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.
That’s right: White Beaujolais. It exists, though you may go your entire life without seeing a bottle of it in the flesh. Beaujolais Blanc is Chardonnay, vaguely in the style of White Burgundy, with no aging in oak at all. This is miles away from California Chardonnay, and though Louis Jadot’s 2004 Beaujolais-Villages Blanc Chateau…
Read More
Tomorrow the latest James Bond movie hits the big screen, and Smirnoff is taking the opportunity to remind us of Bond’s love for vodka: He’ll be drinking the stuff in Quantum of Solace, and Smirnoff is even putting out a special Smirnoff Black vodka branded with the 007 logo, to be sold only in duty-free…
Read More
The celebrated Rhum Clement hails from Martinique, where just about everything seems to have an extra letter in it. I managed to get a small sip of the company’s top-shelf Clement XO at the recent WhiskyFest San Francisco, and the company was kind enough to fill me in on the rest of the line which…
Read More
Just so I can get it down, officially, the full, official name of this product is (rĂź)Âč. Actually, that’s a cheat, because there’s no symbol for a “long lowercase I” — an i with a horizontal bar instead of a dot — that the web can render, at least not that I know of. So…
Read More
After my report on Sgt. Classick‘s Hawaiian-based rums, the good folks at Haleakala Distillers responded to remind us that Classick isn’t actually distilled on the island, and that its products are. In fact Haleakala is the only distillery on the island of Maui, and produces a selection of fine rums. None of these rums are…
Read More
One final look at the product line from Triple Eight Distillery — we’ve covered their vodkas and rum already. Surprise: Gale Force Gin may very well be the best thing the company makes. Then again, maybe that’s not such a shock. Nantucket bluebloods consume all the gin in this country already, so they’re probably just…
Read More
After digging Glenlivet’s 25 year old Scotch, the company was kind enough to send samples of the rest of the “core” lineup — the bottles that are available worldwide, year-round, all the time — for comparison. This Speyside giant produces quite a range of whiskys. Some thoughts follow. Glenlivet 12 Years Old (2008) – Your…
Read More
Not familiar with Crystal Head, which has been a boozing sensation for weeks now? Watch this… then continue reading the review. So there you go. This is vodka placed in a bottle that is shaped in the form of one of the infamous crystal skulls, which have become far better known now that they made…
Read More
Crown Royal is no Johnny Come Lately in the whisky world — though I’ve had a vague grudge against the brand since my family was mistakenly and bizarrely charged for 11 glasses of said whisky at Tony’s in Houston, Texas. But who doesn’t love that little purple bag? Crown Royal Reserve is, obviously, the reserve…
Read More
Each year the distilling masters at Buffalo Trace release limited-release whiskeys that connoisseurs will want to seek out. This year’s five whiskeys, rarities that may not see store shelves come 2009, are all worth exploring in depth. Some notes on each of the five (all officially 2008 releases) follow. (They are pictured in the order…
Read More