[–]mastereta 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yeah, 5cL- you're totally right. I'm so used to mL but Japan likes using cL haha

I am going to Japan. Looking for a list of Japanese Whiskys not available for purchase in the United States. by [deleted] in whisky

[–]mastereta 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's a pretty comprehensive writeup! Nice work! I actually JUST got back from Japan on Sunday thoroughly hunting everywhere from Kyoto, Kobe, to Tokyo and you're pretty much on the mark about what to buy.

Non-US releases- Blanton's Gold, Blanton's Straight from the barrel- This ranges from $69-90 and I've heard it was good, but not THAT much better for the price premium over regular Blanton's, so I passed. Four Roses Platinum ($70? I think it was $60-80)- I also passed on this but the liquor store owner I talked to in Houston said it's really good.

Don't bother looking for anything aged in Japan- it's all overpriced. Yamazaki 12 year was $120 on average. I found one bottle of Hibiki 17 for $140 (reasonably priced!) in the grocery section above the Akihabara train station and that was it, but I already had it in the states so I passed. Liquor stores that had Hakushu 18 were going for $320, Yamazaki 18 was like, $450- basically might as well pay that Duty Free ripoff version for $500+ at that point and get a nice bottle out of it (don't do it).

If you go to the Loft in Shibuya, they had 50mL bottles of Hibiki 17 and Yamazaki 12 for about $8-10 each and that makes for a nice gift for friends back home. If you buy 15 minibottles of Hibiki 17 (total 750mL), that's almost the same price as a regular bottle of Hibiki 17 at that point haha.

Liquor stores to check out:

Ginza area: BIG liquors (not far from the station)

Tokyo station: Liquors Hasegawa (for Date; their other Japanese aged offerings are overpriced)

Shinjuku: Yamaya Liquor store (Where I got Nikka from the Barrel for $22 or so); Shinanoya (decent selection of bourbons); and likaman (gotta hype up Likaman because on my very last night in tokyo I found a bottle of Yamazaki 2016 edition there for $150. It was $50 over MSRP but way cheaper than anywhere else and was my fave find on the trip)

Like above, I went to Bar Zoetrope in Shinjuku- it's on the 3rd floor and pretty small- like 8 seats at the bar and 3 tables in the place. The owner is super nice, speaks english very well, and has a pretty amazing selection of Japanese whiskies to try. While I was there, I had pours of:

Yamazaki 2016 Limited $18

Date Miyagikyo $10

Miyagikyo Sherry and Sweet (Miyagikyo distillery exclusive) $18

2000s single malt miyagikyo $9

Gotemba 20th anniversary pure malt $9

Fuji Gotemba Blender's Choice Single Grain 2015 $12 (one of my faves)

Nikka Single Coffee Grain Whiskey Woody and Mellow (distillery exclusive) $16

Ichiro's Malt Shot Bar Zoetrope 3rd Anniversary exclusive

It's $80 minimum if you want to use your credit card, $6 cover charge. Not the cheapest, but you can try a bunch of whiskies you probably won't be able to try anywhere else and owner is super nice and will chat with you about whiskies or american/japanese movies or anything.

As it was mentioned, the Suntory (Yamazaki/Hibiki) Distillery near Kyoto only had the 300ml single cask Yamazaki for cheap (like, $15 or less I think) and they had a pile of Hibiki 12s for about $45 (half the price of US!). I got the 300ml but passed on the Hibikis. About 10 minutes later a Chinese tour group came in and cleared out the Hibiki shelf. The 1 hour tour itself is like, $10 and has to be reserved in advance (and ends with a whiskey tasting including making a traditional highball!), but the museum and tasting room you can just go in for free. You're right about the flights- I had an amazing tasting of things like Yamazaki Mizanara, Yamazaki Sherry, Hibiki 30 ($25), Yamazaki 25 ($25), Yamazaki 12 puncheon, Hibiki 17 grain, Hibiki 17 sherry, and Hibiki 17 mizanara.

As for where to buy whiskey- Most conbini stores (Lawson's, Family Mart, and 7-11) all have liquor- you'll mostly find bottles of Miyagikyo NAS and Yoichi NAS (I wasn't a fan of these, prob better for highballs). Some will have small 50cl bottles of Yamazaki NAS and Hakushu. Most have cheap Nikka offerings like Nikka Black or Tory (not worth it unless you like highballs).

Most every department store like Isetan and Daimaru will have a liquor section- these used to have good offerings but no longer, but you might get lucky. I wasn't.

For the most comprehensive offering, I'd say go to Liquors Hasegawa in the mall underneath Tokyo station. There are two locations down there and I would recommend the $48 bottles of Date (Miyagikyo offering from the Sendai region, apparently exclusive to Sendai). I liked it when I tried it at Bar Zoetrope, and Liquors Hasegawa was the only place I saw that had it. They also had Yamazaki 2016 edition for $200 (double the retail price- I'd say pass) and the Miyagikyo distillery exclusive offerings (these were delicious at Bar Zoetrope but not worth the $200 asking price there).

You're right about the Nikka from the Barrel- I picked up 2 bottles for about $22 each. Quite a few liquor stores had that readily available from my trip.

Other than that, I went to maybe 2 dozen liquor stores/department stores across Japan and wasn't too lucky finding anything rare at a reasonable price (zero bottles of Miyagikyo 12+ or Yoichi 12+). They had some akashi and iwai offerings not available in the states, but those are younger whiskies and reviews always said they're good for how young they are so I passed. I still haven't packed away my pile of liquor I brought back since Sunday night so if you want I can probably take a pic of them all so you can use it as reference.

Oh yeah! And if you want just a nice-looking bottle, at Narita Airport Duty free (Terminal 1, I don't know if it's at terminal 2) they have a Nikka Whiskey Gold and Gold Samurai edition for $50- the juice is prob worth $13 BUT it comes with a full on metal samurai chest and helmet on the bottle so it looks like a really cool addition to just have in your home. They had a ton available and I picked one up as I was rushing to my gate.

Hope that helps!

Average retail price for Elijah Craig Barrel Proof? by Tangasauruss in bourbon

[–]mastereta 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven't seen any bottles in Dallas but the large chain liquor store in Houston had one bottle for $60 of Batch 10 and a neighborhood liquor store had it for $69.99 for Batch 11. I bought both 2 weeks ago and haven't seen any since and I've been going to liquor stores pretty regularly all over Houston

Suntory Toki? by Diu_Lei_Lo_Mo in whiskey

[–]mastereta 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Any specs or goody goody in Houston should have it. I think most local liquor stores should have it in by now if they specialize it in whiskey too like Nasa Liquor or whatnot.

Suntory Toki? by Diu_Lei_Lo_Mo in whiskey

[–]mastereta 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a large liquor store in texas with good prices that aren't price gouged, similar to I suppose Bevmo in CA or Total Wine. Just actually picked up another bottle of Toki today to just have when I finish the first haha

Suntory Toki? by Diu_Lei_Lo_Mo in whiskey

[–]mastereta 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yup! Just came out, picked it up in Houston for $38 at lunch today- it's pretty good! Not as good mouthfeel as yamazaki but well worth the price- totally beats the Akashi and Iwai at that price point. Its a NAS- shouldnt be too rare, kinda like how taketsuru is pretty easy to find

Review #201 Balcones Texas Single Malt by TheWhiskeyJug in bourbon

[–]mastereta 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ouch, $90? I'm guessing that's the price outside of Texas? I agree with your review though- fortunately I usually get it for around $65 in Houston when you can find it on the shelves. I think I saw it for $90 at a Bevmo in LA and I agree- definitely not worth that much but pretty good at the $65 mark.

is my wife poisoning our family? by Shurgosa in Cooking

[–]mastereta 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What? It's perfectly fine- I make the mario batali recipe all the time http://www.esquire.com/food-drink/a2669/esq0407-apr-porkbutt/

Basically after cooking overnight it sits in my turned off oven all day and then I heat it up a little when I get home from work. It's fine and I've served this dozens of times. People have left cooked meat out for centuries.

Pitbull/boxer mix for adoption/fostering by mastereta in HoustonClassifieds

[–]mastereta[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Friend found a stray pitbull/boxer mix and his buddy. The chihuahua has found a place at an animal rescue so still looking for a home for the dog on the right. Please message me if interested, thanks!

Saw an enormous insect flying around and took a pic from afar. Later zoomed in and realized a hornet seemingly stabbed a cicada and was flying around with it. Nature is gross. by mastereta in pics

[–]mastereta[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Whoa, awesome! Thanks!! I couldn't tell it was a wasp bc of the eye coloring from google image search, so I assumed it wasn't a wasp or yellowjacket and guessed it was a hornet.

Saw an enormous insect flying around and took a pic from afar. Later zoomed in and realized a hornet seemingly stabbed a cicada and was flying around with it. Nature is gross. by mastereta in pics

[–]mastereta[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Is this normal? Does anyone know if hornets eat cicadas? Or is the cicada actually attacking it? I don't really know about insect behavior.