Why Liquor Shortages Caused by the Covid-19 Pandemic Persist in Some States

https://www.npr.org/2021/09/22/1039600464/liquor-shortages-covid-19-pennsylvania-virginia-ration-alcohol

by jelliclesfarm • 5 years ago

4 4 5 years ago

[..] Many liquors simply take a long time to make. Producers have to grow or buy the ingredients, distill the spirit, then let it age. That means producers must anticipate demand years in advance. They can't simply turn on the spigot when demand rises.

"You can't go back five years and retroactively plant more agave," Ozgo said of the plant used to make tequila. "It doesn't work that way."

The distiller Buffalo Trace, whose bourbon is currently limited to two bottles per day for customers in Pennsylvania, is undertaking a $1.2 billion expansion but says it will still be "a few years" before it can fully meet consumer demand.[..]

And how would that work? To increase supply? Are we going to grow food or Ag for liquor? Arable land is decreasing. Population increasing. Ag is not automated and less people willing to labour. Supply chain is nothing if there is no supply.

manwe150• 5 years ago

Isn’t the US still a major net exporter of grains? I thought crops were at least one area that the US still wastes a good percentage of production each year, and isn’t micro-optimized to be the minimal supply essential.

Finnucane• 5 years ago

They can’t reasonably expect people to get by on two bottles of bourbon a day? I mean, that’s barely enough for breakfast.

Althuns• 5 years ago

This is before we feel the effects of the terrible grain harvests in the western US. Low yields or completely lost crops are the story coming out of the Palouse and elsewhere. I don't think we'll know how bad it is until mid-winter.

Why Liquor Shortages Caused by the Covid-19 Pandemic Persist in Some States

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