Everclear (Spirituose)
Everclear is a brand of grain alcohol (ethanol), available at concentrations of 95% alcohol (190 proof) and 75.5% (151 proof).[1] By contrast, hard liquors such as rum and vodka generally contain 40% alcohol (80 proof). Everclear is manufactured by Luxco (formerly the David Sherman Company).[2]
Since 95.6% ethanol and 4.4% water is an azeotrope, meaning that simple distillation can not concentrate the alcohol further, 191 proof spirits are essentially the maximum proof easily available for consumption.
It is illegal to purchase the 190 proof version in certain states in the U.S., including Ohio, California, Minnesota,[3] Pennsylvania, Maine, Michigan, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia[4], Hawaii, and Florida.Vorlage:Fact Due to Everclear's lack of sugar and impurities (congeners), it may make drinkers less vulnerable to hangoversVorlage:Fact. Everclear (or any high proof grain alcohol) is rarely consumed straight and is nearly always used as a mixer.
Uses
It is also used for flambé at many restaurants.
Everclear is also gaining popularity as fuel for the alcohol stoves and Beverage-can stoves often used by ultralight backpackers. It is expensive compared to denatured alcohol, but many backpackers greatly value it because, unlike most other fuels, it is non-toxic (accidental introduction will not ruin the food being prepared) and can be used as a hand cleanser, disinfectant, panic suppressant, painkiller, or as a beverage mixer.
Everclear is also sometimes used as a cleaner for tobacco and marijuana smoking pipes to dissolve residual tar and resin.
It is also sometimes used to lubricate valves in brass musical instruments (trumpets, tubas, etc) in extremely cold weather. Being non-toxic, it is safer for such use than ethylene glycol. Mixing Everclear with a portion of standard valve oil helps it to coat the valve casings during use. Alcohol's exceptionally low freezing point is lower than nearly any winter weather encountered in venues such as outdoor concerts and football games. Its resistance to freezing, then, helps to keep the valves operational. It has been known to work as an antifreeze for several hours at a time.
Consumption
Everclear is commonly added to a variety of other drinks, such as soft drinks, juice, iced tea, Diet Coke, Gatorade or Powerade. Everclear is often consumed at college parties mixed with fruit juice or Kool-Aid and mixed fruit in a large tub. There is also a cocktail named the Zarcone, a concoction of Everclear, skim milk, and a mint leaf.
In media
Everclear is featured in Minnesota humorist Garrison Keillor's book Lake Wobegon Days; in one scene, a housewife throws her husband's cup of coffee on a kitchen fire to douse it, whereupon the beverage bursts into flames. 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 in his coffee.
The 1998 release of Texas Country musician Roger Creager’s album, 'Having Fun All Wrong', included 'The Everclear Song', which pays homage to 'the invisible intoxicant'. The song's popularity spread quickly across Texas university towns, making the song a regional standard and having a high-profile impact on the developing Texas Country sub-genre of country music.
In American Pie: Band Camp, Matt Stifler spikes the camps' fruit punch with several bottles of "Cannon Rum" to seduce the band. However, "Cannon Rum" is a fictional brand, and was an obvious spoof of Everclear, as it was marked 200 proof and had the infamous corn ear on it.
See also
References
- ↑ luxco.com (brands)
- ↑ luxco.com (company)
- ↑ http://www.hoboes.com/pub/Prohibition/Legal%20Drugs/Alcohol/Everclear%20FAQ
- ↑ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1523994/posts