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).
Nadared is, as far as I can tell, the first ever anti-communist vodka ever produced. No, seriously. It’s nada red — it’s not red. In fact, it’s made here in the U. S. of A. (in Mira Loma, California, actually), and all profits from the sale of this vodka go towards “institutions in oppressive political…
Why “triple wheat?” Because Van Gogh sources wheat for this vodka from France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Get it? Three countries. Triple wheat. Distilled in Holland, this 80-proof vodka is actually pretty amazing. Very light and smooth, it’s got a very light sweetness that plays with flowery notes on the palate. There’s no harshness or…
I recently had the great opportunity to attend Tequila Herradura’s battle of eight Bay Area mixologists, each trying to outdo the other. Some photos of the event held at San Francisco’s Tres Agaves — including a live “harvesting” of agave plants… oh, the carnage — follow. My favorite drink of the evening — Tony Devencenzi’s…
23 years is epic for any spirit to sit idle in a barrel, but for bourbon it’s almost insane. Old Rip Van Winkle‘s 23-year-old bottling (this sample is from the 2009 limited edition) is positively intense with wood character — and alcohol. It’s 114 proof, which is hefty, but I’ve had far higher-proof whiskeys that…
Is it vodka or is it gin? Infused with eight ingredients — pear, rose, chamomile, lemon verbena, lavender, rosemary, coriander, and citrus peel — Square One Botanical certainly looks on paper a lot more like a postmodern gin than the vodka it claims to be on the bottle. Ultimately, labels are meaningless — all gin…
Last year Lagavulin released a 16-year-old special edition whisky and this year (2009) it’s continuing the cycle, offering a single malt double-matured in Pedro Ximinez sherry wood casks. This is a smoother whisky than last year’s phenolic monster, more delicate while still carrying plenty of briny, peaty notes that Lagavulin is so well-known for. The…
Yes Virginia, they still make gin in England, despite all the Johnny-come-latelys operating out of the States and other countries. In fact, you might say they still make the best gin in England, as time and time again these blokes prove that they can’t be beat when it comes to flavoring neutral spirits with the…
It’s rare that a humble blogger likes myself gets a solo audience with a cultural icon like Diddy, aka Sean Combs, Puff Daddy, Puffy, P. Diddy, and numerous other monikers. AND YET IT HAPPENED. That’s right, folks. Your humble Drinkhacker sat down mano a mano with the man who stands guard behind Ciroc to talk…
It’s called a “Secret Breakfast,” but tens of thousands of people seem to know about it: Ice cream from San Francisco’s Humphry Slocombe, which operates a tiny Mission shop with about 10 daily concoctions ranging from Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee (better than actual Blue Bottle coffee, IMHO) to Peanut Butter Curry to Pumpkin 5-Spice. But…
Here’s an outstanding return to form for Evan Williams’ Single Barrel bourbons, which the company’s been bottling for years, an amazing whisky that I highly recommend. The 2000 Single Barrel shares a lot of DNA with the 1999, but while last year’s version is noteworthy for its lightly bitter, wood and charcoal finish, the 2000…