# Alcohol-as a Prep



## Urinal Cake (Oct 19, 2013)

Our last piece recommended avoiding alcohol, if you’re trying to stay warm. I received some feedback from a few readers asking if I recommend abstaining from alcohol altogether.

There's a complicated answer, because alcohol comes with a nightmare of health risks, and if you’re in a survival situation you want to be in top physical form. Alcohol will put you in, well, the opposite of top physical form. It’s not good to drink if survival, health and longevity are your goals.

On the other hand, while liquor might not be the most notable item on some survival stockpiling lists, it should still be on your list.

While it’s unwise for an alcoholic to stockpile liquor, for the rest of the prepping world, alcohol is an important item to store. Get several bottles of the good stuff and tuck them away in your prepping supplies. In fact, it might even be better to have several gallons of the hard variety.

The biggest reason to have liquor is for bartering. The truth is many people like to drink. Having alcohol in your possession makes it possible for you to take advantage of their desires and benefit you and your family. Alcohol is one of the few items that will always have an intrinsic value.

There will always be a market for alcohol and there will always be people in need of it.

Bartering will be the main means of business in a real disaster scenario and if you have the right items you could be sitting in the driver’s seat. Always make sure you have strong liquor on hand so that you can barter for other items you might need in the future. It could improve your likelihood of survival and add some value to the preps you have on hand.

Another great option for strong liquor is that it can be used as a fuel. While it might not be very cost effective to fill your car or truck with moonshine, it would work in a pinch.

You might notice it runs a little differently but the engine can run on strong liquor. It can be used in lamps and it can be used on rags as well. It has a high flash point so it even makes for a good lamp oil.

Alcohol is (sometimes) good to drink, good to cook with, it makes a great cleaner and antiseptic, and it has the bartering power of gold. It makes sense to have this item in your possession (just don't drink too much of it).


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## Targetshooter (Dec 4, 2015)

I have a box of the little ones "40 fit in a shoe box" , like you get on the air planes .


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Agree, however I don't store the hard stuff but the trade value of alcohol is one reason I have an apple orchard. Apples of course provide a very large, steady supply of food, but also can provide a large volume of hard cider... a staple back in years past. Then, once you have apple cider, it is only one more natural step away from vinegar... another item of great use & trade value.


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

Not sure why alcoholics should not stock liquor? That just dont seem fair. Know I heard my smart Jewish heart doctor eating this poor guys ass plumb out in the next cubicle. I overheard him saying..."Drinking is fine but you need to drink the same amount everyday. You cant go out and get drunk on Sat night and then go cold turkey the rest of the week. Its bad for your heart." Thats all I know about that.


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## MaterielGeneral (Jan 27, 2015)

I cant store any alcohol. I drink it as fast as I try to store it.


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

Thats why I want to eventually start stocking up on cases of half pints. That way a person could practice "fifo" which all us old insurance salesmen know means..First in first out. Rotating the stock as we would say in the grocery bidness. Each time a case gets knocked out its time to go buy another. That should work and always have plenty on hand for emergencies..such as nuclear attack..snake bite..chill banes etc.


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## LunaticFringeInc (Nov 20, 2012)

Im planting a lot of fruit trees and stocking yeast to turn it into wine...


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## TG (Jul 28, 2014)

MaterielGeneral said:


> I cant store any alcohol. I drink it as fast as I try to store it.


haha Sounds familiar :vs_closedeyes:


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## Camel923 (Aug 13, 2014)

Smaller bottles apparently have greater trade value than one big one. Something to keep in mind.


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## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

Camel923 said:


> Smaller bottles apparently have greater trade value than one big one. Something to keep in mind.


I have a 5 gallon bucket full of small bottles of various spirits. If I cant trade the bucket empty (only if I am in dire need that forces me to be bartering) I'll drink them myself.


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## Illini Warrior (Jan 24, 2015)

in regard to bartering booze - I believe early on in the post-SHTF that top shelf booze will barter to the well heeled ... if willing to speculate on what luxury goods will retain value - could make some lucrative deals with the country club scotch drinkers ....


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Alcohol and cold NO. That is that.
We will have the ability to make it, but it will not be for drinking for the most part. I am still looking into sugar beets for a sugar source.


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## Medic33 (Mar 29, 2015)

you may not believe it but alcohol in the whiskey/vodka/bourbon form is not all that bad for you and in moderation and can actually increase some health areas 
of course wine and beer have also been known to have beneficial results too.
one or two drinks every now and then like once a week shouldn't hurt you too much and well that once a year wholly crap worshiping the porcelain throne body cleanse might not be such a bad idea.


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## hag (May 19, 2016)

I have several Rubbermaid totes full of high quality bourbon in my crawl space. I keep it there out of the way for just such an occasion. If I never need it, my kids will have some nice collectables when I quit this world. If shtf, and it's too bad, I may want to drink it all myself lol


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## domindart (Dec 20, 2016)

I know you can put alcohol on a wound to clean it. What types of alcohol will and will not work doing that? 

Sent from my ASUS ZenFone 2E using Tapatalk


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## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

domindart said:


> I know you can put alcohol on a wound to clean it. What types of alcohol will and will not work doing that?
> 
> Sent from my ASUS ZenFone 2E using Tapatalk


You ain't from these parts now are ya?


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## domindart (Dec 20, 2016)

A Watchman said:


> You ain't from these parts now are ya?


What?

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## hag (May 19, 2016)

domindart said:


> What?
> 
> Sent from my ASUS ZenFone 2E using Tapatalk


Your supposed to consume the alcohol. It sterilizes better from the inside out


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## domindart (Dec 20, 2016)

Oh ok ok thanks for the helpful answer..

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## Jp4GA (Jan 21, 2016)

We keep alcohol in our stockpile for the purpose of bartering. Someone will always want to trade for booze. We don't have a lot but have some for situations that may call for it. Also learning brewing techniques as a hobby so that we can brew our own should we need to.


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## Illini Warrior (Jan 24, 2015)

domindart said:


> Oh ok ok thanks for the helpful answer..
> 
> Sent from my ASUS ZenFone 2E using Tapatalk


actually - to answer your question - the higher the "proof" the higher the alcohol content - 150 proof Everclear is near tops - but any bottled drinking alcohol will serve as a disinfectant - better than using plain water for wound flushing ....


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## Arklatex (May 24, 2014)

Here is a pretty decent book on making it yourself. All kinds of recipes for beer, wine, cider, mead, and all types of the hard stuff. Really good book to keep in your SHTF library.

https://www.amazon.com/Alaskan-Bootleggers-Bible-Liqueurs-Moonshine/dp/0967452406


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## ReignMan (Nov 13, 2015)

MaterielGeneral said:


> I cant store any alcohol. I drink it as fast as I try to store it.


I really can't argue with this intrinsic truth.


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## Prepared One (Nov 5, 2014)

I store both cheap and the finer liquors . Funny thing tho, there must be a flaw in my storage plan because I can't seem to keep a good supply of the stuff I like. :vs_worry:


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## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

A Watchman said:


> You ain't from these parts now are ya?





domindart said:


> What?
> 
> Sent from my ASUS ZenFone 2E using Tapatalk


Translation from southern speak: You are not from around here, are you?


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## warrior4 (Oct 16, 2013)

domindart said:


> I know you can put alcohol on a wound to clean it. What types of alcohol will and will not work doing that?
> 
> Sent from my ASUS ZenFone 2E using Tapatalk


Yes one can do that in a pinch, but it's not really recommended. Better to stock up on antibiotic ointment like Neosporin or other similar product.


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## mickbear (Aug 26, 2015)

take some time and look into making a liquor still.There is no magic to making liquor (alcohol ). You can get everything at the big box stores or your local hardware and grocery store.


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## RedLion (Sep 23, 2015)

Alcohol is a great prep for barter. Like any other vice, it will be worth more than it's weight in gold SHTF. I do not keep it myself, as alcohol has proven to be evil incarnate for me, but do think that it a good investment for others to have on hand for prepping.


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## MaterielGeneral (Jan 27, 2015)

warrior4 said:


> Yes one can do that in a pinch, but it's not really recommended. Better to stock up on antibiotic ointment like Neosporin or other similar product.


And rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

LunaticFringeInc said:


> Im planting a lot of fruit trees and stocking yeast to turn it into wine...


Great plan on that. I practice the wine making hobby myself from time to time. I make what is called Cowboy wine. Not very fancy but easy peasy to make and can cause otherwise rational folks to act pretty silly if they have a wee dram too much.


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## LunaticFringeInc (Nov 20, 2012)

I dont do much in the way of fancy stuff either, just a lot of Pear wine which is the shiznick to be sure.


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## Folklore (Apr 6, 2021)

The barter ability of alcohol has been tested many times during the repeated crises in Russia. I prefer canisters of medical or food grade 95% ethanol. I have half a liter in my backpack. I need it as an antiseptic, for disinfecting water if necessary, for degreasing surfaces and contacts of electronics, for an alcohol stove.


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## ItsJustMe (Dec 12, 2020)

I, too, keep liquor for bartering mostly. Not much of a drinker myself. However, I must say here that one may wish to be very careful in bartering this item. Do it away from your base, do not reveal where you keep it or where you live. Have you ever seen an alcoholic going through withdrawal? They will do anything to get a drink and some become very violent.

Interesting that liquor stores were deemed "essential" and remained open throughout this "pandemic"......


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