Going to the US - the Cheapest alcohol is NOT duty free

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Hi All,

Does anyone have suggestions for where would be the best place to procure a couple of bottles of Veuve, Dom Perignon or Krug out of London, Hong Kong or Sydney Airport Duty Free?

I am in London returning to Syd via honkers so will have the ability to buy it at a supermarket before going to LHR or alternatively buying at HKG Airport or in the city itself. No idea what the best option is though....

Your suggestions will be enthusiastically received!

XS
 
xsprint said:
Hi All,

Does anyone have suggestions for where would be the best place to procure a couple of bottles of Veuve, Dom Perignon or Krug out of London, Hong Kong or Sydney Airport Duty Free?

I am in London returning to Syd via honkers so will have the ability to buy it at a supermarket before going to LHR or alternatively buying at HKG Airport or in the city itself. No idea what the best option is though....

Your suggestions will be enthusiastically received!

XS

Update for those who might have been curious:

I have spent a few days looking around and pricing champagne. The prices should be fairly indicative of other booze - spirits etc... here are the results:

London Tesco Supermarket (inc VAT)
Moet Champagne: AUD$54.16
Bollinger Champagne: AUD$73.30

Zurich Airport Duty Free
Moet: AUD$43.16
Dom Perignon: AUD$161.20

LHR Duty Free
Moet: AUD$47.19
Dom Perignon: AUD$164.67

www.vintagecellars.com.au (inc GST/other taxes)
Moet: AUD$74.99
Dom Perignon: AUD$251.49

So its marginally cheaper buying from Duty Free at LHR than a London supermarket. Compare that though with buying from vintage cellars in Aus and you're doing v well.

rgds,
XS
 
For comparison, If I went to NZ, I could pre-order and get the following:

Bollinger Special Cuvee N/V @ AUD66.17
Piper Heidsieck @ AUD 40.39
Moet & Chandon Vintage 1998 @ AUD 66.17
Dom Perignon Gift box @ AUD 146.30
 
Have not been there for a while but found the competition for your business in Langkawi resulted in some fantastic pricing at the duty free stores all over the island, Johnnie Walker Blue 1 Litre for $140AUD, Bundy Rum $7, Chivas Regal $15 for 700ml!

Not a bad destination if you want some R&R while on a busy trip to Asia.

Have to say that I find Australian Duty free not always the best, on the weekend I did some comparisons during a quick trip to SIN and the alcohol was on par but the cigarettes where twice the price of Singapore (around $45 a carton versus $18 in Sin). I dont smoke but my friend sure appreciated the difference (not that I wanted to be seen supporting anyones's habits - thats their business).
 
xsprint said:
Zurich Airport Duty Free
Moet: AUD$43.16
Dom Perignon: AUD$161.20

LHR Duty Free
Moet: AUD$47.19
Dom Perignon: AUD$164.67

www.vintagecellars.com.au (inc GST/other taxes)
Moet: AUD$74.99
Dom Perignon: AUD$251.49
Hi xsprint and thanks for your update. I presume the Dom referred to is the (boxed) Dom Perignon Vintage 1998. I bought a bottle of this last week at my local liquor outlet (in Sapporo, Japan) for 12,000yen; roughly Au$140. I'd previously seen it at Mitsukoshi (a Japanese department store) for around 18,000yen; just over Au$200. So prices vary amongst retail outlets here considerably.

Agree with Markis10 that Langkawi is a good option (duty free zone) for liquor purchases. My Mum will be there next month, and I plan to put in an order :wink: .
 
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markis10 said:
... Have to say that I find Australian Duty free not always the best, on the weekend I did some comparisons during a quick trip to SIN and the alcohol was on par but the cigarettes where twice the price of Singapore (around $45 a carton versus $18 in Sin). I dont smoke but my friend sure appreciated the difference (not that I wanted to be seen supporting anyones's habits - thats their business).
Agree.

I was in SIN last month and most common international brands were around SGD21.

Interestingly, Winfield were SGD42; still that's a lot cheaper than Downtown Duty Free in OZ.

(Has anyone noticed that Duty Free items in OZ airports tend to be more expensive in the Arrivals Store than that in Departures.)
 
serfty said:
Has anyone noticed that Duty Free items in OZ airports tend to be more expensive in the Arrivals Store than that in Departures.

Yup and it makes sense why.
 
markis10 said:
Have to say that I find Australian Duty free not always the best, on the weekend I did some comparisons during a quick trip to SIN and the alcohol was on par but the cigarettes where twice the price of Singapore (around $45 a carton versus $18 in Sin). I dont smoke but my friend sure appreciated the difference (not that I wanted to be seen supporting anyones's habits - thats their business).

In my experience Australian "duty free" prices are NEVER the best. Swiss Air (or whatever they are now called) has to make an extaordinarily large profit.

If it's Scotch you're interested in, try Hanoi. I recently bought a litre of Johnny Walker Red (I know, cheapskate) for USD 8.00. Cheapest I've seen it anywhere.
 
clifford said:
If it's Scotch you're interested in, try Hanoi. I recently bought a litre of Johnny Walker Red (I know, cheapskate) for USD 8.00. Cheapest I've seen it anywhere.
How much for a half-decent scotch? JW Gold? The Gelnlivet 18yo, McCallum 18yo or better? I don't have any blocked drains right now so have no need for JW Red.
 
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serfty said:
For comparison, If I went to NZ, I could pre-order and get the following:

Bollinger Special Cuvee N/V @ AUD66.17
Piper Heidsieck @ AUD 40.39
Moet & Chandon Vintage 1998 @ AUD 66.17
Dom Perignon Gift box @ AUD 146.30

Interesting comparison, Go NZ huh... great wines and seemingly world leading pricing too?!

Just about to board QF30 from LHR and I type this from the now 'shrunken' Terraces lounge in T4.... from two levels down to one while they renovate. Its packed!

In my possession I have a rather awkward boxed Dom Perignon 98 obtained for the not too shabby price of GBP70 / AUD165ish

Pleasant flying to all!
XS
 
xsprint said:
Interesting comparison, Go NZ huh... great wines and seemingly world leading pricing too?!
World leading pricing :?: Not really, considering I can buy it cheaper retail at my local in one of the most expensive countries in the world.

However serfty's NZ option looks appealing for Oz residents.
 
markis10 said:
Have to say that I find Australian Duty free not always the best, on the weekend I did some comparisons during a quick trip to SIN and the alcohol was on par but the cigarettes where twice the price of Singapore (around $45 a carton versus $18 in Sin). I dont smoke but my friend sure appreciated the difference (not that I wanted to be seen supporting anyones's habits - thats their business).
I stopped smoking 3 years ago but my father still smokes and I buy him duty free cigarettes everytime I travel overseas. The first time I went through SIN I noticed that they had B&H, Winfield that were made in Australia and selling for the price you mentioned. So I bought these for dad.

Well he hated them, they were not the same as the ones sold in Oz for obvious reasons. He took them to the local tobacconist to try and get them changed and the guy took one look at them and said "No". These are cigarettes sold overseas and you can tell by the subtle differences in colouring on the packet. Apparently the Australian made duty free cigarettes sold overseas are of a much lower quality than the ones sold here.

So I now only buy him cigarettes from OZ duty free which still save >$60 on retail price.
 
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