Traveling into the US with Alcohol
 

I am about to spend a study abroad semester in Austria. I plan to fly back into JFK (New York) when I return to the states.

I want to know how many bottles of alcohol can I bring back? This includes hard liquor, wine, and beer.

I want to bring back as much as I can. I'd appreciate any tips you guys have. Thank you!

I'd google US Customs and see what their website says.

Are you 21 or older?

I am over 21

You have a few things to consider:

1) US duty free limits and duties for exceeding them.
2) State limits on volumes you can import without a license (there is no federal limit).
3) Checked baggage limits and costs.

If you arriving in NY, I believe the limit is 90L. You will need to pay duty and state taxes above the modest limits.

A few bits of advice:

1) Always declare. Getting caught isn't worth it and they often won't bother charging duty.
2) Search the web to see if you can get it at home. You are unlikely to find a "great" deal that would justify the hassle of bringing back alcohol that is available in the US.

Personally, I almost never bring back beer. It is too cheap and too heavy to justify the baggage costs and, with thousands of beers available in the US, it just isn't worth the bother.

You're wasting your time bringing in anything you can obtain in the US. The prices in Europe will likely be more expensive. And even the duty free could be a bait-and-switch because the liquors sold may be more diluted (40% v. 46%) than the fifths you'd buy in the US. Only if it's not sold here or a duty-free exclusive should you buy it there.

Your duty on liquor is way higher than on wine - $2.75 per liter v. well less than a dollar. That will need to go into your calculations too.

Dragging beer is a waste - you can find better beer in the US despite what the Europeans say because there's a ridiculous supply of craft beers available and the only thing the Europeans know about US beer is Bud, Miller and Coors (there is no limit to the either European ignorance or arrogance regarding the US beer market). And there are truckloads of top European beers imported into the US.

In addition to the dilution, bear in mind that European liquor bottles are typically 700 ml, as opposed to the US's 750 ml, so factor that into your price comparisons. Similarly, if eyeing stuff at duty free, note that those bottles are typically 1 L, so bigger than the normal bottles in the US.

<i>the only thing the Europeans know about US beer is Bud, Miller and Coors</i>

I don't think that is entirely true anymore. When I lived in Denmark, the larger US "micro" brews (e.g. Sam, Brooklyn, Anchor, etc.) were available at the grocery store. As the craft brew industry has taken hold in some parts of Europe, knowledge of the US craft beers has also increased as many of the better craft producers there were inspired by the US industry.

Stone even has a brewery in Berlin now :)

There seem to be a few who hold onto the old ideas about the US beer market, but I think most people who know anything at all about beer know that the craft beer industry in the US is prolific and produces excellent beers. And we've definitely been finding more craft breweries in Europe.

Earlier this year, we bought beer from a couple very small breweries in Europe, one in Santiago de Compostela Spain and the other in Lisbon. We brought them back and didn't consider it a waste. You can't get those beers particular anywhere else and we wanted more than we'd drink on site. A friend brought back bottles of Westvleteren trappist beer. The spawned a trappist beer party for which we tracked down every other trappist beer locally save one. To each his or her own.

Nevermind those who say "you're wasting your time." There are many reasons to bring back wine or beer, and price is not the only reason. Wanting to share your personal experiences with others is a perfectly valid reason, and there is no need to justify to others why you want to. I get it.

For what it's worth, the duty on a bottle of wine is something like $0.35 per bottle. I've brought back a case of wine before, declared it on my customs form and have just been waived through. It's not worth the effort to collect $4 from me for a case.

<i>Nevermind those who say "you're wasting your time." There are many reasons to bring back wine or beer, and price is not the only reason. Wanting to share your personal experiences with others is a perfectly valid reason, and there is no need to justify to others why you want to. I get it.</i>

All that is true, but the costs and hassles of bringing alcohol from overseas is not inconsequential. I think the OP should be mindful of those costs and choose carefully what he brings back.

- Five cases of gruner that isn't exported? I'm on board with that.
- Five six-packs of Stiegl, which can be found (maybe with some effort) in the US? I think it is legitimate to ask why.

And how much will all of this alcohol weigh? How much will you have to pay for overweight luggage? And how will you pack it all - rolled up in your clothes - or in the secure packaging provided by the seller.

IMHO this makes sense only if it's a fine wine you can't get here or a ver specific liquor in modest amounts.

Hauling beer around as extra plane luggage is close to madness.

In a similar vein, I decided against bringing back a couple bottles of olive oil from Spain last year, due to the hassle factor. When we returned home I had some amount of non-buyer's remorse because the exact bottle I wanted was (and is) unavailable in the States.

So, in agreement with the above Fodorites, that's the only reason to bring back heavy bottles of liquids: if you have zeroed in on something special or meaningful, and then it will be gone.

"Hauling beer around as extra plane luggage is close to madness."

I passed the line between sanity and insanity years ago ;) Life is much more fun on this side of the line.

Thank you guys for the tips! The beer I want to bring back is westvleteren 12. I have had it once before and to me it is worth bringing it back.

But I believe someone said 90L is the maximum in New York? So 90 liters? And where is this type of information found?

Good luck getting Westvleteren 12, but if you do, sure, bring it back.

Bear in mind that the limited production, hard-to-find, celebrated alcohol frenzy has gotten out of control. Speaking as someone that has bowed out of the Pappy nonsense and who left Japan empty-handed, rather than paying the ridiculous prices for age-statement whisky, seeking out unicorns is hard work.

<I>And how will you pack it all</I>

That's the easy part. A one case wine shopper box will come in around 45 pounds or so, fully loaded, depending upon the bottles (champagne bottles tend to be very heavy, for example). Load it up and check the box as luggage. For smaller quantities, wine skins work well.

<I>And where is this type of information found?</I>

Google is your friend. Every state likely has an alcohol board website or some other source for this info.

https://www.tax.ny.gov/pubs_and_bull...ndividuals.htm

<I>So 90 liters?</I>

Have you considered just what that means? That would be something like 8 to 9 "bags" to check, just for the alcohol. Extra bag charges tend to escalate past the first extra bag or two. And many (most?) airlines have a max cap. As you are studying abroad, I'd have to think you'd have at least one checked bag that isn't booze. Shipping air cargo is a pain, and may even require an import license.

And it isn't just the cost to check the bags. Consider the logistics of getting a large number of boxes of alcohol to and from the airport (you can't fit that many shipper boxes in a cab). In the case of Westvleteren 12, consider how you will get it from the abbey to wherever you are staying in Austria too.

I'd encourage you to be thoughtful about what you bring back.

I go to a school that the monks who make westvleteren 12 really like and we get it pretty easily at our campus in Europe.

I am only planning to bring back a few bottles of alcohol. Like various wines from Italy and France, whiskey from Ireland, and some other things. I am limited to 2 checked bags. So I do have to plan it out in a smart fashion. I know for sure I'm not bringin 90L back, probably 5-10 bottles at most

Whiskey from Ireland? Good luck finding any that's truly great that you cannot find in the US. Far easier to find Scottish whisky unicorns than Irish, regardless of what they'll tell you at a Jameson's distillery tour.

As for weight, realize that each liter is about a kilo just in liquid weight. That means about 1.1 kg or 2.4 lbs each as bottled. Ten bottles means at least 24 extra pounds so you need to account for that with your bags.

If you're in NY for school, you need to check out drinkupny.com because their selection is good and they may ship free to NY (they used to do so for $__ nationwide but don't anymore unfortunately).

<<There seem to be a few who hold onto the old ideas about the US beer market, but I think most people who know anything at all about beer know that the craft beer industry in the US is prolific and produces excellent beers.>>

Nov-moon - check out the Europe board, it's not "a few" who hold onto the old ideas. That foolishness is widespread. (See also, Adele's concert rider which requires non-American beer because she doesn't know her arse from a vat of hops).

What are some whiskeys, rums, and wines you guys suggest? Just curious as to what people think would be worth bringing back

<i>I am only planning to bring back a few bottles of alcohol.</i>

Okay. That is quite a different thing (to me) from "as much as I can". With only 5 to 10 bottles, I'd probably just use wine skins with, rather than bothering with a shipper box.

<i>Like various wines from Italy and France, whiskey from Ireland, and some other things.</i>

I know you didn't ask for this advice, but I'll give it anyway...

French and Italian wines... These are widely available in the US. It may take some hunting, but there are so many labels you could get here that it will make you dizzy. Wine consumption in Italy and France has been declining for years and many of their traditional export markets (e.g. UK) have seen an influx of new world wine. The upshot is that the US is a critical market and wines from Italy and France are widely available. And, no, despite what you might read on the Europe board, there are not tons of great wines going for a few euros in these countries. There are tons of wines going for a few euros, sure, but most are dreck.

Personally, I would focus on Austrian wines to bring back. These are not that easy to find in the US (particularly the reds) and can be of very good quality. Since you will be in Austria anyway, I'd encourage you to think locally.

Irish Whiskey... Bear in mind that there aren't that many distilleries in Ireland and not all have been around long enough to have produced any whiskey with age on them. And the whiskey market is pretty global at this point, with (IIRC) all the Irish distilleries of sufficient age owned by some global company. The end result is that there isn't that broad of a selection of Irish whiskeys available and most can be found in the US.

If you are committed to Irish whiskey, I'd recommend looking for limited edition stuff and stuff from independent bottlers. Even then, a fair bit of the limited edition stuff can be found in the US.

I will offer that the Old Midleton Distillery tour is a very good one if you are in Cork at all. The best European distillery tour I've been on is Bruichladdich, but Islay is a PITA to get to.