SHORTAGE OF WHISKY.

Colonist, Volume LVII, Issue 14155, 18 April 1916, Page 3

SHORTAGE OF WHISKY.

PROBABLE RESULT: THE NOBBLErII REAL LUXURY. The position of the whisky market is acute j, and those people who have been in the habit of drinking that popular spirit will soon have to take more water I with it or slake ,their thirst with the jmore humble beer. Either that or ! make a virtue of necessity and "follow I tho King." There are several reasons for this deduction. Firstly, we know that the distilleries in tho Home Country have been taken over by the Government and are being used as ammunition' factories. This stops the source of production. In addition, there is the Ifact that the Government have also '■ commandeered enormous quantities of ■ raw spirit for use in the manufacture of explosives. This reduces still further j tho future supply, especially as the proi auction has been less of late on account |of the high price of grain, sugar, etc. i The price of bulk spirit bias already almost doubled, and it is bound to.go still higher. One result of the shortage will be the disappearance of many of tho wellknown brands from the ■• world's markets, for the reason that most of them j are bottled By firms who are not distillers, and consequently have no surplus stocks .to speak of. On the authority of • a commercial man thoroughly competent to speak as to the future of the trade, it may be said that it will take at least six or seven years to adjust matters. • . ; In regard to brandy the position is even more acute. The shorti vintage of last year, coupled with the commandeering of large quantites of win© for the use of the French troops and of bulk brandy for use in the manufacture of explosives, makes brandy for ordinary consumption practically unprocurable. The local, business in spirits is mostly done on a consignment basis, so that each increase in cost is immediately felt here. It will be gathered from the foregoing that spirit drinking is likely to become a real luxury, and it may be that this wilt help largely in the solution of the problem that has exercised the minds of temperance advocates for. so long.