[Turtle]

I don't know that I would waste my time/money with Boones Farm, or really, wine in general. Wine is pretty easy to make, and I would imagine that people will start cranking it out pretty quickly in the case of a complete loss of infrastructure.

Liquor will be much harder to find (immediately, until stills get set up and people figure out what they are doing) and as such, will have more trade value.

I would purchase whisky, whiskey, bourbon, and vodka, with perhaps some gin or rum thrown in to the mix. Whisky, whiskey, and bourbon drinkers will generally drink either of the three, if needs be; I know I probably drink mostly Irish whiskey, my favorite is a good Scotch whisky, but I will drink bourbon if that is all that my host has to offer. Most Americans drink some form of the "brown" liquors. Vodka probably has the most versatility, as an ideal vodka should be colorless, odorless, and tasteless, so it mixes well with other things and is a good base for infusions.

As for the sizes which one should purchase, think of it like money: Is it easier to make change for a $20 or a $100? A variety of sizes would be good if you have the room to stock it; pints, 750ml bottles, and gallon bottles are all good sizes which would give you a lot of variety with which to trade.

I used to be a bartender and a bar manager.... I can go on and on about booze!

 

[Turtle]

Good call on saving the bottles... my grandmother used to make wine and my mother has just started since she retired and has nothing better to do. You should see the goofy assortment of bottles in her basement!

Just an FYI about that; for wine, the darker bottles work better, but for hooch it doesn't really matter.

 

[Turtle]

If you need trade bottle just keep old coke or Pepsi bottles. fill them up when you trade. the large bottles of alcohol are cheaper and easier to store. I have some bottles that are 8 oz that I bought for my hot sauce, hand lotions and soaps that I sell. got them for 30 cents each. so I will use them.

The problem with that is that if it is not in an original, sealed container, you have no idea what you are getting. I personally wouldn't trade for any booze that wasn't in it's original sealed container, because you will have unscrupulous types cutting their vodka with water, or worse, rubbing alcohol or turpentine. There are a lot of dangers that go along with bootlegging; it's the origin of the "pimp walk" that you see kids emulating without even knowing the origin. Poor blacks in the south often drank moonshine that had been cut with other chemicals to make it stronger and cheaper; this would cause nerve damage and make them limp.

Unless I was trading with someone whom I well knew, I would not take the chance of drinking unknown liquor.

 

[Turtle]

I'm with Turtle with one addition. 190 proof Everclear. Kind of a catch-all booze and can also be used as an antiseptic.

Can't argue with that logic!

When I was working in bars, we would periodically have people stop by and ask for our empty bottles. The trick is to stop by early in the night before it gets busy, so they can save them through-out the night. Most often, the bartenders are happy to help out.

 

[Turtle]

First thing after they got out of the ark!

If the only people left alive in the world were my family.... I would need a drink, too!

 

[Turtle]

I was reading about an account of colonists first making landfall in the "New World" and the first order of business was setting up to brew beer. :beercheer:

Then there was an article about our Founding Fathers and how they seldom would drink water due to the chance of getting sick, so they mostly drank spirits during the day. Makes me wonder if they were often buzzed during the organizing and formation of our Republic.

I live close to the moonshining capital of the US - Franklin County, Va. If the maker takes pride in their product, some really good 'shine can come out of those woods. OTOH, if quick profit is the motive you could be drinking pure death.

To the north of me is Nelson County. Its famous for its apple and peach brandy due to the number of large orchards that flourish there. Story was that at Christmas time, the Superintendent of the State Police would have a trooper stop by the little store up there. While he was inside having a Coke, someone would place a gallon of apple brandy in the trooper's car, which was meant for the Superintendent.

Many of these notorious whiskey and brandy making areas have switched to a new product - marijuana. Its easier to produce, transport, and market.

I used to live in Roanoke and work in Christiansburg ... I am very familiar with that area and it moonshine! My best friend still lives down there; his wife is from Franklin County. You should check out a book that I just finished, "Chasing the White Dog", a lot of it takes place in Franklin County.:beercheer:

 

[Turtle]

The first (and more important) thing that you must get ready is your mind, get ready to accept what will happen and don't go crazy on me...or your loved ones.

I agree completely with this statement, however, I would argue that this is exactly the purpose of threads such as this. The vast majority of us have never been in a situation such as you describe, so the theorizing of how one might react is the mind's way of developing pathways of thought. Think of is as a mental fire drill, like those performed by children in school; they practice how to behave, what to do, and where to go in emergency situations, so that should an actual emergency occur, they are prepared.

This is much the same for us. We have never had to live in a barter-based economy, but in performing these mental exercises, we will be more prepared should that eventuality come in to play. We will not be the ones scrambling to figure how we will survive and get what we need, as we have already planned some sort of scenario in our heads.

 

[Turtle]

Keep in mind that including barter items in you inventory is only to get you started. Having those items will buy you a little time on the front end, but you really need to know how to make, produce, manufacture products that people will need and want. Whether its furniture or hooch, you should plan now for some niche that will help carry you for the long haul.

Very true! This is why skills are much more valuable than products. Learn all of the skills that you can, now, so that there will be less of a learning curve when it really matters.

 

[Turtle]

One thing to consider when buying alcohol items is the shelf life. Some types of alcohol will hold up well for long term storage and others won't be as good after a couple of years.

:scratch Other than Bailey's (or a similar cream-based liqueur) I can't think of a single type of booze that has a very limited shelf-life. Most get better with age.

 

[Turtle]

Ever hear of a law against Bootlegging?

How about transporting alcohol for the purpose of resale ?

You guys are worried about the Fed's taking your stuff, why give them a legal reason ?

Did you ever hear of a law called "Conspiring to commit a felony"?

As long as you are just stocking your own storage lockers, that isn't against the law. When you openly discuss preperations to begin an illegal business, that just isn't smart !

:ignore:

I'd say that unless you decide to start early and start trading booze before TSHTF-scenarios come in to play, you would probably be fine. It would be very difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that anyone was trying to set up a trade outpost in their basement, if no transactions were being made. The BATFE and state agencies set up observation for months, sometimes years at a time to try to find enough evidence to try to convict someone of even one of those charges.

Think of it this way: What D.A. is going to stand in front of a judge and say, "Your Honor, this person has a stockpile of alcohol in their basement which they plan to trade for toilet paper after the end of the world."?

 

[Turtle]

Some varieties of wine are made for immediate consumption where others are made to be aged. I can't find the article I read a while back about aging wine but did find a few others:

Aging of wine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

How Long to Age Wine

I'm not sure how accurate the information is, but I do know that some wines will be bitter right after production and require aging to mellow out the flavor and make it suitable for drinking. Others will get bitter if you wait too long to drink it. Most (if not all) of the hard liquors are suitable for long term storage if kept in ideal conditions.

Okay,yeah, wines are a different beast altogether. Some wines are meant to be drank young and will not improve not matter how long they sit. Others are meant to be held for several years to reach full maturity. But I think we have already established that wines would not be good for trading purposes.