Rated A-
Reviews of spirits, wine, and beer (and various errata like mixers and garnishes) comprise more than 80% of the content at Drinkhacker, and the A- rating is used for very good to exceptional products. On a five-star scale, these products would score 4 stars. On the traditional 100-point scale popular with many wine and spirits graders, these products would merit scores of 90 to 93 points.
We’ve encountered Bryn Mawr‘s wines a few times in the past. This Willamette Valley-based operation offers a prodigious collection of wines, including the usual Oregon suspects and a few ringers, one of which we check out below. Let’s dig in. NV Bryn Mawr Brut Rosé (2026) – This Willamette sparkler has perhaps evolved a bit…
In the spring of 2026, Buffalo Trace introduced the second release in its Daniel Weller experimental series: Daniel Weller Spelt Wheat Bourbon. Daniel Weller, grandfather of William Larue Weller, settled in Kentucky in 1794 and entered the whiskey trade in 1849. Over time, the Weller name became closely tied to wheated bourbon as a style.…
Light whiskey stepped into the American playbook in 1968, when federal regulators created a new category. The move was less about tradition and more about survival. Vodka and other lighter imports were pulling drinkers away from bourbon, and distillers needed something that could hold its own in that shifting landscape. Despite the name, light whiskey…
The name may confuse, but Tenuta Argentiera is not an Argentinian winery. Rather, it’s based in Bolgheri, Italy, one of the bluest of blue chip growing locations in the country. Some basics: Argentiera is located in the southern tip of the Bolgheri DOC, on the hills of Donoratico, whose splendid vineyards overlook the Tuscan archipelago…
Somewhere in the last few years, the carajillo became an iconic after-dinner drink that, in some parts of the world, began to eclipse the espresso martini in popularity. The official recipe for the carajillo is simple — espresso and Licor 43 liqueur, shaken vigorously — though plenty of versions made with additional spirits exist. Licor…
I recently had the opportunity to meet James Cahill, winemaker at North Valley Vineyards, now in his 30th harvest there in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The fellow University of Texas graduate is one of the most down-to-earth people I’ve met in this business, and over an hour of Zoom we tasted through six of his winery’s…
Copper & Cask, owned by Latitude Beverages, does not distill its own whiskey but makes blends with whiskey drawn from distilleries across Indiana, Kentucky, and Canada. Today we are trying two whiskeys: one drawn from well-aged bourbon casks in Indiana and another drawn from very well aged casks in Canada. The latter is a Cigar…
No less than six months from our overview of Mi Sueño’s 2025 offerings, we return to one of our favorite Napa Valley vineyards to taste a quartet of vintages released this year. If you’re new to the site (or the wine), Mi Sueño (“my dream”) was founded by Rolando Herrera, a Mexican-born winemaker who rose…
If you are currently a member of Generation X with more miles in the rearview mirror than ahead of you, then you are old enough to remember when subscription card sets were an actual thing. If so, this will feel familiar in a way bordering on both the forensic and nostalgic. There was a stretch…
While a sizeable sum of U.S. wineries find themselves retreating, shuttering tasting rooms, trimming ambitions, or informing shareholders that caution was always in the cards, the Heath Family portfolio carries on adding labels, acreage, and reasons to remain relevant in the ongoing campaign to make Texas a formidable wine destination. K-Estate (Kuhlman Estate) sits within…