I won't say John Emerald is the worst I ever had, but both my son and I were considerably underwhelmed when I got some as a gift. He served the remainder of the bottle as mixing whiskey at the lake. I then read a fair number of positive reviews on Aldeer, and decided it must have been an early batch with spotty QC. Bought another bottle. Served it as mixing whiskey at the lake. No accounting for taste.