Travel advice requested re packing rums for return flight

[Beukeboom]

My apologies if I am creating too many threads but I would like advice on good methods of packing bottles of rum (especially the more fragile bottles) for return flight from Nassau, the Bahamas. I have seen bottle "diapers" (basically padded leak-proof/resistant wine-bottle shaped bags which are resealable) on sale on Amazon but they do not appear to be compatible with non-wine-shaped bottles. And I want to at least bring back some John Watling's rum (I want to tour the distillery) along with some others that I can't find locally/regionally. I have read some advice on wrapping the bottles in t-shirts before putting in the suitcase (I'll be using a hard-shell suitcase rather than a soft-shell).

Any other methods recommended?

Also, one of my hardshell suitcases is a bit thin and am thinking of replacing it with something more sturdy for the purpose of best protection of glass bottles. Any recommendations on that?

[AK9]

Have seen some inflatable options out there.

[RT]

I have been using an inflatible vinyl product called vinnibag for several years with good results, as long as the bottle shape is somewhat similar to a wine bottle. For example, Appleton 12 stubby bottles just barely fit.
www.vinnibag.com presume they are still in business. $25 - $28 per bag.

[mamajuana]

Using a hard shell will really make it easy. On my trip to St. Lucia I brought back 14 bottles. I brought with me bubble wrap and wrapped loose bottles and I got some cardboard carriers that I put in the suit cases from the distillery. No problems. I also used the protective web messing that you get when you buy bottles at the liquor store. I put them around the bottles not in cardboard. I also had a few bottles just in the boxes they came in like the Forgotten cask and Admiral Rodney. They protected perfectly with just a piece of clothing on top.

Cost of the mesh and bubble wrap: free. I saved it from shipments and liquor buys.

Here are some of the bottles that got home safely.

[Beukeboom]

Using a hard shell will really make it easy. On my trip to St. Lucia I brought back 14 bottles. I brought with me bubble wrap and wrapped loose bottles and I got some cardboard carriers that I put in the suit cases from the distillery. No problems. I also used the protective web messing that you get when you buy bottles at the liquor store. I put them around the bottles not in cardboard. I also had a few bottles just in the boxes they came in like the Forgotten cask and Admiral Rodney. They protected perfectly with just a piece of clothing on top.

Cost of the mesh and bubble wrap: free. I saved it from shipments and liquor buys.

Here are some of the bottles that got home safely.

I am jealous.

[mamajuana]

At the Airport after passing through with luggage maxed out at 50+ pounds, I bought more bottles. My luggage was a bit over and I started moving some items to carry on but they just said it was ok and took it with out the extra charge. I got Toz gold and white, elements 8 gold and white, all not available at the distillery at the time. Also another locally spiced rum , Chairmans spiced, and a forgotten cask in a box. At my international transfer I put these into the luggage wrapped under a few cloths and they don't reweigh the luggage so I was fine. I also got a stacked bottle with 3 rums that I broke up.

Customs asked me what I bought I gave them the list and declared everything and was waved on with no charges.

So it was 3 1L bottles, 11 700 or 750ML, 1 250MLx3, 1 250ml,and 1 50ML. Also a 700ML bottle of Sugar cane syrup from Martinique.

[Beukeboom]

Quick story...

September of 2015 my wife and I went on what we refer to as "the cruise from hell". One stop was Nassau in the Bahamas and we bought rum for friends as well as ourselves.

Came back with 12 bottles total. Well over the limit.

Expecting to pay duty fees, we filled out the paperwork to give to customs upon debarkation from the ship in Jacksonville.

We got to customs and we told the guy we had 12 bottles.

He looked at us incredulously and said, "Do you realize you are well over the limit?"

I told him, "Yes" and explained we were ready to pay whatever duty we owed.

He responded with, "I have one thing to say to you....have a nice day"...and he waved us through.

It was explained to me later that the duty would have been so small as to be a waste of time for the customs agent. They just didn't want to be bothered by the paperwork.

[mamajuana]

Well, that's good to hear. The last time I had the same reaction when returning from the Dominican Republic well over over the limit that was in Baltimore. In NYC they don't not bat an eye.

I also brought back a bag of spices to make a St. Lucian locally spiced rum. It's still fermenting right now. The spice took in a great portion of the light column rum I used. I then topped it off with some pot distilled rum. I'm hoping to take a swig sometime soon.

[The Black Tot]

This one is my favorite:

http://winehug.com/

I think it's the best because, as you say, bottles of rum can be irregularly shaped, and the velcro strapping allows this device to be very flexible in conforming to different shapes.

I bought three to test out about six months ago, including one of the double size for a pair of bottles, which is a little more space efficient, although you do have to have more standard-sized bottles to get the pair in.

The test was a great success, and I'll probably order about 6 or 7 more of these, so that they're at the ready for flights. They are well made and built to last - I don't expect to have to rebuy them.

Yes, don't worry about "limits" bringing bottles back to the US. The duty, as stated, is peanuts and just always tell them what you've got when asked and tell them you're prepared to pay it. If you get "stung" it will likely be less than 20 bucks even if your suitcase is full to bursting.

Watch out more for FAA regulations which state a maximum of 5L of liquid in luggage. While I've never seen these enforced, I also haven't pushed this issue yet. If your foreign country decides to disallow your suitcase due to the 5L FAA limit, you won't be able to just pay the duty, you'll have to drop some of the liquid.

I'm not sure exactly HOW this would get enforced, since they wouldn't know you were over 5L until they inspected your bag after you have dropped it off, meaning out of your presence. I haven't heard any stories of this, but the rule exists.

I think you would get away with not putting more than 5L in any one bag - if you want to bring more, spread it across suitcases and, if you have the luxury of a companion, across people.

Make sure you have a good hardshell suitcase that is LIGHT enough to still allow you to fill it with heavy glass and liquid cargo. I use a Traveler's Choice luggage set which cost about 150 bucks and it's got a poly hardshell which gives a little in practice, but that is preferable to a hardshell cracking, and anything that deforms it briefly then doesn't have much force left to damage anything inside anyway. so it's "pretty hard shell", and light as a feather - their lightest model.

Good luck and be judicious - you can't bring it all home with you, so make sure what you DO bring is the most special rum you can possibly find at the destination. Have a great time.

[Beukeboom]

This one is my favorite:

http://winehug.com/

I think it's the best because, as you say, bottles of rum can be irregularly shaped, and the velcro strapping allows this device to be very flexible in conforming to different shapes.

Thanks. I just ordered some.

I bought three to test out about six months ago, including one of the double size for a pair of bottles, which is a little more space efficient, although you do have to have more standard-sized bottles to get the pair in.

The test was a great success, and I'll probably order about 6 or 7 more of these, so that they're at the ready for flights. They are well made and built to last - I don't expect to have to rebuy them.

Since it doesn't look like we will be able to go until 2017 at the earliest...perhaps 2018...I have plenty of time to get more as needed. We were planning on going in March since my wife, a college professor, is off a week during spring break. I asked for 3 days off and was called into my supervisor's office who proceeded to "make sure I was using several days of leave time" which was basically her way of saying "don't go or you'll be sorry". She clearly couldn't outright deny me but I can read between the lines and I don't need the hassles or lose my job. So I cancelled my leave request. My wife desperately wants to go to Japan but I can't go. To be able to go with her would mean I would have to request 2 weeks of leave time off and I was told in no uncertain terms by my supervisor that she would not approve two weeks. I did ask why and the "reason" was a bunch of "bravo sierra". In my previous position under a different supervisor I would ask for 2 weeks off once a year...the only time I asked for time off...in order for my wife and I to go visit her sister for Christmas and New Year's. And for 7 years straight there wasn't a problem. I am hoping to get promoted out of there and under someone else who wouldn't mind allowing me the leave time when I have accumulated it. My wife and I were married in 1986, didn't have a honeymoon, and took our first real vacation...5 days in Savannah via a AAA package deal...in 1993 when "Forrest Gump" was being filmed there. The next opportunity was last September when she booked us on what I refer to as "the cruise from hell" which I disqualify from being a true vacation. Basically my wife will have to go to Japan without me and she is planning on going with her sister and her sister's current boyfriend (hopeful future husband).

I just don't get much of a chance to travel anywhere outside of a couple hours drive away from Tallahassee.

Anyway, please pardon my sob story.

Yes, don't worry about "limits" bringing bottles back to the US. The duty, as stated, is peanuts and just always tell them what you've got when asked and tell them you're prepared to pay it. If you get "stung" it will likely be less than 20 bucks even if your suitcase is full to bursting.

I understand that. Researched it when we were on "the cruise from hell". Even emailed customs directly for confirmation. We just filled out the paperwork while onboard in order to not hold up the line.

Watch out more for FAA regulations which state a maximum of 5L of liquid in luggage. While I've never seen these enforced, I also haven't pushed this issue yet. If your foreign country decides to disallow your suitcase due to the 5L FAA limit, you won't be able to just pay the duty, you'll have to drop some of the liquid.

I've read a lot about people bringing back several bottles of wine from Europe without any issues. Apparently as long as it is checked luggage it's usually not an issue. 5L is basically 5 bottles, right? I suck at metric. And that would be per suitcase, right? If so, if my wife and I carry two suitcases each that would be 10 bottles total. I can live with that.

I'm not sure exactly HOW this would get enforced, since they wouldn't know you were over 5L until they inspected your bag after you have dropped it off, meaning out of your presence. I haven't heard any stories of this, but the rule exists.

With TSA approved locks on pretty much all currently manufactured suitcases where they have a master key, it is potential that the suitcase would get pulled and inspected. But I presume this would be done only if something suspicious showed up in x-ray scanning. Or if I acted in a way to arouse suspicion. I figure with as many pieces of luggage going through and the limited amount of TSA agents and customs agents onhand they probably wouldn't pull anything offline unless absolutely necessary or run the risk of unnecessarily delaying the flight.

Make sure you have a good hardshell suitcase that is LIGHT enough to still allow you to fill it with heavy glass and liquid cargo. I use a Traveler's Choice luggage set which cost about 150 bucks and it's got a poly hardshell which gives a little in practice, but that is preferable to a hardshell cracking, and anything that deforms it briefly then doesn't have much force left to damage anything inside anyway. so it's "pretty hard shell", and light as a feather - their lightest model.

I did a lot of research on hardshell suitcases and Traveler's Choice was one of the brands that came highly recommended. I ordered one via Amazon and a second from another highly recommended brand. However I made the mistake of not calculating their total linear size. Both were just a bit over the 62 linear inches. Rather than go through the hassle of sending them back I decided to keep them to use for Christmas gifts. Then I ordered two more that were under the 62 linear inches.

I am borderline paranoid about flying. Not worried about crashing or anything like that but about losing luggage when changing planes in Miami (no direct flights to Nassau from Tallahassee). My wife and I have done a lot of research on ways to lessen the already low odds of this happening so I made sure to order luggage in distinct colors AND I've purchased distinctive, colorful decals to attach. Once the decals are in place, we will take photos of the luggage with our cell phones in order to show airline officials if the luggage is lost. On top of that we will print out our itinerary and place a copy on top of the clothes in each suitcase because we read if a suitcase is discovered elsewhere with no ID tag outside they will open it up and placing the itinerary on top will tell them where it was supposed to go. Also we could purchase tracking devices to use in each suitcase to actually track the things anywhere in the world but those are kind of expensive.

Good luck and be judicious - you can't bring it all home with you, so make sure what you DO bring is the most special rum you can possibly find at the destination. Have a great time.

Thanks. All that I learned starting from last September will be put to good use. Other than the John Watling rums I want to get (BTW they told me via email they expect to finalize things to distribute their rums in the U.S. sometime in 2016) I will have a much better idea of what I should get in terms of availability and what I like. When we bought the rums in the Bahamas in September, 2015 I did so blindly. Fortunately I only got one rum that was available in the U.S. already (10 Cane) but everything else was definitely unique. The next time I can be more discriminating.

One quick aside...when we were in the Bahamas, paying for things with a credit card was kinda iffy...pretty much all the stores rely on satellite connections for credit card payments which usually were slow and in several instances...not functioning at all. Fortunately I had enough cash in those instances plus the ATMs onboard ship were far more reliable although certain times of the day there would be long lines.

[The Black Tot]

Bullet point reply:

-Yes, one must play the hand one is dealt when it comes to work. It's hard to take the Bravo Sierra without telling them to Foxtrot Oscar, but that's the deal.

-That's hilarious on the Forrest Gump filming. Great story

-Working offshore, I've flown at least once every 5 weeks for more than 17yrs now. I've never lost a suitcase. I've had a suitcase get diverted and not arrive on time (about 4-5 times in 17yrs), but they always found it, and when they did, it was better for me because I didn't have to carry it - they courier it to my local address! So relax about that, if you can.

- A us bottle is 0.75L. A European bottle is 0.7L. So a 5L limit is 6 750mL US bottles, or 7 Euro 700mL bottles. Yes, that's per suitcase.

- I wouldn't bother with TSA locks. I don't use 'em. Haven't lost anything. I'm not packing the crown jewels, mind, but never any bottles missing. Even luggage handlers know their job is worth more than a bottle of booze.

- Nobody cares about wine. It's always the "hard liquor" (that expression cracks me up every time). But it's kind of a waste of time to bring wine back and use your 5L up that way, when wine is pretty easy to source in the US to begin with.

- Do not put tracking devices in your suitcases, unless you want the TSA to think you've packed some kind of remote-detonation device. In case I haven't been clear enough here, you DON'T want this . No spy shit - pack like the rum-loving tourist you are.

- Seriously, you don't have to put on more than even one good decal. They stick a VERY durable sticker on your luggage with your name right on it. I promise it's very easy to spot your own stuff on a conveyor. You never see more than 2 of the same type of bag, and I rarely even see 2 of the same. There is a surprising amount of variation in luggage styles. If you decal everything to death you just start to look like a weirdo and you get pulled into secondary more often. Look normal - it's a good policy.

There you go - that's all the tips I've got for you as a veteran flyer with alcoholic cargo. They'll be as valid in 2017 as they are now, so it's good we got it nailed All the best.

[Beukeboom]

Thanks Black Tot. I appreciate the info and advice.

The last time I flew on a commercial aircraft was back in the late 70's when, as a Boy Scout, I flew to Denver, Colorado with several other Scouts for a two-week trip to Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimmaron, New Mexico. To show you how much things have changed, one Scout forgot he was wearing a fixed blade knife on his belt when we checked in. No big deal. The person at the metal detector just told him to put it in a special box they gave him and they would give it back when we landed in Denver. That wouldn't happen today. They'd probably tackle him and wrestle the knife away.

I didn't know they put a decal on the suitcase with my name on it. Back then it was just a paper tag affixed via cotton twine.

It's been a long time since I've flown anywhere.

Now the last time I flew on any aircraft was in 1980 when I was on staff at a Boy Scout summer camp (Camp Binachi). A fellow Scout from my hometown area was with me on staff and his Dad flew us back in his single engine Cessna. We flew from the airport in Hattiesburg, MS to what I referred to as "Shubuta International Airport" which was a cow pasture on their property. We had to "buzz" the field once to get the cattle to scatter out of the way. When we landed and was coasting to a stop, we heard something "pop" like a small caliber firearm going off. Turned out my friend's Dad didn't see the wired fence and the propeller sliced through it cleanly.