Originally Posted by
der_saeufer
Airport security at YVR is CATSA's responsibility. Their policy is essentially the same as TSA's; it has to be in a security bag with the receipt:
https://www.catsa-acsta.gc.ca/en/duty-free-purchases
CBP doesn't care--just be aware that you may be asked to pay IRT and duty if you're over the 1L per person free import limit. IRT on a 750mL bottle of 80-proof liquor is about $2.25, so they often waive it if you're only a little over. IRT on wine is less than 25c a bottle.
There is not really technical definition of "full size." I expect you are thinking of a 750ml or 1 liter size bottle.
But remember, the US duty on alcohol brought into the country above the duty free limit is based on the percentage (volume or quantity) of
actual alcohol, not the overall quantity of liquid in the containers or the type of spirit/beverage (beer, wine, liqueur, "hard" liquor).
Up to 1 liter of actual alcohol is duty free. Put another way, two, 1-litre bottles of 80 proof vodka would be 800ml of actual alcohol, and eight 750ml bottles of 14% wine would be 840ml of actual alcohol, both under the duty-free amount of 1 litre.
As noted above, the rates of duty for alcohol are low enough that unless the traveller is importing quantities for personal use that are quite high (such as 2 liters above the limit) then it generally isnt worth the cost of the officer's time to collect the $4 duty (officers make on average $37/hr
base pay).
Be aware that in addition to import duty, a) tax on alcohol by the federal Internal Revenue Service might be collected and b) taxes imposed by the US state of the port of entry might be collected. But except for large quantities, these taxes are also usually not collected.
Import away!