Re: Ethyl Alcohol

["James Purchase" <jppurchase at rogers_com>]

Rex asked:
"You mean to tell me they don't see Ever Clear in your liquor
stores?  That's 190 proof here (95%)."

I live in Ontario. The sale of all beverage alcohol is tightly controlled
here by government fiat. You can't just walk into any corner store and pick
up a bottle of Jack Daniel's. There are "wine stores" (restricted to selling
wines) and "beer stores" (just beers) as well as full service "liquor
stores" but the government closely monitors and controls what is for sale in
each of them (and takes a helthy share of the price in taxes). Beverage
grade 190 proof ethol alcohol is available - but ONLY if you have a Doctor's
prescription. From what the staff at the local LCBO told me, it is usually
only bought by Vetrenarians and Dentists, who use it to sterilize
instruments.

Pure ethyl alcohol (95%) is readily available here as "Rubbing Alcohol".
Most "rubbing alcohols" seem to be isopropal alcohol (99%), but I have seen
bottles which state that the contents are "ethanol". But ethyl alcohol based
"rubbing alcohols" have substances added which makes it unsuitable for human
consumption. I'm just afraid that those added substances might damage or
affect the viability of the seeds. If they wouldn't, I could save myself a
trip to the Doctor in order to get a prescription for the food grade
alcohol.

James Purchase
Toronto