Warning: Use of This Beverage Could Set off your Smoke Alarm
Written: Sep 21 '04 (Updated Jun 01 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A small amount goes a long way in your favorite fruit punch
Cons: Very strong and potentially deadly; Can cause fires
The Bottom Line: Everclear is useful as a mixer if used responsibly, but it adds no real flavor dimension to drinks and it could burn your house down if you're not careful
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| Bryan_Carey's Full Review: Everclear Vodka |
Want to test the theory that too much of specific types of alcohol will make you go blind? If so, then sample a few swigs of Everclear, one of the world’s strongest, most alcoholic beverages. This liquor, classified officially as vodka, is produced by the David Sherman Corporation, the same company that produces Stalingrad Vodka, Arrow Vodka, and other brand names.
Basic Characteristics of This Liquor:
Everclear is completely clear in color and pours from the bottle as a rather lightweight, runny liquid. The aroma is only slight, with the smell of alcohol coming through if you inhale deeply enough.
As far as the taste goes, well, the people who claim Everclear doesn’t have any taste at all are wrong. It has a little bit of taste, and it could be described as (what else?) alcoholic and extremely dry. It reminds me of the taste sensation I remember as a child, when I would have a thermometer stuck in my mouth that had been soaked in alcohol to kill germs. The finish of Everclear is what you remember the most. It is very powerful, causing a hot burning sensation as it goes down the throat. The ending alone will knock you over and have you reaching desperately for a glass of water or some type of chaser, once you stop coughing.
A one- ounce (30 ml) serving has an astounding 95 percent alcohol (190 proof) and 190 calories with no protein, carbs, or fat. Suffice it to say that most low- carb fanatics will not be adding Everclear to their diets any time soon, even if the carb level is zero. The calories alone make this product unsuitable for any diet.
Drinks Made with This Liquor:
There are many drinks that can be made with this liquor, and most of the beverages are fruity and often mixed/served in large quantities. Here is a sample of some of the drinks made with Everclear:
Hairy Buffalo:
2 liters Everclear
3 liters Hawaiian Punch or other fruit punch
Assorted pieces of sliced fruit
This is a classic college drink and it is often mixed and served (in larger quantities with the same proportions) from a trash can. The Everclear and punch are stirred together and then pieces of fruit like oranges, limes, strawberries, bananas, and lemons are floated on top.
Cola Volcano
1 oz. Everclear
3 oz. Cola
3 oz. Bacardi 151 rum
Juice of one- half lime
Add lime juice to a glass, then add the rum and cola. Pour Everclear on top and ignite.
Whoop Juice
1 750 ml bottle of Everclear
1 750 ml bottle of Vodka
1 can frozen lemonade
1 can frozen limeade
2- liters of Seven- Up or Sprite
Combine all ingredients together and mix until smooth.
Berry Deadly
1 liter Everclear
1 750 ml bottle of strawberry wine
2 liters orange juice
1 gallon of berry blue Kool- Aid or similar sweetened drink
Combine all ingredients together in a large punch bowl and serve.
Instant Death
3 oz. Everclear
3 oz. Bacardi 151 rum
3 oz. Jagermeister
5 oz. water
Dash of salt
Combine liquors together in a tall glass, then add water and salt and serve.
Final Thoughts:
Everclear vodka is a scary beverage. I had my first Everclear experience as an undergraduate college student. Walking up to the door of an open party, I was told they were serving a barrel of fruit punch made with Everclear. It seemed harmless enough, so I sampled a few glasses. I don’t remember much else beyond that point. The next thing I knew, I woke up on the floor of my bedroom, having been unable to make it all the way to the bed. I only drank a few glasses, but Everclear is so strong and so difficult to detect it sneaked up on me faster than I expected.
At a later date, I decided to try sampling some of this product straight, just to see what it was like. What surprised me when I sampled some straight was the contrast between the taste in the mouth and the burning in the finish. I expected the finish to taste the way it did (holy %@$%#^&&!!!), but the runny and nearly tasteless body was a little surprising. I was looking for at least a little bit more flavor. I’m not sure what I was looking for, but I thought there would be more taste present.
This product is the strongest of its kind on the market, with an incredible 95 percent (!) alcohol content. To put this into perspective, let’s compare it to a glass of Budweiser, which contains only five percent alcohol. In order to get the same amount of alcohol from drinking Budweiser as exists in a full, 750 ml bottle of Everclear, one would have to consume approx. 480 ounces of Budweiser, which is equal to about 3.75 gallons! Remember the Hairy Buffalo punch recipe that I mentioned up above? Well, that recipe produces a beverage with about 36 percent alcohol. Again, comparing to beer, this drink is over seven times stronger. So, if you drink a single, twelve ounce serving of this punch drink, you have consumed the alcohol equivalence of drinking more than seven cans of beer! Drink two glasses and you have now consumed the equivalent of more than fourteen cans of beer. The reason I point this out isn’t just to illustrate the strength of drinks made with this liquor. It is also to show how quickly the alcohol adds up. Drinks like this punch are often quite sweet which masks the taste of the alcohol. This makes it very easy to consume in large quantities which can lead to over- consumption of alcohol, even alcohol poisoning . It’s no wonder than so many people cannot find their way home after attending a party where Everclear punch is served.
Everclear is marketed as pure grain alcohol and each bottle includes warnings about the product’s flammability. Take a look at the label at the top of this page. It says “Caution: Flammable liquid- keep away from heat, spark, or open flame”. I don’t know about you, but the thought of drinking something that can also be used to create fire bombs makes me a little apprehensive. For this reason (and others) Everclear is usually recommended to be consumed only as part of a mixed drink, to avoid overdosing on alcohol and to avoid setting something on fire.
Everclear is very strong but if used responsibly, it can come in handy when making an alcoholic fruit punch because a small amount will go a long way. Say you want to make some vodka punch with a final alcoholic content of about ten percent. To achieve this potency, you would need to mix one 750 ml bottle of Everclear with about nine times as much punch, or 6.75 liters. With ordinary, 80 proof vodka, it would require more than double the amount of vodka to achieve the same alcoholic strength. In this regard, Everclear can prove to be an economical alternative to regular vodka.
Personally, however, I don’t see the point of buying and mixing with Everclear, and I don’t say this just because of the alcoholic strength. What bothers me about using this as a mixer is the fact that it doesn’t really offer any type of taste. It is nothing but pure alcohol. When I create a mixed drink, I want to experiment with different types of liquor and enjoy the different flavor dimensions that different brands and styles can offer. Even with regular vodka, you can often notice the subtle changes in taste when a drink is made with different products. But Everclear doesn’t really have any other taste. It just takes the flavor characteristics of the mixer, assumes their characteristics, and adds lots of alcohol to them.
If you want to get really hammered really fast, then Everclear might make a good choice for your next party or late night gathering. But other than adding alcohol to the mix, I really don’t see the point of using this product. There are better and more multi- dimensional products on the market that are not only safer to consume, they add some actual flavor to your favorite mixed drink. And they won’t catch your body on fire if you accidentally spill a small amount on your shirt and someone strikes a match.
Overall, Everclear is a very srong, very potent grain alcohol that has limited use and should only be consumed by those who are ready to accept the consequences. It can be used to spike a large quantity of punch since a small amount goes very far. But other than that, I think it is a product to avoid. It may not make you go blind, but it will lead you to the point of blind drunkenness (where you cannot recognize friends and familiar objects) faster than any other product on the store shelves.
Be Sure to Click on the Links Below to Read More Reviews of Other Liquors:
George Dickel #12 Sipping Whiskey
Bacardi Gold
Captain Morgan’s Original Spiced Rum
Stolichnaya Vodka
Seagram’s Orange Twisted Gin
Seagram’s Extra Smooth Vodka
Seagram’s Extra Dry Gin
Myer’s Rum
Cruzan Coconut Rum
Recommended:
No
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