The Economic Crisis Hits Home

One might think the collapse of the academic job market is the most profound way the economic collapses has affected me. But no. Eric describes:

Over Thanksgiving, while visiting family out of town, I went looking for Angostura bitters. There were none at the local liquor store, so I settled for Peychaud’s, thinking nothing of it. Then, over Christmas, I went looking for Angostura bitters here. There were none in the shop, and upon inquiring I was informed that there are none to be found anywhere locally, because none had been manufactured for months. It seems the financial crisis took down the company behind the little bottles.

The proudly Trinidadian firm was supposed to have been rescued in October, and supplies were supposed to hit the Northeast back in the fall. But there are still none hereabouts and as of even date they are reportedly out in the UK.

Even if the works are up and running, it will take a while for bitters to return to shelves everywhere: “You can’t just turn on and off supply of bitters. It’s not like producing bottled water – it’s a very delicate, intricate process.”

What!?!?!?!?!?

As he titles his post, "Coolidge Would Have Sent in the Marines." Damn right he would have. And rightfully so. How long is a good American going to have to live with second-rate bitters?

And we know that we'd have full British support for a bitters-related military action.