Running out of toilet paper and paper towels is a minor inconvenience. But when you see empty shelves in the liquor store, that’s a serious problem. There are now lots of “Sorry, Out of Stock” signs in ABC stores throughout the country.
Fortunately for me, I’m not a picky drinker. If it’s in the liquor store, it’s fair game, though I clearly have my favorite brands and I hate Scotch.
I suppose if it means chasing down all the “unvaxed” and giving them a shot in the arm whether they want it or not, so be it. But that’s not really the problem with liquor shortages. Some producers are simply having a hard time finding bottles. Their oaken kegs are full of bourbon with nothing which to pour it in. Also, the cost to ship liquor from overseas has skyrocketed. International shipping costs have gone out of sight. Some restaurants and bars have empty shelves because there aren’t enough folks driving trucks to deliver the booze. Liquor stores themselves are struggling to keep clerks behind the counter. Where there used to be 2 or 3 in every ABC store, there is generally only one anymore.
I made my own beer once, I guess I can run a still.
My beer making adventure, however, didn’t go well.
On a whim, I went out one day and bought 48 reusable bottles with caps, a bunch of yeast and malt syrup and all the paraphernalia that goes with beer making. My first couple of batches turned out well. The beer was rich and full-bodied, and I loved it. The third batch was a disaster. We were watching High Chaparral on TV (that’s how long ago it was) and I heard a bang down in the basement, then another, and then – one by one – 46 more. I think I added either too much sugar or too much yeast, maybe both, and the bottles all exploded. There was still glass shards on the floor and beer stains on the walls of the basement when we sold that house.
But corn squeezing’s?
Hold my beer. Here goes nothing.