Sorry, but to explain this, we’ve gotta do a little bit of tax talk. In Australia, wine is taxed at a flat 29% of wholesale value (this is called the Wine Equalisation Tax); beer and spirit duties are calculated by alcohol content, and indexed to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and adjusted when the CPI is updated in early February and early August every year, so it tends to follow the same patterns as inflation. So you’re not imagining it – your favourite tipples and tinnies have been rising in cost in the last few years along with your staple groceries.There’s some debate as to whether we’re the highest – some countries tax some products much more and others much less. But at the moment, a bit more than half of the retail price of a bottle of spirits is made up of the spirits excise.Yes, Australia has some high booze taxes compared to a lot of other similar countries, but tax isn’t the only cost that goes into pricing your pour – breweries, wineries, and distilleries are also on the hook for ingredients, equipment, maintenance, transport and shipping, paying and training skilled employees, marketing, and so on. And just like the lime and tonic water in your homemade G&T and the petrol you used driving to buy them, these things keep going up in price too (usually more so for small-scale local producers). So “duty-free” is just that: the retail price of the bottle or can, minus tax. If the costs of making your drink go up, so will the price companies have to charge for it, even before they get to factoring in the relevant alcohol duties.That said, while rising costs have affected producers all over the world, in many destinations you’ll find the same bottle for less in a regular shop – and even for less than at Australian duty free.

If you just want the cheapest possible bottle of something decent for everyday drinking, infusing, and mixing, duty free might be the way – but also, check the prices at your destination. A litre of Gordon’s gin can be found easily for under USD$20 in the States; a litre bottle of Tanqueray can come in at under USD$30. Even after adding tax at the register, as the Americans tend to do, that might still come in cheaper than the duty-free prices we found at the time of writing. A litre of Gordon’s at duty-free in Bali comes in at (based on the exchange rate at the time of writing) AUD$37; a litre of Tanqueray on Tesco’s website can be had for £28.50, or AUD$54, which is almost precisely the same as it costs at duty-free locally. A cheeky 2-for-1 deal or favourable exchange rate bump could take that well below the duty-free price. As long as you’re under the Australian import limits, and don’t mind toting a heavy bottle or two in your checked baggage, you might be best off finding a deal where you’re holidaying — which might also save you time lining up to collect those local duty-free bottles you bought for home before you left but didn’t want to tote around Bali or Berlin. If you want something a bit more special to sip, of course, it’s always a treat (and sometimes cheaper) to pick up a locally made bottle wherever you’re. You can bring 2.25L of alcoholic beverages back in your luggage, including anything in carry-on you’re allowed to take on board – so leave room in your bag for an extra bottle of that chardonnay you loved at a restaurant, or your Airbnb host’s homemade grappa. If you dare. But if you just want a bargain bottle with a minimum of fuss once you get home, grab those bottles on your way out and take advantage of the shop and collect service on your return. For maximum party, if your budget allows, pick up a standard fave on your way out, grab something local at your destination, and then invite your friends over to show off that new cocktail you couldn’t stop ordering in Porto.

Don’t forget that the airport isn’t the only place to get a bargain. If you want to take some great Aussie wine to overseas friends, you can also buy exactly what you want at a regular bottle shop and then get the GST refunded on your departure, rather than just sticking to the airport selection, which is absolutely lousy with the usual big-name suspects. (The usual restrictions of the Tourist Refund Scheme apply: you’ll need to spend $300 in one transaction, buy in the 60 days before you travel, pay for it yourself, keep your tax invoice, and have a Border Force officer sight it in your checked luggage so you can take it with you – so if you’re really keen to do this for your wine-loving pals, make sure you check the Australian Border Force website to make sure you’re following the rules.)