Ritual Zero-Proof ZERO PROOF Rum Alternative | Award-Winning Non-Alcoholic Spirit | 25.4 Fl Oz (750ml) | Only 5 Calories | Sustainably Made in USA | Make Alcohol Free Cocktails

My wife (she's this account holder) surprised me with this stuff on my 42nd birthday. I haven't been able to drink for 12 years, and with a can of sodapop and a couple fingers of this rum, I got teleported to enjoying my favorite drink; Rum n Root Beer. Ritual Rum (in this case) by itself smells like rum, but tastes like tea, a bizarre mix if you drink it neat from the bottle. But if you put it in an acidic, carbonated drink, two things happen. The carbonation bites your tongue AND carries the odor to your nostrils, stinging from the carbonation vapors but smelling like rum. I don't know if I'd try it in raw soda water, but it works amazing as a Rum and Coke, and I assume the other Ritual flavors behave similarly. Ignore the star ratings, try it out, but mix it right, otherwise you're just drinking some otherwise rather healthy herb distillate.

This is my second Ritual Zero Proof purchase. I also have their tequila alternative which, although it is nothing like tequila, I've been able to come up with other ingredients to make some interesting non-alcoholic mocktails. This, their rum alternative however, is near undrinkable! Like their zero proof tequila, their rum alternative tastes absolutely NOTHING like rum and there is not going to be any combination of ingredients to make it be a replacement for actual rum. I expected that, and was hoping to at least be able to use it to create some interesting mixed drinks, but, unfortunately, the flavor is something I just can't enjoy. The aroma was a little like watered down root beer with a hint of molasses. Promising! And even though it's aroma is kind of weak, it made me hopeful that the taste might be something I'd be able to work with! Nope!! On first sip it tasted like I had taken a sip of a diluted, sweet bbq sauce mixed with a chemical campfire smoke additive. The chemical smoke flavor stuck around too!! Wanting to give it the benefit of the doubt I tried several more tastes and eventually the chemical smoke/BBQ flavor gave way to a very subtle dark chocolate but the chemical smoke aftertaste was always there! Still giving it a chance I tried it in several mocktail recipes (some from the ritual site and some of my own) and none of them are any good. There is just no getting past the campfire/BBQ taste! Try making a piña colada or rum punch with something that tastes like a campfire! Not happening! The only thing a could find that helped mask the nastiness was to top off the drinks with ginger beer and to make sure to always include lime juice. So there may be something there that will save this from going down the drain, but I'm not getting my hopes up!

Great taste for mix drinks, smells just like rum, love this brand

I didn't think I'd miss the flavor of alcohol when I gave up drinking four years ago. Alcohol tastes like garbage. But something about that burning sensation I miss. The sort of icky flavor I miss. People call it a "complex flavor profile" and ... sure I guess. I'm not an expert, nor am I a connoisseur. But this tastes like rum to me. In a way it's sort of like drinking a sugar free soda or something with artificial sweetener. Which is to say: if you're sober, be careful. It sort of makes me want a real drink. But it isn't a buzz I am seeking, it's just the booze flavor / experience of drinking something booze-like that I miss. I've read the reviews about adding mixers and I haven't tried that yet. But I think it's a fool's errand to try and convince yourself this is the real deal when it's not. Instead, it's the sort of NA drink that gives me an impression of liquor. Sometimes it's almost psychosomatic that I am going to get buzzed from it. Right now I've been sipping it in a double shot glass, but eventually I will properly add it to my drink trolley and make cocktails with it. It is what others say that you can taste certain ingredients. There is a bit of a banana taste to it as one reviewer said. And a strong sense of vanilla, which is one of its main ingredients.

I have tried half a dozen rum alternatives (non-alcoholic) and this is my favorite. I like it even better than some that are much more expensive.