SPIRITLESS Kentucky 74 Non-Alcoholic Bourbon Whiskey Spirit, Distilled Ingredient for Cocktails, Made in Kentucky with Real Oak, 700ml Bottle (6-Pack)

I read reviews--positive and negative--about this faux whisky. But it seemed worth a try. Still, I wasn't prepared for the horror. As soon as I opened the bottle, the room was filled with a smell that was uncomfortably close to the odor of a countertop cleaner we use in our home. A little taste didn't dispel that initial impression. There was nothing at all reminiscent of any sort of whisky. But that's not the way we're supposed to use it. It's a mixer. So I made a 50/50 mix with 74 and Maker's Mark. This turned a decent bourbon into rotgut. I waited a couple of days and gave it another go. It didn't get better.One of the things we cherish in a good whisky is the finish. As the taste dies away, there's an evolving bit of oak, cherry, smoke and other hints that might last for a minute or two. 74 doesn't have a finish, but it sure as heck has an aftertaste. That aftertaste is pretty unpleasant and it lasts for a very long time. That was the end of my experiment. As I poured it down the drain, it occurred to me that the drain was cleaner than it had ever been.It took a long time for NA beer to go from tolerable to good. Much of the current offering is pretty tasty. I fear it will take longer for NA spirits to get to that point. I think that the mistake the makers of 74 made is to go for the "fire". There's really only one way to get that fire and that's with alcohol. The faux fire of 74 is just plain nasty. I think that instead they should have gone for the undertones--the stuff that comes into whisky from the barrel. That's what makes a whisky savory.I wish the distillers of 74 (I suppose I shouldn't even use that term) better luck on their next efforts. They--or someone else--will eventually crack this nut. But 74 is a miss. A really bad miss.

Update 8/25/22: 5 stars for customer service, 4 stars for product. Have made a couple of Old Fashioned cocktails with Kentucky 74 using my recipe. Using all Kentucky 74 and no other regular whiskey; the drink was good but you won’t mistake it for a cocktail using regular whiskey. For my taste purposes, I cut way back on the sugar since Kentucky 74 is on the sweet side. I can live with this version when I don’t want alcohol in my drink.The cocktail was much better when using the 50/50 method: half Kentucky 74 and half my usual whiskey. I still use minimal sugar to keep the drink from being too sweet. This version is a nice way to keep the alcohol content down. I also made a vanilla Old Fashioned using Bittercube cherry bark vanilla bitters, half Kentucky 74, half whiskey and 1 ounce of Vanilla Crown which was good!A classic Old Fashioned is my favorite drink for a chilly Fall evening so I am happy to have discovered a way to enjoy it while using less alcohol. I have not tried Kentucky 74 neat or rocks nor would I since it was not intended to be used that way.Final thoughts: The smoke is strong on the nose but don’t judge it by that. Don’t sip it neat or on the rocks by itself. Try it in your favorite cocktail and go from there. You will receive a nice booklet with recipes along with your bottle. The packaging and presentation are outstanding, as is the customer service! It’s a bit on the pricey side but I will order again and keep it in our bar.Update 8/15/22: 5 stars for customer service at Spiritless!! I contacted Spiritless directly via the customer service link on their website and, using the contact form, explained the issue. That was on Sat, 8/13. A representative for the company immediately reached out to me first thing today and offered to ship a new bottle to replace the compromised bottle I received from Amazon. Needless to say, I am very impressed with their customer service and will order directly off their website in the future. I am looking forward to trying the product in my one of my favorite Fall cocktails, an Old Fashioned!I just received my order. Upon opening the box and removing the bottle, I found the seal on the bottle was open. It looks as though it was intentionally cut open. The bottle is not returnable to Amazon and I cannot find a way to report the issue. Since the seal has been compromised I will not be using it and since I cannot return it I’m out the money. Very disappointed. Will not purchase again given the quality control issues. I will revise this review only if I am contacted by someone from Spiritless to resolve this issue.

So here there I was, browsing Amazon for non-alcoholic bourbon, why you may ask? Well, because I wanted to enjoy the taste of bourbon without the effects of alcohol. I knew already it was going to be nowhere near close to real bourbon, it probably wasn’t even going to be good, but it had slightly better ratings than any other NA bourbon I’d seen, so I figured I’d try it, and in a worst case scenario, at least I could keep the cool looking bottle. Well today, it arrived, in fact, it arrived at the wrong house because my mail had been mixed up with somebody else’s, I should have realized this was a sign of what was to come. Once I finally got it inside, I opened the box to see it was actually packaged very nicely, which it had better be considering it’s price. Finally, I sit down with a glass, and I grab the bottle, as soon as I remove the cork, I notice the scent of a high school bathroom full of dead opossums, I should have stopped right there, but alas I continued. By the time I had poured some into the glass, I had to open a window because of how bad the smell was, and then, I raised the glass and took a drink, hoping the taste was better than the smell. Well, I was wrong, the moment the foul liquid touched my tongue, I ran to the bathroom and began to literally brush my tongue with my toothbrush before swishing some brown Listerine mouthwash in hopes of purging the downright demonic taste from my mouth. After this, I poured the entire bottle into the drain, and then followed it up with vinegar and baking soda. So the actual drink was a bust, but maybe I can at least save the bottle, I took and smelled it to ensure the scent of death itself did not remain, but alas, it did. As I write this review, my sink is full of soapy water containing what remains of the worst financial decision I’ve even made, in hopes to purge the scent from the bottle and cork. So for those of you at home who are wondering “just how bad can it really be?” It turns out very bad, there are no words in the English language, or any other language for that matter, that are able to accurately convey my utter disgust with this rancid thing. I suggest you leave this product page, and never return. 0/999 stars.

My hubby and so have been trying to cut down our alcohol intake. We both love whiskey so we thought this might be a good substitute. However, the taste is nothing similar to whiskey. It is citrusy and bitter. We can’t drink it unless we add a lot of sparkling water to it. Still not great.

Doesn't taste remotely like bourbon.

DO NOT buy this. If you’re wanting to taste nonalcoholic whiskey DO NOT buy this one. My husband ordered it thinking it might be good. Well he tried it, I then tried it and we both agreed it’s horrid. It taste nothing like whiskey. Not even close. YUCK!!! One star only because you can’t choose no stars.