Everclear is a brand name of rectified spirit (also known as grain alcohol and neutral spirit) produced by the American company Luxco (formerly known as the David Sherman Corporation). It is made from grain and is bottled at 151 and 190 U.S. proof (75.5% and 95% alcohol by volume). Due to its market prevalence and high alcohol content, the product has become iconic, with a "notorious reputation" in popular culture. Sale of the 190-proof variation is prohibited in some states.
Video Everclear (alcohol)
Consumption
According to the manufacturer, Everclear "should be viewed as an unfinished ingredient", not consumed directly in undiluted form, and the company acknowledges that the product "has a rather notorious reputation" due to its high alcohol content. Rather than consuming Everclear directly, the company says it should be diluted by mixing it with water (to make vodka) or other ingredients until the alcohol strength of the drink is "no more dangerous than other spirits or liqueurs on the shelf". For example, ordinary vodka and gin have an alcohol concentration typically around 40% alcohol by volume (80 proof), and liqueurs are typically around 20% alcohol (40 proof).
Everclear can also be used for extracting flavor from other ingredients to make infusions and tinctures. The company says that Everclear has "an extremely neutral flavor profile" and is "virtually unbeaten in the realm of infusions".
Maps Everclear (alcohol)
Similar brands
Luxco also manufactures two other brands, Golden Grain alcohol and Crystal Clear alcohol, as essentially the same spirit with a different brand name. Several other brands of grain neutral spirits are also available on the market from other companies.
Alcohol content
Ethanol cannot be concentrated by ordinary distillation to greater than 95.6% by weight, because at that concentration, the vapor has the same ratio of water to alcohol as the liquid, a phenomenon known as azeotropy. The 190-proof variation of Everclear is 92.4% ethanol by weight and is thus produced at approximately the practical limit of distillation purity.
Some U.S. states impose limits on the maximum alcohol content allowed for products sold in the state (or have other restrictions that similarly prohibit the sale of the 190-proof variation of Everclear in the state).
In popular culture
- The rock band Everclear (active 1991-present) takes its name from the product.
- Everclear is the name of American Music Club's fifth album, released in 1991.
- In the 1991 rap tune "Ever So Clear", Bushwick Bill of the Geto Boys tells the tale of his night drinking Everclear and getting high on PCP earlier that year that resulted in his eye being shot out. A photo of the incident was used on the cover of the Geto Boys album We Can't Be Stopped, on which the track first appeared. A version of the track on his 1992 solo album Little Big Man reached #1 on the U.S. rap charts.
- The Roger Creager song "The Everclear Song" (written by Mike Ethan Messick and released on the 1998 album Having Fun All Wrong) refers to it.
- The Jerrod Niemann song "For Everclear" (on the 2010 album Judge Jerrod & the Hung Jury) refers to it.
See also
- Ethanol (ethyl alcohol, drinking alcohol)
- Distilled beverage
- Denatured alcohol
References
External links
- Official website
Source of article : Wikipedia
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