What does that even mean, you’re probably thinking? How can a bordershop be crazy not to mention the world’s craziest?
I’ll explain exactly how.
The thing is that I was on a visit at BorderShop Puttgarden where I, as the blogger I am, was invited on a grand tour by the manager himself, Kerim.
What a nice guy, by the way.
Being a thoroughbred Jutlander I have been to the border a couple of thousand times, but it has always been the bordershops close to Flensburg.
And anyone who has been to the border shops in this area also knows that it isn’t about much more than buying canned sugar water, beers, Kleiner Feigling and that hard candy, you know, wrapped in green paper with a black cross on it.
In other words border shopping has always been tremendously predictable. This was not the case after having visited BorderShop Puttgarden.
Far from it, actually.
What makes BorderShop Puttgarden a crazy border shop?
The selection. It’s that simple.
BorderShop Puttgarden, which is a floating border shop with 8.000 square meters spread out on a decommissioned Scandlines ship, can be compared to an ordinary border shop that has been force fed with the most potent steroids of the black market.
Everything is bigger and better.
If you have ten kinds of whisky in an ordinary border shop, you’ll find 500 in BorderShop Puttgarden.
If you have 50 bottles of wine in an ordinary border shop, you’ll find 1.000 in BorderShop Puttgarden.
And that is just how it continues throughout the shop.
Selection combined with professional service
What makes the selection of BorderShop Puttgarden interesting is not just the quantity, but the sheer amount of quality that goes along with it.
Whether it’s wine, gin, rum, vodka, whisky and so forth, you can be sure to find the absolute best. No exaggeration.
In addition to the enormous qualitative selection, Kerim told me that BorderShop Puttgarden has both the world’s biggest and greatest selection of whisky.
Being able to claim that title says quite a lot about the border shop.
That is why I of course have included a few examples that illustrates just how ridiculous the selection is.
A whisky worth 33.500 euros
In BorderShop Puttgarden you can find one of the most expensive whisky’s in the world.
For “just” 33.500 euros you can become the happy owner of a 50 year old Balvenie whisky.
I did of course take a close-up photo as there are always a handful of skeptical readers out there. 🙂
What would you prefer. A bottle of whisky or a new car? A real man would of course always pick the whisky.
But less can also do the trick. A good whisky doesn’t have to cost the same as the down payment on a luxury apartment.
That is of course also why there is a grotesque amount of whiskys in all price ranges.
And I can tell you that there is a good chance you will find something you’ll like because there are literally tastings everywhere in the shop.
Tastings that won’t disappoint you
One of the things that impressed me the most about BorderShop Puttgarden was their tastings. I mean, when was the last time you were at a shop where they served free tastings of a 23 year old whisky?
How a 23 year old whisky can be priced at only 50 euros is to me also a mystery.
Despite having an out of the ordinary qualitative selection, BorderShop Puttgarden is known for having some of the lowest prices on the market.
More tasting.
To my delightful surprise the Japanese deluxe whisky, Hibiki, was to be found among the many tasting booths.
I swear, it’s so good.
Even more tasting. How about some Swedish whisky?
I can tell you that at BorderShop you can be sure to get a good buzz on if that’s what you like. And on the expenses of BorderShop Puttgarden, because there are tasting booths everywhere.
And it is not only in the whisky department that your tasting buds can be spoiled.
In BorderShop Puttgarden you will also find a ridiculously large selection of boxed wine. And of course you can taste them so you are sure that you choose the right wine for you.
It isn’t just the sheer amount of different products that makes BorderShop Puttgarden unique from all the other border shops.
The thing is that BorderShop Puttgarden has professionel people assigned to these tasting booths. People who actually know what the hell they are talking about.
And this goes for almost any kind of spirit whether it’s vodka, whisky, rum or, in this case, red wine.
An oenologist invites me to taste quality wine from the South African latitudes.
In the designated wine bar of BorderShop Puttgarden, the lovely wine connoisseur, Dennis, offered me and Kerim to taste on what I can best describe as God’s tears. But tears of joy.
Among was a bottle of 2004 Salon Champagne.
A fella like this costs around 400 euros. Dennis told me that a Salon Champagne can kept in the wine cellar for far more than 50 years. In that regard he had recently tasted a bottle of Salon from 1947.
Go home, Dom Perignon.
Tasting whisky worth more than 750 euros
As part of the grand tour Kerim invited me to what I would describe as a tasting heaven. This is probably not a place where ordinary shoppers are free to hit it off.
I’m pretty sure of this as I got to taste unspeakably expensive whisky, rum, cognac and much more. Do I really have to mention that it also tasted unspeakably good?
While Kerim was handpicking the best for yours truly, I was busy enriching my senses with drops of a 38 year old bottle of Royal Salute.
Price? 335 euros in BorderShop Puttgarden. In Denmark? Roughly 770 euros – twice the price.
How about a bottle of Macallan Oscuro?
A bottle of this beast would set you back a little over 730 euros, however you do get it in a beautiful package if you ask me.
I’ll be the first to admit that I am in no way a whisky expert, however there is no doubt about the fact that price and quality are tied together.
One can argue that whisky like this will never taste as good as the amount of money you pay. While the argument holds a somewhat truth to it, it is important to remember that you also pay for the rarity of the drops. You can be sure that you won’t find a bottle of Macallan Oscuro many places.
I may also add that there aren’t many whiskys who are capable of testing the entire cavalry of a persons senses. Drops of a Macallan Oscuro is probably the best whisky I have so far had the pleasure of giving mouth to.
After a magnificent grand tour by the good Kerim it was of course time to fill up a shopping cart. Going to BorderShop Puttgarden without shopping would just as pointless as going to a steakhouse and order the fish.
Heavily inspired by especially the whisky tasting I had to bring home a bottle of high class liquids.
A 25 year old redhead named Glenlivet was what I brought back home with me.
In my opinion BorderShop Puttgarden isn’t just a place you go to fill up your car with everyday necessities. It’s a place you go because you want the best whether it’s for your wine cellar, the whisky cabinet or the gin shelf.
While I have you, I should add that it doesn’t take much more than 90 minutes by car from Copenhagen to Rødby, wherefrom the cruise to Puttgarden is roughly 45 minutes.
If you jump to BorderShops Facebook page you can be sure to stay updated with competitions, new stuff happening as well as irresistible offers – literally.
Even more important is it to add that BorderShop Puttgarden is the place to be the 28th, 29th and 30th of October. Why? These are the dates where you will find the world’s most appealing whisky festival. You can be sure to taste whiskys you most likely will never be able to buy yourself.
If you choose to attend the whisky festival it would probably be wise choice to have a designated driver.
