Everclear is a brand name of rectified spirit produced by the American company Luxco. It is made from grain and is bottled at 120, 151, 189, and 190 U.S. proof. 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, which led Luxco to start selling the 189-proof version.
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 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, and liqueurs are typically around 20% alcohol. Everclear is also used as a household "food-grade" cleaning and disinfecting alcohol because its fumes/smell is fairly non-toxic,, Everclear is also used for extracting flavor from other ingredients to make infusions and tinctures because of its neutral flavor profile.
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
cannot be concentrated by ordinary distillation to greater than 97.2% by volume, 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 maximum alcohol content, or have other restrictions that prohibit the sale of the 190-proof variation of Everclear, and several of those also effectively prohibit lower-proof Everclear.
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 albumLittle Big Man reached #1 on the U.S. rap charts.
The Roger Creager song "The Everclear Song" refers to it.
The Jerrod Niemann song "For Everclear" on the 2010 album Judge Jerrod & the Hung Jury refers to it.
American rock band Everclear derives its name from the spirit. Lead singerArt Alexakis has referred to it as "pure white evil". Pure White Evil was the original working title of the albumSo Much For The Afterglow until post-production.
