Rated B+
Reviews of spirits, wine, and beer (and various errata like mixers and garnishes) comprise more than 80% of the content at Drinkhacker, and the B+ rating is used for solid products that we don’t exactly love, but which we still heartily recommend. On a five-star scale, these products would score 3.5 stars. On the traditional 100-point scale popular with many wine and spirits graders, these products would merit scores of 87 to 89 points.
The latest addition to James B. Beam’s increasingly vast Knob Creek portfolio is dubbed Blender’s Edition — specifically Blender’s Edition 01, the first in a series with no clear terminus. The concept is right there in the name: This is a whiskey designed to celebrate art and craft of blending, though how subsequent releases may…
It’s not just whiskey overcrowding liquor store shelves these days. You’ve probably noticed the same thing happening on the tequila aisle. The rapid-fire launch of new agave-based spirits has been head-spinning, especially of late. Luckily, there are subscription services available like Taster’s Club to help with the inevitable decision paralysis. They’ve got most of the spirit…
La Maison & Veilier’s Flag Series of rums is on to its third series, three single casks hailing from three different continents, each more exotic than the last. Flag Series has previously been featured as our ##1 rum of 2023, so expectations are about as high as they get. Let’s dive in to these three…
I’m often skeptical of “better” sodas because, well, they often taste like ass. Is it possible to make a carbonated beverage with no added sugar and no artificial flavors and make it taste good? Turns out you can: Something & Nothing has seemingly done the impossible with its collection of sodas, which use fresh grape…
Alto Adige occupies one a curious corner of Italian wine. Tucked into Italy’s far north against the Austrian border, it carries a distinctly dual identity, shaped by Italian and Germanic influence in language, culture, and winemaking. Alpine peaks dominate the landscape, but the vineyards benefit from a surprisingly varied climate, with daytime sun and warm…
Chile’s Miguel Torres is the brand behind Serena Mode, a new non-alcoholic brand made from real varietal fruit — listed on the label — and vintage-dated. Two dealcoholized expressions are currently available. Let’s give them a try. 2024 Serena Mode 0.0 Sauvignon Blanc – A big, juicy, golden grape juice experience, this is a fairly…
The Baldacci family has established itself as a perennial favorite on the site, often making post-review encore appearances on our curated roundups of top 10 wines. Their familiarity is not without solid justification: nearly three decades into the winery’s run, the story is less about chasing notoriety than building something of high-quality reliability: something to…
Epoch is a Paso Robles wine producer with serious charitable goals, in fact it has a wine that’s completely dedicated to them. The Gratitude program is a collaborative project that has generated over $43,000 for charitable causes across three vintages so far, including support for victims of the LA wildfires and the central Texas floods.…
For the first time in basically forever, Texas whiskeymaker Garrison Brothers has dropped a bourbon without a clever name. Garrison Brothers Bottled in Bond tells you exactly what it is, without having to Google anything at all. This first bonded expression of Garrison Brothers comes 16 years after its inaugural bourbon release and lands as…
Alma Rosa Winery makes its home near the El Jabali estate in the the Santa Rita Hills of California, a vineyard originally planted by pioneer Richard Sanford in 1983. Today, Alma Rosa has been run by winemaker Samra Morris since 2019, where she turns out chardonnay and pinot noir wines, along with some Rhone-styled offerings.…