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.
Rogue, the Newport, Oregon-based brewer and distiller, has recently leaped into the canned cocktail game with these renditions of a trio of hard seltzers. All are made with Rogue’s own vodka or gin, natural botanicals, and sparkling water. We tried the full lineup. Thoughts follow. Each is 7.5% abv. Rogue Cucumber Lime Gin Fizz –…
Longtime readers (and Dalmore fans) may recall the original Shackleton whiskies, a pair of releases which hit in 2011/2012, designed personally by Richard Paterson to mimic the whisky that Ernest Shackleton took with him on his famed trip to the South Pole. These whiskies are both quite enjoyable — and expensive. (You can still track…
Dashfire is best known as a purveyor of bitters, with the self-proclaimed largest selection of bitters in the world. Recently the company expanded its offerings to include a selection of six premade cocktails, each available in the cutest single-serve can you’ve ever seen — 100ml each. (750ml bottles are also available.) The cocktails are all…
Marques de Caceres is a large, value-oriented wine brand in Spain’s Rioja region. Today we take a spin through Caceres’ 2019 releases, including its sparkling wine. Thoughts follow. NV Marques de Caceres Cava Brut – Instantly big with apple juice notes and a touch of lemon peel; this sparkler immediately reminds me of holiday parties.…
Finishing whiskey doesn’t just have to mean taking aged spirit and putting it in a second barrel before proofing and bottling. You can also finish whiskey in the decanter, and various entrepreneurs have been trying to engineer ways for the consumer enthusiast to do this at home, courtesy of little staves of wood you drop…
A few months ago, I promised a look at the whiskeys of Infuse Spirits, the company which made its name with flavored vodkas and which recently branched out into whiskey. Now folks, the time is here, and we’re looking at the entirety of Infuse’s whiskey line, which spans three different expressions — two bourbons, one…
Stirrings was one of the first companies to make a splash in the burgeoning premade mixer business, and the brand now dominates shelf space on the mixer aisle. While Stirrings has 13 mixers at present along with a host of other syrups, rimmers, and other nonalcoholic products, today we look at the flagship: Stirrings Simple…
Drinking beer… but really wish you had a margarita? Well, the answer is here in the form of Founders’ Mas Agave, a hybrid margarita/beer if ever there was one. Allow them to describe: “We took an imperial gose brewed with agave, lime and sea salt and then aged it in tequila barrels for just the…
Waco-based Balcones is one of the most innovative distilleries in Texas, with new expressions constantly trickling out of the operation. The latest to arrive is Balcones Texas Pot Still Bourbon , which is distilled in Forsyth pot stills from a four-grain mash of roasted blue corn, Texas wheat, Texas rye and malted barley, then aged…
Bently Heritage is a new distillery in Nevada, admirably doing just about everything on site. The operation grows and harvests its own winter rye, wheat, oats, and barley, malts its grains in-house on its own malting floor — a practice you almost never hear about today — and uses its own Sierra Nevada-sourced well water…