Ask Away: Does Customs view sake as a wine or a spirit?

Sake is classed as wine by Customs, so fill your duty-free allowance. Photo / Getty Images

Eli Orzessek answers your alcohol-related questions in preparation for the silly season.

I'm planning on going to Tokyo and want to know if I can bring home some sake under my duty-free allowance. Are bottles of sake counted as wine or spirits?
C Taylor

That's an interesting question. While sake is a rice wine, the way it's made by fermentation means it's actually closer to a beer.

Taste-wise, it's definitely closer to wine than beer, with a similar alcohol content of about 15 to 17 per cent. You'd also be forgiven for classing it as a spirit, since you drink such small cups of it — but it's not distilled or even remotely close to gin or vodka.

I asked our friends at Customs to shed some light on this, and I've been told it's classified as a wine. So that means you can bring 4.5 litres of the finest sake back with you. And while you're at it, fill your three-bottles-of-spirits allowance with some of Japan's national spirit, shochu, or a nice Japanese single-malt whisky.

A year of Ask Away

I've enjoyed answering your questions this year and look forward to tackling more of them in 2017. Looking back at the very first question I answered, it seems we've begun and ended the year on a boozy note. Have a great Christmas and New Year everyone — and be careful if you plan to drink and fly!

Does alcohol affect you more on a plane or is it an urban myth? It's a common warning, but it seems it may be an old wives' tale. A 1995 Austrian study found no real difference in blood alcohol levels between those drinking at sea level and those at 10,000 feet.

However, altitude sickness may be the real culprit. It can affect anyone and symptoms include vomiting, fatigue, dizziness and drowsiness — which all sound very familiar to anyone who's ever been quite drunk.

Many passengers also take medication for anxiety while flying, most commonly a benzodiazepine. It's worth remembering that if you're drinking in the air, these handy little pills can intensify the effects of alcohol and lead to blackouts.

Aussie batsman David Boon once recorded a remarkable half-century by drinking 52 cans of beer during Australia's plane trip to England for the 1989 Ashes. Apparently he was able to walk off the plane and attend a function hosted by a beer company later that evening.

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