Flavor, Nostalgia and the Economics of Alcohol

I remember my mother's cooking. Ever hear of something called "Mock Pizza?" If I remember correctly you cook up ground beef in a skillet, spread it over some Pillsbury pizza crust, covered with slices of American cheese then baked. That was the version we knew about as kids. Would you eat that again on a T.V. tray and watch old taped reruns of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom followed by Walt Disney then Columbo or McCloud on Sunday night just that nostalgia vibe?

Who knows, it might awaken some other repressed memories that will leave you in a fetal position on the floor, evacuating your bowels uncontrollably.

I never understood why people pay so much for their favorite beer, gin, rum, vodka, whiskey, bourbon, schnapps or whatever, to get basically the same effect from the same molecule of alcohol they could get from Everclear, which is 95% pure alcohol, or 190 proof, but so much cheaper than those ridiculous special brands.

I think people delude themselves into believing they love a "single malt" whatever, or they're good at "putting on airs." I can't stand any of that. I just mix 50 ml of Everclear with 65 ml of Margarita mix and about 100 ml of water over ice and it tasted delicious.

How much does it cost? Let's do the math:

EVERCLEAR GRAIN ALCH             $18.99   (750ml) / 50 ml = 15 units.
 MSTR MIX MARGARITA                $3.99  (1000 ml or 1Liter) / 65 ml = 15.385 units.
Tax Rate       Taxable Amount   Tax Amount
  Tax 2..8.7       22.98           2.01
  Total Tax:                      $2.01
     "Card used"                    $24.94 / 15 drinks = $1.67 per drink.

Maybe all that expensive beer and name-brand specially distilled whatever brings back memories of fun times, but WTF are you spending for it?

A typical beer is 12 oz and has about 5 or 6 percent alcohol, so 12 x 0.06 = 0.72 ounce of alcohol. How much does that cost?

Gem Clear versus Everclear

Everclear has absolutely no odor other than pure alcohol. It left me with no after-taste and no hangover. It's made with corn.

Gem Clear, while it is slightly cheaper, leaves me with a Vodka-like aftertaste, a terrible hangover, and a day with a mildly upset stomach. I can't find information on what's it's made with. I'm guessing potatoes.

The upside of this is a loss of appetite because alcohol has 7 calories per gram.

Typically I mix 50 ml of the alcohol with 50 ml of Margarita mix over ice in an 8 oz glass, then top it off with water, or tonic water. Under normal conditions, you should only use about 25 ml of the alcohol, which would match a normal Margarita's alcohol content.

You can stretch your alcohol budget very far with cheap, pure alcohol, instead of buying expensive brands of Vodka or Gin. Basically about half the price.