California - Duty Free SYD/LAX/SEA

Hi,

I want to purchase duty free at Sydney, Australia airport - Bundaberg Rum so am not able to get this once in the states. Its for a friend in Seattle.
I will be flying SYD/LAX/SEA, will this be an issue?
I am of the understanding I will need to collect my bags in LAX can I then pack it into my checked luggage before boarding the domestic flight?

Also I have a 2 hour layover between flights do you think this will be an issue, flights are booked on the one ticket.

Thanks!

Here is the link from US Customs regarding bringing alcohol in the country:

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/190/kw/bringing%20alcohol%20into%20the%20United%20States

Seems like, even though you bought it duty-free, you will have to pay duty on it, which is covered in the link above.

Bundaberg Rum must be very good, according to this link. You're right, it isn't available in the US and even though you're close to BC, it's only available in Canada in the Province of Alberta. Go figure.

http://www.fodors.com/community/australia-the-pacific/can-i-get-bundaberg-rum-in-the-us.cfm

You're not going to be charged the two bucks on a single bottle of rum.

The real issue is that you can't continue on your domestic LAX-SEA flight with so much liquid in cabin baggage, as TSA cannot distinguish Bundaberg from butane. You will have to get through customs at LAX, then unzip your check-through and pack the bottle snug in there before surrendering it again at the transit desk.

To get to your AS flight you do have to go outside and walk to Terminal 3, and go through security as if it were your first flight of the day, and they will confiscate your rum if it is with you by then. It would be a shame for such a nice bottle to end up on some security officer's bar at home.

Funny. Bundaberg ginger beer is widely available in the US. Not rum though.

You're not going to be charged the two bucks on a single bottle of rum.

The real issue is that you can't continue on your domestic LAX-SEA flight with so much liquid in cabin baggage, as TSA cannot distinguish Bundaberg from butane. You will have to get through customs at LAX, then unzip your check-through and pack the bottle snug in there before surrendering it again at the transit desk.

To get to your AS flight you do have to go outside and walk to Terminal 3, and go through security as if it were your first flight of the day, and they will confiscate your rum if it is with you by then. It would be a shame for such a nice bottle to end up on some security officer's bar at home.

Funny. Bundaberg ginger beer is widely available in the US. Not rum though.

Different companies make Bundaberg Ginger Beer and Bundaberg Rum. I am sure you know that Bundaberg is a town in Queensland so no one gets a specific right to the name "Bundaberg" or "Bundy". I believe the Bundaberg Rum is owned by Diageo (multinational alcohol conglomerate) who is probably prohibiting the import of Bundaberg in favour of one of its cheaper Caribbean brands.

Different companies make Bundaberg Ginger Beer and Bundaberg Rum. I am sure you know that Bundaberg is a town in Queensland so no one gets a specific right to the name "Bundaberg" or "Bundy".

I didn't know that -- thank you. All these years I've wondered why Bundaberg ginger beer, shandy, etc. is an easy pick at Cost Plus, but no sign of the hard stuff on sale anywhere.

Pretty simple:
-Duty free means duty free at point of origin. It has nothing to do with not being subject to Customs wherever you go, whether it be the U.S. or elsewhere. Applies whether bought in a duty free shop or from the duty free sales on board your flight.
-You'll go through Immigration and Custms at your point of entry to the U.S. (LAX for you). After Immigration you'll go to a baggage carousel designated for your flight, get your bags, then go through Customs (normally just a matter of handing over the form you filled out on the flight and which the Immigration official will have initialed), though you could, of course, get pulled aside for secondary inspection if there's some suspicion, or even at random (there are a certain number of random checks, but I've not been asked to show bags, etc. for over 20 years). Then you go to the terminal for your next flight, go through TSA security, and go to the gate. It's the security for your onward flight where you could lose liquids, etc. you forgot to put in your checked bags (my wife lost some hand creme she had bought in duty free and forgot about when we changed planes in ATL).
-The rules for taking liquids, including cremes, in carry-on bags are well known. You do, as you apparently know, have to put items over the size limits in your checked bags, which you'll normally just hand over at a transit desk outside of Customs (there are a few exceptions, usually if you're on two different airlines that don't have an interline agreement for the transfer of bags-- such as switching to Southwest Airlines-- in which case you have to take your bags to the check-in desk of the second airline).