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.
Once synonymous with coconut rum — and only coconut rum — the Malibu Rum empire now spans 9 different flavored rums, ready-to-drink canned cocktails, and even punch-in-a-bag concepts. The catch? Today, very little of this has coconut flavoring in it. What’s Malibu made of? You might be surprised to know for starters that it’s made…
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Finnish for “the hill,” Kukkula hails not from Scandinavia but from California’s Paso Robles region, where owner/winemaker Kevin Jussila has been organically dry-farming his estate for 16 years. Today we look at two Rhone-inspired reds from the 2018 vintage. 2018 Kukkula Aatto Red Wine Adelaida District – Aatto is Finish for “eye.” A blend of 45%…
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It’s hard to believe but Breckenridge Brewery and Breckenridge Distillery are not owned by the same company. (Breckenridge Brewery is actually part of Anheuser-Busch, while the distillery is still independently owned.) Buddy Pass is nonetheless a natural collaboration between the two operations, a barrel exchange in which Breckenridge Brewery brewed an Imperial Oatmeal Stout which…
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The wines of Spain can be ultra-luxe, but most of the time you’ll find amazing values from this warm region, known for its aggressive reds. Today we look at a trio of wines from España for your springtime enjoyment. 2018 Clos de Nit Montsant – Montsant is the region surrounding Priorat. A blend of 40%…
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The beer maestros at Dogfish Head continues to expand their distilling operations, their latest innovation being this new single malt, called Let’s Got Lost, which is “distilled from a custom blend of malted barley (Pale Malt, Crystal Malt, Coffee Kiln Malt, and a high ratio of Applewood Smoked Malt) and aged onsite for more than…
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Mico is a new tequila brand, the name translating to “monkey” in Spanish — which seems to have little to do with the brand aside from the mascot, which is a suited man with a monkey’s face. The tequilas are 100% agave (source unknown), double distilled, and, in the case of the aged renditions, double-barreled with…
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Ever since they converted an old Vermont dairy farm into a craft whiskey operation in 2007, WhistlePig has made quite a name for itself with their consistently highly acclaimed rye whiskeys. They ante up on their limited edition special releases year on year, which includes ultra-premium expressions such as the 17 year Boss Hog VIII…
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I’m naturally prejudiced against anything that claims to be “so smooth” on its label, but let’s set that aside for our first foray into new Cognac brand Nyak. Nyak is the brainchild of some spirits and business royalty, including CEO of Detroit Equities, Dennis McKinley; former VP for Remy Cointreau, Patrick Charpentier; and Jerome Hyafil,…
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Based in Portland, Oregon, Eastside Distilling produces and bottles Burnside Bourbon, which includes a number of sourced bourbons finished in casks made of quercus garryana (Oregon white oak). They’ve had some solid releases with their Double Barrel Bourbon, 4 year old Bourbon and Marionberry Whiskey in the past. They recently released a 10 year old…
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Alamitos is a Portuguese-influenced winery located at the base of the Santa Cruz Mountains in the Bay Area’s Santa Clara Valley. It’s a relatively obscure AVA, although considering its best-known resident is Ridge, there’s clearly some exceptional quality to be had here. Alamitos sent us three of its recent releases for consideration. Thoughts follow. 2020…
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