First I will note here that I'm not sure if all reviewers realize but the vast majority of the NA spirits really need to be in cocktails and not to be served just neat or on the rocks (or in some cases not even in drinks that would normally just showcase the spirit, like an Old Fashioned). That being said, to me this definitely smells like a bourbon, although with a bit of an ammonia/turpentine smell which, to be perfectly honest, is not uncommon for me to smell in a lot of (especially cheaper) whiskey. But outside of any alcohol burn this certainly smells to me what you would expect from a bourbon, although as another reviewer notes some of it can be a bit overbearing. I did make a few bourbon cocktails with this and will likely make more but it's a bit much for my taste in a few things... it's reminiscent of bourbon, certainly, in cocktails so it seems to me it can do what it's intended to do but I think I will be trying other alternatives (I've heard good things about the latest iteration of Free Spirits' Spirit of Bourbon, for example, that I look forward to trying) more often over this one, or possibly blending this one with some of those alternatives to smooth out the profile to something I may prefer more. Overall I think this one is going to be very much up to personal taste as to where it fits on the range of likes or dislikes for any individual person looking for a whiskey alternative (much like folks will greatly like or dislike any particular variety of whiskey). I'm not much of a connoisseur here to offer the best tasting notes to help folks decide where on the spectrum this one falls, unfortunately, but overall this one falls into the "meh" category for me. Of note I've heard this may make a good bourbon and coke for those who like that but it is not a style I've tried with it yet.
I will note in terms of expense I see noted in some reviews... this is an add one for me in the sense that, particularly for Spiritless Kentucky 74 you have an actual bourbon that has gone through the same process and expense of making an actual bourbon and then added an additional process to remove the alcohol. There's a reason why you can't quite get those flavors without either using alcohol normally (and later removing it) or finding some other (often far more complex) method of achieving something similar without at least as much, if not more, expense than making the "real thing". Maybe processes will be found where it could be done cheaper, but for those thinking that somehow alcohol is some kind of "value add" here then you're really thinking about why these products exist in the wrong way. Alcohol isn't the added value, here, it's the thing that can have an exceptional use for extracting flavors but then becomes and unwanted byproduct for those looking for those flavors but wanting to then avoid the alcohol (for many numerous reasons, many having nothing to do with alcoholism, I might add).
