Reviews
Reviews of spirits, wine, and beer (and various errata like mixers and garnishes) comprise more than 80% of the content at Drinkhacker, and here you’ll find the entire Drinkhacker review archive in one place. Products are rated on a letter-grade scale that should be familiar to most, with F as our lowest, “failing” grade and the very rare A+ as our top score.
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Notes on Grading
How to Analyze, Score, and Review Whiskey
As fall kicked off this year, KO Distillery in Manassas, Virginia announced the release of two new expressions, both of which are meant to satisfy whiskey-drinkers’ growing love of rye (or so says the press release). First up is Distiller’s Reserve Bottled-in-Bond Rye, the follow on to last year’s Distiller’s Reserve Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon made from 100%…
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The good folks at Louis Martini are back with another bottling of the brand’s classic Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, one of the most reliable, bang-for-the-buck cabs you’ll find. This 2018 expression is ripe and fruity, offering gentle notes of chocolate sauce, pomegranate, and blackberry jam. Currants linger well into the juicy finish, featuring just enough…
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We brought you coverage of El Sativo’s organic, “single estate” Lowlands blanco earlier this year — which we loved. Now we’re back with reviews of its other expressions, a reposado and an anejo, both of which launched months later. Ready to dive in? Both expressions are 80 proof. El Sativo Single Estate Tequila Reposado – Aged…
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J’s Russian River pinot noir remains a workhorse of the style in this 2019 vintage: Agreeable, somewhat beefy, and layered with notes of black cherry and a pinch of spice. There’s less overt fruit here than in previous expressions, with notes of tea leaf and cola building toward the relatively gentle finish. Hints of pencil…
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Did you know that as of 2020, Jura was the fastest growing single malt brand in the U.S.? Neither did I, and I’ll savor that morsel of trivia while sipping on the brand’s newest expression, a 12 year old offering that fits in the lower-middle spot alongside Jura’s 10 year old, Seven Wood, and 18…
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Ready for Christmas? Ready for Christmas 2023, maybe? Our long day’s journey into night may have continued unabated this year, but we’re hopeful you’ve at least found some ability to get out of the house, maybe take a trip, and reconnect with friends and family this season. Naturally, you’re still not going to be able…
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Hook or Crook is a “quiet little winery” in California’s Lodi region, where it produces a range of wines typical to the area — think zinfandel plus the usual Cali suspects — all at extremely reasonable prices. We received a pair of recent bottlings for review. 2018 Hook or Crook Cellars Field Blend Red Wine…
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East Brother’s latest is a big fat double IPA, clocking in at 8% alcohol and loaded with Simcoe and Azaaca hops. It’s hugely creamy but surprisingly a little bit sour, a mango-laced body countered by notes of grapefruit peel, piney hops, and a touch of white wine vinegar. Some baking spice gives the finish a…
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Tamworth Distilling, New Hampshire’s strangest distillery and the outfit responsible for such oddities as Deerslayer Venison Flavored Whiskey, turns in another unusual non-vegan whiskey release, House of Tamworth Bird of Courage. Per the company, “The roasted turkey flavored whiskey is limited-edition and birthed from a barrel of 5-year-old Bottled in Bond bourbon steeped with a…
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It’s been years since I’ve tasted a Beaujolais Nouveau, a wine famous for being the first wine released of every vintage year, bottled weeks after the harvest and released on the third Thursday of each November. (Tradition states that these wines should be consumed before the end of the year.) Years ago, the folks that…
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