Ritual Zero Proof Whiskey Alternative

Fascinating. Straight, it's tastes so odd, and the capsaicin on the backend is a bit much, but I can REALLY see this working in s cocktail. I especially like the subtle smokiness. I do wish the body had more flavor. As it is, it might get lost in a cocktail.

12.8.22 Served: 10 way run through (Parts 1-6) Bottle open: 2 weeks Last intake: Bourbon I'm rating this specifically cocktail applications. The day someone creates an NA spirit that is worth drinking neat, I'll change my frame of reference. But for now, I'm ignoring the neat and rocks profiles. Overall Verdict: Great tool for bartenders looking to offer NA alternatives. Its relatively gentle character is both its strength and its downfall. Substituting it 1:1 in whiskey cocktails doesn't make a great drink, but the addition of 1 additional flavor (in the form of a bitters or tincture) can really make a cocktail worth paying for. Aroma: Latex, stone fruit, medicine. 0/5 Flavors: 1. Neat: Smokey, spicey, sweet. Caramel, cotton candy, barbecue, and plums. Optimistic about it's mixing potential, but would turn down if offered. 1/5 2. Rocks: Kills the fruit and leaves the smoke and spice. I mildly enjoy it more this way, Verdict: Wouldn't spend money to drink this, and would only offer to guests with a warning. 2/5 3. Highball: Once again, maintains the smoke, and spice. The unpleasant characteristics are diminished. The strength of flavor, however, is like that of oak la croix. The flavor is pleasant, but not the strength desired. Spec: 2oz Ritual, 4oz Schweppe's Club Soda. Verdict: Would pay a couple dollars for this or offer to a friend. Suitable for home, but not bar service. Could be gussied up to do so. 3/5 4. Old Fashioned: Much better. Comes off a bit bubble-gummy for my taste, but it plays well with extra angostura and my standard 1/4oz of 50 brix brown sugar syrup. I would personally love a bit more spicyness for the piquancy it lacks, but the smoke lingers pleasantly on the tongue. Final Spec: 3ml (3-4dash) Angostura, 1dash Bittermens Hellfire, 1/4oz syrup, 2oz Ritual Spec: 2 dashes Angostura, 1oz sweet vermouth, 2oz Ritual. Verdict: Would willingly serve or order this at a bar. 4/5 5. Manhattan: I currently have no NA vermouth substitute, but I tried it with both Cocchi Storico and Mata Tinto. Both were bad, and would need multiple adjustments to be worth drinking. That's a project for another day. Verdict: Would turn down if offered. 1/5 6. Whiskey Sour: Provides backbone to a basic power structure, but isn't the star of the show. Comes out much like a woody lemonade. This does, however, make it a great candidate for other flavors. The accidental addition of thyme bitters actually made it feel like a cocktail. Spec: 2 drops saline, 3/4oz brown syrup, 1oz fresh lemon juice, 2oz Ritual Verdict: Would serve or drink the plain version at home. 3/5 Would pay for or serve a modified version at a bar. 4/5

Watery root beer with cinnamon spice, giving a little ‘burn’. For my pregnant wife, though, it will be a fun treat until she can enjoy the real stuff again later.

This is a crime against humanity. Terrible plain, ruined my coffee, and by the time you mix enough ginger ale to make it tolerable you might as well have just had a ginger ale by itself. It tastes like sugar and chemicals, with cinnamon for added "burn". Wouldn't recommend.

A nice little NA treat.

First sniff is very sweet which i never smell in a whiskey with heavy notes of cardamom and cinnamon. First taste is such of a light flavored thick water with some sort of syrup with strong notes of cinnamon cardamom and oak. Not even close to tasting anything like a whiskey.

Okay look...this is about 0.5% ABV, virtually the alcohol level of a ripe banana. So, let’s face it...you’re not going to sip this neat hoping to substitute for your Talisker or Springbank. But what it does do well is a weak impression of whiskey in a cocktail. I have just about one whiskey at 3cl pour /week, rest of the nights it’s just kombucha or matcha green tea. I did try Seedlip once, and that was a miserable failure——probably the world’s most expensive bottled water. But I decided to give another shot to a 0% alcohol alternative again...this time a whiskey alternative. ( seedlip is more a gin alternative ). I took 3 oz of this with 1/4 oz vermouth, squeeze from 1/2 orange, a few drops of angostura bitters, ice and shook it all up. Honestly...not bad. It works much better in cocktails than Seedlip, a especially considering this is a whiskey alternative. Would I have this again...? Yeah. When I’m bored of my Trader Joe’s kombucha, or matcha green tea, this will make a good deviation from the norm. This won’t substitute my Friday or Saturday eve whiskey dram, but it’s not meant to.