Spirits
Spirits are beverages made by the process of distillation. The “Spirits” category is not commonly used at Drinkhacker because the vast majority of reviews we publish fall into this category. It is used only occasionally to help organize our category list (and mainly gets clicked by accident).
Maestro Dobel continues to innovate, this time by returning to the good old days of artisanal tequila production (and eschewing its trademark cristalino presentation). Dobel Tahona Tequila Blanco is a 100% organic blanco tequila made with classic techniques: tahona agave pinas crushed on a volcanic stone wheel, masonry oven roasting, fermentation with open-air wild yeast…
The GlenDronach has been making whisky since 1826. To celebrate its bicentennial, the historic distillery has released (in very limited supply) its oldest expression to date: The GlenDronach Aged 56 Years. True to form for the Highland producer, this whisky certainly leans into sherry maturation, having spent its entire life across Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez…
Virginia whiskey lovers, you know the drill. A. Smith Bowman is out with another Abraham Bowman Special Release. The lottery closed May 11 (womp womp), but there’s still a chance some bottles will go unclaimed at the end of the month. In the past, a few bottles have even circulated through the Virginia ABC and…
For its first Distillery Series whiskey of 2026 (and the first we’ve reviewed in a a few years), Woodford Reserve takes us to an increasingly popular place: wine-finished bourbon. This expression begins with fully mature Woodford Reserve Bourbon, then finishes it in French oak cabernet sauvignon barrels of unstated origin and for an unstated length…
As David wrote in his 2025 review, High West’s Bourye has build a bit of a cult following — and deservedly so. This ever-evolving blend of bourbon and rye from some combination of Indiana, Kentucky, and Utah is one of the most reliable American whiskeys on the market, and it’s a whiskey I never turn…
Bardstown Bourbon Co.’s Distillery Reserve Series knocked it out of the park last year with a trio of exceptional whiskeys as delicious as they were distinctive. The inaugural release, Cathedral French Oak, made our Top 20 Whiskeys of 2025 list, but they were honestly all in the running. And they’re not resting on their laurels…
For the first time in basically forever, Texas whiskeymaker Garrison Brothers has dropped a bourbon without a clever name. Garrison Brothers Bottled in Bond tells you exactly what it is, without having to Google anything at all. This first bonded expression of Garrison Brothers comes 16 years after its inaugural bourbon release and lands as…
Forward/Slash Distillery and Blending House was founded by Tim Bradstreet and Michael Buffa, two longtime beverage industry veterans whose shared enthusiasm for American whiskey and blending eventually turned into a business partnership. Buffa is known throughout Central Florida as the founder of the Orlando Whiskey Society and Buffa Bittering Company. Bradstreet previously served as a…
For all the attention paid to mashbills and barrel regimens, fermentation rarely takes center stage in American whiskey. The industry’s reliance on sour mash has long set the tone, particularly across the major distilleries of Kentucky and Tennessee. Against that backdrop, a smaller group of producers has worked to reintroduce sweet mash fermentation into the…
Upon its launch, King of Kentucky quickly attained unicorn status, with its annually releases single barrel bourbon spiraling ever higher in price as its age slowly ratcheted up. Now the brand is expanding, and not in the direction you would probably expect: the King of Kentucky Small Batch Collection will be a blend of bourbons,…