Alcohol?

Has anyone thought of including a small bottle of booze with their BOB?

Before you go laughing your head off, consider:
-Sanitation (it won't sterilize, but it could help)
-Anasthesia (OK, not real good, but it does numb the pain)
-Blood thinner/diuretic. Not my first choice for either, but it
can help a little
-It's different than water, which might get old after a few days.
-You might come across a lime tree that's begging for a mixer.
-You can't tell me that, after a REALLY bad day, a drink wouldn't
be really welcome!

Now, honestly, I don't think that grabbing the whiskey would be the first thing I'd go for. But, if I had a few minutes, I might fill a flask or 2.

i always bring a plastic bottle of high proof rum on my canoe
trips..when you mix it with lake water it sure slows down all
those little Daphnia --water fleas--swimming around in your cup.

i've thought of buying a stainless flask to bring along a little scotch (a little Cragganmore or Oban around the campfire would be nice). although a little pricey, i would think Everclear (190 proof) would be a good multi purpose spirit as it would also make a fine fuel for an alcohol stove.

Undoubtedly. Maybe something that 'rich' wouldn't be the best choice? I've never had it but I hear it burns something fierce. Maybe Bacardi 151? It's 75% versus Everclear's 95%. Of course, if you're going for purely non-ingestion, you could always swing by a college chemistry lab and get 99% Ethanol. I was always tempted to bring a shot or 2 home and see what happened.

In BOB? No. Not worth the weight and bulk.

Set aside as part of bug in supplies or in a BOV as trade goods, maybe.

I have a small plastic one shot bottle of rum in my kit. the type you get at liquor stores in verious flavors.

Not in the BOB. But I do have two 1/2 pint bottles of Everclear in my 30 day kit along with some of those fruit-flavored powdered mixes leftover from old MRE's. I figure I can drink a toast to TEOTWAWKI even if I can't do anything to prevent it.

These labs have ATF permits for tax free alcohol and are usually under lock and key with a ledger showing amounts used, when, and by whom for possible audits.

However, you'd need to be careful as I've seen EtOH containers reused for denatured 95% EtOH...and that's not something you want to drink. Also, 100% EtOH will take in water via the surrounding air and eventually reach 95%.

I doubt I'd ever want to carry alcohol any distance. However, I tell myself that my stack of liquor counts as preparation for sheltering in place. Trade goods or bribes if nothing else.

Once, on a five nighter into the backcountry of Yosemite, we met a friend who had come in from a different direction. While sitting around a fire that night he produced a fifth of Jack Daniels, IN THE FACTORY GLASS BOTTLE. Kind of amazed me that it was still in one piece. Then we became concerned about the weight he was packing, so, even though Jack is not my first choice in toddy making, we helped him lighten his load a few ounces. It did go down nice, although I would really recommend a non-breakable container...

My bike...ready to bug-out.

hmmmm, that beer looks mighty lonely and a little vulnerable (should you encounter any bumps along the way). a bubble wrapped 6-pack in a side pouch would make a nice companion.

I was just thinking, maybe a 40 would fit better? Or a liter of something.

Either way, great idea. Maybe I'll ride to school like that one day

I don't drink, so I'll have to ask this of those who do.

After my father died, I found a couple of unopened quarts of Jim Beam in the cupboard. I didn't know what to do with them, so I kept them. They've been sitting in the back of a cupboard since 1988. Are they still drinkable? I'm thinking trade goods.

Sue, who can't even stand the smell of beer

Are they unopened? Unlike wine and beer, that stuff's going to get better with age so long as it is sealed.

Pity it is glass, but it should be nicely mellow by now even without aging in wood.

-Raven, who thinks that whiskey and women shouldn't even be looked at until 20 years old.

It has gone bad, and could poison someone. You'd better send it to me for proper disposal. I don't drink the stuff myself you understand...

Hey, there's a thought, how effective would say 80 proof alcohol be as a water sanitizer? People have been drinking beer and wine for centuries due to the fact that it was safer to drink then the water. Can alcohol be used as a last resort water purifier?

To make sure there is no environmental damage, I assume you are going to employ the "digestive disposal" method.

Yes, OBG is right, you have a potential Chernobyl on your hands, better to have us deal with it. I have a group of folks who are the poster children for proper disposal of these dangerous materials. It might be risky, but, the technique involves bringing the chemicals in question into smaller, open containers, setting them around a large round table, and having a deck of playing cards in close proximity... let us know which Friday evening you want my "Hazmat team" to take care of this!

Yes, they're unopened, but they're heavily coated with dust, so I wouldn't want to give any of you guys 'contaminated' goods. I'll just pour it out in the middle of the street. It will just evaporate, right?

Sue

If I was still a drunk, I'd be pointing and crying as you did that, even if do prefer scotch to bourbon.

BLASPHEMY Susan, Blasphemy !!!! Don't waste precious resources that should be disposed in a proper manner IAW the drinking laws of that state !!!!

I looked into this, and I couldn't find support for using alcohol as a water purifier. For beer, water is boiled in the process, and for wine, I think the growth of yeast crowds out other bacteria. I have seen advice for using alcohol as a skin/surface disinfectant.

I have no idea, but I do know that after high school I went on a week long vacation in Mexico. Apparently, gallons of Corona and Tecate, combined with liters of tequila, do an effective job of preventing Montezuma's Revenge. His headaches, however, still come with a vengeance.

"...It will just evaporate, right?..."

So will gasoline, but you wouldn't risk the world doing that would you???

"...I have seen advice for using alcohol as a skin/surface disinfectant..."

From the inside out might work too...

Not only do I keep a bottle of Glenmorangie in my vehicle BOB (transferred into a plastic flask). I keep about a half dozen cigars too (could help transport fire when on the move).

As I see it, a few things to help keep up my morale should I be in a dire situation cant't hurt.

Any alcohol is also the best coated optics cleanser. But you must use it sparingly on it. So just slowly breath on your lens to cover it with the thinnest layer of alcohol and then carefully wipe it out with lens cloth.

I'm surprized no one's done a study on this. Although the proof might be too high to stave off dehydration, I'd think a good whollop of ethanol would put most water in the drinkable range.

Actually, it doesn't work. That's been known for a long time.

Basically, your alcohol gets diluted to the point that many microbes actually aren't harmed by it. Keep in mind that ethanol and methanol are actually naturally occurring compounds at very low concentrations.

Well, I guess I'll stick to drinking my whiskey neat like civilized people then.

Go ahead, water it down. Particularly if isn't scotch. But it won't purify the water, that's all.

Heck yeah!

Ingredients:
* Flask full of vodka ~(7oz)
* A couple of Crystal Light "on the go" packages (raspberry ice, pink lemonade, strawberry banana)
* 20oz Water bottle

Drink 2-4oz of the water from the water bottle, replace with vodka. Add crystal light flavor package.

Shake Shake Shake...

Presto, you have made what we like to call here PPR (proven panty remover). It works more effectively in larger quantities, but hey, I probably couldn't hike 5-10 miles on a hangover.

I have some Crown from the 70's... one was open, and it tasted ok def. not as strong as originaly but hey it wasn't bad either

If it was sealed properly it's just as strong it's just mellowed with age, and like an old man it will sneek up on you and hit you in the back of the head.