Stockpile whiskey?
 

I was speaking with a like-minded friend about WTSHTF-preps, when he suggested stocking up on cases of whiskey. In hard times, such a thing is always in high demand. Bottles of Jack could be better for barter than PMs in some cases. As long as one is careful not to over-indulge, having a few cases could be considered nearly as valuable as any number of other preps.

Any thoughts on whether or not it would be wise to stockpile cases of whiskey?

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/202/4...e83f7a.jpg?v=0

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

If you have everything else you think you need in sufficient quantities, I don't see why not (would probably limit it to 1 case of whiskey, 1 of vodka, 1 of rum, wouldn't want to go crazy with it).

I keep about 24 bottles of wine and several bottles of vodka around. Seems the vodka worked as currency in Russia really well.

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

In early Australia when they had a money shortage rum was used as
currency.

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

This is an excellent idea. I stocked a case of mixed alcohol before Y2K. It's still there, albiet 'aged' almost ten years.

I'm getting ready to add a couple more cases. I stock rum (WHERE'S THE RUM? - Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Carribean: Black Pearl), tequila (my favorite), vodka, whiskey, and gin. That's three bottles each.

If you watch the movie 'Silverado', Kevin Klein becomes an employee of the local saloon. At one point he's in the back helping the manager (short actress whose name I forget) water down the 'home brewed' whiskey. After they add water to the bottles, she asks if he want a drink of 'the good stuff'.

THAT'S WHAT YOU SHOULD CONISDER ANY ALCOHOL YOU STORE FOR UPCOMING HARD TIMES. "THE GOOD STUFF". Because there will be people with stills that you can always purchase and then water down. Keep 'the good stuff' for private occasions or some 'big wheel' that has LOTS of money and influence.

And if ANYONE ASKS, your answer SHOULD BE, "Yah, I got this ONE BOTTLE OF GOOD STUFF, so I don't want to drink it all at once" type of answer.

If it's known you have stored actual pre-SHTF alcohol, you WILL be over run by people who 'only want a little taste'. You'll either be dead or regret you ever mentioned it. HONEST.

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

Either stockpile it or plan on not having any.

Or learn to grow, malt, mash, ferment and distill... but it's illegal.

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

For your own consumption, sure why not.

To barter, absolutly not!

If alcohol becomes scarce, you will be a target to every alcoholic in your area.

Best not to attract attention.

To tell someone that is looking to barter for a flashlight "Sorry i dont have any more" they will more than likely go away.

To tell an alcoholic going through withdrawels "Sorry, I don't have any more" they will think you're lying, and/or come back later and try to kill you and take what you have.

They'll be too much to worry about WTSHTF to add that.

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

I live in moonshine country. People here make their own. My neighbor got busted for the third time. They packed his Still up and put it in the State History Museum. They were going to put him jail for a third offense but he got the last word and dropped dead before the Court date.

Perhaps learning to make moonshine would be more valuable skill then storing whiskey.


Copperhead Road Lyrics
» Steve Earle
Well my name's John Lee Pettimore
Same as my daddy and his daddy before
You hardly ever saw Grandaddy down here
He only came to town about twice a year
He'd buy a hundred pounds of yeast and some copper line
Everybody knew that he made moonshine
Now the revenue man wanted Grandaddy bad
He headed up the holler with everything he had
It's before my time but I've been told
He never came back from Copperhead Road

Now Daddy ran the whiskey in a big block Dodge
Bought it at an auction at the Mason's Lodge
Johnson County Sheriff painted on the side
Just shot a coat of primer then he looked inside
Well him and my uncle tore that engine down
I still remember that rumblin' sound
Well the sheriff came around in the middle of the night
Heard mama cryin', knew something wasn't right
He was headed down to Knoxville with the weekly load
You could smell the whiskey burnin' down Copperhead Road

I volunteered for the Army on my birthday
They draft the white trash first,'round here anyway
I done two tours of duty in Vietnam
And I came home with a brand new plan
I take the seed from Colombia and Mexico
I plant it up the holler down Copperhead Road
Well the D.E.A.'s got a chopper in the air
I wake up screaming like I'm back over there
I learned a thing or two from ol' Charlie don't you know
You better stay away from Copperhead Road

Copperhead Road
Copperhead Road
Copperhead Road

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

Stockpiling booze is a real good idea, or anything else that caters to vises like cigarettes.

Something I'd do though is have a mix of bottles size wise. Some fifths, some pints, and also for smaller transactions or goodwill gestures, some of the small airline size bottles.

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

Yeah those airline bottles are good ideas.....small enuff to not make you a target.


But sweet mother mary be sure you store that stuff properly in a basment in a cool dry place .....not near a furnace or your house will blowup like a mini nuke!!

please be careful in my town the Fire dept do inspections and they look for stuff like that and the write tickets!!!!!

sucks I know ..NJ is the pits


T

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

I'd stockpile pints and half-pints for barter... each one would be "my last" as far as the recipient knew. Both bourbon and vodka have medicinal uses and vodka can be used in herbal remedies too. This is something that I didn't think of. Thanks, Pounces!

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

NJ is ALMOST as bad a commiefornia..... with a multifamily dwelling there are lots a crazy rules that apply .it wasn't like that for many years but in the last 2 it has gone to the dogs and now with the market being upside down I couldnt bail even if I tried.

so it sucks the big one......but if they ever REALLY piss me off I WILL WALK AWAY. and I see that coming cause as these towns try to stay afloat they are gonna get more crazy to bleed every dime out of people and people are do just what you said

%&^%&%$$ that!!


T

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

Any thoughts to taking out a nice home equity loan and then a month later, mailing the keys in? Or do you own too much of it to consider? I wonder how many people are considering this?

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

Jeez Scott....talk about drifting OT.........start a thread, huh ?

Back TO the topic:

Alcohol would seem a good stockpile item....I have vitually none, but if I were going to stock it, care in the distribution would be of the first order. I'd probably stock cheap stuff for trade, and some better stuff for better trade :D

One thing about it.....the stuff should keep forever as long as the seal is intact.

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

...although if you go and see the movie "I am Legend" I suppose it would be alcoholics trying to bust in your house every night instead of zombies.

[shudder]

that's a scary thought.

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

It's not illegal to brew for personal consumption, and there is a volume limit on that but I can't recall what it is.

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

Tomorrow I'll be racking my wort into the secondary fermenter. It should be ready to bottle within two weeks. Homebrew is the greatest and best beer I have ever had. I could legally produce, but not sell, 200 gallons of beer and 200 more of wine this year. But I would never distill the wort, because it would be illegal.

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

Yep....you can brew beer and wine, but you can't distill without a permit and an ATF guy living with you.....or at least visiting on a regular basis with an ax......ahahahahaaaa

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

Don't forget to stockpile some mixers like Coke, 7-Up and so on. Just because TSHTF doesn't mean you need to live like a barbarian! Oh, and ICE!

:wink:

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

I love this quote from the Tax and Trade Bureau website:

"You cannot produce spirits for beverage purposes without paying taxes and without prior approval of paperwork to operate a distilled spirits plant. [See 26 U.S.C. 5601 & 5602 for some of the criminal penalties.] There are numerous requirements that must be met that make it impractical to produce spirits for personal or beverage use."

The word "prohibitive" comes to mind.

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

It might make a good item to take to the local farmer's market when you go with your extra veggies or to buy veggies and eggs and so forth. I would not trade it from my home.

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

Sorry, some of us are losing our rights faster than others and I get a little emotional about it.
:wink:

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

I've been stockpiling for awhile, just accumulating an extra bottle here and there, mostly liters of bourbon. Being a cheapskate, I seldom indulge in Jack Daniels, and even Jim Beam is a little pricey for me. For my money, I drink Evan Williams Black Label. The green label is okay, too, and a bit cheaper.

My "good stuff" is Elijah Craig, and I've got about three liters held back in reserve. I get it for $22 - $25 a liter, and it's excellent. Real nice flavor - good sippin' whiskey. That only comes out on special occasions.

Awhile back on that thread where the Marine cooked MREs for his girlfriend, he mentioned "Military Special" brand booze. Well, a liter of 80 proof Kentucky Bourbon is $8 right now. And guess what? It comes in the exact same bottle as the Evan Williams whiskeys. And it tastes amazingly the same as the EW Green Label. Odd, that!

I think I can get a 10% case discount, too, from the base. Really, is a bourbon drinker going to turn down a snort of Military Special Whiskey a month or three after TSHTF and supplies dry up? I'm not!

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

Just pour yourself a nice, tall bourbon and Coke and relax!

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

Vodka or Everclear would be excellent barter/trade items. They can be used as an antiseptic as well as for recreational purposes ;)

Of course I'm a huge fan of FYO -- "Ferment Your Own"!!!! It is a fun hobby and a worthwhile skill to have.

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

I've thought about stocking a case or two away, but i'm afraid I have rather expensive taste when it comes to my bourbon (Basil Hayden / Woodford). I could probably buy Krugerrands cheaper :confused_ma:

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

This is an excellent idea, especially stockpiling in a variety of sizes (fifths, pints, airline bottles). I've got a nice little stash going just from Christmas gifts from my suppliers :wink:. I don't drink hard liquor, just accumulate it! I will consider diverting a small amount of my monthly prep budget toward "comfort" items (pints and airline bottles and tinned tobacco/cigarette papers).

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

Speaking of preparedness, make sure to earthquake-proof your little hooch bunker. Unless you like glass sliver in your tongue, when it comes time to mop up the mess. :wink:

Remember, the midwest is the site of the New Madrid fault..................

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

I really love that tune; I used to listen to it over and over.

Now I've gotta go dig it out!
Thanks for reminding me. :D

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

Here it is on youtube. Embedding says 'disabled by request'

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

Wow, thanks for all the responces! Man, I love this place.

Great ideas here, love the "mini-bar" bottles suggestion. Certainly wouldn't give yourself away as having a load of the stuff. Would likely go a long way as a goodwill gesture! I'll have to keep an eye out for some of those. In the meantime, I will be picking up at least one case of Jack (thats my drink of choice) from a buddy who owns a bar in town. He'll certainly hook me up with a deal, but might look at me funny if I don't invite him to the "party" I'm sure he'd think I'd be having!

I may add Vokda or some other brands down the road. I'm interested in this "Military Special." Is this readily available for that price? Never heard of it before, does it have a brand name? Price is right, anyway! Can't hurt to diversify!

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

Bitchin' song, too BTW

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

Sorry - I should have clarified that the Military Special stuff is only available at the Base/Post Exchanges or Class 6 (liquor stores) on military bases. I've tried to research who exactly makes the bourbon, but haven't had much luck. The most common guess I've heard is it's Evan Williams - but that's just an educated guess. To be honest, Evan Williams Green Label isn't all that expensive (yet). But if you really want to try some Mil Spec, you'll have to have someone with access to a military base score one for you.

As far as other "Military Special" liquors, the only other one I've heard a review on is the rum, and the reports are that it isn't anything to write home about.

One more thing that I don't think was mentioned - I don't know if I'd store any booze long-term in plastic bottles. The plastic bottles they use would probably be okay for a few years, but I'm not going to take that chance....

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

I'm a collector of Whiskeys and bourbons. Since I live in Kentucky, I get a lot of the good stuff cheap. I have all kinds of neat collector bottles(sealed), but focus on the Maker's Mark. I have more than 50 different collectors bottles. If SHTF(I don't believe it will get that bad, BUT), the collector aspect can be thrown out the window. Either way, I enjoy having a varied collection most bars would envy.

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

Some more thoughts on the topic here:

http://goldismoney.info/forums/showt...ockpile+liquor

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

Ah Makers Mark. I grew up not too far from the distillery. I remember visiting the distillery back a few years ago on a snowy morning much like today. Absolutely beautiful! Nothing quite like smelling that sour mash cooking on cool crisp morning either. Good stuff!

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

This topic has come up here before. As a practical matter, I'd stock the 150+ proof poison, coz you get double the zoom in the same physical storage space. And yes you'd water it down.

Otherwise, Dmitry Orlov wrote in Post-Soviet Lessons for a Post-American Century,

Re: Stockpile whiskey?
 

Old Crow works for "cheap but still good" bourbon. I have to agree buff01 about the Everclear, more bang for the buck and you can cut it if need be.