Spiritless Kentucky 74

From The Producers:
Distilled Non-Alcoholic Bourbon
Our Kentucky 74 is a beautifully distilled non-alcoholic spirit for bourbon cocktails. Kentucky 74 is crafted using our proprietary reverse distillation process. Kentucky 74 was named Best Non-Alcoholic Spirit and won a gold medal in the second annual L.A. Spirits Awards.
Flavor Profile
Kentucky 74 delivers a high-quality, smooth finish, underpinned by familiar notes of caramel, vanilla, and oak.
Perfect Pairings
Delicious enough to sip on its own, or use Kentucky 74 in a classic Whiskey Sour or Old Fashioned. Pick your potency: go HALFSIES™ by pairing one-to-one with your favorite bourbon whiskey to cut down on ABV and calories, or, go completely Spiritless by replacing the alcohol entirely.”

Ingredients:
Spiritless Non-Alcoholic Oak Distillate, Water, Natural Flavors, Glycerine, Sugar, Citric Acid, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Benzoate (preservative), Potassium Sorbate (preservative)

Sweetness:
1g sugar per 2floz serving, about 1.7° brix

Availability:
Spiritless, $35.99
The Zero Proof, $35.99
Boisson, $35.99
Better Rhodes, $42.99
No & Low, $36
Amazon, $37.99

TL;DR

I'm giving Kentucky 74 a average 2.73/10; barely beating out Lyre's, but still quite bad. Biggest win with this one is that it's got the closest appearance to traditional bourbon, so if you're going purely for aesthetics you're in for a treat. As with most so far, there's this artificial caramel flavor looming over the whole thing like a gargoyle. On top of that, it's got this chemically, cough syrup thing going on that ruins most of the cocktails I tried. I first tried Kentucky 74 years ago when it first came on the market, and at the time I remember it being far too cinnamon-forward, so it's nice (I guess?) that that's not the case anymore. It did work nicely in a whiskey sour, but that's also been the highest performing category so far (averaging 5.28/10 across 7 brands tasted, including the 0/10 from Clean W). I would give this points for being so widely available, but availability of something lousy doesn't really get you anywhere.

Neat - 1/10

Appearance: 1/1 - Dark caramel, light body, genuinely looks like bourbon

Nose: 0/3  - Very sweet smelling, kind of a mix of artificial caramel and low-grade cough syrup

Palate: 0/3 - Very bitter, strong drying sensation across the whole palate, 

Finish: 0/2  - Some black pepper notes, but kind of feels like drinking a cleaning product in a way.

Manhattan - 2/10 (.5floz Lyre's Vermouth Alternative (formerly Aperitif Rosso), 1/8tsp All The Bitter Old Fashioned Aromatic Bitters)

Balance: 0/3 - Somehow super tart all of the sudden

Expression: 0/3 - Character of the spirit is fully lost, which may actually deserve a point

Bitters + Vermouth: 1/2 - Bitters are coming through nicely, but it’s a weird combo with the tartness

Texture: 1/1 - Not offensive, but nothing to write home about

Finish + Aftertaste: 0/1 - Long, tart and bitter

Old Fashioned - 1/10 (.75tsp Rich Syrup, 1/8tsp All The Bitter Old Fashioned Aromatic Bitters)

Whiskey Forwardness: 0/3 - the cough syrup-y character is heightened by the rich syrup, gross

Balance: 1/3 - very sweet, bitters are pretty buried but not entirely

Integration: 0/2 - Ingredients feel like they are fighting each other for dominance

Texture + Dilution: 0/1 - does not benefit from proper dilution

Finish + Evolution: 0/1 - long, bitter, weird hot sensation on the roof of the mouth and back of throat, but not like a simulated alcohol burn.

Whiskey Sour - 7/10 (.5floz Lemon Juice, .25floz Orange Juice, .25floz Rich Syrup)

Acid/Sweet Balance: 3/3 - Very nicely balanced! The weird bitterness of the spirit actually plays nicely here.

Expression: 1/3 - Only minimal “whiskey” expression

Integration: 1/2 - Spirit gets lost, but it kind of needs to

Texture + Body: 1/1 - As expected

Finish + Refreshment: 1/1 - long, balanced finish, very refreshing.

Highball - 2/10 (2floz chilled Soda Water)

Refreshment: 0/3 - Really unenjoyable

Whiskey Presence: 1/3 - chemical notes come forward, but also a new smokey something

Integration: 1/2 - Texture is nice, but flat

Carbonation + Texture: 0/1 - Carbonation lost almost immediately

Finish + Cleanliness: 0/1 -  long and chemically

Irish Coffee - 5/10 (4tsp Simple Syrup, 4tsp Espresso)

Whiskey Expression: 0/3 - Character of the spirit is completely lost

Balance: 3/3 - Nicely bittersweet

Integration + Texture: 1/2 - Ingredients play nicely together

Warmth + Comfort: 1/1 - as to be expected

Finish + Aftertaste: 0/1 - a little too bitter on the finish, and lingers a little too long

Mint Julep - 0/10 (.5floz mint-infused rich syrup)

Aroma + Mint Expression: 0/3 - very minty, not in a good way

Whiskey Presence: 0/3 - character of the spirit is totally lost

Balance: 0/2 - overwhelmingly sweet and cough syrup-y

Texture: 0/1 - not improved with proper dilution

Evolution Over Time: 0/1 - does not improve over time

Boulevardier - /10 (.5floz Lyre's Vermouth Alternative, .5floz Lyre’s Italian Orange

Balance: 1/3 - nice bitterness, but also pretty tart

Whiskey Presence: 0/3 - character of the spirit is totally lost

Integration: 1/2 - The ingredients are reaching for their sum without quite getting there 

Texture + Dilution: 1/1 - ingredients are playing nice together

Finish + Perseverance: 0/1 - Long, tart, bitter

Ward 8 - 0/10 (1.75tsp Pomegranate Grenadine, 1.75tsp Lemon Juice, 1tsp Orange Juice)

Citrus Balance: 0/3 - Way too tart 

Whiskey Expression: 0/3 - character of the spirit is totally lost

Sweetener Integration: 0/2 - way too sweet

Texture + Body: 0/1 - thiccc

Finish + Cohesion: 0/1 - Long, lingering, too sweet and too tart

Whiskey Ginger - 7/10 (just over 3floz chilled Ginger Ale)

Refreshment + Drinkability: 3/3 - very light and refreshing

Whiskey Presence: 2/3 - mostly lost, but the bitterness comes through in a nice way

Ginger Integration: 1/2 - mostly tastes like ginger ale out of the can

Carbonation + Texture: 1/1 - carbonation is held nicely

Finish + Cleanliness: 0/1 - A little too sweet on the end, but it’s close

Hot Toddy - 2/10 (.5floz Honey, 3floz Hot Water)

Warmth + Comfort: 2/3 - warm and comfy, but off somehow 

Whiskey Expression: 0/3 - heat bring all the negative characteristics forward

Balance: 0/2 - The bitterness overwhelms the honey

Texture + Mouthfeel: 0/1 -  very syrupy

Finish + Aftertaste: 0/1 - Long, bitter, lingering