Spiritless is a Kentucky-based company that came at the non-alcoholic spirits problem from the production side rather than the flavour-additive side. Kentucky 74 is made using what they call reverse distillation — a proprietary process that uses real American oak to build a spirit from the ground up, rather than stripping alcohol from existing bourbon. The name references the 74-calorie-per-serving count when blended 1:1 with regular bourbon in their "Halfsies" concept, though it works equally well used neat. The flavour profile is bourbon-adjacent rather than bourbon-identical. Caramel and vanilla are the dominant notes, oak sits underneath providing structure, and there's a gentle pepper warmth that does a reasonable job of mimicking the heat you'd expect from a whiskey. It's not trying to fool you at first sip, but it holds up well in cocktails — an Old Fashioned or Whiskey Sour made with Kentucky 74 tastes right enough that you won't feel shortchanged. It won Best Non-Alcoholic Spirit at the L.A. Spirits Awards, which gives it credibility beyond the AF-drinks bubble. Available from several UK AF specialists including Wise Bartender and Dry Drinker.