Everclear

[thinks too much]

I've been making cordials for a couple of years with varying bases: rum, vodka, brandy. But I've read that everclear's lack of taste draws more flavoring out of the fruits and spices I've been using. It seems, however, difficult to track down. All sources seem to say something along the lines of "Everclear, which is illegal in several states including California, can be used thusly ..."

I ask you, which states is it legal? I'm in Rhode Island, for instance.

[newtorhody]

Hey thinks too much -- I just saw 191 proof Everclear for sale at the liquor store next to Whole Foods on Main St in Providence.

[Wienerhound]

Everclear is available in SC. In fact my father's doctor told him get some and put a few drops in his ears to loosen wax. Personally I prefer to use it to make high octane Pina Colada

[crschechter]

I believe I've seen it for sale in NJ. Also, I don't think the lack of taste is what brings out the flavor of your additives, but the fact that it's higer proof then most consumable spirits. It would stand to reason that if the flavors are alcohol soluble, then the more alcohol in the solvent base, the more flavor extracted. Sounds right to me, anyway. Also, everclear is probably a lot cheaper to use than most other options.

[The Professor]

Definitely widely available in NJ...I use it all the time for making herb and fruit infusions for blending into home made liqueurs.
There is even another brand of 190 proof juice I've seen...DOn't recall the name, butI think it comes from Poland.

[meenleen]

So, did we ever figure out if it is legal in NH? I am in Boston, but, I plan on camping in Epsom NH next weekend, I was told it is a must try!

[chevrelove]

Not legal in NH. I just called and asked, apparently hasn't been for a couple of years.

[toz1157]

i live in washington state and i can't buy 190 proof everclear, i have also tried and Idaho and they don't sell it as well. the two states the are near me that do sell Everclear are Montana and Oregon. i think that its like 15 dollars in montana and like 11 to 15 in oregon. i think that everclear does bring out the taste of fruits but it burns so much that you don't notice it to much.

[Paul Weller]

Years ago I worked in a retail liquor store. I brought home a bottle of clear springs 190 proof grain alcohol. My neighbor took a big chug. He turned several different shades of red and green. After a few minutes of coughing he gasped " You can't drink that stuff straight, no way".

[Muskrat]

When I was in college, in New Orleans, a popular drink was Everclear and grape juice (Welch's, not that fancy stuff). Called it a "purple Jesus," for obvious reasons.

Also: Friday night special in the dining hall. Good news -- all the beer you could drink for $1 -- we'd take a bunch of 32 oz. Dixie cups full back to the dorm.

Bad news: it was Jax beer! (This was c. 1962)

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

That's funny: in Lubbock, Texas c. 1986, Everclear and Welch's Grape Juice was still called a Purple Jesus!

[Sergykov]

You can find it in Kentucky. I drove from Ohio (where it is illegal) yesterday to pick up a bottle. Found it in a first store where I looked.

[mojoeater]

Cam still find it in NC.

[skoop323]

ive seen ppl at parties i go to with bottles of it. the liqour stores in hollywood have them but secretly. (meaning you have to ask)

[invinotheresverde]

I've purchased the 190 proof Everclear at a package store in EP, RI, about 6 years ago. I don't remember the name, unfortunately.

[MikeG]

Unless it's changed recently, the 190 proof is legal in New Jersey..

[TBird]

i used to get it in vegas...and when i was in high school, south carolina...mixed it with kool aid. ouch....

[MikeG]

Ack is right. I'd had my share of alcohol by the time I first encountered that concept and refused to drink more than the first sip - straight Everclear is better, seriously!

[heWho]

If you're in RI, take a drive up 95 to NH. It's sold at state liquor stores there, but not in MA or CT. I don't think it's legal in RI, just call a liquor store to double-check.

[Chuckles the Clone]

Vodka should have a lack of taste. At least, to be sold in the US as "vodka" the government requires it to have no distinctive odor or taste.

Everclear comes in two strengths: 190 proof which is not legal to buy here in California and 151 proof which is available everywhere. I'm not sure what the difference between the 151 proof everclear and 151 proof grain vodka is and there's no big difference in price. I normally use Smirnoff 151 for cordials since it comes in a nice bottle I can reuse.

[JK Grence the Cosmic Jester]

I believe the main difference would be the brand name.

Something I found out about recently with Everclear... you can't make 200 proof alcohol. If you had some, it would absorb water from the air until it reached 190 proof.

[thinks too much]

This is fascinating. What's your source on this JK? I have slightly different information. My source was my physicist father who's chemist father bootlegged as a favor during prohibition. He said that you may find grain alcohol that goes up too 198 proof, but not to touch anything over 190. Below 190, the impurities are water. Above that, and your impurites are benzene. Can you come up with a logical theory that ties both together? After all, we both have a limit of 190 proof.

[JK Grence the Cosmic Jester]

a couple of bartending books and wikipedia. Not the absolute most reliable, but it was a start.

[renov8r]

For chemical synthesis pure EtOh is available. It is quite costly, and highly regulated. Any plant capable of making it is more than capable of ensuring it has no impurities.

[NO SLICE]

There's a limit of about 193 proof (or 96.5% alcohol by volume) for alcohol that has been distilled from a mixture of ethanol and water. The reason is that a mixture of 89% ethanol (by mass) and 11% water (by mass) is called an azeotrope, and the two constituents of the mixture can no longer be separated by regular distillation alone. The reason the proof number isn't exactly double the percentage number is because proof is calculated using percent alcohol by volume (ABV) and the percentage I'm listing here is by percent by mass. This is further complicated by the fact that a mixture of ethanol and water actually has a smaller volume than the total volume of the pure ethanol and pure water that it contains due to molecular interactions (I'm not entirely sure that this is true for all ratios of ethanol to water, or even if it's true at the 89:11 ratio, but I suspect that it is and it could be time consuming to research). Also, proof numbers are calculated differently in England and the United States.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azeotrope

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_by_volume

And yes, if you do manage to get something with a higher percentage of pure ethanol, it will absorb water from the atmosphere (unless it's tightly sealed) until it is 89% ethanol and 11% water by mass. I'm not sure how quickly this process would occur.

Removing water from the azeotropic mixture is probably as simple as adding a drying agent that will adsorb/absorb the water from the mixture, but of course the ethanol will absorb water from the atmosphere unless it's in a tightly sealed container.

http://orgchem.colorado.edu/hndbksupport/drying/drying.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorption

I'm a chemical engineering student and this is the kind of stuff we learn in school.

[warrenr]

i live in ny, where it cannot be sold and buy it in ct, where it seems to be plentiful.

[gracem]

When I was in high school in RI (10+ years ago) we used to drink Everclear mixed with Tang (yes, very ill-advised). While it was certainly illegal for me to be drinking, I don't believe the Everclear was contraband. :)

eta: According to wiki, it's illegal in California, Florida, Ohio, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.

[thinks too much]

but wiki is using as a source someones personal website dated to 1991. When I tracked the source down, it lists 6 states as definitely illegal, 6 states as definitely legal (not including RI) and that leaves a heck of a lot of them out in limbo.

[sanman]

Wiki is not always a reliable resource. You can find it in Florida.

[Karl]

i'm pretty sure it's legal in RI