and was served up with the mother of all cravings that left me utterly shaken. All I could think about, for maybe 5 seconds, was the urge to go buy a bottle of booze and get drunk.
I posted earlier in this thread about those "animalistic" cravings which is way more than a thought or even some thoughts. I have experienced it myself only a few times but I can completely relate to what you are saying.
It's like getting hit with a ton of bricks, you just can feel it and taste it and you just WANT. Thankfully, like you noted, it passes fairly fast.