Understanding Bewildering US State Liquor Laws

[TBoner]

I have a question related to state liquor laws that I posed in the Sazerac thread, but a couple folks suggested I ask in this thread instead, so here goes: is there anyone who lives in a state where individuals cannot import spirits who has had success ordering from Jade Edouard? In other words, you live where you can't buy whiskey online from, say, California, but you've been able to buy absinthe from overseas? PM or respond in this thread if you have any input.

Thanks.

[birder53]

We stocked up on a lot of liquor before moving from NJ to NM. Even had a friend make a run to Lenell's for us for things we couldn't find in NJ. We've been pleasantly surprised by the selection of things here, if not always the prices. We joined Sam's Club after seeing the large bottle of Makers Mark for $35+. What is surprising is Green Chartreuse goes for around $50 a bottle compared to $39 in NJ. That makes each Last Word a dear drink! We haven't seen the Yellow yet, but there are several good wine/liquor stores in town that might be able to get it for us. A big surprise is the price of vermouth. It's always been really cheap in NJ and while it certainly isn't a deal breaker, we're paying several dollars more per bottle for M&R here. Some of the items on the local shelves are Rittenhouse Rye, Laird's bonded and even Velvet Falernum. Don't know if this is due to the state liquor laws or just the local vendors. The differences from state to state are crazy, but this time it's crazy good!

[Chris Amirault]

Well, if that's bootlegging, I have confirmation that bootlegging is alive and well. Long conversation recently with a local liquor store owner, and he confirmed that his commitment to his customers often trumps his commitment to state statutes.

No complaints here.

[Chris Amirault]

Goaded two store owners into kvetching in the last week. I says, "Boy, that state liquor distribution system, pretty hard to understand." He says, "Tell me about it. You gotta year or two?"

One new bit of information I didn't realize. Apparently the RI distributors merge, split, and switch companies all the time. So part of running a decent liquor store involves doing and following the dance, if you want to provide customers with a variety of product.

[Chris Amirault]

Got into it with someone else recently. She raised another issue I hadn't considered but that makes perfect sense: the pressure that some distributors put on stores to stock only their products at the expense of others. It's illegal, apparently, for distributors to refuse to sell you stuff, but that doesn't mean that there aren't other stalling, delivery, etc. tactics that can be used. Of course, for customers like me that want the widest selection, that means dealing with the widest array of distributors, which makes the big boys unhappy.

Also got a peek at a RI Beverage Journal. That is about the least organized collection of information I've ever seen. And I cannot fathom why people are so paranoid about keeping it out of consumer hands. The retail price I pay is more than stores pay wholesale: who knew?!?