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| Kirkland Canadian Whisky |
Washington has long had the nation's highest liquor taxes — about 35% of the total retail price of a bottle. Oregon is a relatively close second, but Idaho's liquor takes are nearly two thirds less than Washington's. Both Oregon and Idaho are controlled states where the state runs the liquor business. Both Oregon and Idaho saw a dramatic impact when the new Washington law took effect in 2012. Oregon's sales boomed 35% at liquor stores along the Washington border vs. 12% overall for the rest of the state.
Suffice to say, Washington liquor prices are a ripoff. If you live close to the Oregon border, you'd be nuts not to buy all your booze in Oregon, where prices can run 30% cheaper on the same item. After privatization, one study showed that taxes in Washington shot up 15.5 percent for 750 ml packages and 4.7 percent for 1.75-liter bottles.
Meanwhile, Costco is killing it. It's the only place I'll consider buying liquor in Washington. Grocery store prices are beyond absurd. Though Costco does carry some high-end items in 750 ml, it primarily deal is 1.75-liter bottles. Because of its purchasing power, Costco is able to capitalize with very low prices for the booze (before all the taxes). Costco's shelf prices also include the taxes, something grocery stores try to bury in tiny print. Point in case, some of Costco's fully loaded prices are about the same as Oregon despite the sharply lower taxes in Oregon. And I recently found the 1.75-liter white Bacardi Rum cheaper than Oregon in my local Costco.
But, the border wars also continue. A new state-owned liquor store just opened near the Portland Airport in a shopping center that Washington residents just miles away across the Columbia River refer to as the "duty free zone." Oregon BTW, is one of the few states without a sales tax as well — another major point of friction between the two states.
While Costco does fine with name brands, the reason it wanted liquor privatized in Washington had more to do with its private label Kirkland brand. Costco now makes an entire line of Kirkland branded spirits and like all the Kirkland brands, they are excellent quality — and equally great deals. For instance, Costco sells Kirkland vodka in a domestic and French version. Ditto tequila, small batch bourbon, Canadian whisky, London gin, spiced rum and Scotch whisky. Just saw a Kirkland Irish whisky on the shelves the other day.
I'm sipping the Canadian whisky right now. It's priced at $20 before taxes for a 1.75-liter bottle. It's excellent and speculation is that it's made for Costco by Crown Royal. The French vodka is reputed to be made for it by Grey Goose. After taxes, both the French Vodka and the Canadian whisky sell for around $33 for 1.75 liters. All of these spirits don't break the bank, so they defy the rule of thumb about the Washington liquor market, they are excellent buys and they are exclusive to Costco.
Clearly, Costco didn't become the second largest retailer in the world by standing around.
