News
Our catch-all News category digests the latest news and current events taking place in the wine, beer, and spirits industry. You’ll find individual news reports as well as our “Drinkhacker Reads” news roundups in this section.
The Private Selection program at Maker’s Mark is one of the most unique in the bourbon business, the idea being that customers can take a standard barrel of Maker’s Mark, then put 10 additional staves in the barrel, where they finish the whiskey for 9 extra weeks. Private Selection — no longer called Private Select —…
Mike Rowe is one of the good ones. His longstanding commitment to the American labor force and its skilled trades has been documented through countless TV shows, testimonials before Congress about the vital importance of competent, skilled labor, and numerous education initiatives via his foundation, mikeroweWORKS. The fine folks at Wolverine boots have partnered with…
Most major brands have a private barrel program, and increasingly smaller, craft-scale distillers are getting in on the action, too. The Drinkhacker team has reviewed a handful of these selections over the years from the likes of Four Roses, Blanton’s, Maker’s Mark, Weller and others. We’ve even had the opportunity to help personally select several…
Sonoma and surrounding counties survived the worst fires in California history in October of 2017. Immediately after, local brewers banded together to raise money for displaced fire victims. It was truly spectacular to see. Fieldwork Brewing, which had fires with a mile of its doors, was the first to hold a fundraiser. People from all…
It’s no secret that bourbon has been the It Spirit for a good few years now. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about it is how pretty much no one saw it coming. One needs to only look at the vast amount of supply shortages today to see just how unprepared most of the market was.…
To an average wine imbiber, a trek through the new world wine section of their store of choice is a painless ordeal; a California Cabernet has “Cabernet Sauvignon” written right there on the label. Same with an Oregon Pinot Noir, an Australian Syrah, and just about any other “New World” wine. Blends might be trickier,…
Mezcal is the precursor spirit to modern day tequila; it has been produced since the mid 16th century, and many distillers still use ancient techniques for much of it’s production. Unlike tequila, which can only be made from the Weber blue species of agave, mezcal is produced with multiple species that are either cultivated or…
Life gives us precious few moments for a proper toast anymore. St. Patrick’s Day remains as one of the few times when you stop and hold a room’s attention long enough to actually raise one. Or rather, what I wonder is often the case in my experience, enough time for your friends and family to…
Almost three years ago to the day, we were reporting on a Van Winkle 28 year old blend lurking in the cellars of Sazerac. Sadly, this expression was never to see a full release, leaving us no choice but to remain content with thousands of articles about the 23 and 20 year old varieties and…
Even if you’ve got a pretty good handle on the world of spirits, Cognac can come across as opaque. It can be hard to tell where Cognac fits into the broader spectrum of spirits, and that’s even before you’re introduced to Armagnac, Cognac’s lesser-known sister spirit. So what are you actually getting when you buy…