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.
Lazy K Bar is one of the oldest ranches in Montana (Big Timber, to be exact), and now it’s also a whiskey. Be advised: They don’t distill it there. This is a blend of Kentucky bourbons, aged 8, 9, and 10 years old, from an unstated distillery. Did I mention Cole Hauser, who appears on Yellowstone,…
Nicaragua’s Flor de Cana has a massive collection of rums with age statements (real age statements, not that old numerical trickery situation), including an 18 year old expression. Why, then, did the company drop a 17 year old rum late last year? Turns out it’s a limited release available only at select retailers — and…
The Loire Valley doesn’t present itself in the same manner as Burgundy or Bordeaux. However, it does offer a wide range of affordable wines with a refreshing lack of pretense. Producers are every bit as obsessed with soil, weather and tradition as other regions, but not as much with scores or which varietal is “having…
Glen Scotia Distillery was a powerhouse whisky producer in Scotland’s Campbeltown region, once a booming center of whisky production for most of the 19th century with over 30 distilleries. Today, it is one of only three distilleries on that tiny, west coast peninsula to have survived the ups and downs of the Scotch industry. Under…
Buchanan’s, hot off its Buchanan’s Pineapple release, is back with another new blended Scotch, and while it’s not a flavored expression it is described by the company as “pulsing with ritmo” and “bursting with tropical fruit and spiced notes.” The twist here is that the whisky is made with wine yeast, not slices of pineapple.…
Some housekeeping: Sabonis refers to NBA All-Star Domantas Sabonis and his entrepreneur wife Shashana Sabonis. Ones refers to the number 11, which is Sabonis’s jersey number on the Sacramento Kings. While basketball players making wine may sound odd (hey, Yao Ming did it), at least Sacramento is the closest city to California wine country, so…
Anniversary editions can be risky propositions. They can arrive on the market with more pomp than substance: slap a nifty label on it, upcharge by a factor of three to five, laugh all the way to the shareholder steak and cigar dinner. True to Nikka form, this 40th anniversary release of Nikka Whisky from the…
A couple of years ago, Stranahan’s opened a tasting room and restaurant in nearby Aspen, and your prize for trekking out here is access to its “Aspen Exclusive” releases, one-off releases that come out roughly annually and which are only available here. The first Aspen Exclusive was a Calvados-finished single malt; this second release, which…
The trilogy is finally complete as we look at the last expression in the Mijenta tequila lineup, following its blanco and reposado. It’s a complex spirit (from a newly minted B Corp), so let’s dig into the details: Mijenta Añejo Gran Reserva is an eighteen-month aged expression of the brand’s award-winning, sustainable, and artisanal Mijenta Blanco.…
This new line of tequilas comes from the Jalisco Highlands — said to be harvested from land held by a single family for more than 200 years — and is imported into and distributed from Houston, Texas. All three expressions are of course 100 percent agave and 80 proof. NOM 1460. Updated 2026 with the…