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.
Irish Cream isn’t the only way to have a boozy-creamy tipple after dinner. Bom Bom is a new brand (founded in 2016) that offers dessert-like cream flavors in a relatively low-alcohol product, but does it without any dairy products at all. All use unspecified Caribbean rum as the base spirit. Bom Bom is available in…
Noble Vines offers a simple collection of numerically-designated wines, sourced from all over California. Here’s a look at two recent bottlings in the ultra-affordable collection. 2017 Noble Vines Collection 446 Chardonnay Monterey – Lots of oak and vanilla here on a wine that doesn’t feel as natural as it should. Gummy and extracted, the heavy oak…
Gold Medal Wine Club describes itself as an “old school” wine club, and recently they asked if they could showcase their wares for us. Says a represntative, “Gold Medal Wine Club has been at it since ’92. They don’t bottle bulk juice, slap a label on and call it a winery. They don’t contract with…
“With an innate understanding of women’s hectic lives, the idea behind the brand was born.” My wife didn’t think the label on The Sisters, a set of wines hailing from Marlborough, NZ-based winemaker Rebecca Wiffen, displayed much particular insight into her world, but hey, a wine’s name is really just a name (though the brand…
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…
Following on its Port Cask Finished Highland Malt comes Virginia Distillery Co.’s next installment, finished in Chardonnay casks sourced from local wineries, including Grace Estate Winery, Michael Shaps, Virginia Wineworks and Paradise Springs Winery. As with the Port Cask, this is a blend of Scottish Highland single malt and Virginia-distilled whiskey (from a 100% malt…
I guess this was inevitable: One of the biggest wine producers in California, Francis Ford Coppola, decided to make spirits, too. Three of them, in fact, all named after famous women of history, a nod to the many great women that have impacted Coppola’s life and career. The spirits include a vodka, gin, and brandy…
The fine nation of Canada hath given us many a wonderful thing: Rush, Hockey Night In Canada, Brave New Waves radio, and the sport of basketball. However, Canada can also lay claim to providing the world such monstrosities as Hawaiian-style pizza, the Bloody Caesar, and Celine Dion. All in all, a mixed bag but still…
Figueroa Mountain Brewing can be found in sleepy Buellton, California, in the state’s Central Coast region, where it employs a whopping 200 people and produces dozens of styles of beer. Today we look at the production of the so-called FigMtnBrew for the first time, with reviews of four styles of beer. Thoughts follow. Figueroa Mountain Brewing…
New Belgium’s latest into its semi-sour fruit beer line, Tartastic, turns to that trusty combination of raspberries and lime. The results are short of impressive, though those looking for an alternative to, say, sangria, might find this combination of flavors enticing. Think earthy notes mixed with malty sweetness, layered with relatively restrained fruit notes —…