Whatever party you’re advertising, people show up looking for the exact same event they read about from last time. This has a great deal to do with the unprecedented growth in consumption of Japanese Whisk(e)y that led to the shortages and extinctions we’ve seen in the last few years. Also, nobody does their own research anymore, so when any one of a small number of market moving publications makes a declaration, all the blogs scramble to weigh in on the same thing(s), and the float of those rarer bottles can evaporate overnight.
As of yesterday, we’re open for in-store shopping every day 1-8pm, but we are still requiring masks, and limiting total capacity. As a business that requires significant climate control in the warmer months, we can’t have the door open for ventilation, and we don’t see removing our mask requirement and capacity limits as an imminent possibility. And from our angle, I’m already fraying from people wandering in just because they can, with no goal, no interest in conversation, nor intent to purchase anything. As usual, those who think this kind of thing is okay (after the year we’ve all had) aren’t reading this, but seriously, if you’re just killing time on a nice day, wouldn’t you rather be outside, where you can view the vast majority of our products online, at your own pace? www.FreeRangeBrooklyn.com There are actually more products available online than are viewable in the shop. The website is also still the best way to expedite your purchases for pick-up or delivery, and we’re always working to decrease fulfillment time, which has gotten pretty quick. And as always, please feel free to call or e-mail with any questions.
When the shop first opened, at the original tiny location, space and priorities allowed us a minuscule 5 bottle whiskey collection, one of which was Yamazaki 12 year, which at around $60 was one of the very best whisk(e)ys in the world, per dollar. A few years later, a major whiskey outlet would declare a very special and rare release- Yamazaki Sherry Cask- to be the very best whiskey in the world. Unfortunately, this bottle wouldn’t be available in the US for almost a year, and most newer whiskey collectors don’t read beyond the headline and the hyperbole. So, immediately people started coming in asking about that new Japanese Whiskey, to which I would reply, “Well, Suntory has been making whiskey in Japan for over one hundred years, so they’re not all that new, and the Sherry Cask isn’t yet available in this country.” They would invariably ask about which Yamazaki was available and usually leave with the 12 year. By this time, we were in the bigger shop, and we also offered Yamazki 18, both were still readily available from wholesale and retailed around $70 for the 12 year and $150 for the 18.
That first year we were open for business on Atlantic Ave, Yamazaki 25 year was available for a few pennies over $1200 per bottle, which at the time seemed absurd, at least partly because I couldn’t afford any. There are a million ways I could have made more money during this decade, but enjoyment, community value, and altruistically speaking, I think I’ve used this time reasonably well. That being said, if- when I first opened the shop- I had purchased 20 cases of Yamazaki 25 at $1200 per bottle (even if I had to max out a bucket full of credit cards to get there [like Kevin Smith making Clerks]), I could have shut the doors for 8 years and profited more from auctioning those bottles (which now go for upwards of $10k each) than I have from working retail every day for the same period of time. Even in retrospect, it seems less absurd than Bitcoin, which I clearly also should have purchased around that time. Live and learn.
It wouldn’t be cool to talk about rare Japanese whiskey without offering some on sale, so check out this short, but serious list, and grab yourself a bottle or two for yourself and/or gifting. The official numbers are below. Dig in!
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