Everclear (alcohol)
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This article is about the alcoholic beverage. For the musical group, see
Everclear (band).
Everclear
Type
Neutral grain spiritManufacturer
LuxcoCountry of origin
United StatesAlcohol by volume95% or 75.5%
Proof190 or 151
ColorColorless
FlavourNeutral, contains no flavoring
Everclear is a
brand of
neutral grain spirit that is available at concentrations of 75.5% alcohol (151
proof) and 95% alcohol (190
proof),
[1] in contrast to hard liquors such as
rum and
vodka, which typically contain 40%–60% alcohol (80–120 proof).
Since 95.6% ethanol and 4.4% water form an
azeotrope (meaning that simple
distillation cannot remove any of the remaining water), 191-proof spirits are the maximum proof that is available from the
distilled beverage industry.
Because Everclear is a neutral grain spirit, it is relatively low in
congeners.
Everclear is manufactured by
Luxco (formerly the David Sherman Company).
[2]
Availability in North America
Canada
In
Canada, Everclear is sold in the province of
Alberta, but not in
Manitoba,
Saskatchewan, and most other provinces.
United States
190-proof
It is illegal to sell the 190-proof variety in some states of the
United States, namely
Florida,
Hawaii,
Maine,
Massachusetts,
Michigan,
Minnesota [3],
Nevada,
New Hampshire,
New York,
Ohio,
Pennsylvania,
Virginia,
West Virginia,
Washington,
California, and
Kansas. Everclear 190 is legally sold in some military stores within the continental United States.
151-proof
In
California,
Nevada,
Iowa,
Minnesota,
North Dakota,
Wisconsin, and some other states, the 151-proof variety is sold.
Uses
Everclear is commonly added to a variety of other drinks, such as soft drinks, energy drinks, fruit juice, and iced tea. It is used in some cocktails
[4] and sometimes in place of
vodka or
rum in
Jello shots.
Everclear is also used in cooking because it extracts flavors exceptionally well. It can be used to make homemade
liqueurs, such as
limoncello.
Everclear can be used to prepare medicinal
tinctures and spice extracts. This is done by soaking herbs in it for several days and then straining out the solid material.
Everclear (the 190-proof variety) is sometimes used by
backpackers as fuel in alcohol stoves (often a homemade
beverage-can stove). It burns cleanly, and since it is not as
toxic as
methanol and
isopropanol, it can be stored inside cookware without contamination.
In popular culture
Everclear is featured in Minnesota humorist
Garrison Keillor’s novel
Lake Wobegon Days. In one scene, a housewife throws her husband’s cup of coffee onto a kitchen fire to douse it, whereupon the coffee bursts into flame. She later finds a bottle of Everclear labeled “DON’T THROW OUT” under the kitchen sink, and correctly surmises that her husband had put a shot of it in his coffee. In real life, a shot of Everclear in a cup of coffee would not “burst into flame”, as the
flash point of this mixture would be far too high.
A song called “The Everclear Song” was written by Mike Ethan Messick and performed by him on his album
Bootlegger’s Turn. It was covered by
Roger Creager on his album
Having Fun All Wrong.
In the 2001 musical film
Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Tommy Gnosis asks Hedwig if she is drunk. She replies, “I’m not drunk; I’m enjoying a little rainwater and Everclear.”
[5]
In the
Tucker Max book
I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell, Max refers to the Tucker Max Death Mix, a mixture of Everclear,
Gatorade, and
Red Bull energy drink which is drank from a
CamelBak.
The Portland rock band
Everclear was named after it.
[6]
Bushwick Bill has a song called "Ever So Clear" with references to Everclear.
In
Commander Keen episode 1:
Marooned on Mars, Commander Keen's spaceship uses Everclear as fuel.
It can be seen in the Season 5 episode of
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, "The World Series Defense." The gang mixes large quantities of grain alcohol with some other unknown substance to create "Riot Punch" to drink at the Philadelphia World Series game.
TypeNeutral grain spiritManufacturerLuxcoCountry of originUnited StatesAlcohol by volume95% or 75.5%Proof190 or 151ColorColorlessFlavourNeutral, contains no flavoringEverclear is a brand of neutral grain spirit that is available at concentrations of 75.5% alcohol (151 proof) and 95% alcohol (190 proof),[1] in contrast to hard liquors such as rum and vodka, which typically contain 40%–60% alcohol (80–120 proof).
