Shipping Whisky To Canada From UK?

I am not a Canadian resident, but I lived there the last two winters. Canada is VERY strict on the liquor laws. Don't even think about "bending" the law. I know that if you bring more than the two liter limit (I think it is two liters, but it may be some fraction more.) into Canada, you will pay dearly. Not just an excise tax, but a penalty, excise tax, and maybe something more that will make it VERY expensive whiskey. And a place (might have been Loch Fyne) in the UK told me that while they routinely ship to the US, they don't even try shipping to Canada.

Regards, jimbo

Hmmmm. The only response I can come up with is: s*it! Oh, and thanks, jimbo, for your prompt reply.

There is always a way around pesky anal government interference in my enjoyment. My pop is in the beverage alcohol business- maybe he can receive shipments of alcoholic products as "samples" and bypass the G-men.

Scott Helesic Kingston, Ontario Canada

"The Internet: A vanity press for the deranged." -Erik-Lars Nelson

I think it is illegal to mail it into Canada and across provincial lines. Which is not to say it has never been done.

If you have some friends in the Northern US, maybe you could mail it there, then go pick it up. Or, someone in the UK could mail it and declare it as something else, say grannies knitting!

There is a store on the Border south of Thunder Bay that will accept pacakges shipped to them for Canadians. People just drive down, pick it up, then drive back and pay the duty. Maybe there is a US store that will do that for you. Isn't there a ferry from Wolfe Island across Lake Ontario to the US side? Might be a small mom-and-pop shop over there.

Doug.

Hi Scott,

LFW is your best bet for shipping whiskies to Ontario. They are not only the best priced for shipping (£15 per bottle), but they use RoyalMail which is faster and has the best chance of getting through Customs. Places such as Royal Mile Whiskies and The Whisky Shop use couriers for delivery to Canada (FedEx, DHL, ParcelForce) and these almost always get stopped as the commercial Customs branch (which inspects the couriers' shipments) is much stricter than personal Customs branch.

That said, LFW labels their packages as "Collectors Malt" or "Collectors Malt Whisky". Royal Mile Whiskies will come out and lie if you ask them to do so, labelling their packages as "crystal decanter". But I believe they charge about £27 for one bottle. Over all, given the high shipping charges, it is more worthwhile if you are buying something a bit more expensive where the shipping makes up the difference between the 17.5% VAT that's dropped by buying from outside the EU.

What else? If you're going to try to get something shipped chances are about 1 in 2 that it will get by undetected. If it does get stopped, Customs will send you a letter telling you they have held a package in your name and you have the option of sending it back to the sender. LFW will refund the cost of the whisky but still charge you for the shipping costs incurred. Lastly, the holidays are the best time to have whisky sent over -- a higher volume of mail means a lesser chance of your package being stopped. Illegal to send whisky through the mail? Not true, Canada Post handles shipments for both SAQ and LCBO. Basically they have the "illegal to send whisky" line in place to prevent consumers from bypassing their taxes and duties by shopping online.

Johanna

And Doug Ratz wrote:

Thanks to both of you for your advice. As I don`t have any individuals on the Bush side `o the border to accept packages for me, I am forced to try ordering directly from Loch Fyne Whiskies. I have purchased one bottle of Glenfarclas 30yo. I`ve tried the 15 and loved it, so I can hardly wait! Is it here yet? Is it here yet?

Thanks Again,

Scott Helesic Kingston, Ontario Canada

"The Internet: A vanity press for the deranged."

-Erik-Lars Nelson