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 solid products that we don’t exactly love, but which we still heartily recommend. On a five-star scale, these products would score 3.5 stars. On the traditional 100-point scale popular with many wine and spirits graders, these products would merit scores of 87 to 89 points.
The ever-innovating soda engineers at Jones have just put out a new line of four new beverages: Combinations of brewed tea and juice, not carbonated, and sweetened with cane sugar and natural flavors. The sell: All of the varieties include GABA, or Gamma Amino Butyric Acid, a “smart drug” neurotransmitter said to “improve mental focus,…
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I knew Israel made wine, but like most consumers I’d figured it was that cough syrup called Manischewitz and that was about it. Turns out Manischewitz is made in New York, not Israel. Real Israeli wines are far, far better, but just as kosher. With Passover a week away, interest in kosher wines is at…
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Clearing up question #1: ÍS Vodka is pronounced “Ice Vodka,” which sadly ensures that it will draw blank stares not just from people who see it written but from those who hear it spoken aloud, too. Hailing from Iceland (which has more trouble these days than how people pronounce the name of a vodka brand),…
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Let’s say you grab a bottle of wine and it’s too warm. What do you do? If you’re like most people, you probably just open it and drink it anyway. Secondary options typically run to sticking it in the freezer for a few minutes, or using a wine-chilling gadget (like one of these) to bring…
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Come Tuesday, many of you will be picking up a bottle of Irish whiskey to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, and for most of you, it’ll be either Bushmills or Jameson. Can’t blame you, both are solid Irish brands and you can often find them for about $16, especially this time of year. Some more detailed…
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I’ll be blunt: Ron Abuelo’s rums are as good as rums that cost twice as much and possibly more. Right now the company (producer Varela Hermanos, a 100-year-old firm) offers two rums, distilled in Panama from sugar cane the company grows itself. (Abuelo claims to be one of few distilleries in the world to grow…
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Bruichladdich — a perennial favorite at Drinkhacker HQ from Islay — recently released a number of new expressions of its classic whisky, some with surprising compositions. We got our mitts (and tongues) on four of them: Bruichladdich Bourbon Cask Aged 16 Years Old – No big surprise here. 97 percent of Scotch whisky is matured…
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While Evan Williams may be best known for it’s $9.49 black label bourbon, the fact is the company makes a wide range of whiskeys spanning a range of price levels. While not its most expensive concoction, this vintage-dated, single-barrel bourbon is near the top for the company, though at just $30 a bottle (sometimes less),…
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A coastal Highlands single malt, part of Diageo’s limited release series (with about 3,000 bottles produced) whisky is initially a little off-putting, but some time with it opens things up and reveals more of its charms. Cutting through a cloud of smoke is your first challenge, and you’ll find a honey and lemon-orange body underneath.…
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Vacation in a bottle? It’s like the Holy Grail of beverages… but is it too good to be true? Vacation in a Bottle — or ViB — is a non-alcoholic, lightly carbonated soft drink, sweetened with cane sugar (not corn syrup) and some sucralose, flavored with natural pomegranate and goji berry juices (at least this…
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