drinking responsibly — and cheaply
Some of the bootleggers down here just realized Prohibition is definitely over. That, or the Great Recession made bathtub hooch an economically viable commodity. Liquor may have gotten re-legalized back in the Depression, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be cheap. Which, sad to say, the cannabis growers and users are going to realize soon as the state puts a tax on it. Then the local municipalities and unless my guess is wrong and I was born under a rock, the Feds will up the ante AND the price.
Sin taxes. Most of us down here on the South End don’t actually subscribe to the notion that mind-altering remedies for the Hard Life are sins, but it’s always comforting to know the folks Without are willing to cast the first stone at those of us With. My fellow rumrunners have definitely seen the advantage of home brew and home grown. The government’s got enough to do without worrying about our little enterprises and we’re happy to help.
Nevertheless, I have been gobsmacked lately over the sudden proliferation of entrepreneurial spirits, pun probably intended. Walnut Court Brewery has beers ranging from Dreamliner Lager to Silvana Suds. Buzz Beer down south of me runs the gamut from a honey mead to a whisky stout he ages in burnt whisky barrels. Our fiddler in the bibulous South End String Band makes enough moonshine merlot in French oak barrels to supply all the restaurants in Stanwoodopolis. You know, IF he had any to spare after quenching our own needs. Kirby Cellars makes a healthful tonic of herbal nettles and mango and a few potions I have been sworn to secrecy over.
Which explains my obvious spiritual vitality, in case anyone wondered where the glow originated…. Course, so far, no one has.
And of course I have my own bathtub homebrews. Clawfoot Jalapeno Ale and Heavy Nettle IPA, just to name a couple. So when folks ask if it’s true we’re self-sufficient down these parts, I guess I have to say, pretty near. And getting closer all the time. Store bought’s okay too, just so you don’t think we’re uppity, us South Enders. We’re just trying to cut out the Middle Man, the trucking costs and especially those burdensome sin taxes.
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