Everclear (alcohol)

Everclear (alcohol)

Everclear is the brand name of a colorless, unflavored, distilled beverage bottled at two different high strengths: 151-proof and 190-proof, meaning respectively 75.5% and 95% alcohol by volume. It is distilled by Luxco (formerly the David Sherman Company).

Everclear is distilled from corn (maize) and is nearly identical in taste to fine-grade unflavored vodka, although it contains more alcohol. Both Everclear and fine-grade vodka are very low in congeners, which are agents that develop during fermentation or are added later and that lend flavor and color to whiskeys and other liquors.

Because of a legal regulatory definition in the United States, only the 190-proof version of Everclear can be designated as a neutral grain spirit. Other distilled beverages sold in the United States (such as vodka, whiskey, and brandy) are typically bottled at 80- to 120-proof, containing 40% to 60% ABV. However, some rums are sold in the United States at 151-proof (Bacardi 151 for instance).

Since 95.6% alcohol and 4.4% water form an azeotrope (meaning that simple distillation cannot remove any of the remaining water), 190-proof spirits are the strongest that are available from the distilled beverage industry.