I'm sure this is an odd question but I can't find any info. online. We will be driving (2 days) to a new home in FL. in a few weeks. Movers will take most of our stuff. Their info. says "No liquids, aerosols, etc."

We have about 20 bottles of various liquor, many of them have been opened. I have 2 questions:
1. Is it legal to have them packed in a sealed box in our car trunk?
2. If so, would there be any danger of bottles spoiling from the heat....we're driving from NJ to FL.? We don't intend to have open bottles of wine but would unopened bottles be a problem? What about liquors? Hard liquor? Other than partying heavily for the next 3 weeks...which we don't do... does anyone have some advice?

Hi teacherD, so you don't want to guzzle all your stash before you move, lol. Well I can relate to that.

I do not think that the liquor would go bad over 48 hours. If I am wrong hopefully someone here on Fodor will tell us.

And at least in CA if you have the opened bottles in sealed (taped boxes) and in the trunk of your car where they are not accessable to anyone actually in your car that should not be a problem. I guess you should check with your law enforcement office there to verify this.

Regarding bad liquor. I do know this (having been in lounges twice in my life when law enforcement came in suddenly and unannounced to check on the condition of liquor bottles). After you are in FL hold the bottles up to a light. These fellows flashed flashlights on the bottles. I asked them the first time this happened what that told them and they told me that if liquor in the bottle is clear than all is OK. They said if the liquor in the bottle is cloudy or has specks then it has to be thrown away.

Hope this helps! And maybe somebody else here on Fodor's can even go into more detail. Anyway, that it what I would do.

Best wishes on your move and your new venture in life.

teacher, driving alcohol over state lines is called bootlegging.

If you get stopped in the state of South Carolina with an open container, and a liquor bottle with the seal cracked is considered an open container, you face heavy fines.

I think it is $250 per so that would be about a $5,000 fine.

In North Carolina it is illegal to transfer more than a couple of gallons over the state line without paying taxes.

The bottom line is you may be better off giving the liquor away than trying to move it to Florida.

I wouldn;t worry about the liquor - but you may want to drink the wine before you go - or give it to neighbors. Car trunks can get very hot - esp in FL - and you could well end up with very expensive bottles of vinegar - unopened or not.

teacherD,

Your post reminds me of a story--we went through this same situation when we moved from MD to TX. We set aside all the bottled and decantered liquor and placed it in a separate box for us to take with us in the car. With all the commotion a move brings the box was loaded onto the moving van. Not a single bottle or decanter in that box was wrapped or protected in any way. When we realized the box was missing we informed the movers who deferred to the driver who basically said, "oh well" as the United truck was nearly packed to capacity at this point. Along with the rest of our belongings, our box-o-liquor was trucked to who knows where; unloaded, packed in a crate and stored for 3 weeks; loaded back onto a truck and delivered to our new house in TX. Oh, how we wondered what was going to happen to the contents of that box but nothing was missing, broken or spilled!

Good luck with your move!

Having moved 15 times with the military, we have done this many, many times. I go to the liquor store and get the boxes with the separators in them, and then also wrap the bottles in bubble wrap.

As far as if it is any good upon arrival, well, after any exhausting move it doesn't really matter. Depending on how tiring the move, even if the alcohol is bad it may still taste just fine, lol!

Gee, Gotravel, never thought about the consequnces of Bootlegging!!!!! Do you happen to know the legal limit for SC of unopened bottles?
We may just have to become heavy drinkers in the next 3 weeks to enjoy all of the opened bottles!

As far as unopened bottles spoiling....how do you suppose they get from the winery, distillers, etc? I don't think the open ones would spoil either. The wine might get too hot and lose some of it's taste, but it shouldn't have time to really ruin.

Now, if you have the bottles in the trunk and not well packed.....you could be in a spot of trouble if you should have a rear end fender bender. You would have to convince everyone that you were cold sober.

Still waiting for an answer from Gotravel.ttt

I just spoke with a friend of mine who is a South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) Officer and SLED has jurisdiction all over the state. He said as long as your liquor is for personal use, there is no limit to the amount of unopened bottles you can transport.

As long as you have a reasonable amount, I guess meaning you don't have 40 cases of Absolut, and the bottles are unopened and the seals aren't broken, you will not have a problem if you are stopped.

I hope that helps!

It sure does! Thanks so much. Have to go mix myself a drink for dinner! The rest that are opened we'll give to friends...of course, how do we get them to their houses????????LOL

Gosh, the things you learn here.

Hey, mms, hoo-ah to you! We, too, have driven across the country with opened liquor bottles in a box in the trunk, and have never had a problem, either with spoliage, leakage, breakage or the law. This is totally doable--good luck, teacherD! (And see you in Florida--we're moving there this summer, too. In fact, maybe we can meet up and party en route with all that liquor we'll be toting! Kidding, kidding...)

We recently moved from FL to TX and hadn't read info from the movers regarding liquor but recalled from previous moves that you were not supposed to move it. Although the movers did all our packing, prior to their arrival, we packed several coolers with liquor, which they then took, no questions asked. We'd run out of room in the coolers and had left some liquor we didn't care about in the cabinet. When they came to it, they packed that up too. They did leave behind all aerosol cans, but all other liquids (the numerous jars of different kinds of vinegar, olive oil, etc from the pantry) were all packed too, no questions asked. It was one of the large moving companys, not a small operator, and a terrific move in all respects. We didn't have even one scratch on our furniture...a first for us and moves.

If you wanted to move it in your trunk, I really wouldn't worry about being stopped. What are the odds that you'll be stopped to begin with unless you speed, and secondly that they would check your trunk?! Police are generally too busy and understaffed to be looking for the weary traveller who might be moving their liquor supply from one state to another.

Now...lol...did you know they make battery operated blenders for boats? You could get one of those, and make margaritas on the trip as you head down to Margaritaville. Just keep your blender off the dashboard.

Oh - I like the dashboard blender idea. That's terrific. I think it would make the long trek from NJ to FL a bit more fun, don't ya think

There are also hand crank blenders, lol!

You may be starting a career in NASCAR!

teacherD: You should have hosted the NY/NJ GTG and I think your problem would have been solved

Wishing you a successful move!

OO,
We are using a big interstate moving company and that's what their literature stated.
Seethe world,
I thought most of the drinking involved wine at the NY/NJ GTG! And since the main problem now seems to be the opened bottles how would I have safely (legally) gotten them to the restaurant??!!
Anyhow, we're off to a farewell barbecue hosted by a friend...hmmmm should we risk bringing some of the opened bottles in the trunk?????