Taburetovka, gas station and govenovka: how the Soviet drunks of the 80s" survived"

Thank you to the native party that there is no vodka on the weekend! But don't cry, my Marusya — I'll get drunk on cologne!

This kind of poetry began to be replenished in Russian folklore in the second half of the 80s, when Gorbachev launched a large-scale anti-alcohol campaign. 

All organizations were ordered to strengthen the fight against drunkenness, the fine for drinking in public places was lifted by an order of magnitude, as well as the price of alcohol. But the most important thing is that a huge number of specialized stores were closed, and those who were spared were allowed to sell hot drinks only from two o'clock in the afternoon to seven. Naturally, the people could not accept this state of affairs. Any drinks that can make you drunk were used. And get poisoned, too.

"Even from an ordinary stool, you can drive moonshine. Some people like a stool, " Ostap Bender explained to an American tourist. Of course, the descendants of Ilf and Petrov did not drive moonshine directly from stools. For the manufacture of stools, fermented carpentry glue was most often used. There was also a variant of "vodka from sawdust" on hydrolysis alcohol, but it was not very profitable at home. The smell, as well as the taste, of the stools, they say, was simply terrible. About the consequences of use, perhaps, we will keep silent. 

Alcohol from factories and factories was usually stolen in gasoline cans, previously washed with a soap solution. But of course, it was not possible to completely expel gasoline. Therefore, alcohol extracted in this way was called gasoline. Some went further and washed the canister with calendula tincture to get rid of the gasoline taste. It turned out — to taste and smell-govenovka.

The idea of drinking brake fluid originated in military autorots. No recipe: just drained and drank. Deaths caused by the content of butyl alcohol in the drink were not so rare. The gunners acted smarter. They were lashing the Steol‑M liquid from the knurlers on the carriage. It was made from ethyl alcohol with the addition of glycerin and dye.

A disgusting cocktail made up of port wine of the "Three Axes" class and beer of the "Zhigulevskoe" class in a one-to-one ratio was called Sex Pistols. Aka "Soldier's joy", aka "Plane".

Denatured alcohol, that is, technical alcohol, of course, also appeared on the tables. Although its use cannot be called the know-how of the 80s. This practice was described by Yerofeyev in his poem "Moscow — Petushki", published in 1973. The denaturation was also prepared independently, adding acetone, kerosene and ink to the ethyl alcohol to taste. Why couldn't you just dilute the alcohol with water? Come on, the taste is weak!

With all the variety of improvised alcoholic beverages (and we have described only a small part of them) the king, of course, was considered cologne. "Cognac three bones" - so it was affectionately called by experienced drunks. The most popular were cologne "Triple", eau de toilette "Rose water" and lotion "Cucumber". When diluted with water in a ratio of one to one, a milky liquid was obtained. It was necessary to drink in one gulp and eat sour candy. The only negative is the possibility of going blind. But the fume is very fragrant.