Rated A-
Reviews of spirits, wine, and beer (and various errata like mixers and garnishes) comprise more than 80% of the content at Drinkhacker, and the A- rating is used for very good to exceptional products. On a five-star scale, these products would score 4 stars. On the traditional 100-point scale popular with many wine and spirits graders, these products would merit scores of 90 to 93 points.
Long time rye drinkers have likely had their fair share of juice from Alberta Distillers, though more commonly via brands that source from the Calgary-based single-grain giant. A long time mainstay on Canadian shelves, the distillery’s own Alberta Premium brand has more recently made waves south of the border. Alberta Premium Cask Strength Rye has…
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Fainting Goat Spirits in Greensboro, NC is named for, well, fainting goats. I didn’t even know that was a thing, but apparently the occasional goat is indeed myotonic, falling stiff on the ground when startled or frightened but quickly getting back up again. Their resilience and their oddity are both qualities the team at Fainting…
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With Jackie Zykan’s abrupt departure from Old Forester a few weeks ago, the distillery’s 117 Series — which was billed as her creation and famously features her signature — will soon have to go in a new direction (or be discontinued altogether). This fourth installment in the series is Zykan’s swan song, a bourbon designed…
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Up until this point, every bottle that we’ve reviewed from Single Cask Nation has been scotch, but the independent bottler also offers a variety of spirits from around the world, several of which are distilled right here in the old US of A. In fact, they remain the only independent bottler of cask strength Wild…
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This wine’s pinot noir hails from Paso Robles and adjacent areas, and in rose form it’s lots of fun, filled with strawberry, cream, and orange flower water. The exuberantly fruity wine is on the sweet side, but it works well with its notes of coconut, lemon peel, and all those red berry elements. Gentle florals…
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Ron Cartavio is a Peruvian rum brand that dates back to the late 1920s. Their portfolio is impressively large with no less than seven age-stated offerings, along with several bottlings more geared toward mixing. Our first look at the lineup starts at the very tip top with their oldest XO offering, a blend of 10-…
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Hilmy Cellars can be found in Fredericksburg in the Texas High Plains, where just 115 cases of this petit verdot are made. Petit verdot can often be slightly off-putting, and while this wine is initially daunting and aggressive, it soon settles into a groove that lets its floral character shine. Tannins roll the wine from…
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Adelphi is a well-known independent bottler of other people’s whiskies. After 100 years as a bottler, the company finally decided to get in on the game in earnest by building its own distillery and making its own whisky in the western Highlands of Scotland, operating under the name of Ardnamurchan. The first release, Ardnamurchan Small…
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Italy’s Velier became a well-known name in the rum world with its rare and much-loved bottlings from Caroni, a Trinidadian distillery that shuttered in the early 2000s. Unfortunately, Caroni stocks have dwindled, so Velier has shifted to other marquee producers over the years. Their Papalin brand launched in 2013 with a blend of Caroni-distilled rum…
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It was a terrible, no-good two years for in-person spirits events (make that in-person events of any kind), but things are finally, thankfully starting to return to normal. Chris noted (with some surprise) that Whiskies of the World held its San Francisco event last fall but at a reduced scale. Washington, D.C.’s famous Jack Rose…
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