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.
Imagine a fruit-heavy, lightly sour beer, lightened up to be a bit even less funky and fully stripped of alcohol, and you’ve got the basics of General Admission, a new non-alcoholic fruit brew that is a bit like a fruity seltzer water with just a little more oomph to it. Available in four flavors, General…
So there may not be an actual Lasso Motel, but it does serve as a fun moniker for a new operation that’s sourcing, finishing, and bottling whiskey — and lots of it. By my count the company has 13 different whiskeys on the market now — mostly bourbon but also a rye and a few…
Mine Hill Distillery can be found in the hills of Connecticut, where in 2018 it was seen fit to turn an old cigar factory into a distillery cranking out all manner of spirits, including bourbon, rye, vodka, gin, and even amaro. In 2023, the operation was purchased by Zachary Karabell and an investor group, and…
Yes, there are four reviews of WhistlePig products — all of them rye — in this roundup, and while that’s not the way I’d prefer to do it, let’s be real: WhistlePig cranks out a ton of whiskey, and keeping up on it all is daunting. So here we go: Four recent releases from our…
Ready for oompah season? California’s Firestone Walker is back with its “Oaktoberfest” annual seasonal — now 18 years old — plus four editions of a new beer called Cali Squeeze. Cali Squeeze is a new line of easy-drinking “tropical wheat ales,” each made with real fruit in the recipe. While these are designed more for summer…
Move over Crown Royal. There’s a new kid on the flavored Canadian whisky block. Forthwest Whisky Co. launched earlier this year with a portfolio of three flavored offerings and one unflavored blend. The whiskies are all sourced from an unspecified Canadian producer and finished at Oregon’s Hood River Distillers with glacier-fed spring water from Mt.…
Borealis Vintners draws its grapes from both Oregon and Washington, and with summer approaching, they sent us two whites and a rosé to review. They also make a Pinot Noir, not reviewed here. Let’s give them a try. 2022 Borealis Pinot Gris – 100% Pinot Gris from Oregon. This wine is sweeter than most Oregon…
Saint Viviana is retailer The Zero Proof‘s proprietary line of non-alcoholic wines, made by California winemakers by dealcoholizing “fantastic wine,” and keeping additives (like oak extract) to a minimum. A white and a red are on offer. We tried both. Saint Viviana Sauvignon Blanc Dealcoholized Wine – This definitely smells the part, with a brisk…
Patricia Green Cellars is one of Oregon’s leading wine producers and now it’s getting into … whiskey! Why not, right? You have never encountered whiskey like these, in large part because none of them are whiskey the way you probably think about them. All of them are made at least in part with brandy distilled…
Firestone Walker never met a beer style it didn’t like, and while it is constantly churning out sours, barrel-aged expressions, iconic lagers, and more, it’s the IPAs that Firestone really seems to gravitate to. Lately, the brand has dropped three different mixed-IPA cases, all featuring something new and something old. Today we look at 6…