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.
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…
Priest Ranch dates its origins to 1869 when it was established by James Joshua Priest, a Gold Rush prospector, but the start of its current operation more properly dates to 2004, when the grounds were consolidated with the Elder Valley properties to become the Somerston Estate. The estate includes 224 acres of vineyards across 15…
It’s our second year running looking at the sparkling wines of Roederer, perhaps the most iconic sparkling wine producer in the U.S. (not to mention France). Let’s dive back in! NV Roederer Estate Brut Anderson Valley (2026) – Still a multivintage blend of 40% pinot noir and 60% chardonnay, with 10 to 15% reserve wine…
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…
We’ve been tasting Renato’s Barolo wines on and off since 2016. Today we tuck into this producer’s offerings — with updates stretching to the 2021 vintage. We hope to update this coverage as future vintages arrive. 2016 Renato Ratti Barolo Marcenasco DOCG Review One look at the light color of this wine and it…
We’ve encountered Bryn Mawr‘s wines a few times in the past. This Willamette Valley-based operation offers a prodigious collection of wines, including the usual Oregon suspects and a few ringers, one of which we check out below. Let’s dig in. NV Bryn Mawr Brut Rosé (2026) – This Willamette sparkler has perhaps evolved a bit…
The James of James Gin is James May, that noted host of Top Gear and, it turns out, a whole bunch of cooking- and travel-related TV shows. He also owns a pub in the English countryside, and he makes gin — with five expressions currently under his belt. I know all this because May explained it…
No less than ten months after our last round, we return to Mezzacorona’s Ventessa line with an introduction as minimal as the wines themselves: low-calorie, low abv wines that are vegan, gluten-free, clocking in at 90 calories, and shockingly still affordable while everything else seems to be skyrocketing in price. 2025 Mezzacorona Ventessa Vigneti delle…
Largely known for its easy-going line of Prosecco, Cantine Maschio enters the non-alcoholic arena with this dealcoholized white sparkling variation on a classic spring/summer sipper. There’s an opening lemon note giving the wine immediate lift, but it threatens to present as “cleaning supplies” or “lemonhead soda”, especially when pouring multiple servings in the same proximity.…
If the name Ian Cauble doesn’t mean anything to you, you haven’t immersed yourself in the world of high-end sommeliers enough. He was a central figure in the 2012 documentary Somm, in which he swallows his pride and smiles genially as he fails the Master Sommelier exam — though he subsequently passed and made his way…