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