15 Worst Whiskeys Of All Time

There are a ton of lists out there that offer all kinds of opinions on the very best whiskeys from around the world. Chowhound's list of must-know whiskey brands for beginners gives a shout-out to classic staples like Crown Royal, Knob Creek, and Buffalo Trace, which are all stellar choices. But what should you actively avoid at all costs?

That, it turns out, is tough. Taste is subjective, after all, and even if they're not the best on paper, they still might be the stuff of fond memories (For this writer, that's Black Velvet, and memories of a whiskey shared with Dad).

So, how did we put together our list? For starters, we reached out to Forbes contributor Mark Littler, who's also the owner and editor-in-chief of The Whiskey Wash. He gave us some invaluable insight into a few rarities: Objectively bad whiskeys. We also started with some personal experience, then headed out to find some of the whiskeys that were almost universally panned. Some are mass-market staples that have much better alternatives out there, others have faded into obscurity, and one made our list for the most surprising reason — a bizarre dose of racism. Let's talk about terrible whiskey.

When we reached out to Mark Littler, owner and editor-in-chief of The Whiskey Wash and Forbes contributor, we asked him if he had come across any whiskeys that were just objective and inarguably bad. He pointed us to Fishky, and yes, this is going to go exactly where you think it's going to go.

Littler explained that Fishky started out its unfortunate existence as a Bruichladdich single cask whisky. "It was later purchased by a German independent bottler, aptly named Stupid Cask," he said. "In an unusual twist, they chose to transfer the whiskey into a cask that had previously held herrings." Does that mean that it delivers a fishy taste? According to those who have tried it, yes: One reviewer on Whiskey Base wrote, "...it is actually exhausting. Incredibly salty and slightly bitter, the facial muscles dance tango."

If you're wondering what on earth would possess anyone to do this, Littler had the answer. He said, "The intention was to pay homage to a longstanding rumor that Scottish distillers once stored their whisky in casks previously used to hold fish. Needless to say, the whisky tastes as bad as it sounds."

Is Irish whiskey held to a higher standard? Perhaps, but by any standard, Proper Twelve just isn't good. Will we say that directly to brand developer and MMA fighter and UFC star Conor McGregor? We'll get back to you on that.

We're not the only ones that found this particular young, blended Irish whiskey — which has been aged for just a few years in ex-sherry casks — to be a struggle to drink, especially when compared to so many incredible Irish whiskeys (including Costco's mysteriously-sourced Kirkland brand Irish whiskey) that are also on the market. This one manages to be too bitter, too sweet, and too flavorless all at the same time, while also bringing a weird, metallic taste that you can feel on the inside of your teeth. 

In a Reddit discussion debating whether or not it was as bad as it's rumored to be, one Redditor explained, "It tastes like someone dumped out half a bottle of Windsor, added in a bottle of rubbing alcohol and simple syrup and topped it up with cat urine." Another replied, "Probably the most spot on review. Take my award."

Let's apologize to Canada right now, because this list just isn't going to work out well for you. We'll start with Canadian Mist.

Head over to Distiller and you'll find that the community is no kinder to Canadian Mist than we're being, giving it a dismal 1.93 out of 5 stars at the time of this writing. Reviewers describe it as tasting of "the peanut shells found on the floor of some pubs," "carob and dirt," "leather and cheap cologne," and — in separate reviews — ethanol, acetone, rotting garbage, and paint thinner.

That's a shame, because according to Statista, Canadian Mist rounds out the top four best-selling Canadian whiskeys in the United States. It really makes us wonder just how many people were introduced to the world of whiskey this way and were turned off from giving whiskey another try. If you know someone who hates whiskey, ask them if they've been hurt by Canadian Mist. If the answer is yes, pour them a dram of something delicious.

It's understandable that distillers want their particular whiskey to stand out among the crowd, but according to The Whiskey Wash's owner and editor-in-chief Mark Littler, Mannochmore went a little too far with its Loch Dhu 10-year-old. It's called The Black Whisky, and yes, Littler describes it as "one of the worst mass market whiskies ever produced."

In order to get that black color, Littler says that the distiller used an obscene amount of a caramel coloring called E150a. "E150s is a supposedly tasteless liquid used to adjust the color of whiskey, primarily by blenders aiming for consistency across products. In small quantities, it is believed to have no impact on the taste, but in larger amounts, some argue it can affect both the flavor and mouthfeel of the whiskey."

The Whiskey Wash's review of this whiskey suggests that one of the best things that can be said about it is that the finish doesn't linger long on the palate. Given that tasting notes start with coffee and "an artificial meaty undertone note — almost like some very poor-quality gravy granules," a quick end to things is undoubtedly for the best.

Elvis Presley's polarizing taste in sandwiches is well-known, including one favorite sandwich that The King required an entire loaf of bread to make. Unfortunately — or perhaps, fortunately — for Presley, he had been dead for decades by the time Elvis Whiskey's Midnight Snack hit shelves, and we say "perhaps fortunately" because it's just not good. This whiskey is just as weird, and it's possible to argue that it's simply not what whiskey should be. Those who do like it say it's more of a sweet liqueur than a whiskey, and the banana flavor is often compared to Laffy Taffy. 

Over at The Whiskey Wash, this flavored whiskey is given a dismal 3/10 rating by whiskey enthusiast Jeffrey Nitschke. He wrote that even though he wanted to like it, he just couldn't and described it as having the flavors of "Sweet banana candy, ... a layer of bubblegum ... and overripe bananas [that] persist through the finish."

Potcheen — or poitin — is the Irish ancestor of both whiskey and moonshine. Aged, potcheen becomes what we recognize as whiskey, and like moonshine, it became illegal to distill in Ireland in 1661. Did it stop anyone? Nah: Potcheen has remained widely consumed, and it wasn't until 1987 that Bunratty Winery was allowed to export Bunratty Poteen (or Potcheen, which became legal to sell in Ireland in 1997, and labels vary). Was this — the first legally-produced potcheen in centuries — a brilliant tribute to a proud legacy? 

Unfortunately, no. Imagine, if you will, drinking ethanol-flavored cough syrup with tasting notes of medicated ointment, black licorice, sugar, and flavored sugar... with some more sugar thrown in for good measure. And that's not what potcheen should be: Good potcheen should have a heat and a smokiness, and a crisp, clean kick. Bunratty's Potcheen is perhaps best summed up by a Reddit review that called it "evil wrapped in a bottle," adding that drinking it made them wonder "how many brain cells died as a result."

King Robert II is a blended scotch whiskey that is not greater than the sum of its parts. Let's head over to The Whiskey Wash, which awarded the 12-year-old a dismal 5 out of 10, and the King Robert II Treble Cask Edition an even-worse 4. In the case of the latter, what might you expect for a $14.99 bottle of blended whiskeys with no age statement or real identifiers? If you suggested you might expect something that tastes of medicine, iodine, and sadness, you would be correct.

Yes, this is a budget whiskey, and yes, you might argue that you get what you pay for. However, there are great, affordable whiskeys out there. Pick up a bottle of Buffalo Trace for twice the price of that Treble Cask Edition, and you'll actually want to drink it. 

Reviews of the 12-year old are similar, citing problems like no flavor aside from a medicinal burn, and even whiskey lovers on Reddit seem to be baffled by this one. It often gets a shout-out in conversations about whiskeys that should be avoided at all costs. While we would quote some of the sentiments offered in various threads, there are words used that are not suitable for polite company.

The one review we could find of Fire Water Whiskey suggests that it's just not good. However, it's probably the secondary reason for its disappearance — we hope that the first reason is that the whiskey-drinking community got together one day to decide that naming a whiskey "Fire Water" and using the image of a Native American in full regalia was wildly racist.

We didn't think that "worst" whiskeys were going to dive into the world of racism, yet, here we are. For anyone unfamiliar with the idea, the so-called "firewater" myth suggests that Native American were genetically predisposed to alcoholism. It evolved after European explorers introduced alcohol to the New World.

It's an often-disproven yet still-repeated bit of racist ideology that was used to help justify the countless horrors visited on Native Americans, and no, there should not have been a whiskey named for it. Even if it was delicious, it would still be the worst.

One of the best comments we came across in regards to the Fujikai 10-year-old Japanese whiskey comes from Malt, which observed, " Many strange things have happened in this bottle." The strange thing is that no one's entirely sure what any of those things were, as this limited 8,088-bottle release was sort of randomly discovered buried in a winery near Mount Fuji. It was bottled, sold, and will you ever get to try it? Probably not. Should you be upset about that? Again, probably not.

Those who have tried it report that it's pretty undrinkable, with Top Whiskies writing, "As if your school bully held you upside down and pushed your head into the toilet after he stuffed fists full of dirt in your mouth." Yikes. Other flavors aren't any more flattering, with reports of diesel, burnt wood, coal dust, boiled cabbage, seaweed, astringent must, vegetation, peat, and — weirdly — apple. So that's nice.  Fortunately, there is a moral to this story: maybe don't drink the weird mystery whiskey you found in a hole.

There's a lot to be said about imagery, and while you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, it turns out that you can absolutely judge a whiskey if it's poured out of the same sort of tin that holds paint thinner. This whiskey boasts that it's America's Finest, but if that is the case, America should just stop making whiskey altogether. Unaged and with no flavor beyond corn and ethanol, the paint thinner analogy kind of holds up (Please, do not drink actual paint thinner).

Across the board, it seems as though pretty much everyone agrees with us. Whiskey Sidekick calls it "a corn dog in a can," which is equal parts hilarious and true. Just imagine drinking a corn dog, and you're there.

Stillhouse also has some flavored whiskeys, and it would be entirely legitimate to argue that adding flavors somehow makes this even worse. The Whiskey Wash gave Stillhouse's peanut butter s'mores flavor a dismal 4 out of 10 rating. It claimed it's playing to a certain type of audience, and that's the kind of audience that wants to pour lots of terribly sweet, syrupy shots out of an oil can.

Sorry, Canada, we're back to you. If you're wondering what kind of quality Lord Calvert is, we're just going to start by pointing out that Walmart has a 1-liter bottle listed for $10.98. They're out of stock as of this writing, and that's definitely for the best. There are good budget whiskeys out there, but this is not one of them.

We'd liken it to a spicy rubbing alcohol, and again, please do not drink rubbing alcohol. The community over at Distiller agrees, giving this monstrosity a 1.88 out of 5-star rating, and that's kind of skewed by two bizarre 5-star votes that were clearly cast by people who enjoy anarchy.

Others agree that it takes like alcohol and burning, and Redditors agree, too — to the extreme. When it came time to find some quotes to share with our dear readers, we had to sift through the obscenities first, and finally, we settled on one Redditor who wrote: "There's no mixer out there that can take the edge off. ... Don't expect a plastic jug of doom from Canada to taste like the nectar of the gods."

There are a lot of different expressions of Togouchi Japanese whisky, with a lot of different ratings and a lot of different opinions. The Premium Blended Whisky, for example, has no age statement although it's also labeled as being aged and blended in Japan, so it's not entirely clear what's going on here. Reviews are all over, with some saying that it's perfectly fine for mixing, while others saying it's just boring. 

Here's the thing that we have to ding this one for: If you pick up a bottle thinking that you're getting to sample truly authentic Japanese whisky, that's not entirely true. Togouchi is aged and barreled in Japan, but the whiskey itself is sourced from Scotland and Canada.

Does that make it true Japanese whiskey? If you read the official descriptions of the whiskeys, they say that the "Japanese character" comes in part from the water that's used to cut it to the correct proof. There's a lot of discussion on whether or not that can be considered true Japanese whiskey, but regardless, the final product just isn't that well-received.

Have you ever been hanging out around a campfire to have the wind and leave you with a face full of bonfire smoke? If you've ever thought, "Man, I'd like to drink that," then maybe Levant Highlands Black Peak is for you. If you have — like most people — ended up coughing and sputtering your way to fresh air, you're more likely to agree with those over at Whiskey Base, who gave this particular offering a shocking 13.75 out of 100 rating.

The name comes from Lebanon's tallest mountain, and that's the coolest thing about this. That smokiness is apparently done on purpose — it seems to be a signature of Levant Highlands whiskeys — and it's made by taking heavily peated malts then smoking the mash yet again with more peat. Peaty whiskeys can be something of an acquired taste to begin with, but if you've ever wanted to drink a campfire, this one might be for you... we suppose.

There might be some discussion on whether or not Jim Beam's Red Stag counts as whiskey, but we're going to say that it is. It's also entirely possible that someone looking to get into the whiskey world might pick this one up as an entry bottle, and we're going to suggest that if you hear of someone doing this, don't slap it out of their hands, but do steer them in another direction.

Even on Jim Beam's own website, this has a 3.8 out of 5 stars, with reviews condemning it for an obvious change in formula that dropped it down to 32.5% from 40%... although our personal favorite is a review simply titled, "No." One of the most common critiques of this particular sort-of-whiskey is that it tastes more like cough syrup than whiskey, and as one reviewer wrote, "If I wanted cough syrup, I would've bought cough syrup."

Some flavored whiskeys can be saved — in fact, adding vanilla beans to a bottle of mediocre whiskey can make it very drinkable. That's not really the case with Red Stag, even though some might find it passable in the tastiest whiskey sour you ever made. Texture, flavor, sweetness, an artificial, medicinal flavor... just "No."

Here's another one that we couldn't learn too much about, but based on what we did find out, that's probably for the best. We're talking about Maple Leaf 8-year-old, and yes, it's Canadian. Interestingly, though, it seems to have been bottled for the German market, and it's still available on Amazon Germany as part of a set of 200-milliliter bottles in The World of Whiskey Collection... so if you really wanted to try it, we suppose that you could. However, you should know first that over on Whiskey Base, it scored a dismal 27.46 out of 100.

Reviewers generally had nothing good to say about this one, describing it as artificial, bitter, and if you can imagine licking some adhesive tape, you're on the right track. There, we just saved you from ordering Canadian whiskey from Germany! While there's only a handful of ratings for this on Whisky.com — giving it a 1.5 out of 5 — it's safe to say that anything with notes of oil, medicinal smoke, peat smoke, and alcohol isn't going to be anyone's favorite... not even in a perfectly layered New York Sour.