Chapter 98 Not Retail Whiskey

Accompanied by everyone, strolling around the streets of Atlanta. They also went into several shops with recruitment notices hanging outside. After a brief inquiry, nightfall was approaching.

"Hey, do you guys want to go to a nightclub tonight? It's too early to return to the hotel, and there's nothing to do."

At the dinner table, a male student put down his knife and fork, excitedly suggesting. Kids from small towns, when they come to a big city like Atlanta, there isn't much difference from rural folks entering the city. Naturally, they are unwilling to waste their precious urban time in boring hotel rooms.

If there's anything different, it's that they would adapt to life in Atlanta much quicker. And for young people, alcohol and hormones in nightclubs are what they pursue.

Moreover, there's a female companion with them. After some playful antics, developing something more than friendship in these times in America is quite normal.

They weren't expecting much from Lycoris, given her behavior throughout the day; it was clear she had eyes for Carter. But even without Lycoris, there's still Beatrice, Alice, Dulse, Radish, and others.

In these times, the girls who can make it into the cheerleading squad must have decent looks, if nothing else! After all, the squad doesn't want a bunch of "round and chubby" girls joining them during halftime, right? That would be embarrassing.

"Nightclub? Can we buy alcohol?"

Carter was a bit puzzled. Isn't it forbidden to drink alcohol in the U.S. if you're under 21? Do they check IDs when buying alcohol?

He had drunk alcohol before, once in a Sichuanese restaurant, where the owner brewed the alcohol himself, so it wasn't registered with the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Bureau. And the other time was at Trevor's repair shop, but he didn't buy it himself, did he?

So when this male student enthusiastically proposed going to a nightclub, Carter was taken aback. Could it be that he would witness underage Americans using fake IDs to buy alcohol tonight?

"Sure, why not? There's no prohibition on alcohol now, it's not the 1920s. What do you guys think, want to go?"

After a slightly surprised reply to Carter, the male student's gaze turned straight to him. As long as Carter nodded, Lycoris would certainly follow suit, and with these two influential figures on board, the others wouldn't likely have objections.

"Uh, I don't mind. Let's find a quieter place, though. I'm not into loud disco clubs!"

Carter, who had always liked hanging out in folk music bars, didn't voice any objection. As he had just mentioned, returning to the hotel early would be boring, and these roadside motels nowadays don't even have TVs.

Without watching TV, could he watch Lycoris? Hmm... that doesn't sound like a bad idea!

"All right, let's settle the bill and head out!"

Just as Carter was thinking about Lycoris, she spoke up. Everything went as the male student had anticipated. With Lycoris and Carter in agreement, the others wouldn't likely object.

About half an hour later, when Carter and the others arrived at a slow-paced bar, the night had already enveloped the land. The nightlife street of Atlanta, with its neon signs lighting up one by one, was quite similar to the Hengshan Road in Shanghai, the Taikoo Dockyard in Guangzhou, or the Old Bund in Ningbo, where Carter had been in his previous life.

On the not-so-wide streets, neon signs lit up on both sides. Some shop owners even set up small outdoor spaces with iron pipes or wood.

Even though it wasn't yet seven o'clock, the streets were already bustling with people, and these people had one common characteristic: they were all young, and many of them had tattoos.

"Carter, what would you like? And girls, what about you?"

Seeing the crowd around him, Carter followed everyone into one of the bars. While he was busy looking around at the decoration and layout of this small bar and comparing it with the folk music bars from his past life, he suddenly heard the male students in front of him asking.

"A glass of whiskey, thank you."

After a casual thank you, Carter's gaze shifted to the liquor cabinet behind the bartender. In his previous life, Carter had drunk mostly Scotch and Japanese whiskey, with very little American whiskey, almost none at all. The only one he could remember was a whiskey called "Jack Daniel's," and coincidentally, he saw traces of Jack Daniel's on the liquor cabinet.

But whether it was good luck or bad luck, Carter's glass of whiskey didn't come from a bottle of Jack Daniel's. It was a genuine American whiskey experience.

But that was also the problem. American whiskey, with its main ingredient being corn, such as the famous Bourbon whiskey, had to have over 51% corn in its composition according to U.S. liquor laws to be called Bourbon.

For someone like Carter, who was used to barley-based whiskey, it felt extremely awkward. This first experience in an American bar in the late 1970s didn't start off too well.

"Carter, what's wrong? Can't handle it? Why don't you try this cocktail of mine, it's not too strong."

Seeing Carter's suddenly strange and uncomfortable expression, Lycoris, who had been paying attention to him all along, came up with a plan. Picking up her own glass, she leaned towards Carter, gently placing the glass between them.

If Carter agrees, then he would have to lean towards her side to take the straw. And then...

"Thanks, it's just that I'm not used to Bourbon."

Carter, who had been thinking about whiskey for a while, didn't notice Lycoris's flirtatious behavior. He straightened up and called the waiter.

"Sir?"

"Do you have Scotch whiskey from Scotland? Or barley-based whiskey is also fine, I'm not used to this."

"I'm sorry, sir. We do have Scotch whiskey, but it's quite expensive, and we no longer sell it by the glass. If you'd like a whole bottle, we can provide it. As for single glass retail, we only have rye whiskey. Would that be okay?"

The waiter bowed slightly, with a hint of apology.

Scotch whiskey not sold by the glass anymore?! And according to the waiter's words, they used to retail it, but now they've started to stop.

Upon hearing this, Carter subconsciously furrowed his brow. He promptly asked for a bottle of Scotch whiskey, dismissed the waiter to fetch it from the warehouse, and then began to ponder.

It was normal for some drinks not to be sold by the glass in bars. In his past experiences, Carter had frequented many bars where brands like Glenfiddich and Chivas Regal were readily available by the glass. However, higher-value whiskies like Macallan 17 or Hakushu were not casually opened.

Either such high-value bottles were served to big spenders like Carter, who would buy a whole bottle at once, or they were kept for organized events like tasting sessions. For such events, the bar would collect money in advance from customers interested in trying the whisky, and only then would the bottle be opened and shared among the participants. Essentially, it was crowdfunding for alcohol.

But these practices were typically reserved for higher-value drinks. Could it be that in today's Atlanta, even a regular bottle of Scotch whiskey was considered too expensive for people?

Contemplating the pricing strategy of the bar and observing the lively young crowd around him, Carter stroked his chin and two words popped into his mind: Salary cut!