The One Store You Should Check For Rare Bourbon Every Chance You Get

There's no denying the popularity of bourbon today. More and more distilleries are popping up, while existing distilleries are issuing new expressions and different types of bourbon. Meanwhile, collectors are chasing after rare and allocated bottles that can fetch huge sums of money in the secondary market. If you're a bourbon fan or collector, there's one store you should be checking every chance you get for rare bourbons. That is the duty-free shop at an international airport.

As the name suggests, duty-free shops are free of duty, which is a term for the taxes people normally have to pay when crossing the border with items they bought. Practically speaking, that means you don't have to pay taxes in the country where you made the purchase. Depending on how much you're buying, you may not have to pay taxes when you bring it back into the US either. Turns out, these duty-free shops offer more than just a cheap bottle of booze and can be a source or rare and expensive bourbons, and even exclusive bourbons you won't find anywhere else, which is one of the reasons it's on our list of recommendations for tracking down rare bourbon bottles like a pro.

One of the best ways to get your hands on rare bourbon when visiting another country is to search for travel-retail exclusives, which are only available at duty-free shops. In 2024, Knob Creek announced its 10 Year, Cask Strength and Unfiltered in 700-milliliter bottles as a travel exclusive. Wild Turkey released several travel exclusives in 2020, including a Non-Chill Filtered Rare Breed, a 13-Year Father & Son, and a Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit, all available in 1-liter bottles. Another travel exclusive to look for is the Jim Beam Kentucky Dram, released in 2015. Beyond travel exclusives, duty-free shops can be a good source of other hard-to-find bourbons. According to Reddit users, these elusive finds can include Blanton's Gold and Blanton's Straight From the Barrel/Barrel Proof. If you're flying out of Japan, keep an eye out for the Blanton's Black and Takara Red Single Barrel Bourbon at the duty-free shop.

If you have an international flight, there's no reason not to swing by the airport duty-free shop and check out its selection of bourbon. You just might get lucky with that rare or exclusive bottle. While you can board a plane with bourbon in your checked luggage (except for ultra-high-proof hazmat bottles), bear in mind that the duty-free allowance for the U.S. is 1 liter, though you can bring up to 5 liters total in "unopened retail packaging" in your checked luggage.