booze and cigs are good currency,
but I don’t think I’d like to trade in them
unless absolutely necessary.
Booze and cigs are much to bulky to be a store of value in an emergency. Gold is preferable because I can carry around hundreds of thousands of dollars of current value in an inconspicuous way. Try that with Jack Daniels. A little knowledge can produce booze and tobacco at a cheap price (sans absurd taxes). Lots of capital are needed to produce pure gold.