Liquor for Preppers: Which liquors are best to stockpile for preparedness?

During a long-term disaster situation, liquor will be a precious resource. From bartering and economic reasons to health and medicinal uses, alcohol is one of those items that should be part of any good preparedness stockpile.

5 Preparedness Reasons for Stockpiling Alcohol

Liquor for Bartering

When things go wrong, people are going to be looking for an escape. Even a cheap bottle of alcohol could have tremendous value during a crash. Desperate people will be willing to trade just about anything for a chance to escape their situation. Alcohol is one of those items that there will always be a market for and one of those things that people will always need.

Liquor for your Health

A whiskey a day keeps the doctor away. Even during prohibition, Whiskey was legal to import because it was considered a medicine. In fact, whiskey, when consumed in moderation, can have many health benefits. And when you’re battling a cold or allergies, alcohol can dilate your blood vessels, making it easier for mucus membranes to deal with the infection.

Whiskey, Honey, and Lemon make an excellent cough suppressant.

Liquor as a Stress Reliever

While drinking yourself into a stupor isn’t going to help you survive anything, being able to take the edge off during a stressful situation is something that can go a long way to ensuring your mental health.

Liquor as an Antiseptic/Cleaner

Liquor with a high enough alcohol content can be used in a wide variety of cleaning and first-aid applications. Just make sure the alcohol content is above 60%.

Liquor for Preservation

Not only is liquor called for in a number of recipes, but it can be used to preserve herbs, fruits, and plants. Soaking herbs in alcohol like vodka or rum can make tinctures or extracts, making them more efficient and longer lasting.

How long does stockpiled Booze last?

Spirits last the longest – in most cases they will last indefinitely.

How long your liquor lasts depends on what type of booze you’re stockpiling. In general, spirits with a higher alcohol content will generally last the longest amount of time. In fact, most spirits will last indefinitely – although their flavors may change over time.

Liqueurs are a little bit trickier.

In general, you shouldn’t have to worry about spoilage if the alcohol content is around 17% or above. The exception to this rule is any type of cream liqueur. Most cream liqueurs will have a shelf life stamped on the bottle, so keep that in mind when stocking up on liqueurs like Baileys.

Wines and Vermouths

Most wine is meant to be opened within 12-18 months of purchase; once opened it rapidly starts to go bad. If unopened and stored right, at about 55-60 degrees, wine can last for about 5-10 years.

Beers are on the bottom of the list

It pains me to say this, but beer is going to be the first thing to go. Most beer will last for about 6-9 months beyond dates on the label, but anything beyond that you are going to be tasting some nasty stuff.

Don’t ever run out of Booze: Learn to Make your Own

Since we are talking about prepping, nothing says being prepared like having the ability to make your own homemade liquors and wines. While I’m partial to moonshine, that takes a little more work and equipment than the average person probably has on hand. But nothing is stopping you from brewing up a good ol’ batch of Hillybilly Wine!

Drop-Dead Easiest Homemade Wine Recipe:

There are a million and one homemade wine recipes out there, so I’m not going to share every single way to make it, just one drop-dead easy way that will get you started. Once you learn the process, you can experiment and start making your own fruit juices.

What you need:

• 5 – 64 oz bottles of grape juice. Heat to 115F in a big ass pot (don’t go beyond that or you will kill the yeast, you just want it warm enough to dissolve the sugar).
• Add about 6 ¼ cups of sugar and mix
• Pour into a large container
• Add one pack of wine yeast – you can also use regular baking yeast
• Gently Stir and cover with a towel; rubber band the towel around the bottle and let it sit for five days.
• On the fifth day siphon the liquid into another clean container and place an airlock on the bottle and let it sit for another 14 days (the airlock keeps bacteria out of the bottle while letting the gas out at the same time).  Repeat this step of the process one more time and let sit for another 14 days. This helps you get a cleaner wine and keeps all the crap at the bottom of the old container.
• Drink up!

But when the SHTF, there is only one liquor that I must have — Whiskey! Check out some of our favorites here.