Have you stored up any alcohol?

By Joseph Parish

One item of interest that usually comes up when discussing the fine details of survival preparation is alcohol. How many people have a few bottles of Whiskey stocked up with their water and food supplies?

Now don’t misunderstand me as I am not advocating drinking the items but perhaps for a medicinal purpose.  Believe it or not many items that you can purchase at the local liquor store can serve to ease a sore throat or calm a nasty cough. These alcoholic items seem to work just as well as the prescriptions obtained from the pharmacy.

In the years past people would buy bottles of brandy and proceed to mix it with lemon juice and a bit of honey. Now days you can achieve essentially the same effect with the use of cinnamon flavored Schnapps. No mixing is required you merely drink a small bit of it.

If we happen to be heading towards so very rough times you may wish to consider storing a few bottles of alcohol including some vodka. It is not uncommon to find that some of our hospital pharmacies maintain a quantity of vodka in stock for medicinal purposes. In the event that sometime were to happen to one of your family members after the SHTF a few tastes of the alcohol could possibly relieve a considerable amount of pain if necessary.  It is also handy for sterilizing instruments.

It was not unusual in my grandparent’s days for them to maintain a small bottle of everclear handy for medicinal purposes as well as a pint of brandy for those hacking coughs. Rum is excellent for use in a cake and it never hurts a meal to have a bit of wine cooked in it.

I personally do not drink however I have a small assortment of Gin, Vodka, Rum and other alcoholic beverages laid in storage. I keep a few bottles of Scotch and Brandy readily available in my food storage closet. I currently have all the necessary bottles, caps and seals, malt and brewer's yeast complete with the paraphernalia for brewing either my own wine or beer.

Many of the herbal medicine extracts and tinctures which I prepare require that you use an alcohol base solution with the herb and let it sit for a specific period of time in order to activate the herbal ingredients properly. It is impossible to dissolve some of the oils in water so an alcohol base is necessary. Usually vodka is the desired drink of choice in this case. I like to keep a few large bottle of the cheap type of vodka in my storage for creating these tinctures. You can readily infuse your brandy with rosehips and hawthorn for one of your medicinal formulas.

If you happen to be considering making your own herbal tinctures you could use either Vodka or 150 proof everclear, although the 150 proof is usually only available in California. If you use the everclear you should add some inexpensive 80 proof vodka to it in order to take some of the bite out of the alcohol. You can add some pure vanilla as a flavoring. Many of the one and two ounce glass bottles that come with eye droppers are excellent for dispensing your homemade tincture. You only need something like 3 or 4 drops of the tincture to be placed on your tongue.

You can easily maintain a good stash of Irish whiskey or bourbon for many years without it going bad on you.

I do not normally drink. I will occasionally have a small glass of wine so the liquor which I have stored up will last my family and I for a very long time.

Copyright 2008 @ Joseph parish