Wine and liquor sales competition has always been fierce on state borders, particularly when one state plays super competitively or the tax percentages differ greatly. New Hampshire has long featured some of the most attractive wine and spirits prices in the country. As a result, the government-regulated control state has long been a destination for buyers as far away as Massachusetts and New York.

If a state liquor store employee were to transport wine or spirits sold to customers over state lines it would be illegal, but when customers do it on their own it is permitted up to the 20-gallon-per-person mark, according to Robert Tobiassen, a Virginia attorney who was chief counsel at the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).