Why You Need Alcohol in Your Emergency Stockpile

[angie_nrs]

Here's an article I ran across. I'll admit that I had not considered some of the uses listed.
One thing that wasn't mentioned........an inflation hedge! LOL!
I have some stocked for tinctures and medical uses, but since we don't drink it, I had not gone crazy with stocking ETOH. I might have to add a few more bottles.
https://mypatriotsupply.com/blogs/s...jCCO1JuZwZVmAmskkXqeQiPQ3hCjPCXTt8gECO.TLRHJGWhat are some other uses for ETOH that weren't mentioned here?

 

[jazzy]

very good article and they are right. smart to have some bottles on hand or case of pints. never know what help it can be one day

 

[Caribou]

When making a bug/fly trap you only need one or two drops of liquid soap. The way the soap works is to break the surface tension ad the bugs fall in. Normally many bugs can walk on water. I use ACV, water, sugar, and dish soap.

It is less expensive to use rubbing alcohol for your cold compresses. I'll save my vodka for tinctures and other uses where it will be ingested.

 

[Weedygarden]

The thing about keeping alcohol for these types of purposes is that it needs to be kept out of sight and locked up, especially in a SHTF situation. Most people will not understand that alcohol has any other purpose other than to drink it up. Alcohol can be a good investment, but better understood by someone who has read this article or knows the alternatives other than drinking it.

 

[Haertig]

I don't know - maybe stock up on a few bottles of rubbing alcohol for the express purpose of being bait for some thief who wants to steal your stuff. If they're stupid enough to steal your stuff, let alone drink the rubbing alcohol, then they deserve a little abdominal discomfort. Your family, being on the more intelligent side of the average thief, should know not to drink it. Even a three year old can be taught that things in the medicine cabinet are off limits.

 

[Caribou]

very good article and they are right. smart to have some bottles on hand or case of pints. never know what help it can be one day

Having pints is a very good idea. Much like having $10's an$20's is better than having all $100's. Four of us went out hunting. The weather was absolutely miserable so we spent several days in a cabin. We used more fuel getting out to the cabin than we had anticipated. A yacht came into the bay and we were able to barter our last pint of whiskey for enough gas to get home. They got to drink, we got to go home, win win.

 

[Supervisor42]

My problem is, beer doesn't do well in long-term storage.

Oh, that's not what we are talking about. My bad.
I do however keep a couple months worth of good liquor on hand in case civilization dies.
The 190-proof PGA gets used as a solvent or a disinfectant, I don't drink the stuff.
It does have barter potential though.
A 'holic who is jonesing will pay greatly for it.
Now back to making tinctures.

 

[Haertig]

I do however keep a couple months worth of good liquor on hand in case civilization dies.

We have a couple of unopened bottles of liquor from our most recent trip to the Caribbean. That was on our honeymoon, back in 1982. Maybe I should just put those next to the bottles of rubbing alcohol, waiting for the thieves?

 

[jazzy]

Having pints is a very good idea. Much like having $10's an$20's is better than having all $100's. Four of us went out hunting. The weather was absolutely miserable so we spent several days in a cabin. We used more fuel getting out to the cabin than we had anticipated. A yacht came into the bay and we were able to barter our last pint of whiskey for enough gas to get home. They got to drink, we got to go home, win win.

i agree---o7u never know when a pint of jack can come in handy, especially in a collapse - depression or war time when its either too expensive or hard to find. doesnt hurt to have a bag of those little airline bottles too.

 

[Supervisor42]

We have a couple of unopened bottles of liquor from our most recent trip to the Caribbean. That was on our honeymoon, back in 1982.

Great place to pick some up, I always do every time I go.
Without the fed 'revenuers' tax, it's less than half what it costs here in the US.
You do have to 'declare' it when you come back in, but no biggie.
Half of what we pay for liquor in the US is tax.
Hopefully everybody else here has a still too.

 

[Cascadian]

I am not sure how important it is but we only stock glass bottles for internal consumption.

 

[rice paddy daddy]

I do however keep a couple months worth of good liquor on hand in case civilization dies.
The 190-proof PGA gets used as a solvent or a disinfectant, I don't drink the stuff.
It does have barter potential though.
A 'holic who is jonesing will pay greatly for it.

If the situation is bad enough, an alcoholic who wants your alcohol bad enough could possibly kill you for it.
Mere speculation? Nope, I'm a bona fide alcoholic, member of AA, sober for over 34 years.
Members of AA are the decent folks, the ones who want to do right.
But back in our drinking days, each and every one of us drank with folks who had very few morals. And those folks are still out there, trust me.

I will not stock any alcohol other than isopropyl for medical use.
For two reasons - #1, i don't want that stuff around, and #2 anyone who thinks bartering alcohol with strangers after a societal collapse is a good idea may be setting themselves up for a very negative outcome.

I've run with some very unsavory, anti social, criminal, types "back in the day". Types that "normal people" are never exposed to.

 

[Haertig]

If the situation is bad enough, an alcoholic who wants your alcohol bad enough could possibly kill you for it.

That's why we should all live by the saying, "Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet." That would include alcoholics along with everybody else.

 

[Weedygarden]

Having pints is a very good idea. Much like having $10's an$20's is better than having all $100's.

What about the mini bottles? And are there half pints? Can you tell I rarely buy liquor?

 

[Weedygarden]

We have a couple of unopened bottles of liquor from our most recent trip to the Caribbean. That was on our honeymoon, back in 1982.

I have a couple bottles of rum that I brought home from Puerto Rico in 2007. They have never been opened.

I also have vodka for making vanilla and other extracts. I do have some wine.

 

[JustMe]

If the situation is bad enough, an alcoholic who wants your alcohol bad enough could possibly kill you for it.
Mere speculation? Nope, I'm a bona fide alcoholic, member of AA, sober for over 34 years.
Members of AA are the decent folks, the ones who want to do right.
But back in our drinking days, each and every one of us drank with folks who had very few morals. And those folks are still out there, trust me.

I will not stock any alcohol other than isopropyl for medical use.
For two reasons - #1, i don't want that stuff around, and #2 anyone who thinks bartering alcohol with strangers after a societal collapse is a good idea may be setting themselves up for a very negative outcome.

I've run with some very unsavory, anti social, criminal, types "back in the day". Types that "normal people" are never exposed to.

I do agree with everything you said, for the most part. My dad and his 'friends' would fit in that crowd. Having grown up in that environment, I did learn a few things about alcohol, both good & bad. And yes, there are some good things, as this thread is about. What I would call 'proper' uses for it if in case other alternatives aren't available.



Another use that isn't listed, but probably not a great idea.......is for a teething baby, to rub a little on the gums.

 

[Morgan101]

This is a category where I can safely say I lead the league. I tended bar for 17 years; started when I was in college and continued as a part time job long after I started my career. For the most part I really enjoyed it. Liquor always interested me. It still does. I enjoyed mixing different combinations, and probably had the satisfaction of making good drinks just like a chef enjoys serving good food. O.K. it didn't hurt coming from a party/hardy background. Believe me, the Bartender can become the life of the party, and I had more fun than the law allows.

So, I have always had a very well stocked bar. Still do. A really well stocked bar. I probably have as much as the picture in the article. Compound that with the fact that we don't drink nearly as much as we used to, and we don't entertain nearly as much as we used to, so the inventory has grown. For me it was as much a hobby as a real prepping tool, until I read the stories from James Wesley Rawles blog on the war in Bosnia. I know a lot of people question if those are true, but one of the key items from those stories was alcohol. Whether or not I believed it or just wanted to believe it, or it was just a convenient excuse to further my interest I don't know. Maybe all of the above. Alcohol was a huge bartering item during the Bosnian war.

Just a suggestion, if you want to increase your alcohol inventory as a prepping tool, I would not buy expensive, name brand liquor. Any brand will do. Your local tavern would call it well liquor. It is the low cost stuff they use to make everyday drinks. The brand they sell with your local grocery store's name on the label will be fine. Again, JMHO, but I would buy cheap vodka. That would be the most universal, and have the most uses besides consumption. FYI the drink they show in the article is the common recipe for the Hot Toddy. Bottoms Up!! drink buddy

 

[Tacitus]

I don't know - maybe stock up on a few bottles of rubbing alcohol for the express purpose of being bait for some thief who wants to steal your stuff. If they're stupid enough to steal your stuff, let alone drink the rubbing alcohol, then they deserve a little abdominal discomfort. ...

Pretty sure that would do more than give them abdominal discomfort. Wouldn't that kill them? Isn't rubbing alcohol actually wood alcohol? Maybe it depends on how much you drink.

 

[Tacitus]

...I do however keep a couple months worth of good liquor on hand in case civilization dies.
The 190-proof PGA gets used as a solvent or a disinfectant, I don't drink the stuff.
It does have barter potential though.
A 'holic who is jonesing will pay greatly for it. ...

I started buying extra vodka a while back and stashing it in my bar area. Figured it couldn't hurt. I have one bottle of Everclear. I should probably pick up a few more bottles of that. At least you can use Everclear for sanitizing. You can't use vodka for sanitizing.

 

[Haertig]

Pretty sure that would do more than give them abdominal discomfort. Wouldn't that kill them? Isn't rubbing alcohol actually wood alcohol? Maybe it depends on how much you drink.

It is not wood alcohol. It probably could kill in high enough doses, but I don't think ingestion of smaller amounts is considered fatal.

Rubbing alcohol is often times made with isopropal alcohol, not wood alcohol. But rubbing alcohol is not the same as isopropal alcohol. Isopropal is typically used for cleaning whereas rubbing alcohol is typically used for medical and disinfection. Wood alcohol is used for - I don't really know - other than causing blindness.

 

[SheepDog]

Wood alcohol or Methanol is fuel and often mixed with nitroglycerin. (3 to 10%)

 

[jazzy]

I am not sure how important it is but we only stock glass bottles for internal consumption.

ive got to say from my experience in having alcohol in plastic vs glass bottles---go with the glass. ive found after a year or so the plastic bottles tend to make the alcohol taste a tab different. my 96 yr old dad wont drink any liquor out of a plastic bottle he says its an abomination. i dont argue with my dad, lol

 

[joel]

I store rubbing alcohol 70%, for non food usage.
I have looked into getting a still also.
https://www.clawhammersupply.com/pr...XQvcoIddNdI0li9upjZdiPeSCavqB-fhoCGyIQAvD_BwE

 

[Morgan101]

ive got to say from my experience in having alcohol in plastic vs glass bottles---go with the glass. ive found after a year or so the plastic bottles tend to make the alcohol taste a tab different. my 96 yr old dad wont drink any liquor out of a plastic bottle he says its an abomination. i dont argue with my dad, lol

While I agree with you and your Dad, IMHO I for one am looking at this from a different perspective. We are talking about TEOTWAWKI. The people who will be looking for alcohol would be happy to get shaving lotion or Vitalis (look that one up). They won't give a rat's hind end if it is in glass or plastic. They won't care how it tastes. They are looking to satisfy an addiction.

 

[joel]

While I agree with you and your Dad, IMHO I for one am looking at this from a different perspective. We are talking about TEOTWAWKI. The people who will be looking for alcohol would be happy to get shaving lotion or Vitalis (look that one up). They won't give a rat's hind end if it is in glass or plastic. They won't care how it tastes. They are looking to satisfy an addiction.

And Glass can be reused, so it will be like gold after TEOTWAWKI.
I have a 3 gallon stainless steel bucket, that looks as good as the day I got it.

 

[Mel]

You know I had not thought of this in a while but once my grandma had a cough and someone gave her some shine.

No more cough. And she kept it locked up. It wasn't used regularly.