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Is Everclear basically moonshine?
What’s the Difference Between Everclear and Moonshine? – Both Everclear and Moonshine are unaged spirits; however, Everclear is made from grain and Moonshine from corn. Everclear is a brand name of a neutral-tasting, very potent grain alcohol. Moonshine is a general term used to describe illegally produced corn whiskey.
Can you drink straight Everclear?
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% (80 proof), and 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, rubbing, and denatured alcohol which are toxic to breathe or drink. Everclear is also used for extracting flavor from other ingredients to make and because of its neutral flavor profile.
What proof is Everclear?
Style | How Everclear Became a Pandemic Favorite https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/style/how-everclear-became-a-pandemic-favorite.html Long the stuff of fraternity parties, the 190-proof grain alcohol wants to go from D.I.Y. germ killer to cocktail ingredient. You know 190-proof Everclear by reputation. The bartender’s equivalent of jet fuel, this high-octane neutral grain spirit is more than twice the strength of standard vodka, and is illegal in 11 states. It’s been mythologized by generations of fraternity parties and celebrated in song, Art Alexakis, the frontman of the 1990s post-grunge band Everclear, once referred to the liquor as “pure white evil.” Bushwick Bill, the late rapper from the Geto Boys, claimed that he shot himself in the eye in 1991 while plastered on Everclear and PCP.
- How strange, then, that this storied party propellant has become a tool against the pandemic.
- In an upside-down coronavirus economy where big-ticket indulgences (Caribbean cruises, luxury hotel suites) collapsed in value, and ordinary household items like toilet paper and flour started to trade like Bitcoin, Everclear was suddenly flying off liquor store shelves, as a substitute for drugstore hand sanitizers and other disinfectants.
With the household sanitizer shelves plucked clean, and $7.99 bottles of Purell at one point going for more than $100 on eBay, Everclear represented an ideal D.I.Y. germ-killing alternative, particularly when even standard rubbing alcohol, a key ingredient in many hand sanitizer recipes, was also hard to find.
- Sure, there are plenty of online recipes for homemade hand sanitizers made from everyday vodka.
- But at 80 proof (40 percent alcohol), most vodkas fall short of the potency required for microbial sanitizers as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( 60 percent alcohol, 120 proof) and the World Health Organization ( 80 percent, or 160 proof).
Tito’s Handmade Vodka, for example, took to Twitter to advise people against using its product as a virucide, although the company did produce and donate more than 325 tons of hand sanitizer to help battle coronavirus, according to its website. One Los Angeles liquor store that typically sold a couple of bottles a week was suddenly selling cases of Everclear, The Los Angeles Times reported.
(Only the 120-proof variation is legal in California; Everclear is also more widely available in its 151-proof form). Demand was so strong in Utah, a state that in ordinary times ranks 50th in alcoholic beverage consumption, that authorities were forced to limit Everclear purchases to two bottles at a time.
Everclear’s new status as a household germ killer was hardly limited to hand sanitizing. “We’ve heard consumers say they are wiping fruit with it, cleaning door knobs and surfaces,” said McKenna Burst, who oversees the brand at Luxco, a St. Louis-based producer of multiple liquor brands.
- The windfall came at a point when the company was trying to shed its notorious reputation and go upscale in the era of craft cocktails.
- In 2018, Everclear changed its packaging.
- Instead of a label featuring an ear of corn that screamed “moonshine” and prominent warning labels that read “caution: extremely flammable” and “overconsumption may endanger your health,” the bottle now features a minimalist navy-and-gold label befitting a premium vodka.
The brand’s website, too, now boasts elegant, Victorian-style graphics that call to mind a craft cocktail bar menu or perhaps a French absinthe brand, and touts Everclear (diluted, naturally) for bartenders to whip up genteel cocktails with names like Summer in the Hamptons or Blueberry Earl Grey Pimm’s Cup,
- It’s hard to say whether Everclear’s pandemic-era boomlet will help or hurt its effort to be taken more seriously, given that a lot of new customers seem to be snapping up bottles as a Clorox alternative.
- But maybe the reality of the brand is in the eye of the beholder.
- The biggest thing we’ve seen on the brand is that it really is a blank canvas,” Ms.
Burst said. That, at least, is preferable to blank memories.
How long to soak fruit in Everclear?
Pineapple Cherry Infusion Prep: 10 mins Steep: 24 hrs 40% Alc./Vol. (80 Proof) If using Everclear® 151: 31.75% Alc./Vol. (63.5 Proof) The combination of pineapple and cherry is like a tropical version of peanut butter and jelly. Two things that, when combined, taste as if they were made for one another. Combine the pineapple, cherries and Everclear® in a quart-sized, sealable container. Let steep in a cool, dry place for 24 hours. Once steeped, strain off the fruit using a fine mesh strainer. Then, further dilute your infusion by mixing in the water and simple syrup. After mixing thoroughly, funnel into a bottle, store and enjoy.
- Check out how your Pineapple Cherry Infusion pairs with rum and grapefruit to make our cocktail.
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- PINEAPPLE CHERRY INFUSION
Ingredients: 1 cup Fresh chopped pineapple 1 cup Fresh or soft-dried cherries 10 oz. Everclear® 10 oz. Filtered water
- 4 oz. White
- Instructions:
- Combine pineapple, cherries and Everclear® in a quart-sized sealable container.
- Let steep for 24 hours.
- Strain out fruit with a fine mesh strainer.
- Add water and simple syrup, mix thoroughly.
- Bottle and enjoy.
Tips: If fresh cherries are out of season, organic frozen cherries will still work. Though, they deliver a slightly different flavor. You may notice some separation in your finished Pineapple Cherry Infusion. This is completely normal and the result of some unfiltered ingredients and oils separating from the mixture.
Can you mix Everclear and Coke?
7. Coca-Cola – Nitiphonphat/Shutterstock Since Everclear has a similar flavor profile to vodka, it’s no surprise that it pairs beautifully with Coca-Cola. If you want to take your drink up several notches, try making a Cherry Coke from Hell, which per Easy Cocktail Recipes, is made with a splash of cherry liquor, Everclear, and a generous topping of Coca-Cola.
Although Cherry Coke from Hell is a high-octane drink, it’s still smooth and classic, the ideal sip for a hot day. If you’re worried about diluting your drink too much, you can always swap out ice for whiskey rocks, so it stays cold without watering down. Other Coca-Cola flavors work in this cocktail as well.
Try Cherry Vanilla Coke for a subtle sweetness that blends earthy notes with cherry liqueur, or omit the liqueur for a more understated riff on the classic drink. A bit of citrus, like lime or lemon wedges, cuts the sweetness and adds another layer of flavor.
Is Everclear strong as moonshine?
No. Moonshine is home made whiskey- usually illegally made, that averages out at 90–120 proof. Everclear is the brand name of a distilled alcohol made by the Luxco company. It may be 120, 151 or 190 proof.