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).
Folks, I had to work my way up to writing this one. It’s not every day you get to try a tequila with such a pedigree… and I hope you’ll get the chance to sample it eventually for yourself. But first, some history: Jose Cuervo is the world’s oldest maker of tequila, with 10 generations…
Surely you’ve seen Ty Ku on the shelf. The pale green liqueur in the obelisk of a bottle (some versions even light up when poured) stands out on any back bar. But… what is it? Reportedly the end result of a student project at Columbia Business School, Ty Ku isn’t a Japanese spirit with an…
Is everything coming up pink these days? Pink tequilas are rampant, and now there’s pink vodka called, understandably enough, Pinky Botanical Vodka. Pinky begins with winter wheat, and it’s distilled five times into the base spirit (presumably at this point it’s the same thing as Sweden’s Svensk Vodka, which is the producer of Pinky). Pinky…
This new 100% agave tequila brand (the master distiller is formerly of Don Julio) arrives in four expressions — the usual three plus one you might not expect: blanco, reposado, anejo (we didn’t sample this one), and “pink.” What’s pink tequila? We’ll get to that. But first, let’s start with the basics. All are 80…
Firefly, you’re on notice: There’s another sweet tea vodka in town, and it’s just as good as you are. Jeremiah Weed may not as be as froufrou-friendly — its label design is all western-like and it, well, has “weed” in the name — but damn if it isn’t just as good. Jeremiah Weed Sweet Tea…
More pre-mixed, ready-to-pour cocktail offerings, this time from Burnett’s which turns out some 20 vodkas and gins in every flavor imaginable. With these three concoctions, Burnett’s turns its vodkas into three simple bar standbys. All are 30 proof and come in big, plastic 1.75-liter jugs. They are intended to be served on the rocks, but…
Here’s a wholly unscientific look at the question I undertook back in 2005 courtesy of a closed track at a Malibu Grand Prix, a friend with an oversized liver, and half a bottle of Absolut. The answer: Inconclusive.
In this business, you learn something every day. Today I have learned that you can make vodka out of anything. Vermont Spirits makes its two vodkas, Vermont White and Vermont Gold, out of truly unique base ingredients: milk and maple syrup, respectively. Vodka out of sugar? I’d have thought that distilling sugar would net you…
Distilled in Chile and Peru — where the definition of what is “real” pisco remains a national preoccupation on both sides — pisco is grape brandy that, unlike French brandies, is unaged (or aged very little), and generally used in cocktails. Gran Sierpe is Peruvian pisco, and the company makes three varieties, using three different…
Brady’s isn’t the biggest name in Irish Cream liqueurs… but it sure sounds a lot like it. Turns out it tastes a lot like it, too. At $12 a bottle (sometimes as little as $10), Brady’s is an extremely credible and, possibly of more importance, inexpensive knockoff of Bailey’s, the most noteworthy of standby dessert…