Best Value
Some deals are just too good to pass up. Our Best Value category digests that rarest of breeds: Top-rated products at prices that are incredibly appealing. We include products across the board in this section.
Top Best Value Posts:
Top 10 Bourbons Under $20
Wines of Lula Cellars, 2018 Releases
Jim Beam Distiller’s Cut
You’ll see the hat first: Broker’s Gin has a fun little bit of surprise & delight: A bowler hat affixed to the lid of the bottle, a hat which will certainly someday end up on the head of my daughter’s Ken doll. It is too manly for Barbie. But Broker’s is hardly a gimmick in…
Recently I had the opportunity to attend a live, online tasting event featuring the red wines of Chile. While Chile is primarily known as Cabernet country, I was surprised to find that it is home to several other widely-planted grapes. Its Pinot Noirs shocked me with their sophistication and quality. Its Syrahs, however, were another…
Don’t cry for me, Argentina: These wines are all made using sustainable practices and will be on shelves just in time for both World Malbec Day (4/17) and Earth Day (4/20). Drink up! 2010 Bodini Malbec Mendoza – 2010? For real. This screwcap wine offers minimal character, a somewhat watery wine that smells of simple…
Drinkhacker’s been flooded with Soave of late, and we aren’t complaining: This crisp Italian white is making a huge comeback and is worthy of attention, particularly since it is so affordable. These three wines show what a wide range of styles Soave can exhibit. 2009 Rocca Sveva Soave Classico (pictured)- Crisp and very acidic, almost…
Cruzan is the latest rum maker to jump into the spiced rum game. Its “9” is rare in that it actually indicates what spices — nine of them, natch — are used to flavor the rum. They are: allspice, vanilla, cinnamon, pepper, ginger, nutmeg, clove, mace, and juniper berry. This, by the way, is not…
This DOCG Chianti is 80 percent Sangiovese and 20 percent “red grapes” — mystery Tuscan grapes that give La Vendemmia a “field blend” feeling. Remarkably soft and fruity for Chianti, the wine is a deep purple wine with a surprisingly light body, herbal with lavender and rosemary notes atop a core of blueberry and dark…
From Chile’s Maipo Valley, Vina Pargua ‘s “Anka Pargua II” is built from an odd blend of 30% Cabernet Franc, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 11% Syrah, 6% Petit Verdot, and 2% Carmenere — all organic. The results are intriguing. Extremely dry at first blush, it opens up after a few minutes in the glass,…
A blend of 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and a bit of Carignane and Mourvedre, this Cotes du Rhone Villages dramatically outclasses its meager price tag. Fruit-forward and very lush, this simply-produced wine lacks a ton of complexity but is filled with plum notes and easygoing tannins. The finish is tart and slightly herbal, and very…
The noble country of Sweden brings us this new vodka, Rökk — a name meant to invoke “on the rocks,” the way it might best be consumed, but which doesn’t really mean anything in Swedish. Distilled from unspecified grains, it is available straight and in a variety of flavors. Its claim to fame: A “freeze…
Bear Flag operates out of Modesto, but its grapes come from all over California. The company focuses on four very affordable, non-vintage wines, each with distinct personalities — and eye-catching, post-industrial label designs — meant to invoke a theme and inform you exactly what you’re getting before you ever crack open the bottle. We tried…