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.
Recently we reviewed a pair of wines from Italy’s San Felice. We’re back with a second shot of these wines, all sangiovese-based offerings. 2019 San Felice Il Grigio Chianti Classico Riserva – A soft Chianti, with gentle cherry and strawberry notes, a touch of vanilla, and a distinct note of milk chocolate clinging to the…
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It hasn’t even been a year since the first release in Bushmills new “The Rare Casks” series, and here we have a second, even older installment. Wonders never cease. For round two, the Irish whiskey powerhouse is releasing a 29-year-old expression distilled in 1992 and matured in hand-selected bourbon barrels for over a decade before…
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Country music star Brad Paisley must like Jefferson’s Ocean, because he decided to use a similar approach when crafting his new bourbon in partnership with Bardstown Bourbon Co. But instead of using various waterways, Brad stuck to the roads, aging his American Highway Reserve Bourbon in barrels stored inside a 53-foot semi-trailer, dubbed the “rolling…
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We’ve checked in with Alabama’s Clyde May’s Whiskey on numerous occasions dating back to 2013, and recently we received a passel of samples from the brand, including fresh bottlings of the three whiskeys that comprise its core — rye, bourbon, and Alabama style whiskey — plus a pair of much older, limited edition releases. Let’s…
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Fiddlehead Cellars has been an icon in California’s Central Coast region since its founding in 1989 by winemaker Kathy Joseph. Her now-famous Fiddlestix Vineyard began as dirt and has grown to be perhaps the premiere vineyard in this region, used for some of her own prized wines while selling its grapes to numerous other bottlers…
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Barrell’s annual New Year release for 2022 follows on from 2021 with their usual no-holds-barred blending gymnastics, this time composed of straight bourbon whiskeys sourced from a whopping seven states (TN, IN, KY, OH, WY, NY, and TX), variously aged 5, 6, 7, 9, and 14 years. Barrell has proven through the years that blending…
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Guess who’s getting into the bourbon business? Playboy: With the introduction of Rare Hare 1953, which debuted yesterday. What’s 1953 refer to? Glad you asked: A fitting tribute to the year Playboy was founded, the Rare Hare 1953 Anniversary Edition is a 17-year Kentucky bourbon finished in XXO Cognac casks from the Champagne region of…
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Thomas Ashbourne is a new brand that partners with celebrities to bottle and can ready-to-drink cocktails. The objective is to offer top-of-the-line variations of favorite cocktails that are as simple to obtain as popping open a bottle or can. There is always plenty of pomp and circumstance surrounding any celeb-related project so best to override…
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The seventh editions of Bardstown Bourbon Co.’s Fusion and Discovery Series have hit the shelves. While the concept behind the two hasn’t changed, this latest pair of releases does appear to mark a new level of complexity and uniqueness, at least in their basic construction. The blending wizards at Bardstown Bourbon Co. have rarely combined…
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High Camp makes a pretty cool travel flask, and recently it expanded its repertoire to include a natural addendum: a shaker perfect for outdoor environs. Unlike the partially magnetically sealed flask, the High Camp Highball Shaker includes three components that all screw together, making for a higher-grade seal. The components includes a 20 ounce vessel,…
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