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 represents the cream of the crop — excellent products with only minimal flaws. On a five-star scale, these products would score 4.5 stars. On the traditional 100-point scale popular with many wine and spirits graders, these products would merit scores of 94 to 97 points.
Sommsation is a wine shop as well as an experience — an online store which doesn’t just sell you the wines you’re drinking but can also guide you through the tasting process if you’re so inclined. While you can fill up your cart with individual bottles, Sommsation — not “Sommstation,” as I often call it…
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Are temperatures starting to dip in your neck of the woods? While winter still seems to be a far-away dream, the days of daily heat advisories and rolling blackouts seem to be behind us for another year. So let’s celebrate: With one (or more) of these 10 top bottlings that we’ve hand-selected as perfectly paired…
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Glenmorangie released back-to-back expressions of its Cadboll Estate in 2020 and 2021, both of which were aged exclusively in ex-bourbon casks, allowing the estate-grown barley to shine without the distraction of any of the distillery’s trademark cask finishing. When we interviewed Glenmorangie’s Director of Whisky Creation, the infamous Dr. Bill, he told us that he…
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Raj Bhakta‘s eponymous spirits line started out as an Armagnac purveyor, but it’s since expanded to whiskey and, now, rum — all of which are designed to showcase these spirits at the peak of their maturity. The product is a blend of two single vintages of Jamaican rum, a 25 year old column still rum…
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Earlier this year, we had the chance to review Balvenie’s new French Oak 16 Years Old aged in Pineaus des Charentes casks. That bottle is actually part of a trifecta of new cask-finished releases launched in the spring of 2022. Two others, a 15-year-old expression finished in Madeira wine casks and an 18-year-old expression finished…
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The tiny Scottish island of Islay counts around 3,000 people as full-time residents but welcomes tens of thousands of tourists annually and counts hundreds of thousands, if not more, fans around the globe swearing regional allegiance. That may prove to be an unsubstantiated hot take in the end, but right now Islay seems to be…
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It is a fun time in the realm of beverage literature. We’ve witnessed a significant shift away from rigid recipe books and academic volumes towards approachable, enlightening works penned by authors deeply devoted to sharing their compelling narratives. Over the past two decades, an abundant collection of relaxed storytelling and entertainment has emerged, covering nearly…
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It’s been two years since Drew’s review of Stagg Jr. Batch 15, and we’re now taking another spin with the whiskey — RIP to the “Jr.” designation — after a short hiatus. It’s understandable: in the time since Drew’s review, bourbon has, somehow, managed to become even boomier, the average consumer is exceedingly educated, and…
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2023 was supposed to be a big year for rum, or so said several reputable booze trend analysts. Well, we’re two thirds of the way to 2024, and I still don’t feel like the category has had its moment yet. And I’m honestly not sure why. Rum is as venerable as whiskey or tequila, and…
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Social Hour is back with another canned cocktail made with high-end ingredients. Like its previous Harvest Whiskey Sour, the new Dickel Bourbon Smash is made with age-statemented George Dickel Tennessee whiskey, this time 8 years old instead of the monster 13 year old last time around. This “slow-sipping” bourbon cocktail is described as “a classic…
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