Very much so unfortuantly! Its getting better though with the likes of Dead Reckoning, and the australian rum club etc https://www.rumclubaustralia.com.au/
We also have a bunch of new distilleries starting up over the last few years like jimmy rum https://jimmyrum.com.au/ and are doing their best to change the perception of rum in the country.
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I read your story with interest. It is truly deplorable that there are so many obstracles to cultivate our hobby around the world. If you ever need any help with shipping the rum packages from Poland (Distilla, CoR, DomWhisky 
), just drop me a PM.
Remember, you are a kind of a trendsetter (as we all are) and you are paving a path that other future rum fans hopefully will follow. Good luck with your rum adventure! I really respect that the side issues didnāt make you discouraged.
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Thanks Kudzey!
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Articles like this one do give cause for optimism in that once the wider market over here becomes aware how great rum can be, the importers might decide that importing proper rums at fair pricing could be profitable for them. Rum is perceived as a cheap party drink (thanks barcardi and captain morgan to name a few!) And the whisky/spirits fans turn thier noses up at it, but the wheels are slowly turningš Move over, gin and whisky. Rum is making a comeback in Australiaā JimmyRum
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There was also an interesting article by @TheLoneCaner last year talking about new Australian Rum. Worth to read. 
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Yes i saw that, i commented on a few of his reviews actually. Its going to take a another 5 - 10 years for these new distilleries to establish themselves but if they hang in there long enough to change the general drinkers perception here that would be great.
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Funny! My newsfeed suggested this to me this morning. I only saw the picture though and ignored it. Just looked it up again.
But I am asking myself why my feed suggests News from a regional (?) newspaper in Australia 
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Its a small world Portmanš
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Made me chuckle
All the more because scores vary between 1.6 and 9.6 
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Haha yes, you either love it becuase you havnt tried anything else or you hate itš¤£
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Beenleigh has some nice things as well. Tried a couple of expressions of independent bottlers.
Do you have easier access to things from like Thailand or other south-east Asian countries?
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Yes beenleigh is great, these been a few very nice indie Beenleighs lately which have been great. There is one from Dead Reckoning that i am working through at the moment RX17888.
Regarding thailand rums etc, not really any more than what you guys would see i wouldnt think. Those asian countries generally just produce for their own local populations and dont export much. The ones we do see are from indies which id reckon you would have access to as well.
There is a fiji rum thats called Ratu that we can get but its artifically sweetened almost to the point that its a spiced rum RX217
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Uploading: Screenshot_20240213_221338_Chrome.jpgā¦
Our current government in all its wisdom has just further increased taxes on alcahol again, third highest in the world! Look how it compares to Germany for instance. In a $60 aud bottle of distilled spirit, i am paying about $35 in taxes
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Third place, congratulations mate!
Tax on alcohol is always a bit questionable. Is it there to push people for healthier alternatives or is it a quick way to fill any gaps in the finances. At a certain point a government cannot do anymore without the revenue of alcohol tax, so are they really trying to get the population to drink less? Or just to pay more?
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Furthermore, the high tax could also encourage crime (smuggling), similar to Prohibition in the USA at the time
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From a neutral position, it makes sense to have a tax on a luxury good which makes you sick. Living in a society with health care insurances, itās not acceptable in my opnion to have an individual freedom of drinking alcohol, which affects your health, and have a collective responsibility paying for your health treatment. How high the tax needs to be? I donāt know, depends on the costs you need to cover or if youāre using it as a preventative measure.
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No they dont really care about health (although thats probaly the excuse) they need money. And they know most Australians will just keep buying booze so they keep putting the tax on it up, its an easy revenue stream for them.
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Yeah but the excessively high taxes we are being charged are too much. Why does it need to be 5 times what the Germans get charged? Its an easy revenue stream for them, simple as that. I dont think that Australians need 5 x the health services that Germans needšalthough thats probaly a bit simplistic.
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Absolutely right, Tim. Highly processed foods with lots of sugar, saturated fatty acids and salt should also be taxed more heavily and, in return, fruit and vegetables should be made cheaper. But thatās another topic.
Cameron, I can still understand your displeasure. Especially since you already have extremely high expenses for shipping costs and customs duties compared to most of us. From my point of view, however, itās not the high taxation thatās the problem, but the inequality in taxation. If it serves the common good and the taxes are spent āin the right placeā, I would also be willing to pay more taxes on alcohol.
But that would probably require opening a new discussionā¦
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