Wrong to get rid of alcohol?

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Ms_Manners

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So I was cleaning and I found some home-made spirits that we got over the last two years.
There is a tradition of making alcohol and giving it to people when you visit, even if they don’t really drink. Not having alcohol in the house is like not having coffee, even if you don’t drink it.
(Yes, alcoholism is strong in our tradition.)
Alcohol isn’t banned from our home (as long as people don’t get drunk, of course), my husband will have a beer once in a while, I don’t because I simply don’t like the taste of most of it. Guests will have one drink, maybe two if they aren’t driving.

But now I found a lot. A bottle here and there and it piled up.
We have more than we could drink in years, more than even all our guests could drink in years. We don’t have anyone to give it to. (I actually tried, most people already have tons and are in a similar situation alcohol-wise. Those who would take it already drink too much so I wouldn’t feel comfortable giving it to them.)
It wasn’t actually made by our family members, it’s not fancy or special. I’d keep a small, more manageable amount.
There are a few smaller bottles that are fancy or exotic, I’d keep those. But those are small, maybe 4-8 oz each, and we got them because we wanted to try them.
I was thinking how much I would like to get rid of the big bottles that have been sitting in our pantry since we moved in, the ones we got mostly because someone made too much.

Throwing away perfectly fine food is wasteful, that is clear.

But what would you do with alcohol?
 
Is it suitable to use in cooking?

If it’s just sitting in your pantry and not being used, tossing it wouldn’t be any more wasteful. I don’t think there are any “Alcohol Patntries” to which they can be donated. 😉
 
No, I don’t have any recipes for it. 😃
(Sometimes I make mushroom sauce with wine, but that is actually so rare that the leftover wine went bad last time.)
 
You can do what you want with it. It isn’t expensive to buy a bottle of vodka to keep around the house if you want to offer it to guests. I wouldn’t keep any moonshine around the house because I would be worried about its extra potency and the potential for methanol poisoning. It isn’t as if moonshiners are known for their extra care and precautions in maintaining sanitary conditions.
 
If you know anyone who’s getting married, you could suggest they choose a venue where they can bring their own alcohol and then happily give them some of your supply (we had relatives do this when we got married - and then the leftovers were donated to the unofficial “after party.” We still had a few bottles left here and there, and I think we used those up last year - when we’d been married four years. :eek:)

If it’s not flavored, you could even use it to clean.

You could regift any time you visit someone’s home, though like you said if most of the people you visit are in the same situation, you’re not helping them out, either.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with tossing it, but like you I would struggle with feeling like it’s wasteful to do it. 😊
 
Burt_Macklin said:
You can do what you want with it. It isn’t expensive to buy a bottle of vodka to keep around the house if you want to offer it to guests. I wouldn’t keep any moonshine around the house because I would be worried about its extra potency and the potential for methanol poisoning. It isn’t as if moonshiners are known for their extra care and precautions in maintaining sanitary conditions.
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Oh, yeah.

I’d dispose of the homemade stuff just in order to avoid accidentally poisoning a guest.

That would be embarrassing.
 
It’s safe. I guess it would be some kind of schnapps.
It’s not about money, our culture is traditionally very fond of such things. No one would notice if it disappeared, but if I told anyone I tossed it, there would be an uproar. 🤷

I just don’t see the point of keeping it around since we don’t use it, can’t pass it on as a gift since it’s not a label.
It’s cherry and very sweet, useless for cleaning.
 
Ms_Manners said:
It’s safe. I guess it would be some kind of schnapps.
It’s not about money, our culture is traditionally very fond of such things. No one would notice if it disappeared, but if I told anyone I tossed it, there would be an uproar. 🤷

I just don’t see the point of keeping it around since we don’t use it, can’t pass it on as a gift since it’s not a label.
It’s cherry and very sweet, useless for cleaning.
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Don’t tell aaaanybody (and swear your husband to silence). Just put it glug glug glug down the drain and forget about it.

There are lots of gifts that people give that never see the light of day.
 
Toss it. You will never use it. It’s awkward to give away, and even if you do it is likely the recipient will never drink it. It is going to go to waste sooner or later, how can it be wrong to speed up the process?
 
Well, I’d keep some anyway, for guests who like it.
According to this recipe, I could make at least 50 cakes and still not be even close to running out. I’ll try the cake, though, thanks for the link. 🙂
 
Ms_Manners said:
Well, I’d keep some anyway, for guests who like it.
According to this recipe, I could make at least 50 cakes and still not be even close to running out. I’ll try the cake, though, thanks for the link. 🙂
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Funny!

I don’t guarantee that particular recipe, but there has to be some amazing recipes for desserts involving cherry schnapps.

I wonder if some of the flaming liquor recipes could be adapted for your stash?

foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/cherries-jubilee-recipe.html
 
Book_Worm said:
Is it suitable to use in cooking?

If it’s just sitting in your pantry and not being used, tossing it wouldn’t be any more wasteful. I don’t think there are any “Alcohol Patntries” to which they can be donated. 😉
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I agree with this. Plus, it’s wasting space in your house and in your mind if you keep it! So I would reduce the total waste by wasting the alcohol down the drain!
 
This fall, take it and pour it in a large container or carboy. Take a bunch of fresh-picked organic apples. After coring the apples (removing the apple cores), add them to your mixture in the carboy. Then put a couple layers of cheese cloth over the container bound by a couple rubber bands. Wait at room temp. for a couple weeks (kept in dark place like a closet).

Now you have vinegar that you can bottle and use for washing produce that you bring in from your garden (or from the store), and can clean with it too.

When you put the bucket of cut up apples into your mixture (earlier), you can even add some chopped basil etc. for a nice flavored cooking vinegar if you are so inclined (or you can just cook with the cider vinegar you just made).

Hope this idea helps you.

God bless.

Cathoholic
 
Decent rums and whiskeys and some homemade liquors can be used like vanilla, as flavor extracts, and I sometimes put a shot of something like vermouth or tequila in soups or when I’m cooking up onions, but other than that I don’t have any trouble dumping liquor that I don’t see anybody drinking. It is empty calories, and if you won’t use it and can’t give it away, you may as well clear out the cupboard.
 
Ms_Manners said:
So I was cleaning and I found some home-made spirits that we got over the last two years.
There is a tradition of making alcohol and giving it to people when you visit, even if they don’t really drink. Not having alcohol in the house is like not having coffee, even if you don’t drink it.
(Yes, alcoholism is strong in our tradition.)
Alcohol isn’t banned from our home (as long as people don’t get drunk, of course), my husband will have a beer once in a while, I don’t because I simply don’t like the taste of most of it. Guests will have one drink, maybe two if they aren’t driving.

But now I found a lot. A bottle here and there and it piled up.
We have more than we could drink in years, more than even all our guests could drink in years. We don’t have anyone to give it to. (I actually tried, most people already have tons and are in a similar situation alcohol-wise. Those who would take it already drink too much so I wouldn’t feel comfortable giving it to them.)
It wasn’t actually made by our family members, it’s not fancy or special. I’d keep a small, more manageable amount.
There are a few smaller bottles that are fancy or exotic, I’d keep those. But those are small, maybe 4-8 oz each, and we got them because we wanted to try them.
I was thinking how much I would like to get rid of the big bottles that have been sitting in our pantry since we moved in, the ones we got mostly because someone made too much.

Throwing away perfectly fine food is wasteful, that is clear.

But what would you do with alcohol?
Click to expand...
don’t throw it away. sell it in lots on ebay and get at least some of your money back!
 
ajecphotos said:
If i give you my address will you ship it all to me!! 👍
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I think if she had Crown Royal and Glenfiddich to get rid of, she’d have some takers by now. There have been attempts made at homemade liquors that are best just thrown out, particularly when it has been quite a long time since they were made. For instance, if citrus peel is not handled correctly, the pith can give a liquor an unwanted medicinal taste that can’t be corrected after the fact. Some liquors use a vodka as a base that doesn’t work with the flavor ingredients.

There is such a thing as bad liquor, and life is too short to keep it.
 
Ms_Manners said:
So I was cleaning and I found some home-made spirits that we got over the last two years.
There is a tradition of making alcohol and giving it to people when you visit, even if they don’t really drink. Not having alcohol in the house is like not having coffee, even if you don’t drink it.
(Yes, alcoholism is strong in our tradition.)
Alcohol isn’t banned from our home (as long as people don’t get drunk, of course), my husband will have a beer once in a while, I don’t because I simply don’t like the taste of most of it. Guests will have one drink, maybe two if they aren’t driving.

But now I found a lot. A bottle here and there and it piled up.
We have more than we could drink in years, more than even all our guests could drink in years. We don’t have anyone to give it to. (I actually tried, most people already have tons and are in a similar situation alcohol-wise. Those who would take it already drink too much so I wouldn’t feel comfortable giving it to them.)
It wasn’t actually made by our family members, it’s not fancy or special. I’d keep a small, more manageable amount.
There are a few smaller bottles that are fancy or exotic, I’d keep those. But those are small, maybe 4-8 oz each, and we got them because we wanted to try them.
I was thinking how much I would like to get rid of the big bottles that have been sitting in our pantry since we moved in, the ones we got mostly because someone made too much.

Throwing away perfectly fine food is wasteful, that is clear.

But what would you do with alcohol?
Click to expand...
I’ll join Lazarus and ajec at your place, what time should we stop by?😃
 
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