A Japanese coworker helped me move and now I owe him some good alcohol (as American culture dictates). And I mean REALLY good alcohol. He helped me a ton and a half. I genuinely probably owe him about $250 for how much he helped me. Or maybe a couple of cheaper bottles so he can party with his friends?
Anyway, recommendations?
11 comments
Strong zero
Depends on what he likes, but good whisky is usually appreciated in Japan. Glenmorangie 18 year goes for about 12,000 yen a bottle; Macallan 18 for maybe 20,000? (Might be more because of inflation lately.) I know I’d sure be happy to get either of those.
Buy some Yamazaki Whisky from Mercari
[this comes with a box too](https://jp.mercari.com/item/m81477464128?utm_source=ios&utm_medium=share)
Depends what he might like to drink.
Whisky is a safe bet – I would suggest a Scottish one rather than Japanese. Not that the Japanese whisky is bad (quite the contrary) but a good Scottish one seems better to me from a non-Japanese to a Japanese.
If not whisky, maybe champagne or a good French wine. French, again more for the name recognition rather than anything else.
If you happen to be from a region that has a high quality alcohol, that would be ideal and over rules what I say above! It would have more of a personal connection “this is from where my family are from” etc.
季の美 is a really good pricier gin. It’s only 5000y tho
Look into Wild Turkey 12 on Amazon. Japan exclusive, comes in a nice box, less than 10,000 yen, they have probably never had it, and it is damn good (IMO).
I’d want to know the coworker’s tastes before dropping serious coin on a single bottle. For example, I quite dislike whisky so if I get an expensive bottle, I’m putting it up for auction. Having said that, I seem to be in the minority and many love a good whisky, it seems. Whisky also has high name recognition so it’d be easier for a recipient to immediately recognize how expensive it is. So that’s a “safe”
bet, especially over some expensive wine they might never have heard of.
The much riskier option, and the one I’d maybe choose, is a couple of bottles of Porfidio tequila. They look kitschy cool and taste oh so good (to this uncultured clod).
Lagavulin whisky. Anything else is an insult..
Yep like the other fellas here said. Japanese whiskey. Even if he’s not a huge fan the gesture of gifting it is pretty significant. I know people who were gifted jp whiskey that don’t drink, they held on to the bottles and now they’re worth way more. So it’s a win win whether he drinks it or not
If you’re in Tokyo, and want to continue the American culture route, Shinanoya and larger Aeon Liquours, like Gotanda and Himonya, have a large, and relatively unique for Japan, selection of bourbon.
Why not go for a bottle of champagne? Maybe a Louis Roederer or – if you really want to splash out – a Dom Perignon? As others have said, wine might be good too but perhaps slightly more tricky as it depends on the preference of the person you’re giving it too. But a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape (French, red) might be appreciated. Otherwise a Barolo or Amarone (both Italian, red)? In any case, my personal preference would always be quality over quantity.