Eager Winnipeggers line up to snap up sorely missed star-spangled booze By: Scott Billeck Posted: 12:02 PM CST Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025 Last Modified: 3:31 PM CST Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025 Updates

Lorraine Goudie stepped out of her warm car and into the first spot in a line at the Crestview Liquor Mart — a queue that soon stretched south along the L-shaped strip mall’s corridor on a frigid Wednesday morning.

“I’m here for the Kraken Rum,” she said outside the location, at 3393 Portage Ave. “It’s my son’s favourite. He’s in Victoria, B.C., and he’s coming for Christmas, so it will be a gift for him.”

It’s the first time since March that the American-made spirit has returned to Manitoba shelves, after Premier Wab Kinew pulled dozens of American products off Liquor Mart shelves in response to tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The province announced last week it would release about $1 million worth — a list of about 100 items — of the more than $8 million in products still sitting in warehouses. Half of the proceeds will go to charities distributing food and holiday gifts in Winnipeg, Brandon and Thompson, including the Christmas Cheer Board.

Kinew called it a trial run, with sales continuing until Dec. 24. He said if it goes well, the government would look at extending the sale into the new year.

“It’s a great idea, instead of just throwing it out,” Goudie said. “Everybody needs something right now. I think they should just put it all back on the shelf, let us buy it and then, when it’s gone, it’s gone.”

A woman who offered only her first name, Margaret, standing beside Goudie in line, said she’d come to pick up bourbon for her son-in-law and Sailor Jerry Rum for other relatives.

“We didn’t know a lot of this stuff was American,” she said. “You go in and don’t really look at what it says on the shelf.”

She echoed Goudie’s view that the province should simply release the rest of its stock and stop importing more until the tariff dispute is resolved.

Another man in line, who declined to give his name, argued the province shouldn’t be wasting liquor it has already purchased.

“We paid for it — it’s our tax dollars,” he said, adding he never supported removing American products from shelves in the first place.

Soon, the time for talking was over. After store staff checked drivers’ licences, a flood of customers swarmed makeshift displays promptly at 10 a.m.

Within seconds, one man skipped grabbing a bottle or two and asked if he could take an entire case of Buffalo Trace bourbon. Within 10 minutes of opening, the store’s supply of the Kentucky-made bourbon had vanished, along with Woodford Reserve, another favourite.

Soon, the store ran low on Maker’s Mark, another popular American whiskey, and Tom Gore and 19 Crimes wine.

The checkout line, filled with carts and baskets piled high, wound through the store’s aisles.

One customer exhaled as she left the store with a single bottle perched between her arm and her side.

“Wow,” she said. “That’s all I’ve got to say. Wow.”

Staff said they received eight pallets of product for the day and expected another five to arrive Thursday.

Among the most in-demand items was Pink Whitney flavoured vodka produced by E. & J. Gallo Winery, the parent company of Barefoot and another 100 wine labels.

The province opened sales of American-made liquor to private retailers, restaurants and other businesses Monday, selling about $1.9 million within the first hour.

The Crestview location is one of seven in the city selling U.S. spirits and wines, along with St. Vital Square, Eastwinds, Fort Richmond, Garden City Square, Grant Park and Madison Square.

Locations outside of Winnipeg were also sent allocations, including Brandon, Dauphin, Portage la Prairie, Steinbach and Thompson.

By the noon hour, the lines at the Fort Richmond Liquor Mart at 2851 Pembina Hwy. had thinned out.

Inside, staff had set up a display along the east-facing wall, and gaps were already appearing where bottles had been cleared away.

Woodford Reserve Double Barrel, a premium bourbon, had vanished from the shelves, as had both the Black and Gold varieties of Kraken Spiced Rum.

Staff said the Fort Richmond crowd tends to skew toward wine drinkers, and the ever-popular California-produced Meiomi bottles were among the first to disappear, selling out within minutes.

Josh Cellars Merlot and Bread & Butter Cabernet Sauvignon were gone soon after, while whiskey aficionados snapped up the remaining Jack Daniel’s offerings.

A La Salle resident named Ken walked out the front doors with a box full of rum and wine bottles in his hand, but missed out on his favourite Kraken offerings.

When American booze disappeared from shelves in March, he hurried to his local seller to snap up several bottles of the popular rum, in case they remained unavailable for a while.

“I’m down to one,” he said, bemoaning the province’s decision to punish consumers for the “hissy fit” between Canada and the U.S.

He opted for Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum in lieu of his favoured Kraken, and said it’s a sad state of affairs.

“There’s demand for it,” he said. “It’s communism. ‘You can’t buy that. You can’t buy that.’ Are you kidding me? That’s not my Canadian way.”

A woman who walked out with two bags full of various wines said there were no American products among them.

“I’ve boycotted the U.S. from the beginning,” she said. “We aren’t travelling there. We aren’t buying the products.”

Most of them, at least.

She missed out on Meiomi wine, and likely would have bought a bottle had it been available.

“I may be back on the weekend in disguise,” she said.

Fort Richmond is expected to have stock replenished Thursday or Friday, and then again on the weekend.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca

U.S. alcohol products in Liquor Marts