Rated B-
Reviews of spirits, wine, and beer (and various errata like mixers and garnishes) comprise more than 80% of the content at Drinkhacker, and at the B- level we begin to shy away from recommending these products except in relatively uncommon circumstances or for certain types of drinkers. On a five-star scale, these products would score 2.5 stars. On the traditional 100-point scale popular with many wine and spirits graders, these products would merit scores of 79 to 82 points.
Today we’re diving into Texas winery William Chris‘s new sparkling wine division, Rebecca Caroline, along with coverage of a new white wine blend, Mary Ruth. Watch for a full report of our visit to the Rebecca Caroline tasting room soon. 2023 William Chris Rebecca Caroline Dell Valley Vineyards Cuvee Brut – 60% Chardonnay 40% Chenin…
Only two years ago Sonoma-based Graton Distillery released Redwood Empire, a blend of its own microdistilled spirit and sourced whiskey. Now the brand is back with not one, not two, but three new expressions which collectively replace the 2018 release. Here’s all the details to get you started. Purple Wine + Spirits today announced its…
Casamigos is the latest tequila brand to jump into the ready-to-drink space, this time with two bottles timed to take advantage of World Cup madness. The two expressions — Classic Lime and Spicy — are made with Casamigos blanco tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice, and natural flavors, and both come in either 750ml or 375ml…
Texas-based Kooper Family Distilling recently rebranded, dropping the Family and simplifying to Koopers (no apostrophe). Sorry, fam! Labels have been revamped across the board, with Koopers branding much more prominent and consistent across the lineup. The brand is also ramping up production with all manner of special releases, one of which we look at below…
First things first: That vibrant blue liquid is gin — not violet liqueur, not sloe gin, not something from the planet Zebulon. It’s a straight gin colored to be blue, thanks to the addition of butterfly pea blossoms to the distillate. Why make a blue gin? The British Columbia-based distillery explains: Victoria Distillers introduced Empress…
Fluere is a non-alcoholic spirits brand owned since 2023 by Lucas Bols, known for its extensive liqueur lineup. With a selection of five N/A “spirits” under its command, Fluere covers a vast swatch of the alcohol world with its spiritless takes on gin, rum, mezcal, and more. We tasted the entire lineup. Thoughts — quite…
Out of Fort Worth comes another experimental release from TX Whiskey, the 16th total in their series, and the second so far this year. We previously reviewed Experimental Series #15, which was a rye/bourbon blend with the latter portion finished in Vino de Naranja barrels. The latest release is a Texas straight rye whiskey, aged…
Last year, Four Roses rebooted its single barrel program with the launch of the Single Barrel Collection, a revolving set of whiskeys that highlight each of its 10 classic recipes, three bottles at a time. Now under its new ownership (Gallo), the company is back with three more bottles for 2026, each 7 to 9…
For all the attention paid to mashbills and barrel regimens, fermentation rarely takes center stage in American whiskey. The industry’s reliance on sour mash has long set the tone, particularly across the major distilleries of Kentucky and Tennessee. Against that backdrop, a smaller group of producers has worked to reintroduce sweet mash fermentation into the…
THC seltzers are rampant. THC beers are far less common, perhaps because enthusiasts just don’t like to muddy the waters with cannabinoids, even if alcohol isn’t involved. Float House, based in Windsor, Connecticut, produces a small but growing collection of “can-na-brews” designed to offer a craft beer drinking experience (though the product is not formally…