Spiritless Kentucky 74 Non-Alcoholic Whiskey, 750 ML

Honestly, I loved the idea of this product. This was marketed as something that would allow you to continue the "ritual" of making a drink at the end of the evening, without the alcohol's side effects. I'm all for this. However, this was seriously one of the worst smelling, and far worse tasting items that I have ever come across. A friend put it best, it is like a really awful cough syrup that you need for force down. The consistency is all wrong, and quite literally makes you want to spit it up. I am very disappointed I spent 40 dollars on this product.

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.

Based on the price, I thought this would be a quality alcohol-free substitute. Was disappointed with the very weak bourbon taste.

Knowing that this is nonalcoholic, our expectations weren't especially high that this would be close to the real thing. The taste is actually pretty good, just a bit of a watered-down flavor. The product came with a recipe book which was a nice surprise, with ideas on how to make some lovely mocktails. We just found the product to be a bit pricey.

The proprietors market this as if they spent ages coming up with the perfect recipe. I was certainly sucked in by the inflated and exaggerated descriptions. If you'd given this to me blindfolded and asked me what it was, I would have said something like a caramelized sour liquid. I would never have said bourbon or whiskey. It also has no bite, so clearly they didn't add capsaicin or anything else to imitate alcohol. I added vanilla, maple, cinnamon, clove, even angostura bitters to try and make it taste remotely like whiskey. Not even close. I hate to throw way a $35 bottle of any spirit, so I tried to mix it with sour mix. That worked. The sour mix was so potent I could only taste a hint of the imitation bourbon. Still, halfway through I gave up and pitched it. Personally, I think the sellers either have the most bizarre taste in whiskey, or they are hoping that enough one time purchasers will be fooled to keep their business going. I was fooled, and I wish they'd refund me my money, but alas that would mean standing behind their product. I'm not going to hold my breath except when a bottle of this ooze is uncorked and I need to spare my nostrils.

I rate this 5 stars as compared to all other non-alcohol bourbons/whiskeys I have tried, and I tried most. Kentucky 74 starts life as a real bourbon and then the alcohol is removed, making this brand one of a few that is actually distilled and aged in oak which leaves behind a lot of the bourbon flavors.--- This Bourbon is intended for Bourbon Cocktails --- pouring this over the rocks and drinking will be a disappointing drink. Cocktails are where Kentucky 74 shines.-- Makes an excellent non-alcoholic Whiskey Sour and a great Old Fashion.The downside is the cost. It is expensive

I appreciate the idea of what they're trying to do with this product but it misses the mark. It doesn't taste anything like bourbon at all. I did not drink it straight, I tried it in a cocktail, one that I make often with regular bourbon. I was not expecting miracles here but it wasn't even close to the right flavor in fact, it was almost undrinkable. The product also has a lingering aftertaste that real whiskey will not wash away. Unless you have a serious drinking problem and need something to hold in your hand to get through the day I wouldn't recommend this stuff.

I did not expect this to taste like real bourbon, so I wasn't holding it to a high bar. And they even say not to drink it neat, and it makes sense that this wouldn't be a fair comparison. Still, with some good reviews mixed with the bad, I thought I'd give it a try. I thought even if it doesn't taste like bourbon, a nice vanilla oaky flavor could be nice with some bitters and an orange peel. I was wrong. This stuff is vile. It has a weird cherry cough syrupy flavor along with some chemically tasting variation of vanilla extract. I don't detect any oak. I wanted to like it...