I copied this recipe last year but haven't made it yet.
Use a 32 ounce bottle: Add 1 cup Vodka (cheap kind) and 2 cups water and several drops of essential oil

Vodka works. It's added to pasty to make crisp crust, crispy cookies and crackers and now crisp fabric. LOL

The recipe is 1/3 cup vodka (any cheap kind will do) to 3 cups water. Just stir together, no heating is needed. Keep in fridge and it will last forever!!

I've had problems with the clear, unscented leaving spots on some fabrics (and I do pre-wash); at least those spots washed out.

Where I've had permanent damage from Best Press is that I set the bottle down on a (nicer brand) nightstand and even though there were no apparent leaks in the bottle itself, it ate the finish off the nightstand after just a couple of hours, leaving an ugly bare ring. It was in our guest room, so for now I have a book hiding the damage, but we're going to have to completely sand and refinish the top eventually.

I won't use Best Press ever again.

I use Best Press once in awhile and have not had any problems. I prewash all of my fabrics before I start a project and that may be a difference. I buy the lavender too.

I don't like the fact Best Press does not list the ingredients in it. Why the secrecy? I won't buy products not even cleaning products that do not have a list of ingredients on the container.

I love Best Press. I have been using the lavender scent for many years and have never had it stain any fabric. :)

Best Press is starch. It is clarified, perfumed, and has surfactants added to help it absorb into fabric quickly. You can do a search for "homemade starch" and find many recipes.

See the above.

I have one of the very first bottles of Best Press from years ago. The label very clearly states that it is starch. I agree with you, Onebyone, and I think it's rather disingenuous of them to lead quilters to believe it's not starch by changing the terminology on the bottle to say "starch alternative". Sure, it's an alternative to traditional starch, such as Sta-Flo or Niagra, but it's still starch. The MSDS sheet for Best Press states this fact.

This isn't starch. This is what is known as "linen spray", a scented spray that will make your pressed linens smell lovely. Some vodkas are made with starches, but the act of fermenting and distilling removes the starch from the finished product.

I don't pre wash and have used the lilac Best Press and never had a problem. However, I gave up on Best Press and started using Faultless spray starch and really like the results. As long as you do not spray heaving, there is no "starch stiffness". Or I should say that I have not noticed any stiffness.

I learned the hard way not to use Best Press when using one of those wool ironing pads