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.
There’s no shortage of butter here on this unctuous, gooey wine, which layers in notes of vanilla, coconut, brown butter, and spice. Then rinse and repeat. Heavy and weighty on the palate, it’s an exploration of chardonnay at its Californian extremes. Too much for me. C / $14 / williamhillestate.com
Don Chelada is all in on micheladas, that classic combination of Mexican beer and spicy chiles that is Mexico’s answer to the bloody mary. Don Chelada offers two ways of making a michelada at home. First, rim a glass with spices, pour in your beer and add a couple of ounces of Don Chelada’s liquid…
Tea, coffee, and plenty of other drinks are rotten for your teeth, so Ted Jin, a former Pepsi executive, has come to the rescue. His solution: Qii, a beverage designed to improve oral health by replacing sugar with a xylitol-based sweetener called XyVita. “Unlike sugars, xylitol doesn’t feed these bacteria and reduces disease-causing plaque in…
If you’re looking for a mixer or some other cocktail ingredient, chances are The Cocktail Artist makes it. This series of “mixologist-inspired bar ingredients and mixes” now runs to 15 products, eight of which we’re reviewing below, running from the basic (simple syrup) to the complex (pina colada mix). Try not to mind the horrendous packaging,…
Prizefight is a new Irish whiskey brought to you by Steven Grasse, the creator of Hendrick’s Gin, and Flor Prendergast, an “Irish spirits innovator.” The big innovation here: While Prizefight is distilled and aged in West Cork, Ireland, it is finished in American rye whiskey barrels in the U.S. The blend starts out as a…
The ever-inventive Sam Adams is out with its latest passel of brews, all designed for summer sipping. Here’s a look at a quintet of barley-based goodies. Samuel Adams Summer Ale (2018) – This venerable wheat ale, brewed with lemon peel and grains of paradise, comes across as more refreshing and balanced than it has in…
As a born-and-raised Texan, I can personally attest to the state’s love affair with Crown Royal Canadian Whisky. Why this is, I don’t know. I think they really just love the felt bags. As a distinct nod to the state, Crown Royal is releasing a limited-edition whisky called Crown Royal Texas Mesquite. By far the…
Those who say “genever isn’t gin” need to let the folks at San Francisco’s Anchor Distilling — now known as Hotaling & Co. — know. Here, their Genevieve is formally known as “genever-style gin,” and for good reason. While this genever is made from a mash of wheat, barley, and rye malts, distilled in a traditional…
While I have trouble believing that “America’s Finest” anything is packaged in the same type of can that they sell turpentine in, I am pleased to see that Stillhouse — best known for its increasingly chaotic line of flavored moonshines (mint chip whiskey, anyone?) — is taking things upmarket. Now Stillhouse is out with a…
“Mexican whiskey” isn’t just a euphemism for tequila. Turns out our neighbors to the south really do make honest-to-God whiskey, none of which is more visible than Sierra Norte, which markets three different expressions made from different strains of corn native to Oaxaca — white, yellow, and black. (The mash for each is 85% corn…