> My almost empty bottle is a couple of months old and doesn't seem to
> be any different from previous ones.

The Lee Kum Kee from the dollar store was better, and
that's saying something.

> Their (Canadian) corporate website still claims that they make a
> traditional naturally brewed product and not acid-hydrolyzed gunk:

I can usually tell the difference, and this was
distressing. The bottle (a big one) was macroscopically
normal and came from a reputable store. Opened the
possibility of counterfeit merchandise, even more
distressing. Of course, I've told here about the
fake Kweichow Moutai I got once in New York. I swear
it nearly killed me.

> Could you have somehow come into possession of a spoiled or tainted
> bottle?

Possible, but I don't see how soy sauce spoils. The
low-sodium stuff has been known to undergo secondary
fermentation, but it strikes me that would improve
rather than deprove the flavor.

>       Title: Picca
>   1 1/2 oz Blended whiskey
>     1/2 oz Galliano
>     1/2 oz Punt e Mes

Punt e Mes and Galliano, I can't see them going
together; just because they're both from Italy.
Could be worse, though - could be whisky.

Jackhammer (2)
cat: booze
servings: 1

1 1/2 oz Jack Daniel's 
1 1/2 oz peppermint schnapps

stir in highball glass

http://viminal.me.psu.edu/~nari/html/ctailszero.html