Save Money on Alcohol
Alcoholic beverage prices are keeping pace with the recent rise in the cost of food, because booze is made from the same raw materials--grains, potatoes and grapes. Australia's recent drought is boosting the cost of local beer. U.S. vodka makers like Smirnoff are feeling the crunch as corn derived ethanol works its way into our auto fuel supply. Still by being savvy shoppers, we can save money on this vital commodity.
Instructions
1. Drink out less. The last time I ordered a pair of martinis at a bar, I slipped the tender a twenty, and got just enough back for a tip. A recent national survey of restaurant owners found that people who ordered alcohol with their meals had fallen to less than a third, the lowest level in years. If you do drink out, choose drinks that require less labor such as a glass of house wine. It will go better with your meal.
2. Choose a domestic alternative. One of my favorite drinks is cognac. A good VSOP or XO is complex yet smooth on the palatte. Unfortunately, compared to the Euro just 6 years ago, a dollar is now worth 57 cents. A bottle of French brandy that sold for $20 then now sells for about $35 today. However, there is no shortage of good American producers of wine, brandy, whiskey and beer. Choose U.S. brands for a substantial savings.
3. Look for specials. Stores frequently use alcohol as a loss leader to attract customers. Skim the ads in the paper, or go through the liquor aisle in your market. Sometimes the specials are on the 1.75 Liter bottles. Do the math.
4. Lose your brand snobbishness. Have a taste test party. Some liquors, like Grand Marnier and Jack Daniels, are distinctive and very hard to duplicate. Fine cognac benefits from aging in oak barrels. The older the brandy is, the more expensive it is, because a large percentage evaporates. The French describe it as "the angel's portion." However, other liquors like vodka are a lot simpler and gain nothing through aging. Vodka gets its smoothness through charcoal filtering. In one of the most telling taste tests of the last few years, the NY Times did a blind panel test of the world's elite vodkas, including Grey Goose, Wyborowa, Stolichnaya and Chopin. As a lark, somebody slipped in Smirnoff's. The American vodka won shot glasses down.
5. Make your own. Home wine and beer making are legal under federal law, although both activities remain illegal in Alabama. In Texas, you're only allowed to brew 200 gallons a year for personal consumption. Check into your local regulations for specifics. It's easy to use home brew kits that will let you make your own ale, beer, mead or hard cider (see Resources below). Brewing is not difficult. You'll be feeding malt hops, water and corn sugar to beer yeast that will convert the sugar in the mix to alcohol. It will take a couple of weeks.
6. If you want to start fermenting your own wine, homebrewit.com is a good source of supply (see Resources below). Wine making is a similar process, but here you're fermenting grape juice. Wine making stores will supply your choice of concentrated grape juice such as Riesling, Merlot and Chardonnay.
7. Distilling your own spirits in the United States is still illegal. Why? Taxes. More than half the cost of a bottle of whiskey, gin or vodka are the taxes. The ostensible reason for this last vestige of prohibition, is that making moonshine, or home made alcohol, is a dangerous process. Still, the activity is legal in New Zealand, so if you live there visit Ehow's "Make Moonshine" for instructions.
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