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 the B rating is used for products that are good but which we don’t exactly love — and which we can provide with a qualified recommendation. On a five-star scale, these products would score 3 stars. On the traditional 100-point scale popular with many wine and spirits graders, these products would merit scores of 83 to 86 points.
“American whiskey with hops” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but the world has yet to come up with a sexier sounding term for booze made from beer. There’s plenty of it out there these days, including this latest bottling from Arcane Distilling, the first whiskey from the Brooklyn-based operation. Here’s a little backstory: Helmed…
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Edition two of the winning ImpEx Collection independent bottling series has arrived, comprising seven whiskies and two rums. Today we’re looking at three of the whiskies in the release, two from Scotland and one from Wales, all limited to a single cask. Let’s not waste time on introductions and dive in. The ImpEx Collection Ardmore…
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Bodega Catena Zapata is the oldest Argentinian family winery, producing under family ownership since 1902. The winery is credited with making Argentina synonymous with malbec, though it also produces a wide range of international varietals. Today we look at three wines produced by the fourth generation of Zapata — all of which were sampled from…
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Uncle Nearest began its foray into rye whiskey earlier this fall with the limited release of Uncut/Unfiltered, a burly, cask strength bruiser that I came to appreciate (with some revisiting and a healthy splash of water). For their next addition to the rye side of the portfolio, the distillery is introducing Uncle Nearest Straight…
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Two new special editions from Kentucky Peerless — which has moved from the world of standard-grade bourbons and ryes into really wild territory. Absinthe barrel finishing? That’s a new one for us. To wit: Kentucky Peerless Bourbon Finished in a Rum Barrel – Rum-finished whiskeys often seem to be missing out on much of the…
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Today we delve in to a handful of wines from Georgia — the country, not the state — mostly comprising indigenous grape varieties you’ve never heard of. Two of the wines in the mix are amber wines, which is essentially the O.G. version of modern orange wine — made with white wine grapes, aged on…
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Village Garage Distillery (housed in a former garage for the local highway department, hence the name) can be found in Bennington, Vermont, where it was founded in 2018 and began releasing products in 2021. All of the company’s spirits are made in the state — though not necessarily by the company itself. In addition to…
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Luxco’s Old Ezra brand gets a line extension with the introduction of a 7 year old rye, joining the previous 7 year old bourbon — plus a collection of other Old Ezras and less old Ezras. This release is made from blending two mashbills, one 51% rye and one 95% rye. Toasty and quite woody…
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Alberta Premium has been attempting to live up to its name in recent years, pumping out a series of annually released cask strength versions of its iconic rye whiskey — made with 100% rye in the mash — as well as very old age-statemented offerings like this 20 year old. Today, we take a step…
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We’re back with our second full round (not including a brief peek at the joven in 2019) with Ilegal, which is a rarity in mezcal, producing three tequila-like expressions instead of merely a blanco — here called a joven — offering. No need to stand on ceremony; let’s dive in. Production details follow with each…
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