For our review: Any non-alcoholic bottle we review is compared to other non-alcoholic spirits. Therefore, our ratings system does not translate to alcoholic spirits. For example, an 8 out of 10 for a non-alcoholic bottle is not going to be a one-for-one replacement for an 8 out of 10 alcoholic spirit.

Cut Above Spirits’ Zero Proof Whiskey: The Story

If we’re being honest, there’s not much of a story here. We usually have some fun anecdote or a story about how we happened upon each bottle or brand but for this one, it’s pretty straightforward: Instagram ad. I was purchasing some whiskey alternative bottles online and Cut Above showed up. I figured ‘why not try this one too?’ And into my cart it went.

According to Cut Above Spirits’ website, their Zero Proof Whiskey “is made with natural ingredients featuring notes of cherry, essence of oak, malt, hops, Valencia Orange, angelica root, toasted oats and a slight spice finish with none of the alcohol or calories.” That sounds pretty great to us! The question is, does that all come through in the palate? How does it fare in a cocktail? There’s only one way to find out.

Nose

Corn and caramel, kettle corn, touch of smoke.

Palate

Very sweet upfront with corn and caramel, mixed with lemon and citrus notes.

Finish

Lots of corn.

Verdict

We really wanted to like this one, and that’s because it seemed like they tried so hard to earnestly mimic the flavors that you would reasonably have from a bourbon. On the nose this smelled straight up like going to a distillery tour and standing in front of one of those huge fermentation tanks, and being huge bourbon fans, we loved that aspect. Unfortunately it just didn’t pan out in execution – it was sickly sweet and the component parts didn’t really come together as a cohesive whole.

After some deliberation we feel a fair rating for Cut Above Spirits’ Zero Proof Whiskey is 6.0/10. Cheers!