I forgot to look into that when I was home, too busy working on my parent’s booze lol. next year
Evan Williams is available at Drinks, the chain liquor shop in Taipei. It’s around NTD $500. It’s kinda like Jim Beam but 2 steps above. I use it to make Old Fashioneds and Manhattans.
Got an itch to drink some more Bourbon and the last of a bottle of Elijah Craig 12 year were about gone, so I went a hunting. It is pretty slim pickings for Kentucky Juice over here. I was able to find a few gems though.
The Drinks.com.tw chain is the agent for Heaven Hill so they have:
Heaven Hill 80 proof (actually very drinkable for a ~300nt bottle)
Evan Williams Black (overpriced here, go down to HH or up to EC 12 imo)
Elijah Craig 12 Year (the best deal in Taiwan at the moment at 589 nt with membership at Drinks.com.tw, it is on reorder, but can still be found at Jasons for 620 nt).
Elijah Craig 18 Year
Evan Williams Single Barrel (also a good deal, for as great as it is)
Bernheim Wheat Whisky (at the ridicuous price of 2500nt, should be closer to 1000nt)
Jim Beam White hum dum
Jack Daniels hum dum
Whisky.com.tw has:
JD
1 bottle of Gentleman Jack
The owner has had other offerings over the years, he had a run on Woodford Reserve last year and is trying to get me a bottle from the local Jack Daniels distributor. He also expressed interest in being the agent for a Bourbon brand, so there is hope for more to come. I am trying to get him hooked up with Buffalo Trace.
Jasons has:
Elijah Craig 12 Year
Wild Turkey 101 8 Year
JBW 750, and Liter
Thats it so far. Anyone else know where to get some? I heard Makers is available but I have no idea where. I think Bourbon suffers for being too low priced in Taiwan. A strange thing to say, but the Scotch drinkers here are an upscale clientèle, so they want to spend money on the good stuff. Even if they bottoms up the whole time they are drinking it :no-no: . I think an equivalent quality Bourbon is about 1/3 to 1/2 less expensive than its Scotch counterpart.
I guess as long as I can get Elijah Craig 12, Woodford Reserve, EWSB, and Wild Turkey 101 8 year things are not too shabby. For mixed drinks HH will do. Elijah Craig 12 is what goes to business dinners, it is inexpensive, but very high quality and the Taiwanese that have had it so far have been impressed.
Cheers,
Papercut
Update!
I found a few more sources of Bourbon and it turns out, there is a decent selection of Bourbon in Taipei if you know where to go:
Breeze Center Supermarket
Blanton’s (with pewter horse, surprised to find that)
Southern Comfort
Woodford Reserve (~1500)
Knob Creek (~1000-1200)
JD?
JB?
Bakers
Basil Hayden
and Jameson and some Canadian Whiskeys if you are so inclined
RT Mart- Civic Blvd
Jim Beam Black 750 and 1.75 (a good deal)
JB White 750 and 1.75
JD
Jack Daniels Single Barrel
Woodford Reserve (much cheaper ~1100)
SoCo (much cheaper as well)
and the star of my shopping so far
Wild Turkey Old No. 8 86.8 proof 200ml bottles- I bought one bottle when I saw it, after I got home I tried it and it was fantastic! then I realized there was something wrong with the stickers on the back. It turns out the booze was bottled on 5/24/94 (1994 not China year 94). Thus the juice in the bottle was about 24 years old, and had been hanging around Taiwan for a long time.
Of course, the next day I went back and scored the rest, all 21 bottles. They said that was all they had, but if you ever go to a RT Mart and they have 200ml bottles of WT 86.8 proof, pick it up, it rocks.
:discodance:
[quote=“TainanCowboy”]If it isn’t from Kentucky…it is not bourbon.
It may be ‘charcol filtered’, sour-mash, and have an ad campaign with old farts wearing bib overalls while sitting in rocking chairs…but it ain’t bourbon.
Thank fully there is a good choice of Kentucky bourbons available here in the mythical city.
Even this stuff:(which I have not tried)
Distilled in Kentucky, bottled in France and sold in Tainan, Taiwan.[/quote]
DO NOT buy that shit. There’s a very good reason it’s always cheaper than the rest. That stuff is absolutely vile. I never get hangovers, but that gave me a horrid headache the next day.
[quote=“papercut”]Update!
I found a few more sources of Bourbon and it turns out, there is a decent selection of Bourbon in Taipei if you know where to go:
Breeze Center Supermarket
Blanton’s (with pewter horse, surprised to find that)
Southern Comfort
Woodford Reserve (~1500)
Knob Creek (~1000-1200)
JD?
JB?
and Jameson and some Canadian Whiskeys if you are so inclined
RT Mart- Civic Blvd
Jim Beam Black 750 and 1.75
JB White
JD
Woodford Reserve (much cheaper ~1100)
SoCo (much cheaper as well)
and the star of my shopping so far
Wild Turkey Old No. 8 86.8 proof 200ml bottles- I bought one bottle when I saw it, after I got home I tried it and it was fantastic! then I realized there was something wrong with the stickers on the back. It turns out the booze was bottled on 5/24/94 (1994 not China year 94). Thus the juice in the bottle was about 24 years old, and had been hanging around Taiwan for a long time.
Of course, the next day I went back and scored the rest, all 21 bottles. They said that was all they had, but if you ever go to a RT Mart and they have 200ml bottles of WT 86.8 proof, pick it up, it rocks.
:discodance:[/quote]
those prices approach USA prices. However, not to be pedantic. How do you know the K-juice was not bottled in TW year 94 which would be 2005. And by the way if it was bottled in 1994 and it being now 2010 last I checked, that would make it 16 years its been in the bottle? OF course add that to however long it had matured in the barrel before being bottled. Wild Turkey Liquer if you can get it is real nice stuff too by the way. Does it age in the bottle tho? Apparently so.
Good question tommy525,
The first tip off was that the bottles were dusty, and the labels were clearly aged. The reason I am certain it was bottled in 1994 as opposed to Chinese year 94 is that in the past Wild Turkey printed the bottling dates on the bottle. In addition some US bottle makers stamp the year of production on the bottom of the bottle. For example, 93 was stamped on the bottom of the bottles in question. Plus, the turkey on the bottle’s label is the old style, more cartoony, and the brand was Old No.8, a short lived production from the mid 1990’s.
It took me awhile to put all the pieces together, but is was fun hunting especially while sipping it.
You are right that it was only aged for 8 years, but it was distilled in 1986 it seems. Reading some bourbon forums informed me that the formula/production method for Wild Turkey changed in the late 90’s, so the taste is a bit different now. I picked up a bottle of 8 year old 101 at Jasons in 101 (haha), and it was great, but it doesn’t have the same creaminess as in the past. If you are a bourbon drinker tommy, pm me and I’ll hook ya up with a bottle of the 1994 WT.
There is definitely counterfeit booze in Taiwan, so be careful.
Cheers
Update 2!
CitySuper in Far Eastern Hotel
JD
JB White
MRT Sogo (the newer one)
JB White
JD
Bakers
Basil Hayden
It is interesting that I haven’t found Booker’s, the third of the Jim Beam small batch collection. I guess it has all been bought up. It goes to show how the Taiwan Scotch drinkers do like unique whisk(e)y. Bookers is uncut from the barrel and not chill filtered I believe, high proof and a novel taste (never had it so I can’t say for sure).
I bought the last 2 bottles of WT 101 that were on the shelves at Jasons. They imported it themselves, so they should have some more in the warehouse (or so the clerk said). If you go through Narita Airport, there is a special WT 101 12 year at the Duty Free. I presume that the HK airport has some good stuff too.
[quote=“papercut”]Good question tommy525,
The first tip off was that the bottles were dusty, and the labels were clearly aged. The reason I am certain it was bottled in 1994 as opposed to Chinese year 94 is that in the past Wild Turkey printed the bottling dates on the bottle. In addition some US bottle makers stamp the year of production on the bottom of the bottle. For example, 93 was stamped on the bottom of the bottles in question. Plus, the turkey on the bottle’s label is the old style, more cartoony, and the brand was Old No.8, a short lived production from the mid 1990’s.
It took me awhile to put all the pieces together, but is was fun hunting especially while sipping it.
You are right that it was only aged for 8 years, but it was distilled in 1986 it seems. Reading some bourbon forums informed me that the formula/production method for Wild Turkey changed in the late 90’s, so the taste is a bit different now. I picked up a bottle of 8 year old 101 at Jasons in 101 (haha), and it was great, but it doesn’t have the same creaminess as in the past. If you are a bourbon drinker tommy, pm me and I’ll hook ya up with a bottle of the 1994 WT.
There is definitely counterfeit booze in Taiwan, so be careful.
Cheers[/quote]
Your sleuth work has been accepted. YOu are now free to go about the cabin 
Update
After some sleuthing I found the agent for Buffalo Trace (Sazerac) in Taiwan: www.fontanbev.com . I talked to the boss of the firm, and he told me they hadn’t imported any BT products yet, but will be in November. These products include BT, 1792 Ridgemont Reserve, and Kentucky Tavern or Gentleman. The first two should be excellent while the later is blended and may or may not be drinkable.
His channels are the big box retailers and Welcome, so they should be on the shelves by year end. He may be open to special ordering BT products by the case, I vaguely hinted at it and he was against special orders for 1 or 2 bottles. I will have to inquire further. Supposedly BT makes some really good mid shelf products for the Kentucky market that are highly rated and between $10-$15 a bottle. These include Very Old Bartons 100 proof and Ancient Ancient Age 10 year. Anyone wanna go in on a case if it can be arranged?
Cheers
[quote=“papercut”] Supposedly BT makes some really good mid shelf products for the Kentucky market that are highly rated and between $10-$15 a bottle. These include Very Old Bartons 100 proof and Ancient Ancient Age 10 year. Anyone wanna go in on a case if it can be arranged?
Cheers[/quote]
Sure.
papercut, do you run a bar or are those for personal consumption? :eh:
Personal, business dinner and party consumption. The Wild Turkey is really special so I horded it. The bottles were dusty and neglected. Of the 22 small bottles I bought I have shared about 10 as gifts.
Looking around at the bourbon supply in Taiwan, it seems not too stable and dominated by three companies. I think Jim Beam white and Jack Daniels will always be available, drinks.com has various Evan Williams/Heaven Hill products but other offerings come and go. Most of the product on the market here are mid shelf booze, which I can’t complain about, better than swill rotgut. Specialty retailers are more interested in higher dollar scotch as it is easier to move and more profitable. So if you see some bourbon you like, get a few bottles for a rainy day.
As for the cases, I would like to explore some good juice with a good price/value ratio, in addition to flavor types that are not available here. If decent flavorful bourbon can be had for NTD 300-450 a fifth, I’d be willing to buy a few bottles. I still need to confer with the local distributor to see what he can order.
Business dinners, KTV, nightcaps, gifts, and the occasional house party can add up! Plus my sister and nephew moved to Kentucky and I want my carousing “sin tax” dollar to help support his education 
!!
Carrefour update:
JB white
JD
Not much at the store on Civic Blvd near the Living Mall. I would suspect that the store in TienMu would have a larger selection, but I don’t go up to that part of town much.
nah. they might have had some blend but nothing i wanted to buy.
The local agent for Buffalo Trace is inquiring on importing on a special case basis:
Very Old Barton 100 proof
Ancient Ancient Age 10 year
WL Weller Special Reserve
Old Weller Antique
I’ll update when I know if it is possible. Reviews for bourbons can be found on bourbonethusiast.com.
In addition, I believe a local retailer wants to import George T Stagg and the Pappy Van Winkle lines, which are higher cost collector/connoisseur brands.
I’ve come to the conclusion that mint juleps are good. finally a use for the mint on my balcony
Hey there folks,
Sorry about my absence. I was able to score another case of the 1994 Wild Turkey in 200ml bottles from RT Mart, in moldy 1994 box and all. So if anyone in Taipei wants to give it a shot PM me. The Booze manager lady told me that there might be more cases in the big warehouse and she would let me know if more was available.
The Buffalo Trace agent in Taiwan informed me that the brands I inquired about were not available for export, but he can special order cases of Buffalo Trace and 1792 Ridgemont Reserve. He is currently inquiring about the price of a case. I’ll keep ya posted.
Cheers
I now have the price for a case of Buffalo Trace, the price per 750ml bottle is seven with two zeros new taiwan dollars. Anyone wanna get in on a case? There will be roughly a two month lag after the order until the booze arrives.
I’m in.