I’m going down to visit friends in Pennsylvania for Labour Day, and I wanted to bring back a small bottle of Everclear. I checked the Canada Customs regulations, but I don’t know if a) I can get Everclear in any of the states I’ll be passing through, and b) if it’s legal to bring back.
I’ll just be driving through New York State and Pennsylvania.
What are the regulations?
Well, Pennsylvania has state-run liquor stores, and they sell both Everclear and Clear Spring grain alcohol. You will probably have to pay import duties on it, and those are set by your territory. The legal limit seems to be $200 worth if you have been gone longer that 48 hours and you are at least 19 years old.
Check here for details.
With a few rare exceptions (primarily single-malt Scotches and overproof rum) spirits that are over 40% alcohol by volume are not sold in Ontario, but I don’t think they’re illegal.
Everclear is an azeotropic mixture of water and alcohol. It’s ~95% alcohol, the highest percentage you can get by distillation because both the alcohol and the water boil at the same temperature. (Anything more than ~95% has to be made by chemical treatment.) A similar product was sold as Alcool in Ontario in the past but has evidently been removed from the shelves. Alcool is still available in Quebec. The types of liquor that may be sold are regulated provincially. There might be legal problems if you tried to sell Everclear in Canada, but I don’t think there would be if you imported it. The worst that could happen is that they might take it away, or charge you extra duties because of the alcohol content. If you’ll be in the US for long enough, try looking for Everclear at the duty free store – if they sell it there, there shouldn’t be any trouble bringing it back.
What album? ‘So Much for the Afterglow’ was great, but ‘Slow Motion Daydream’ was rather disappointing. Don’t think customs would really take offense, though. :dubious:
Not according to the LCBO, which lists something called “Alcohol - 95” among their product offerings. According to the LCBO’s page for the stuff, it’s 95% alcohol by volume, $21.95 for a 500 ml bottle, and has the LCBO call number 288142.
(The link leads to the LCBO’s search function–use the call number or select “Alcohol” in all categories, and it should come up. If you use the latter approach, you may also find DeKuyper’s Alcool product listed, but that’s apparently only 40% abv.
Lissla Lissar, it seems that while the Everclear brand is unavailable, a similar product is both legal and available from the LCBO. You’re in Toronto, where there are a number of LCBO stores that can order it in for you even if they don’t regularly carry it. In other words, you can buy some Everclear in the US and legally bring it home (as long as you qualify to do so under Canada Customs regulations), or you can buy Alcohol - 95, which is likely pretty much the same stuff, at your local LCBO.
I’m going down to the States with four other people over 21. I’m 25 myself. No legality problem.
Huh. I didn’t realize the LCBO sold anything higher than 50% rum.
I’m not planning on drinking the stuff, so I don’t need much of it. It’s more a trophy to remind me of the display of “Things Not To Pack In Carry-on Luggage” that I saw in Waco.
Thanks, everyone.
Not available to the general public. You can’t get “Alcohol - 95” without a Pharmasist’s licence… or so I was told in the 3 different LCBOs I tried. Highest percentage product available at the LCBO is Bacardi 151.
This doesn’t apply to hte actual question about Everclear, but it might be worth noting that LCBOs also sell 70% (140 proof) Absinthe, although admittedly a version with little wormwood in it. Good for impressing ones American friends, since it is illegal in the States. Also amusing if you can get them to actually drink the stuff.