Drew Beard
We last checked in on Asheville’s Eda Rhyne Distilling Company back in 2020 when their young portfolio featured only a trio of impressive herbal liqueurs. Three years and one global pandemic later, these mountain medicine makers have added to their lineup with a handful of new offerings including an RTD and a long-awaited rye whiskey…
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We kicked off our exploration of Smokehead earlier this summer with a look at the flagship offering and its bolder, cask strength sibling. Those bottles are joined in the Smokehead lineup by a trio of unique cask finished expressions (with a fourth, stout-finished offering on the way). Thoughts follow. Smokehead Tequila Cask Terminado – Finished…
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Glenmorangie released back-to-back expressions of its Cadboll Estate in 2020 and 2021, both of which were aged exclusively in ex-bourbon casks, allowing the estate-grown barley to shine without the distraction of any of the distillery’s trademark cask finishing. When we interviewed Glenmorangie’s Director of Whisky Creation, the infamous Dr. Bill, he told us that he…
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Green River made welcome waves last year in the world of affordable bourbon with the launch of its first eponymous, house-distilled offering, a rye-heavy mashbill, five-year-old bourbon costing all of $35. At Drinkhacker HQ, we were impressed. And apparently, we weren’t the only ones, as Bardstown Bourbon Co. acquired the distillery that summer. For 2023,…
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Earlier this year, we had the chance to review Balvenie’s new French Oak 16 Years Old aged in Pineaus des Charentes casks. That bottle is actually part of a trifecta of new cask-finished releases launched in the spring of 2022. Two others, a 15-year-old expression finished in Madeira wine casks and an 18-year-old expression finished…
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2023 was supposed to be a big year for rum, or so said several reputable booze trend analysts. Well, we’re two thirds of the way to 2024, and I still don’t feel like the category has had its moment yet. And I’m honestly not sure why. Rum is as venerable as whiskey or tequila, and…
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Last fall we sampled our first special release from Westward’s Whiskey Club, an elaborate single malt that showcased a variety of elements unique to the distillery’s home in the Pacific Northwest. For its second club release of 2023, Westward continues to focus on provenance with the re-release if its Two Malts Rye, part of the…
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Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to interview St. George Master Distiller, Lance Winters. I learned that whiskey got him into distilling back in the 1990s, but gin has since become a real passion, as much as any other spirit in his distillery’s wide-ranging portfolio. St. George offers not one, not two, but a…
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Over a decade ago, Riedel made us believers in the power of quality glassware to enhance our wine drinking experience. We should have expected nothing less from a centuries-old Austrian crystal maker whose motto is “The Wine Glass Company.” Fast forward to the present, when Riedel is applying its glassmaking expertise to a new line…
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We continue to work our way through Wicked Weed’s extensive tap list with this pair of fruited, summery offerings, one a session sour and the other a hazy India Pale Ale. Wicked Weed Strawberry Kiwi Burst – The beer pours an almost cranberry red with a fluffy, pink grapefruit-tinged head. The aroma is big and…
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