Students thirsty for a cheaper way to get sauced have a new tool at their disposal – CampusBooze.com, a Web site designed to locate the closest available discount liquor.

The site, created by former UCSB undergraduate Cameron Halstead, was launched last November and provides students with a free resource for finding the best prices on booze and party supplies near college campuses. Working in conjunction with local and national retailers, the site logs beer, wine and liquor prices from stores such as Longs Drugs, Ralphs, and Vons into an online database.

Halstead said price conscious booze consumers can access the site to compare prices of their preferred alcoholic beverage at various stores.

“Say you want to get a ton of Jack Daniel’s for a party, but you don’t know where the specials are,” Halstead said. “The searchable database can direct you to a comparison of the top three cheapest locations to purchase it in the area.”

Halstead said his time spent at UCSB as an undergrad heavily influenced his decision to create the Web site.

“Never knowing who had the cheapest alcohol was a problem when it came to throwing parties,” Halstead said, “My friend Austin and I were out one night and just started bouncing ideas off of each other, and I guess this one just stuck.”

According to Halstead, the Web site has already won over financially savvy booze hounds, with one in three first time visitors returning to the site.

“It is meant to be used as an information source to maximize your dollar for party expenses,” he said. “The discretionary money saved from using the site could be used to buy the breakfast burrito after a crazy night of partying.”

Halstead, a German major while at UCSB, formed his Campusbooze.com team from his apartment in Berlin. The team, Halstead said, has recently expanded to include a Web site designer and online promoter.

CampusBooze.com currently serves ten infamous party school regions including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Luis Obispo and Fresno, Halstead said. Despite its modest beginning, Halstead projects CampusBooze.com will eventually be visited by college students all over the nation.

“To put it bluntly, there is no one who doesn’t like a little extra cash,” Halstead said. “I mean, my mom uses this site. I received e-mails from students in Arizona and Colorado within the first week requesting that I include their regions in the database.”

Halstead said that in the future he hopes CampusBooze.com will become the go-to booze locator for revelers on a budget.

“I want to see CampusBooze.com become one of those tips for survival in college passed down from the upperclassmen to the incoming freshman,” Halstead said.