Whether we’re flying for business or pleasure, our goal is to experience as much as the destination has. That means we’re eating cheesesteaks in Philly, drinking chardonnay in Napa and buying watches in Switzerland. Thankfully we can carry on most of the items we purchase, however we have to check-in liquids. This means those expensive bottles of wine and scotch are at the mercy of the baggage handlers. With this in mind, we prepare each bottle as if the worst can happen (Sometimes it does). If your goods can stand a game of catch and not leak, you’re in great shape.

Your luggage is packed with clothes, so the padding is there, more padding always helps. If there is extra room for the bottle to move around, the probability of it breaking goes up. We have heard plastic bags are ideal to put bottles in, but bottles come in a variety of sizes and not all bottles will fit in a plastic bag. We prefer outdoor dry bags as they’re big, airtight and meant to be thrown around and not leak. These reusable bags start at $10 and will likely save you money rather than using disposable plastic sealable bags. We only need a small or medium and your clothes will breathe a sigh of relief. Any breakage or leaks will be contained within the bag. Here’s our step-by-step directions to successfully packing alcohol.

1. Buy a reusable dry bag!
2. Pack only sealed bottles
3. Wrap a light garment/towel around the bottle so they’re not touching and put bottles in the dry bag
4. Take the air out of the bag
5. Place the bag in the middle of the suitcase
6. Keep hard or sharp objects away from the bottles
7. Lastly, tell the airline your bag is “Fragile” (Usually there’s no extra charges and it’s just a sticker)

(Worse case scenario: slip your bottled booze into socks (preferably clean ones). Double “socking” the bottles helps with cushioning in your check-in luggage. — Raymond)

Price: $15.95
Source: Rei