Editor’s Note: This whisky was provided to us as a review sample by MPL Brands. This in no way, per our editorial policies, influenced the final outcome of this review. It should also be noted that by clicking the buy link towards the bottom of this review our site receives a small referral payment which helps to support, but not influence, our editorial and other costs.
Flavored whiskies aren’t for everyone. Generally, in fact, they’re aimed at people who don’t drink a lot of whiskey. Think backyard barbecues or tailgate parties or Greek row at the university, where the novelty of the flavoring and (usually) the low alcohol content makes them palatable to a wide variety of tastes.
I tend to think of Fireball – a blend of Canadian whisky, cinnamon flavoring, and sweeteners – as the category killer when it comes to flavored whiskies. For years, I’ve made jokes about Fireball and remained firmly in the “no, thank you” camp when it’s offered. But sales statistics don’t lie: Americans have been buying a lot of it for a long time now.
Labels like Skrewball and the Crown Royal flavor series show that the concept has legs beyond Fireball, too. Younger drinkers, in particular, are looking for new and different options with their drinks. A quick Google search will allow you to find anything from honey and Tabasco to dark chocolate and cherries in flavored whiskey.
A relatively recent entry into the category is Doughball, a cookie dough-infused whiskey launched in 2021 by MPL Brands. The marketing leans hard into the fun of mixing two great flavors – uncooked cookie dough and whiskey – welcoming you to the label’s website with:
- “Who Doesn’t FU#K!NG LOVE COOKIE DOUGH?”
- “Most whiskeys are cookie cutter. We’d rather be cookie dough.”
- “Unleash the Dough Bauchery”
So it’s positioning itself as an anti-snob, fun alternative to all those other, more expensive bottles your parents and grandparents like to drink. Not a bad niche, really. But my job, in the end, is to evaluate the whiskey and not the marketing. So let’s give it a pour.
Tasting Notes: Dough Ball Cookie Dough Whiskey
Vital stats: Undisclosed mash bill, “whiskey with natural flavors and caramel color” according to the label; 70 proof/35% alcohol by volume; $29.99 at big-box retailers and liquor stores in states where it is distributed.
Appearance: Light caramel colored; thin, watery legs on the side of the glass.
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Nose: I’m a sucker for the smell of cookies baking (who isn’t?), and a big fan of uncooked cookie dough. The nose on this whiskey delivers on the promise of the premise: It really smells like cookie dough as soon as you pour it into a glass. Forget needing to stick your nose into the glass. Sitting on the table several feet away, a glass is strong enough to almost make my mouth start watering like one of Pavlov’s pooches.
Palate: Two words: Overwhelmingly sweet. And another: Cloying. Non-whiskey drinkers with a sweet tooth will likely appreciate this fact about Dough Ball. Anybody accustomed to drinking whiskey will almost certainly be put off. It’s more like Kool-Aid that didn’t quite mix right. The low proof shows, also. You might be forgiven for wondering if alcohol is in it at all.
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