Rated C
Reviews of spirits, wine, and beer (and various errata like mixers and garnishes) comprise more than 80% of the content at Drinkhacker. At the C level, products are considered common and lackluster at best. These products are almost never recommended, as better alternatives abound. On a five-star scale, these products would score 2 stars. On the traditional 100-point scale popular with many wine and spirits graders, these products would merit scores of 72 to 74 points.
“Complex. Toasty.” Exitus tells us what to expect right on the label of this bourbon barrel-aged monster, which spends 3 months in bourbon barrels. It’s a California-sourced mix of Zinfandel, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, and Merlot, which makes for a true mutt of a blend. But… can it stand up to a bourbon cask?…
Hey, it’s a quintet of new releases from our friends up the road in Petaluma, Lagunitas Brewing. Lagunitas Born Yesterday Pale Ale 2018 – (2017 bottle pictured.) Born Yesterday is a highly limited, fresh-hopped, unfiltered pale ale that Lagunitas has put out a few times before. For 2018, this one is “a newborn version of…
For the last 13 years, Woodford Reserve and its master distiller Chris Morris have been putting out their annual, coveted Master’s Collection whiskeys. Usually bourbon, sometimes not, and always highly anticipated, Morris’s pledge to the world has always been that he would never repeat a release (though he’s come close a time or two) as he…
For its 11th product, artisan mixer-make Fever-Tree takes another stab at tonic water, this one designed particularly for Tanqueray and Plymouth gins. It’s the 5th tonic water offering from the brand, and it’s particularly unique because, well, it’s pink. Some details: Fever-Tree, the world’s leading producer of premium tonics and mixers, unveils the launch of…
Noble Vines offers a simple collection of numerically-designated wines, sourced from all over California. Here’s a look at two recent bottlings in the ultra-affordable collection. 2017 Noble Vines Collection 446 Chardonnay Monterey – Lots of oak and vanilla here on a wine that doesn’t feel as natural as it should. Gummy and extracted, the heavy oak…
Two affordable wines from The Hess Collection’s Hess Select brand, located in Napa but a producer of wines from all across California. 2016 Hess Select Pinot Noir Central Coast – A beefy expression of pinot, this wine rolls out notes of bacon fat, campfire smoke, and onion rings, which all sounds perfect for pairing with…
Sugarlands Distilling Co., in the Great Smoky Mountains, now proclaims to be the most visited distillery in America. It’s also moved well past its flavored moonshines, now producing a flavored rum, whiskey (review coming soon), and numerous cream liqueurs with names like Electric Orange Sippin’ Cream. There are now six members of the Sippin’ Cream…
Though it is a definitive classic, I haven’t exactly been itching to review this, “a blind of distinctive character” that hails from Norwalk, Connecticut. And yet it merits our coverage, because Seagram’s 7 Crown — aka Seagram’s 7 — is as close to an essential whiskey as there is. It’s one of just a handful…
As fall approaches, here’s a look at a trio of new beers from Petaluma, California-based Lagunitas. Lagunitas Super Cluster – “A Citra-hopped mega ale of intergalactic proportions,” this is actually a fairly straightforward, West Coast style IPA, with some bitter orange peel notes to give it a slightly fruity kick. Heavy earth and pine notes,…
While we just took a look at the winery’s new offerings earlier in the summer, today we examine three additional Sonoma-driven offerings from California standby Geyser Peak. 2016 Geyser Peak Chardonnay Water Bend Sonoma County – Flat and meaty, this tepid wine offers a straightforward apple-grapefruit attack, but it’s muted considerably by notes of greenery and…