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 sure are a lot of girly drinks in the fridge,” my wife said as I prepared to tuck into this roundup of sparkling rose wine. And she’s right. Some of these sparkly bottles look like they belong on my daughter’s desk, not on the bar of the discriminating drinker. So it goes. Not every…
If there are matters we can count upon, as events have played out over the last several days, it is this: Jim Murray does not lie awake at night wondering what you think. Jim Murray quite clearly does not sit in front of a word processor agonizing over word choice in his reviews. Jim Murray…
We were surprisingly impressed back in 2016 with Miami Cocktail Co.’s first foray into ready-to-drink cocktails, what the company called “Small Batch Originals.” This year they have broadened their portfolio with a new line of single-serve canned cocktails dubbed “Organic Spritz.” As the name implies, these are certified organic. They are also low calorie (just…
Madison, NC-based Piedmont Distillers, best known for the Moon Mountain Moonshine series, also produces Catdaddy, an unusual mashup of moonshine and spiced rum. Catdaddy is triple distilled from corn, then flavored “with hints of vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon,” though it’s unclear if that’s exactly what comprises the flavoring bill. The finished product is unaged and…
Lismore is a non-distilling producer from Speyside which gathers its goods from an undisclosed location. The independent bottler in question, William Lundie & Co., is keeping mum on the source, and that’s quite all right. There are enough mysteries and turmoil in the world to fret upon without having to diligently sleuth for an answer…
SoNo 1420 is — perhaps you’ve guessed — a brand that revolves around cannabis. The Connecticut-based operation uses hemp seeds in its whiskeys and uses hemp flower in its gins. However, its three vodkas — two of which we review here — are hemp-free. Let’s give these spirits a try. Both are 80 proof. SoNo…
It is really hard to know what to make of this, why this happened or for what audience it is intended. A few guesses: an apple-flavored beer, a beer-flavored cider, Johnny Appleseed, The Village Green Anti-Cider Society, Matt “Them Apples” Damon, patrons of Applebee’s happy hour or fans of the FX show What We Do…
The new Whistler Irish Whiskey brand comes to us from family-owned Boann Distillery, which can be found in the Ireland’s Boyne Valley. “At Boann, we pride ourselves in being one of the most innovative whiskey distilleries in Ireland, and in late 2019 our new state-of-the-art facilities and custom copper pot stills produced the first spirit…
Poitin (puh-cheen) is Ireland’s answer to moonshine, a pot-distilled spirit which can be made from a variety of base starches (much like vodka). A recent event rounded up three Irish poitin bottlings to help elucidate how different various expressions of this spirit can be. We aren’t re-reviewing the barley-based Mad March Hare here, so please…
At the beginning of 2020, spirits mega-chain Total Wine offered up a range of single cask un-chillfiltered expressions at their stores, in partnership with independent bottler Alexander Murray & Co. Two made their way down to my local shop and were purchased immediately. Alexander Murray & Co. Braes of Glenlivet Single Cask 23 Years Old…