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Alcohol deals for trade fodder.

Anyone know of good deals on decent spirits/whiskey in smaller trade fodder containers that would be fairly reasonable to purchase in bulk .
Not the baby airplane bottles but maybe a pint sized or half pint bottles.
Also need ideas on tobacco.

I’m thinking buying bulk tobacco and papers would be much much more affordable than cigarettes and easier to keep fresh in mason jars or vac sealer.
8 oz travelers. Plastic bottles. Lighter to carry, won’t break, and like you said, won’t go bad. You have to get them through the liquor store (legally, anyway). Available for cheap in the major brands: Crown, Jack, Goose, Absolut, and the cheap ones for when people want to buy crap ‘cause it’s all they can afford.
 
Mason jars, a large supply of rice, yeast, water and a still....

The ability to manufacture pure grain alcohol will be far more beneficial than buying it from the store and stockpiling.

You can make moonshine out of rice and after the third run through the distillery, it will burn blue. Tastes horrible through...
 
I keep 1/2 pints of Jack for trade, it never goes bad.

I was looking for some Jack in bottles around 200 ml. I found some at Total Wine. But it was in plastic bottles and cost quite a bit more per ml than the regular 750 ml bottles.

I think the plastic will not be near as good as glass for long term storage. O2 can migrate through thin plastic and cause oxidation of the booze leading to off-taste notes.

Do you have plastic bottles? If so, how long have you stored them without noticing taste issues?
 
I was looking for some Jack in bottles around 200 ml. I found some at Total Wine. But it was in plastic bottles and cost quite a bit more per ml than the regular 750 ml bottles.

I think the plastic will not be near as good as glass for long term stotage. O2 can migrate through thin plastic and cause oxidation of the booze leading to off-taste notes.

Do you have plastic bottles? If so, how long have you stored them without noticing taste issues?
I have some old glass bottles from the 90's.
 
I have some old glass bottles from the 90's.

Since I can't find small glass bottles of Jack, I decided to buy some 1.75 liter bottles of Jack. Those are the best value as far as $/ml of Jack. I am also getting a case or 2 of generic 200 ml empty bottles with caps. If the time comes, I will open a bottle of jack and portion into the small bottles.
 
Since I can't find small glass bottles of Jack, I decided to buy some 1.75 liter bottles of Jack. Those are the best value as far as $/ml of Jack. I am also getting a case or 2 of generic 200 ml empty bottles with caps. If the time comes, I will open a bottle of jack and portion into the small bottles.
Great solution! Economical and efficient.
 
By
Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
Updated August 05, 2018

From a chemistry perspective, there are several types of alcohol, but the one of interest here is the alcohol you can drink, which is ethyl alcohol or ethanol. Technically, none of the types of alcohol go bad or expire in pure form or when diluted with water. Alcohol is a potent disinfectant, so when it is present in a high enough concentration, it's safe from mold, fungi, protozoa, and bacteria. It's only when alcohol is mixed with other ingredients that it has a shelf life.

Types of Alcohol That Never Go Bad
Hard alcohol essentially lasts forever. In fact, some forms of alcohol, such as scotch, improve with age up to the point where they are opened. Here are common examples of spirits that don't have a shelf life:
  • gin
  • rum
  • tequila
  • vodka
  • whisky

However, once you crack open a bottle, oxygen from the air starts to change the chemistry of the contents. While the alcohol won't become unsafe to drink, the color and flavor will change. Once you open a bottle of hard alcohol, be sure to re-seal it as tightly as possible and keep the liquid in a container with as little air space as possible. This means you may need to transfer the liquor to a smaller bottle as the contents are drained. Once the seal is broken, the clock starts ticking. If you cracked open that bottle of quality scotch, for example, you'll want to finish it off within 8 months to a year to get the best experience.

Types of Alcohol That Have a Shelf Life
When other ingredients are added to the alcohol or the alcohol is fermented, the product can get skunky or support the growth of yeast, mold, and other non-tasty microbes. These products have an expiration date stamped on them. They often last longer when refrigerated.


  • beer
  • cream liqueurs
  • mixed drinks (either packaged or made yourself)

The beer has a definite shelf life. This will be stamped on the container and varies according to the way the beer was processed.
Cream liqueurs contain dairy products and sometimes eggs. These products typically last no longer than a year to a year and a half once opened. You can taste them to see if they are still good or play it safe and throw them out if they look or smell curdled or have passed their expiration date.


With mixed drinks, consider the beverage 'bad' once you have passed the shelf life of the least stable ingredient. For example, while straight vodka might be good forever, once you mix it with orange juice, you probably would not want to drink it left on the counter the next day. It might be good a couple of days refrigerated. It's not necessarily that the drink becomes dangerous, but the taste may be unpleasant. After a while, mold and other nastiness will grow on these drinks, making them unsafe in addition to gross.


Alcohol That Can Go Bad
  • wine
  • liqueurs
  • cordials

While wine matures once bottled and can last indefinitely, if the seal of the bottle is compromised, it can get nasty. This is in contrast to liqueur, which won't grow pathogens even if the bottle is open. However, in either situation, if the product is exposed to air, the chemical of the composition changes (rarely for the better) and the alcohol can evaporate out of the liquid.


Liqueurs and cordials contain sugar and other ingredients. There is no hard and fast rule regarding shelf life, but if you see sugar crystallizing out of the liquid or the flavor or color looks 'off', you may not want to drink it.


Extend the Shelf Life of Alcohol
You can keep alcohol in top form by:


  • Storing it in a cool, dry place. This location varies. It might be a cellar or climate-controlled rack for wine, while you can store vodka in the freezer.
  • Avoid exposing any alcohol to sudden or extreme temperature changes.
  • Store it out of direct sunlight.
  • Keep alcohol in a bottle with little airspace.
  • Make certain the seal on the container is good. Do not store alcohol in unsealed pourers or decanters unless you plan to go through the container fairly quickly.

The Bottom Line
Pure alcohol lasts forever. Once you add ingredients to alcohol, it can go bad. If the beverage looks or tastes funny, it's probably best to throw it out. Higher proof alcohol might not become dangerous to drink, but once the seal of lower proof alcohol is broken, air gets into the bottle, the concentration of the alcohol drops, and pathogens that can make you sick may multiply.
 
Since I can't find small glass bottles of Jack, I decided to buy some 1.75 liter bottles of Jack. Those are the best value as far as $/ml of Jack. I am also getting a case or 2 of generic 200 ml empty bottles with caps. If the time comes, I will open a bottle of jack and portion into the small bottles.

Sounds like a pretty good idea. Anybody want to swing by the Class 6 and pick me up a couple handles of the Military Special Whiskey? Figure that would save a couple dollars...
 
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