Salary
Average Salary: $44,000
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $1,836,912
Liquor distributor salaries tend to vary pretty widely. The most common averages are between $44,000 and $56,000 (source), so you're not dealing with a huge sum of money. So yeah, you might be driving that used Ford Festiva of yours on more than a few sales calls before upgrading.
The salary variation is caused by several things: the company you work for, where you work, and how experienced you are. The experience is pretty self-explanatory, but the others might not be; if you're in a big city selling high-end liquor to fancy-schmancy bars and restaurants, chances are you're making more than if you live in the middle of nowhere trying to interest a cow in a bottle of moonshine.
The positive side is that it's a sales job. You make commission. It's not universal, but most places will generally offer you salary plus commission. Basically, you get a small sum of money for just showing up, doing your job, and not punching anyone. Then you get more money on top of that as a percentage of your sales. It's intended to reward the people who are good at what they do and gives you a solid incentive to sell more.
After a decade in the business, your salary could end up in the $80,000 range (source)—experience has its privileges. People who sell spirits also tend to make a little more than those who sell wine, and the wine distributors make a little more than those who sell beer. Why? Partially because spirits are more expensive pound for pound—or liter for liter. The more valuable the product, the bigger reward for the salesperson.