Should You Store Liquor? – Prepping Long Term Storage
I recently watched a video from Prepper Potpourri where she had mentioned there was a liquor shortage in Michigan because, basically, there’s a monopoly of private liquor companies in Michigan.
As rare as that might sound, there could be a shortage of anything for any reason at any time. This is particularly true when we’re talking about natural disasters. Natural disasters can slow down or even shut down transportation of certain food or products.
In saying all that, should you store liquor in your preps?
Regardless whether you drink or not, you should consider the pros and cons of what it would mean if you decided to store liquor in your preps.
Let’s take a look at a few pros and cons:
Pro: Great trade item. When times get tough, people want to forget their woes and liquor is a great way to do that.
Con: Alcohol addiction is real. If people don’t get their alcohol they may take nefarious routes to get what they need.
Pro: Great conversation starter. People love to sit around the table sipping a beer/wine/whiskey/whatever.
Con: It can inhibit your brain function.
Pro: Liquor is pretty shelf stable.
Con: Alcohol can dehydrate you. This would be especially bad if water were hard to come by.
Pro: Drinking liquor can help prevent the common cold.
There are pros and cons to just about anything in life.
I’m not here to tell you that you MUST store liquor or you SHOULDN’T store liquor. You need to weigh the pros and cons for yourself.
Whenever I talk about barter items, I do caution people when it comes to addictive substances like alcohol. Because if they can’t come up with the item that you’re asking for in exchange for the alcohol that they need, there could be trouble.
It’s not a guarantee, it’s just something to keep in mind. You may, at the very least, want to amp up your security.
When it comes to personal use, I think those little mini “travel” bottles could be great to have around. They’re inexpensive and you can have a wide variety of liquor types. They would also be good for barter/trade items as well, if you wanted to go that route.
In the end, if you do decide to keep liquor in your preps but you want it only for personal use, keep it secret. If you are storing for the sole purpose of bartering, just know what you’re getting yourself into and up your security measures.
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Howdy! My name is Morgan I’ve been prepping for over 10 years and teach others to be prepared for emergencies and disasters. Learn more!
100 proof alcohol is a good fire starter also
I have cheap vodka to barter and Jagermeister to cook with. That’s going to be my limit.
Sounds good!
Morgan, I will respectfully disagree with Prepper Potpourri as to the shortage of liquor in Michigan, I have had no trouble finding it on the shelves of many stores. Though I have recently given up drinking for my diet. That is not to say I am a teetotaler. I think that having liquor in the storage is a good idea. Difficulty in moving it if one has to bug out. I intend to ‘stay and play’ too old for ‘running and gunning’. That said small bottles such as airplane , little shooters, half pints, or any size bottle would be not only a handy sterilization tool but as you mentioned folk like to ease the strain of life. A couple bottles of Single Malt scotch, Fine Bourbon or pretty much any will have immense trade value. A few beers a year post SHFT will be a great reward for having made it that far and it is a great bunch of carbs in what will be carb deprived world. You can bet that some really astute farmers have stills stashed for use post SHFT. My Grandmother, one hell of an educated woman for her times back in the early 1900’s, brewed up her own beer, wine and hooch in the back bedroom which she sold or traded to family and friends for those things that her family needed to survive WWI, Great Depression and WWII. She told me a story or two of when she blew the backroom windows where she brewed her booze out. She said the ‘jig was up’ as then all the neighbors knew what she was doing. She had a garden, a couple fruit trees and Great Granddad raised some rabbits and pigeons for food. My Grandfather worked in the auto factories. I digress.
Back in the middle ages ale was the favored drink with a varying alcohol content that sterilized the polluted water of the times by fermentation. Good thing to know as some years after SHTF survivors may once again use the process for water purification. All the Best Rogue. Tom m
I’ve never known Prepper Potpourri to lie. Maybe there was a shortage in her area, but not where you were specifically. Thanks for your thoughts.
Tom M.
Thanks for the cool stories. I love hearing about that era. Happy Thanksgiving!
Alcohol can be used to sterilize items and for people who need to be slightly less feeling when you need to sew them up.
Just make sure that it is a white (clear) alcohol like Everclear, and the proof is above 70. I like above 100 proof just for good measure.
For sure. Thanks!
These are great points. I think another pro is the ability to use alcohols for antibacterial purposes in an emergency.
Most definitely. Thanks!