Retail availability of grain alcohol in New York State

September 16, 2015 8:31 AM

Is high-proof (190 or higher) grain alcohol (Everclear, Gem, Graves, etc.) sold in New York State, and, if so, how difficult is it to find (especially in rural areas)?

I am asking because grain alcohol is my preferred fuel for my alcohol camping stove and I'd like to know how feasible it would be to rely on this fuel for camping trips in New York.

Note that there is a 151-proof expression of Everclear, which is too diluted to burn well as a fuel—I'm only interested in the 190-proof expression.

I've found a number of websites making contradictory claims about its legality or otherwise in New York, so I'm looking for firsthand (preferably recent) local knowledge.

Since availability may vary by region (here in Chicago I've never seen this stuff for sale, but in rural Illinois it's been available at every liquor store I've tried—often several different brands!), I'm also interested in the specific locations where you have found it to be available or unavailable.

I'm aware of alternatives like HEET and denatured alcohol but I'm specifically curious about grain alcohol distilled for human consumption.

posted by enn to Grab Bag (6 answers total)

190 proof Everclear is a registered liquor brand with the New York State Liquor Authority [pdf]. It's distributed at the wholesale level by Southern Wine & Spirits of New York. I'm not sure how common it is at the retail level. Where in New York are you planning to buy the grain alcohol? You could probably just call a liquor store or two in that area.
posted by jedicus at 8:43 AM on September 16, 2015

Never ever seen it in NYC but when I needed some to make bitters with a while back my cousin in jersey just picked me up a bottle.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 8:58 AM on September 16, 2015

t's distributed at the wholesale level by Southern Wine & Spirits of New York. I'm not sure how common it is at the retail level. Where in New York are you planning to buy the grain alcohol? You could probably just call a liquor store or two in that area.

If you call the distributor directly they should be able to provide you with a list of accounts with whichever product you're looking for.
posted by shakespeherian at 9:56 AM on September 16, 2015

I'm in upstate New York and it's not available. 151 is but not 190.
posted by metasarah at 2:55 PM on September 16, 2015

I have seen it (95% ABV Everclear) in at least one store in the Capital Region (definitely Exit 9 in Clifton Park, possibly also All-Star in Latham).
posted by letourneau at 3:36 PM on September 16, 2015

Thank you all—I'd looked for a document similar to the one jedicus linked to, but wasn't able to find it, so it's good to have that. I will call the distributor.
posted by enn at 5:45 AM on September 17, 2015