Price differences on liquor

[awsmith4]

Distributors often set the prices of liquor. In Florida (and GA and many others) there is a three tier system, meaning Manufacturer - Distributor - Retailer. In some place the manufacturer can sell directly to retail. Many times the distributors set the price. I would however expect alcohol like tobacco has high state taxes that may be avoided when purchasing across state lines, which would mean the responsibility to pay tax is on the purchaser. Also in addition to supply and demand there is the possibility of the company either buying in such bulk they can offer a lower price or they are cutting their profit margin in hopes of a larger volume of sales (ie Total Wine).