everclear is tough, either needs lotsss of time at a very thin layer, or vac for a day or 2 ive found mine needed at 110F or so, enough heat to keep it soft and liquid so the everclear can escape, but not enough to make it "perma goooo" . the chamber may need the odd "re vac" just turn the vacuum on and let it run for a minute or 2.
also, the part a lot of people screw up is the filtering... everything needs to remain very cold, it takes a long time to filter the everclear, so if you do it anywhere out of the freezer with anything other than cold tools it will warm up to the point where some of the waxes start to melt back into the oil causing the winterizing process to be kind of ineffective.
also, yeah it will kill the taste. it sucks.