Everclear

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, and since 2021 a subsidiary of MGP Ingredients). It is made from grain and is bottled at 60%, 75.5%, 94.5% and 95% alcohol by volume (120, 151, 189, and 190 U.S. proof respectively). 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 variant 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, gin, rum and tequila have an alcohol concentration typically around 40% alcohol by volume (80 proof), and liqueurs are typically around 20% alcohol (40 proof).

Everclear is also used as a household "food-grade" cleaner, disinfectant, or stove fuel alcohol because its fumes and odor are less offensive than isopropyl, rubbing, and denatured alcohol which are toxic to breathe or drink. 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
Ethanol cannot be concentrated by ordinary distillation to greater than 97.2% by volume (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 variant 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 variant of Everclear, and several of those also effectively prohibit lower-proof Everclear.

In popular culture

 * American rock band Everclear is named after the spirit. "Pure White Evil", a nickname for the drink coined by the band's singer/guitarist Art Alexakis, was the original working title for their album So Much for the Afterglow.
 * It also features in the film, Dr. Strangelove, in which General Jack Ripper drinks only grain alcohol and rain water.