Booze for shtf.

[Brent S]

I’m not a heavy drinker but love a glass of red wine each evening. My hobby of winemaking has produced loads of surplus, and I have at least 100 gallons of it stored in the root cellar. Each season I grow way more than I can drink, so I give bottles as gifts quite often, but like knowing I have a good barter item. Distilling liquor is pretty simple, just remember that pre shtf it is still a major crime and can get you locked up for a ridiculously long time. Beer and wine are legit hobbies though.

 

[Proud Prepper]

I think anyone who indulges in alcohol during a SHTF situation is playing with fire. Just too many things could happen and you want to be alert with a level head at all times, BUT yes, I think it would make for a good barter item. Let someone else be the easy target, one less idiot to have to worry about. It does have other benefits and uses but I think there are alternatives that would be cheaper to buy.

Its good to have a variety to barter, you never know what someone wants to trade for.

 

[Danil54grl]

Its good to have a variety to barter, you never know what someone wants to trade for.

I agree it would be good to barter with, but I can find other things that are cheaper than booze to disinfect with or start a fire or any of the other things booze would be good for other than getting drunk off of. I'm taking a guess here but a cheap Vodka is around $10 bucks for a liter I think. A gallon of bleach is about a $1 for a gallon and diesel is what $2.69 a gallon to use as a fire starter. If I were to make my own liquor, then that would be a different story maybe. I'm just saying using the liquor to accomplish other things than what it is made for is costly if you have other items available.

 

[grayghost668]

booze...............it might be good for trading but I can think of many things I would lay in first,,,,,,the best items for trade would be ammo,food ,meds

 

[Arcticdude]

I don't mind keeping a few gallons of booze around the place for my own use, Scotch and vodka mostly. I can think of many other things that would make better trade items, such as; surplus garden produce, excess eggs, chicks, calves, meat, ammo, animal by-products like tanned fur, hides etc, labor, tools, gold and silver just to name a few.

 

[brandx]

I would divvy it, saving little bottles with lids might be wise.

 

[jimLE]

The only way id barter/trade ammo in a shtf situation,is if i was sure enough,that it won't come back and get me later on.same thing applies to knife's and other items that could be used as weapons as well.

 

[DrHenley]

Something you may not know about Everclear...

Not all states allow full strength Everclear, but in those that do, Everclear is 95% ethanol.

Why is that number, 95% (190 proof),significant?

Two things.

First, it is stronger than any rubbing alcohol you can buy at the supermarket or drug store. Most rubbing alcohol is 70%, Many stores also sell 91%. You'll be hard pressed to find rubbing alcohol any stronger than that. Yes, Everclear is more expensive since it is food grade ethanol, so the Federal alcohol tax has to be paid.

Second, in distilling ethanol, there reaches a point called an "azeotrope" where the vapor pressure of ethanol and the vapor pressure of water are equal. The closer you get to the azeotrope, the harder it is to separate ethanol and water by distillation. So what does this have to do with Everclear you ask? The azeotrope for ethanol and water is....95.6%

What this means is that when Everclear evaporates, the composition changes very litte.

Because it is so close to the azeotrope, the composition of the vapor is very close to the composition of the remaining liquid. So Everclear will retain it's strength even when a large amount has evaporated.

As long as there is a functioning Revenuer agency (AKA the BATF) The federal grubbymitts will fight you tooth and nail if you try to make 95% ethanol at home without a license. (actually there are ways around that but my lips are sealed ) But when the revenuers all start worrying more about taking care of themselves and their families, you can easily make your own ethanol at home.

 

[Kevin L]

Something you may not know about Everclear...

Not all states allow full strength Everclear, but in those that do, Everclear is 95% ethanol.

Why is that number, 95% (190 proof),significant?

Two things.

First, it is stronger than any rubbing alcohol you can buy at the supermarket or drug store. Most rubbing alcohol is 70%, Many stores also sell 91%. You'll be hard pressed to find rubbing alcohol any stronger than that. Yes, Everclear is more expensive since it is food grade ethanol, so the Federal alcohol tax has to be paid.

Second, in distilling ethanol, there reaches a point called an "azeotrope" where the vapor pressure of ethanol and the vapor pressure of water are equal. The closer you get to the azeotrope, the harder it is to separate ethanol and water by distillation. So what does this have to do with Everclear you ask? The azeotrope for ethanol and water is....95.6%

What this means is that when Everclear evaporates, the composition changes very litte.

Because it is so close to the azeotrope, the composition of the vapor is very close to the composition of the remaining liquid. So Everclear will retain it's strength even when a large amount has evaporated.

As long as there is a functioning Revenuer agency (AKA the BATF) The federal grubbymitts will fight you tooth and nail if you try to make 95% ethanol at home without a license. (actually there are ways around that but my lips are sealed ) But when the revenuers all start worrying more about taking care of themselves and their families, you can easily make your own ethanol at home.

Kudos, and agree with everything...but my concerns with making booze post SHTF are similar to the concerns of the prohibition era.

A lit of bathtub booze was actually quite dangerous because the quality control wasn't there.

I have a chemistry background, and making liqour in a still is actually rather straightforward, but I suspect pre-SHTF liqour with fetch a good price.

 

[bigpaul]

I gave up drinking 18 years ago and post SHTF I wont be drinking the stuff, I want a clear head at all times, but I MAY keep a couple of bottles of spirit purely for medicinal use but only that.
I wont be bartering alcohol, a desperate alcoholic is the last thing I need.