A Solution In Search of a Problem

If you read this article closely, you'll find that none of the West Virginian authorities cited actually know any cases of students getting drunk on high-proof grain alcohol. No matter: the nannies on the state's alcohol board are going to ban it anyway. I'm sure it'll be a terrible blow to college bars and frathouses everywhere, because now the kids have nothing to get drunk on. Except gin, vodka, bourbon, Jaegermeister, and about ten thousand other widely available alcoholic beverages.

Comments

[Martin Owens]

I remember frat parties in college featuring punch made with Ever-Clear 191 proof. When cleverly mixed with fruit juices and sugar, you couldn't taste the burn or the boost. And by the time you knew anything was wrong, it was FAR too late. Frat house lost with all hands. Jurassic Park hangovers. I mean for days.

Christmas week, just after exams was the bendin' end. December was prime drinking weather, so we turned off the heat, mixed up garbage cans full of the stuff and got BLIND. One guy I knew went on a bender for a full week. Nothing but that punch, no food or anything. He found Jesus, lost him again, split the difference and went Buddhist, but when he met Buddha in the road , he ran Him over in his GTO.

I'm sure the West Virginia frat rats will continue to get plastered, and they'll get their hands on 191 the same way we used to get Coors beer in Ohio back when it wasn't supposed to be sold, east of the Mississippi. You know a guy who knows a guy. He brings you some when he comes around. Or you make a run yourself.

The authorities are doing the frat guys a favor: by making them establish alternative supply lines, the powers that be are sharpening their wits. When you build a better mousetrap, you get smarter mice. And more resourceful frat rats.