Which country has cheapest scotch in the world?

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SOPOOR

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Without trying to get into a japanese/irish/indian whiskey battle

Which country has the cheapest off the shelf or local scotch whiskey?

Im currently in scotland, and i have another 700ml duty free allowance , and was quite shocked to see your standard brands eg johnnie, glenm, glenf,
All prices literally the same as dan murphys in aus. There was also only locally available scotches, even from distilleries and prices were £30+
 
Duty free shops at the airports are generally a big ripoff these days from my (albeit somewhat limited) experience... in Japan for instance, you can buy imported whiskey in the supermarket for about 1/2 to 1/3 of the price in Australia... I came back with several bottles of Japanese whiskey that Dan Murphys retail for $200 for between $30-$50 each. (I did end up getting them duty free from Don Quijote because of the extra range they had, not at the airport though. Supermarket retail were similar price for a lot of things though)

I remember things like Ballantines, Jim Beam etc. were under $15 per bottle for instance. I think I paid $20 for a bottle of Wild Turkey.

e.g.

1723316302188.png
 
SOPOOR said:
Without trying to get into a japanese/irish/indian whiskey battle

Which country has the cheapest off the shelf or local scotch whiskey?

Im currently in scotland, and i have another 700ml duty free allowance , and was quite shocked to see your standard brands eg johnnie, glenm, glenf,
All prices literally the same as dan murphys in aus. There was also only locally available scotches, even from distilleries and prices were £30+
Click to expand...
Where are you flying through to return home?

Yes, there countries that are cheap at retail stores but if you’re not visiting one it’s academic.

Worse case, preorder online from the DF at your first arrival port in Oz. Check, but 1L of single malt *will* be cheaper than DMs etc. Singapore can be a little cheaper but currency fluctuations can make it worse (or better).
 
Anywhere but Australia

Practically no taxes in most parts of Europe

Or I could say EK F when it’s an open pour all flight ….
 
SYD said:
Where are you flying through to return home?

Yes, there countries that are cheap at retail stores but if you’re not visiting one it’s academic.

Worse case, preorder online from the DF at your first arrival port in Oz. Check, but 1L of single malt *will* be cheaper than DMs etc. Singapore can be a little cheaper but currency fluctuations can make it worse (or better).
Click to expand...
Going through singapore.
To be honest, ive already got a heap of good scotch at home, so no loss if i dont buy, was going to buy a unknown one and share with friends to see if we get lucky!
 
MJ_/\_ said:
Duty free shops at the airports are generally a big ripoff these days from my (albeit somewhat limited) experience... in Japan for instance, you can buy imported whiskey in the supermarket for about 1/2 to 1/3 of the price in Australia... I came back with several bottles of Japanese whiskey that Dan Murphys retail for $200 for between $30-$50 each. (I did end up getting them duty free from Don Quijote because of the extra range they had, not at the airport though. Supermarket retail were similar price for a lot of things though)

I remember things like Ballantines, Jim Beam etc. were under $15 per bottle for instance. I think I paid $20 for a bottle of Wild Turkey.

e.g.

View attachment 401718
Click to expand...
Im assuming those jp whisky prices are not too recent since prices have been climing for about 6 years

I too have been to japan, and have alook at amazon japan and am amazed at how cheap both jp and scotch whiskey is

As for duty free. I dont even bother looking now, years ago you could get like 2x 1L bottles of vodka/basic scotch for like $50, but now theyre like $50 for a 1L each which is only marginally better than danmurphys

That being said i did see 2x 1L of absolut vodka for about early this year $55, which i thought was great

Edit: i remember going to.japan about 10 -12 years ago, i was in a remote area and the local mini mart equivalent had johnny walker green label for like 1800yen and the exchange rate was likr 105y=$1. What a find.
Pity i only bought one
 
Is Moro Izi a Japanese whiskey ?


On the left
IMG_0166.pngIMG_0167.png

Hard to find
Only sold to J & F PAX

WAS going to purchase one on the sector home and give it to a friend in Sydney …
 
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Perhaps if I can’t offload the bottle in Sydney, I could donate it as a raffle prize at AFF 2024 in BrisVegas…
 
If anything prices in Japan have been cheaper in $A terms due to the weak yen though the Aussie has started to drop in the last couple of weaks. Kere are prices in Japan 4 weeks ago. We were getting just over 100 yen to our dollar. So prices in yen were easy to convert. Just put a decimal point before the last 2 numbers.
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And these were supermarket prices.
 
Some melb duty free prices.

Works out the same or a few % better than dan murphys
 

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SOPOOR said:
Some melb duty free prices.

Works out the same or a few % better than dan murphys
Click to expand...
SYD DF is significantly cheaper than DMs for spirits. Adjusting for 1L v 700ml of course.

25yo Laphroaig is about $200 cheaper than DMs.
 
Having just been back from Europe, Germany was by far the cheapest for all kinds of alcohol. Bought 2 of Blended Scotch (Abrachan and Ben Bracken 20 Yr), 1 Cognac, 1 Brandy (Majestat), 2 Sierra Tequila (Regular and Chilli). Total of 7 Bottles was around Euro 96. This was at Lidl. Teachers in the image was 11.7Euro and Beer obviously was cheaper than water. Surprisingly Cigarettes were also quite cheaper.

Was in Japan 4 years ago just to Hunt whisky (Spent 3 days just travelling around and found some really rare Japanese whisky) - its always a hit and miss in Japan. Just has to get lucky I guess.
 

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Last edited:
Kimster said:
Having just been back from Europe, Germany was by far the cheapest for all kinds of alcohol. Bought 2 of Blended Scotch (Abrachan and Ben Bracken 20 Yr), 1 Cognac, 1 Brandy (Majestat), 2 Sierra Tequila (Regular and Chilli). Total of 7 Bottles was around Euro 96. This was at Lidl. Teachers in the image was 11.7Euro and Beer obviously was cheaper than water. Surprisingly Cigarettes were also quite cheaper.

Was in Japan 4 years ago just to Hunt whisky (Spent 3 days just travelling around and found some really rare Japanese whisky) - its always a hit and miss in Japan. Just has to get lucky I guess.
Click to expand...
Just fyi, your photos are in heic format so they dont show up automatically, you have to download them to open them

11.7E =19 aud odd for 700ml is amazing

I was in france earlier this year and found a caribbean white rum for 10Euro for 700ml.
Bought 2!
 
SOPOOR said:
Without trying to get into a japanese/irish/indian whiskey battle

Which country has the cheapest off the shelf or local scotch whiskey?

Im currently in scotland, and i have another 700ml duty free allowance , and was quite shocked to see your standard brands eg johnnie, glenm, glenf,
All prices literally the same as dan murphys in aus. There was also only locally available scotches, even from distilleries and prices were £30+
Click to expand...
They are often cheaper here since uk has very high alcohol taxes plus VAT. Having done it many times, it’s only worth buying rare Scotch editions in Scotland that you can’t buy here, plus you don’t have to carry them all the way home.
 

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