.png)
Every restaurant and bar business benefits from having a great selection of imported beer, wine, and liquor. Yes, domestic house wines and beer on tap will help you please a wide variety of your customer base-it can even help you up your bar manager salary. Having imported alcoholic beverages, however, will help you reach everyone, including cicerones, and improve your answer to the question of how much do bars make. All the bar books in the world will agree. They also agree that, no matter the beer, you should learn about beer expiration.
The world of imported beer and other alcoholic beverages covers a range of topics, including:
- Imported alcohol options
- Import companies
We’ll walk you through both those topics today. Soon, you’ll be well on your way to having the best imported alcohol selection as part of your bar inventory.
Imported Beer
Imported beer brings a variety of unique flavors to your beer brands selection. Sure, American beers cover a range of flavors, but once you branch out across the world, you’ll discover even more unique options.
We’ll take a look at five of the best imported beers. These choices are sure to please a variety of customers. They’ll also help you build out tasting menus, as imported beers pair with unexpected dishes from the appetizer list to entree food.
5. Guinness Draught
A Guinness Draught is a staple on any list of imported beers. It’s a dark, flavorful masterpiece of a beer. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea (or beer), but this list wouldn’t be complete with a Guinness.
4. Heineken
Heineken is the type of beer that anyone can enjoy. It falls in a sweet spot between a light, refreshing beer and a darker beer with more depth. A Heineken is perfect for any occasion.
3. Corona
The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t scared anyone from drinking Corona. These light beers, from the Corona Light to Corona Extra, are perfect for a summer afternoon or night out. They also pair with the best Mexican appetizers.
2. Modelo
Modelo is one of the best all-around beers on this list. It goes with anything, and anyone can enjoy it. It’s also cost effective, so you can keep it in stock while keeping your bar budget in check.
1. Stella Artois
Stella Artois is a beer that can pair with an easy Sunday afternoon or a nice Italian dinner out. It’s unique as a higher end option, but still easy to drink for any level of beer lovers. It’s never a bad choice.
How to Import Wine
There are plenty of rules and regulations around importing wine, among imported beer and other alcohols. We aren’t legal advisors at BinWise, our top recommendation is for you to dive into your local laws around importing alcohol. You can take a look at the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) and their rules for your specific location.
It helps to learn about direct to consumer wine shipping laws and D2C laws in general. Before you start importing wine and other alcoholic beverages, make sure you’re acquainted with the rules you need to follow.
Largest Wine Importers
One of the best ways to make sure you’re following all the rules around importing wine is to work with an established wine importer. There are companies across the world devoted to importing and exporting wine, to make it easier for you to sell wine by the glass.
There are a large number of wine importers to choose from. We’ve narrowed it to five of the best, most established wine importers. Any of these companies will be a great help to you as you build your wine stock.
5. European Cellars
Based in North Carolina, but with wine connections across the globe, European Cellars is a unique wine importer business. They can help you find some of the rarest wines in Europe. From classic red wine types to vegan and keto friendly wine, European Cellars has your bases covered.
4. Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits
Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits has been importing only the best since 1981. To this day they remain a family-owned business, and that quality relationship between family and business makes them one of the best.
3. Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits
Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits are a big name in the wine and spirits importing industry. With 45 operations across the US and Canada, Southern Glazer’s can help you find whatever you’re looking for.
2. Young’s Market Company
Young’s Market Company, in partnership with the Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC), is one of the big wholesale alcohol distributors. The roots of the company were taking hold before Prohibition. To this day Young’s and RNDC continue to take the importing industry by storm.
1. Vine Street Imports
Vine Street Imports found their niche in specialty, hard-to-find wines, and they’ve been operating there comfortably since 1999. Their portfolio of wine imports is impressive on a global wine scale. They have a wine list a sommelier would appreciate. Also, their name is really cool.
Liquor Importers
When it comes to importing liquor, our recommendation is similar to finding a wine importer. The rules will be different depending on where you’re located and where you’re importing liquor from. It’s best to leave it to the pros, while still educating yourself on the basic principles. Imported beer and liquor come with plenty of rules you don’t want to mess with.
These five liquor importers are excellent choices for bringing in liquor from around the world. Liquor can be even more regulated than wine or beer. That’s because of the alcohol content in liquor, which can be heavily regulated in different locations.
5. bbb+ Drinks
bbb+ Drinks cover a mix of local and international import needs for spirit creators. They specialize in unique spirits from independent sources in the UK and around the world. Overall, they bring the character of the UK to the rest of the world.
4. Fridenson Solutions
Fridenson Solutions is a distributor of everything from alcohol to chocolates to perfume. Their multi-faceted approach to importing means they can cover all your bases. You could even open a wine and chocolate bar with their support.
3. Leigh Spirit Company Limited
For a select company, Leigh Spirit Company Limited is the place for small batch spirits for import. You’ll only be able to purchase a certain amount of spirits through this importer. However, the quality of their small batch selections is worth it.
2. Shaw-Ross
Shaw-Ross has been importing internationally since 1968. They can cover your wine, spirit, and sake needs. When it comes to wine, they import from Italy, France, Spain, Germany, and New Zealand. Basically, they’ve got your bases covered.
1. Park Street Imports
Park Street Imports can cover your needs across wine, beer, and all types of alcohol in the US and the EU. They support a mix of established and up-and-coming alcoholic beverage brands to ensure they’re importing the best of the best.
Frequently Asked Questions About Imported Beer and More
For our answers to these frequently asked questions, we took a look at questions that cover the range of alcoholic beverages you can import. Overall, these answers give you an in-depth look into what liquors and other alcohols you should consider importing.
What Is the Most Imported Beer?
Across the board, Modelo shows up as one of the most imported beer brands. Modelo is a classic beer that works for any occasion. From parties to dinners to casual Friday nights at home, there’s never a bad time for this top-imported beer.
How Much Wine Is Imported?
For the US, 10.6 billion liters of wine were imported in 2020. The numbers fluctuate occasionally depending on your source, but the 10.6 billion marker is consistent across the board. Overall, it’s an awful lot of wine. Wine culture has a wide reach across the world. The process of importing and exporting is a large part of the world of wine sales.
Which Is the Best Foreign Liquor?
This isn’t a question with one clear answer, but one of the all-time best foreign liquors is Johnnie Walker Scotch from Scotland. Johnnie Walker claims this top spot because of the vast majority of people who enjoy drinking it, either in popular cocktails or straight up.
Imported Beer and More: Important Imports!
Stocking your bar inventory with some imported beer, wine, and other liquors will give you an edge on your business competition. They aren't wholesale products, but they are high demand, which is always smart in the hospitality industry. A range of options will increase your customer service, and make your bar a unique place where folks want to hang out.
When you look into importing alcoholic beverages from across the world, it may be overwhelming at first. You can come back to the BinWise blog any time for guidance as you stock your bar.