Bringing back a taste of your vacation has its risks—nobody wants that prized Cabernet turning their clothes into tie-dyed wine rags. The good news: Yes, you can pack alcohol in your luggage. The TSA gives the green light to bottles in checked bags, with fine print: “Alcoholic beverages with more than 24% but not more than 70% alcohol are limited in checked bags to 5 liters (1.3 gallons) per passenger and must be in unopened retail packaging.” Anything under 24% ABV (most wines and beers) has no quantity limit in checked luggage, so your craft brew haul is technically fair game. But don’t celebrate yet—plenty can still go wrong. From Champagne that might pop under pressure to the heartbreak of whiskey-scented socks, avoiding spillage while traveling with alcohol requires strategy. Here’s how to ensure your booze makes it home intact.
This story has been updated since its original publish date.
Do not carry sparkling or carbonated drinks in checked luggage
You’re technically allowed to check fizzy drinks, but proceed with extreme caution. While modern cargo holds are pressurized, meaning a properly sealed Champagne bottle shouldn’t spontaneously burst, rough baggage handling is another story. One hard knock turns your suitcase into a sticky supernova. If you insist on transporting that special sparkling wine, double-protect it: first in a sealed plastic bag, then nestled firmly in your case’s center with plenty of padding. Some travelers swear by putting Champagne in a carry-on (purchased at duty-free after security) to keep it under their watchful eye. Buying at duty-free shops bypasses the 100 mL liquid limit, but just remember, if you have a connecting flight, you’ll need to keep bottles in their sealed tamper-evident bags with receipts.
Do wrap bottles in protective materials
Repeat after us: bubble wrap is your best friend. Assume your checked bag will get tossed like a caber. Cocoon each bottle with real cushioning. A sweater or jeans works in a pinch, but padded wine sleeves or bubble-wrap sheets do better. Slide the bottle into a thick sock, wrap it, then quarantine the bundle in a zip-top bag to contain leaks. Keep retail packaging when you can; those cardboard tubes act as additional armor. In wine regions like California, shops often provide foam inserts. Use them! In small European cellars, you may get nothing but a smile, so pack lightweight sleeves or bubble wrap before flying out. Short on supplies? Get crafty. An inflatable water wing around a bottle becomes an air cushion; a padded laptop sleeve doubles as a shock absorber. Pack glass dead center in your suitcase, surrounded by clothes on all sides, with no hard objects adjacent.
If you check bottles often, invest in a proper kit: WineSkin-style sleeves or a hard-sided wine suitcase like VinGardeValise with foam for 6 or 12 bottles lets you move a case safely. What about those trendy pre-batched cocktails? As Tyson Buhler, National F&B Director at Gin & Luck (Death & Co), advises, “Treat a bottled cocktail the same way you’d pack wine or a spirit. Most are shelf-stable, so your job is making sure the liquid arrives in the bottle, not in your clothes.”
Do not put partially consumed bottles in your checked luggage
We get it, that last half-glass of limoncello from Capri was so good you can’t bear to leave it behind. But airlines and regulators have zero sympathy for your attachment issues. Open bottles are a hard no. TSA and FAA rules require alcohol in checked bags to be in unopened retail packaging, meaning factory-sealed. Crack a duty-free bottle and it loses its carry-on privilege too. You could decant 100 mL into a travel container for your liquids bag, but it’ll taste tired on arrival. Better to finish it or buy fresh at home.