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.
1800 Tequila markets The Ultimate Margarita, its brand of pre-made, ready-to serve margaritas, as “the #1 premium margarita.” This may be the case, but that perhaps says more about the general quality of bottled/canned margaritas than anything else. Made with “premium tequila, triple sec liqueur, natural flavors and certified colors” and available in six flavors…
A pair of wines from Windsor Vineyards, which is based in Sonoma County’s Santa Rosa, California. 2017 Windsor Viognier California – This immediately struck me as pretty off-target for viognier, with aromas running to coconut water, lemon peel, and melon — with none of the expected florals and peach/apricot notes evident. On the palate the…
Finlandia — which is legitimately made in Finland, distilled from Suomi barley — has been around forever, but the brand got a shakeup a few years ago, such that none of the Finlandia expressions we’ve previously reviewed are still available in the U.S. Today, the States have just three versions of the vodka to experience:…
Early in the days of Covid-19, we took a virtual trip to Temecula in southern California to experience the wines of this emerging region. Now we’re back with another look at a half-dozen wines from the valley. Thoughts follow. 2019 Carter Estate South Coast Estate Fume – A lightly oaked blend of sauvignon blanc (77%)…
This quintet of beers is available as part of a Christmas-themed collection from Alameda, California-based Almanac Brewing, complete with holiday-friendly labels. We received five of the dozen brews for review, all tasted from 16 oz cans. Almanac Love Hazy IPA – I like my hazy IPAs to be hazy, and this super-juicy offering really does…
+Recently, Sonoma’s Bacigalupi Vineyards released its first ever chardonnay from its estate-owned Paris Tasting Block, a two and a half-acre plot planted in 1964 in the family’s Goddard Ranch Vineyard in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley. Why is this significant? Because this vineyard was the source for 40% of the fruit that went into Chateau…
Campo Viejo is one of the best-known wineries of Rioja, and this year it’s launching a new concept, a wine blended from three grapes — Tempranillo, Garnacha and Bobal — suitably known as The Red Blend. Let’s see how it fares. Inky purple and completely opaque, this wine takes everything that’s beautiful about Rioja and…
Located in central Scotland, the county of Perthshire was home to the original Stronachie distillery until its doors closed in 1928, after nearly a three-decade-long run of operations. Independent bottlers AD Rattray purchased an original brand at auction, and with the quiet assistance of Benrinnes, resurrected the brand a few years ago. The core range…
“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…
Junior Johnson was a major NASCAR driver — but before that, he was a moonshine distiller, and was actually convicted for it in federal court. (Ronald Reagan pardoned Johnson in 1986.) Before his death in 2019, Johnson teamed up with Piedmont Distillers in North Carolina to craft his moonshine recipe the legal way. Today, Midnight…