Home Distiller

Ive been traveling to California alot lately and have met quite a few interesting people. I was thinking about taking them a pint out next time I go. If I put it in my checked bag will there be any problems?

Rotgut wrote:Ive been traveling to California alot lately and have met quite a few interesting people. I was thinking about taking them a pint out next time I go. If I put it in my checked bag will there be any problems?

I believe so. I am pretty sure this will be on the banned list (flamable).

H.

It could just be a bottle of booze if you bottle it well...

Then again if you get caught it would serve to put home distilling on the Homeland Security hot list not just local law enforcement and tax and trade bureau.

Ship the bottle to your attention at where ever you're staying and pick it up when you get there. Don't chance carrying an "unknown, flammable (and illicit) liquid" on a plane.

It might make for an interesting conversation at the airport.

Butch50 wrote:It might make for an interesting conversation at the airport.

I'd talk all they want, the body cavity search that would quickly ensue is what would bother me.

25 years ago Fella I knowed told me about him taking 2 qts of home made peach brandy from north Carolina to Texas in his luggage to drink with his buds there.Luggage being a old army duffel bag from army navy store.anyway when bag came to claim area he smelled it before it came through the curtains.He made a beeline the hell outta there and when got to buddys car thinking qts were broken .After checking however 1/2 of each had gotten out of jars and lids were tight.figured it must been a pressure thing in cargo hold but he wasn't for certain.So he would say don't try taking on a plane.

Wouldn't be worth it for me to even try. Some of us in CA make some pretty good shine for being city folk, you might be lucky enough to give some of ours a try if you look hard enough.

Chev wrote:Wouldn't be worth it for me to even try. Some of us in CA make some pretty good shine for being city folk, you might be lucky enough to give some of ours a try if you look hard enough.

Whats the difference tween your hand crafted spirit and a bottle of storebought hooch in the same bottle, that every second person has in their luggage cept your quality?

Wouldn't sweat it if you seal it up nice.

maybe call the Airlines and ask if your allowed to bring a Store bought bottle of likker on board If your allowed I wouldn't worry bout it. just use the right bottle to match what your bringin..

You can take store bought liquor. A guy I worked with used to take a bottle of scotch on the road with him whenever we went to site because hotel prices for liquor are stupidly expensive.

The last few years,they have been picky about flammable liquids.I dont think I would risk being detained by homeland security.If they did catch it,they would probably call there buddys at the ATF,and you would be getting the old{ where did you get stuff from boy!}
If you know someone where your traveling to,ship it out there UPS,and pick it up after you get there.
I know someone that got detained for over a day because they set off some radation detectors.They had been taking chemo for cancer.

Well, I assume that the rules in the States are similar or harsher than those we have in the EU, so taking any liquid(other than small bottles in a plastic bag, or tax-free in a sealed bag) into the cabin is totally out of the question. However, I don't see any reason why one couldn't take it in your checked baggage.

If the cap screws on fine, then even pressure changes shouldn't be a problem.

I've even made a specific bourbon for when I fly outside the EU (when you can only take 1 liter) -- it's 72% ABV, thus providing me with 1.8 liters of product whence I get to my destination and a suitable dillution supply. The worst part of the travel is knowing that you've got some good stuff in the hold, but have to drink commercial whilst flying.

Aidas

Ok, Just to make sure I checked. You can take store bought packaged liquior but only in check in bagage and it depends on the airline your flying. Most from what I saw limit to 5 liters and most required you to declair at check in. So, my thinking, you know there are some comercial packaging that has the red wax seal. I would get an uncommon bottle and repackage it with my likker and seal it with the red wax. You can buy the wax at most brew shops due to them using it on wine bottles.

grizzly1 wrote:Ok, Just to make sure I checked. You can take store bought packaged liquior but only in check in bagage and it depends on the airline your flying. Most from what I saw limit to 5 liters and most required you to declair at check in. So, my thinking, you know there are some comercial packaging that has the red wax seal. I would get an uncommon bottle and repackage it with my likker and seal it with the red wax. You can buy the wax at most brew shops due to them using it on wine bottles.

Shrink caps are easy and neat looking too.

go to ups get you one of them wine shipin containers put your likker in a wine botle an cork an wax it.
then ship ups

pride will get you caught.

so im tole

homemade stuff in a commercial bottle....resealed, but not with factory seal....

then your bags are randomly checked by some overzealous newb, who's just been given a lecture on counterfeit products entering the country....and your fancy "factory" seal doesn't quite look up to snuff, then they get to looking and the country of origin seal or tax seal/stamp isn't really unopened...."step into our office sir, we have some questions for you"....

i think goose has an acceptable alternative... corked wine bottles and UPS, Fed-Ex, DHL....

After I posted I thought about wine bottles. Why ship one bottle? cork and reseal. How many wine drinkers do you think work in an air port? They'll look at it for what it is a bottle of wine. Too many bags to check and not enough low payed people to do it.

don't forget about beer bottles.

Thinking about it a little more, with wine being 100% legal to make (here in the states), then putting it in wine bottles, and corking them (wax seal would not hurt), should get you through the airlines with zero problems.

Be SURE to declare it being in the baggage. Also, I would keep the airspace in the bottle minimal (or even NO airspace). This is so that when the pressure drops to 50% or so (I think that is about what baggage gets), that the air in there will not expand, and pop the cork. Your hooch should arrive in fine condition.

I would not take more than 4 or 5 bottles though. You might check with the airline before hand about how much bottled "wine" they will allow, and if there are other issues that they have.

H.

let one of them botles leak or break on a airline or in airport an every alfybet agency in the western hemisphere will have talked to you before it is over an interpol will have you prints an picture.
aint no dam game
they are gonna see it like you shipin a bomb on the plane with 200 + inocent
civilans aboard.

what is your objective

so im tole

You guys are over-complicating the matter. Put it in an unsealed commercial bottle, pack it in your suitcase, and be done with it.

I can't imagine an airline screener pulling it out, opening it, smelling it, and thinking "hmmm, this doesn't smell like Jack Daniel's. Its certainly not a Tennessee whiskey. Its a young whiskey, less rye, perhaps a hint of english malt, and most certainly aged in french oak."

My point is, they'll never check, they'll never know, and they'll never care. They're looking for bombs, not shine.

-J