Mackey Chandler

Some more “They Said it would be Easy” unedited snippet

“That was brilliant to give Huian coffee,” Jeff said. “April constantly has to advise me on social things. I probably wouldn’t have thought of it. I read in a banking journal that there was a period of time when banks gave gifts for opening an account. It seems they were legally limited what interest they could pay, so they’d throw in a toaster as a prize to get around that.”
“What sort of a toaster?” Irwin asked, not sure he wasn’t joking.
“The sort you plug in the wall socket and put sliced bread in it,” Jeff said. When Irwin looked dubious he explained further. “It was a post war period and there was a lot of pent up demand for simple consumer goods, and the prices for such things was much higher than later when productivity increased a great deal. They put prizes in boxes of laundry detergent and snacks even. So you sort of reinvented that.”
“I wish I had more, and some bottles of liquor,” Irwin said. “I could create some serious goodwill among my important customers before supply gets back to normal.”
“I’m making whiskey, but by the time it’s ready to taste we’ll have Earth whiskey again,” Jeff said.
“Why didn’t you tell me? How much are you making?” Irwin demanded.
“I have two hundred liters circulating through charcoal to age it,” Jeff said. I expect I’ll have that much every three or four months for the near future. It should increase as our food production goes up and I have more waste to work with.”
“If you get to where you are making more alcohol than you can sell as whiskey you can sell the straight clear stuff for mix, or add some simple flavoring and call it vodka.
“Heather demanded ten liters for herself. I have no idea how she flavored it,” Jeff said.
“You can sell it right now you know. Just like the water from the snowballs, that’s all sold ahead before they return,” Irwin urged him. “Premium Earth whiskey was going for near a thousand dollars a seven hundred fifty milliliter bottle, before the flu.”
“I’m not sure it’s going to be any good, much less premium,” Jeff said. “I’ve never done this and it’s an experiment at this point. It would be a huge embarrassment to sell futures and then it is crap nobody wants to drink.”
“You’re not a big drinker are you?” Irwin asked.
“Not at all. I may have a few drinks with friends when we go to a club, but I don’t care for a lot of it. It has to taste good. I think I had something at April’s place, the Fox and Hare, five or six months ago. That’s how long it’s been since I had a drink.”
“I can assure you… if it doesn’t make you blind or kill you somebody will buy this stuff.” Irwin said.
“That’s horrible. I don’t want to be associated with an inferior product. People will probably make fun of it, and that reputation will rub off on the other things you do. I’d much rather make good beer or champagne, but this is what I had the materials to try. If it is any good I’ll make more money holding it back and letting it age,” Jeff pointed out. “I don’t even consider myself qualified to taste it. When it has a little more color and smells better I’ll have somebody taste it that knows whiskey. I’m not sure if it’s even going to resemble any Earth whiskeys.”
“I will assemble a few friends, who happen to know about such things, and volunteer myself to help you. We have enough group experience to give you an expert panel,” Irwin assured him.
“I’m not going to bring the whole lot until I’m sure it’s ready, but I’ll fetch a liter from the moon when it has some color,” Jeff decided.
“Most of it is bottled in three quarters of a liter units,” Irwin said, “so a full liter will be fine. It’ll make it stand out as different in the market too. Just being from the moon will make it a novelty.”
“Good, I already have some bottles designed,” Jeff said. “I’d hate to change them. Thank you, Irwin. I appreciate the help,” Jeff said.
“That’s what friends are for,” Irwin assured him, keeping a carefully controlled face.

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