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I Wouldn’t Exactly Call It a Harbinger of Doom…
… but I’ll be damned if I know what else to call it. Supply chain shortages just hit me where I live.
I just bought a brand of bourbon other than my usual, because I’m out of my usual and my liquor store is out of glass bottles of the stuff I drink. They have it in plastic bottles. What man drinks his bourbon out of a plastic bottle?
OK, I don’t drink it out of the bottle. But you get the point.
No, it’s not a catastrophe, but you can see catastrophe from here.
Published in General
I just bought a plastic bottle of Jim Beam a few days ago.
My God…
“What a catastrophe”
Soon you guys will sitting in a gutter somewhere drinking your cheap booze out of plastic bottles in paper bags.
I keep the empty glass bottles of my favorite tipples for my brother-in-law (who is an artist). Whenever a brand substitutes plastic for glass, I rinse out the old glass bottle, decant the liquor from the plastic bottle and ditch the plastic bottle. Now my B-I-L does not get the empty glass bottle unless I have another glass bottle of the same liquor in my cabinet.
A good friend stopped by this morning to let us know what he predicted has happened – the business that he owns with others is now scrambling to close their doors. They sell commercial furniture to mostly casinos and hotels. Manufacturing done in Vietnam. They can’t get product from Vietnam to the states.
I went to my local liquor store yesterday. At the check-out counter there was a note at the register informing customers of upcoming shortages. Hennessy cognac was not available, and there will be more shortages to come for other liquors. It’s not just glass bottles that will be disappearing, it will be the contents as well according to the clerk.
This will drive up prices, and it’s driving up prices in grocery stores for food, as well as for gasoline. Needless to say diesel prices for both trucks and trains is playing a part in price increases.
My wife always gives a; “Thanks Joe” when she looks at what we spend for groceries and most any other item we purchase.
My late MIL got her booze in a plastic bottle (EZRA Brooks). I thought it was a great idea because it shouldn’t break . . .
It’s been a long time since I did that.
Now, of course, I use a plastic bag…
Did it taste different? Or was it just plebeian?
Weren’t plastic bottles once marketed as being for “travel”?
Like—take this with you because there’s nothing worse than having a bottle break in your suitcase and having to dress for a meeting smelling like a distillery.
Shoot, with airline fluid allowances as low as they are, I always just buy something when I get there.
Rock Rose gin from Scotland comes in an enameled crock. It makes an outstanding gimlet. I learned about it from a friend who grew up in the town where it is from. She says that her sister gets refills in a plastic bag and just refills the crock. Its part of their business model.
I had an uncle who used to have a good bottle of scotch. The bottle was from good scotch. He put cheap scotch in it and expected people to believe it was Chivas.
Actual liquor shortages will be very problematic. Lots of people have started or increased their drinking this past 18+ months.
That’s true now, but it’s pretty recent.
Plastic bottles also make it cheaper for drunks with less money.
Bourbon drinkers won’t care, but one of my few policy disagreements with Trump was that the Administration slapped a 25% tariff on Scotch malt whiskey that has yet to be sorted out (or stopped). That will hold down one’s drinking of that stuff.
I was thinking that could be the reason for shortages right there.
It doesn’t apply to checked bags either.
Bourbon in plastic bottles?? What? No way. Actually I’m out of bourbon myself. I’ll swing by the liquor store tomorrow and see.
But some of our supermarkets have empty shelves which they have blamed on supplies not coming in. And I live in NYC. I can imagine elsewhere.
One of the advantages of living in Oregon is no sales tax. Big ticket items like automobiles, furniture, and appliances, etc. become less painful to purchase. Obviously taxes on businesses are still paid for in the price of items, but if you purchase a $35,000 automobile with a 5% sales tax you avoid another $1,750 charge in Oregon.
The State of Washington privatized liquor sales. The state legislature punished voters by raising the tax on liquor, making liquor more expensive than liquor in Oregon. The end result was that Washington residents on the Oregon border cross the river and buy liquor in Oregon.
Washington residents buy other items in Oregon, but if they buy a new car they are charged the Washington sales tax when they license the vehicle at their DMV.
Personally I like to buy local. I go to the local distillery and get my bourbon from a barrel that usually has my name on it. Occasionally with a personalized label. But I understand that many are not from an area where bourbon, whiskey and shine pour from the hills.
Are you sure you are not accidentally drinking mouth wash? Was it minty??
Easy fix. Switch to scotch. Much better.
That is a solution to a problem I don’t have. I like bourbon. I just want it — and lots of it — from a glass bottle.
Except most people finance a car, so the tax doesn’t come directly out of their pocket.
Elsewhere is better. My wife and I went to a grocery store earlier today. No bare shelves.
They pay for it in the monthly payment which adds a bit more interest costs to their payment.
Chipotle was out of guacamole yesterday, which is a weird thing because avocados are grown domestically and in Mexico. The restaurant chain addressed this in the media a few months ago, actually, saying their suppliers had staffing shortages.
Guacamole is a big deal in this household. It might be analogous to Henry’s bourbon.
Anyway, our “next up” local restaurant had plenty. Happy family.
Plastic is public enemy number one with environmentalists, so I wonder how long it will be until we see boxed liquor (shudder).
Come to think of it, paper is also bad because we cut down trees to make it. And there is a paper shortage right now. Publishers are scrambling to meet demand for print runs while release dates keep shifting. I think there’s more to what’s going on than just supply chain issues. The environmental cult has long believed that somehow any material that man takes from the earth is a sin against Gaea. I’m sure they’re relishing in the opportunity to take advantage of this crisis to further their goals.
Maybe just give up on that sweet kids stuff and move over to the Scotch aisle.
And, just like that, Hank changed his mind and enthusiastically endorsed the “ignore” button.
Whatever works!