Thirsty Thursday Eve - Everclear
Everclear is legendary. It has a notoriously high alcohol content, many people are afraid to try it at all, and those who have tried it usually have a very negative story to go along with it. Does it really live up to the bad reputation that it has?
Name: Everclear
Source: Luxco
Style: Grain Alcohol
ABV: 95%
Price: $5.95
Volume: 200ml (6.8oz)
Price per oz: $0.88
My first time trying Everclear was at a Halloween party the year I turned 21. I was still new to legal alcohol consumption, or alcohol consumption at all, really. With the innate curiosity that I have for trying new things, I was willing to try anything. (That never changed.) With so much booze at this party, I was sampling new drinks left and right.
When my cousin realized that my friend and I hadn’t tried Everclear, he pulled us to the side and poured a partial shot for each of us. He talked it up something fierce. “You’re going to feel like you’re about to throw up, but you won’t. It burns for a minute, but then it’s gone.” We each brace for the worst and shoot it back. It wasn’t good, but I didn’t feel like I was going to throw up either. We returned to the party incrementally more intoxicated.
For years, that was my only exposure to Everclear. I didn’t really have any reason to drink it again. Nobody drinks Everclear because they LIKE it, they drink it to get drunk. If I’m trying to get a buzz, I would rather drink something I actually enjoy. Even if I want to add something strong to “fortify” a drink, I’m going to use something like Bacardi 151. Nothing about the 195 proof of Everclear is explicitly necessary.
Eventually, after a decade and change, I decided I needed to experience Everclear again. The local liquor store had a fifth of it, but forget that. I asked the nice old man if they sold smaller bottles. He informed me that he was out of pints, but he had a few half pints available. Sure, that would be perfect. Smaller than a fifth, larger than a mini bottle. For all intents and purposes, I was probably going to try a shot and then let it sit in my liquor cabinet for a few years anyway. No need to get a huge bottle.
I inspected my purchase after I got home. “Extract - Infuse - Fortify,” the bottle reads. Ain’t nothing about “drink straight” on there. Luxco is very clear that this isn’t something you should just crack open and drain. Nobody is sipping on Everclear neat. The reverse provides more detail, “With a neutral profile and a unique ability to extract flavor, Everclear is your liquid canvas, a clean slate and an open invitation to make it your own.” Wow, I’m getting really good feelings about the impending shot I’m about to take.
I poured about a half shot. Sitting on the counter, it just looked like any old clear liquid. I sniffed it and it didn’t really smell any different from any distilled spirit. Could’ve been vodka, rum, whatever: just generic alcohol. With a cringe and a breath, I downed the contents of the shot glass.
It wasn’t awful, but I definitely didn’t want more. The burn is certainly intense, but not entirely different from any straight liquor. Imagine a typical 80 proof spirit and crank up the volume; there you go, that’s Everclear. It’s just more intense. Definitely feels like something you probably shouldn’t be drinking, but isn’t that the case with any shot taken straight?
As quickly as the burn came on, it was gone. Just like that, the Everclear experience was behind me once again. I’m glad it didn’t have any lasting repercussions. As much as it was tolerable, I wouldn’t call it pleasant. Had I been drinking, I probably would’ve noticed a slight increase in the buzz soon after.
Comparing alcohol content, a shot of Everclear has roughly two to three times the alcohol of a shot of typical 60 to 90 proof liquors. At almost a dollar per ounce, it’s also like two to three times the price of most spirits I buy. It’s the same thing, but concentrated. The only thing that changes is the volume of liquid that you drink, and I have never needed to get something more concentrated than what I can achieve by just adding another shot or two of whatever else.
All in all, I feel like Everclear is fairly pointless. If you want more of a buzz, drink a larger volume of whatever you have on hand or “fortify” with some other high proof liquor. If you want to “extract” or “infuse,” most vodka does that just fine. There isn’t really anything that Everclear does that other spirits can’t do similarly well, and I usually have them on hand already.
Maybe if you were making like a punch or something specifically for a party and you based the ratios off of the alcohol content of Everclear, I could see buying a bottle specifically for it. A pint of Everclear to a gallon of… whatever, you know? But outside of that, I don’t really have a need for absurdly high proof grain alcohol.
Everclear isn’t good, but I’d argue it isn’t as bad as a lot of people make it out to be either. It hits hard, but no different than more volume of other alcohol. Maybe it’s worth trying just for the experience, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it. Could be something you keep on hand for that rare occasion where you need to get blitzed in a hurry, but how often does that happen? We’re adults now. Drink responsibly.
Name: Everclear
Source: Luxco
Style: Grain Alcohol
ABV: 95%
Price: $5.95
Volume: 200ml (6.8oz)
Price per oz: $0.88
When my cousin realized that my friend and I hadn’t tried Everclear, he pulled us to the side and poured a partial shot for each of us. He talked it up something fierce. “You’re going to feel like you’re about to throw up, but you won’t. It burns for a minute, but then it’s gone.” We each brace for the worst and shoot it back. It wasn’t good, but I didn’t feel like I was going to throw up either. We returned to the party incrementally more intoxicated.
For years, that was my only exposure to Everclear. I didn’t really have any reason to drink it again. Nobody drinks Everclear because they LIKE it, they drink it to get drunk. If I’m trying to get a buzz, I would rather drink something I actually enjoy. Even if I want to add something strong to “fortify” a drink, I’m going to use something like Bacardi 151. Nothing about the 195 proof of Everclear is explicitly necessary.
Eventually, after a decade and change, I decided I needed to experience Everclear again. The local liquor store had a fifth of it, but forget that. I asked the nice old man if they sold smaller bottles. He informed me that he was out of pints, but he had a few half pints available. Sure, that would be perfect. Smaller than a fifth, larger than a mini bottle. For all intents and purposes, I was probably going to try a shot and then let it sit in my liquor cabinet for a few years anyway. No need to get a huge bottle.
I inspected my purchase after I got home. “Extract - Infuse - Fortify,” the bottle reads. Ain’t nothing about “drink straight” on there. Luxco is very clear that this isn’t something you should just crack open and drain. Nobody is sipping on Everclear neat. The reverse provides more detail, “With a neutral profile and a unique ability to extract flavor, Everclear is your liquid canvas, a clean slate and an open invitation to make it your own.” Wow, I’m getting really good feelings about the impending shot I’m about to take.
I poured about a half shot. Sitting on the counter, it just looked like any old clear liquid. I sniffed it and it didn’t really smell any different from any distilled spirit. Could’ve been vodka, rum, whatever: just generic alcohol. With a cringe and a breath, I downed the contents of the shot glass.
It wasn’t awful, but I definitely didn’t want more. The burn is certainly intense, but not entirely different from any straight liquor. Imagine a typical 80 proof spirit and crank up the volume; there you go, that’s Everclear. It’s just more intense. Definitely feels like something you probably shouldn’t be drinking, but isn’t that the case with any shot taken straight?
As quickly as the burn came on, it was gone. Just like that, the Everclear experience was behind me once again. I’m glad it didn’t have any lasting repercussions. As much as it was tolerable, I wouldn’t call it pleasant. Had I been drinking, I probably would’ve noticed a slight increase in the buzz soon after.
Comparing alcohol content, a shot of Everclear has roughly two to three times the alcohol of a shot of typical 60 to 90 proof liquors. At almost a dollar per ounce, it’s also like two to three times the price of most spirits I buy. It’s the same thing, but concentrated. The only thing that changes is the volume of liquid that you drink, and I have never needed to get something more concentrated than what I can achieve by just adding another shot or two of whatever else.
All in all, I feel like Everclear is fairly pointless. If you want more of a buzz, drink a larger volume of whatever you have on hand or “fortify” with some other high proof liquor. If you want to “extract” or “infuse,” most vodka does that just fine. There isn’t really anything that Everclear does that other spirits can’t do similarly well, and I usually have them on hand already.
Maybe if you were making like a punch or something specifically for a party and you based the ratios off of the alcohol content of Everclear, I could see buying a bottle specifically for it. A pint of Everclear to a gallon of… whatever, you know? But outside of that, I don’t really have a need for absurdly high proof grain alcohol.
Everclear isn’t good, but I’d argue it isn’t as bad as a lot of people make it out to be either. It hits hard, but no different than more volume of other alcohol. Maybe it’s worth trying just for the experience, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it. Could be something you keep on hand for that rare occasion where you need to get blitzed in a hurry, but how often does that happen? We’re adults now. Drink responsibly.
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