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, we see products that are relatively undistinguished, except perhaps in one or two minor factors. These products are generally not 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 75 to 78 points.
Non-alcoholic beer and wine have not exactly found rousing fanaticism in the market, probably because they generally taste like pale imitations of the real thing. Alcohol-free wine may as well be juice. NA beer is typically a thin, watery lager that has to be ice cold to be even marginally palatable. Denver-based Gruvi has been…
Korbel California Brandy — made right here and aged a mere 2 years in oak barrels — is hardly the elevated brandy experience Cognac drinkers have become accustomed to, which is why this is usually sold in two sizes: 200ml and 1.75 liters, the latter of which will run you a mere 20 bucks. It’s…
Here’s a pair of wines from Paso Robles’ Volatus. If some of the names sound familiar, it’s because co-owner Victoria Schmitt’s father was Supertramp’s drummer. On to the wines. 2016 Volatus “Bloody Well Right” Tannat Paso Robles – 100% tannat — unusual, to say the least. The wine is a hefty beast, pushy with earth, eucalyptus,…
There’s no substitute for fresh-squeezed juices in a cocktail… or is there? Twisted Alchemy attempts to raise the bar on ready-to-mix juices, all cold-pressed, unpreserved/unpasteurized, and ready for use. The juices are sold (and must be kept) refrigerated. To keep them from spoiling, Twisted Alchemy exposes them to “high pressure simulating 60 kilometers below sea…
Maraska isn’t just the distiller of my favorite brand of Maraschino liqueur, it also makes a variety of other fruit brandies and nut liqueurs in its homeland of Croatia. Today we look at two of them, both traditional offerings but new entries into its catalog, a Slivovitz plum brandy and a green walnut liqueur. Let’s…
Who doesn’t love a good Gin & Tonic, Vodka Soda, or Dark & Stormy? While premium sodas from Fever Tree and Top Note have elevated the classics, perhaps there’s room for a newcomer to offer original flavors that taste just as great when mixed with a spirit as they do on their own. Enter Petal,…
Annette Joseph clearly loves Italy, but her book Cocktail Italiano isn’t just about drinking your way across the country. In fact, to be honest, cocktails occupy comparably few of the pages here. Most of the book — dense with full-color photography and divided into 12 chapters, each for one city or region along the Italian…
Jon Taffer, the Gordan Ramsay of the bartending world, recently lent his name to a line of hard seltzers. Each flavor is “inspired by the popular flavors in modern mixology,” according to the website, and has only 100 calories, zero grams of added sugar, and three grams of carbs, so there’s clearly an effort to…
Golden Moon Gin is the eponymous gin from Colorado’s Golden Moon Distillery. (We covered its Kummel previously.) There isn’t a whole lot of information about what’s in the bottle except this snippet of data about the product: Golden Moon Gin is distilled using the finest herbs, spices and botanicals available, including wild-crafted mint and juniper…
It’s been over five years since we looked at the spirits of 2bar — an impressive bourbon, vodka, and more — but the Seattle distiller recently rolled out a new product: 2bar Rye. This whiskey is made from a mash of 65% rye, 10% corn, and 25% malt, and it’s aged for 2 1/2 years…