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).
I’m not gonna pull any punches here. Stranahan’s is the strangest whiskey I’ve ever experienced. It looks harmless enough, a bright, orange-hued spirit with a relatively mild nose — almost rye-like. Though 94 proof, the nose isn’t particularly hot. Looks promising. Then the tasting. Hmmm. Stranahan’s is a rarity among American whiskeys, distilled from 100…
I’ve written about Evan Williams a few times now after seeing the brand rank highly in taste-tests of inexpensive booze. Widely regarded as the best “cheap bourbon” on the market, I figured I’d pick up a bottle and try it myself, tasting it as seriously as I would a $300 Scotch. The price of this…
From the out-there world of saffron gin we return to something more traditional, a relatively straightforward London style gin called Cricket Club (from the folks at Indio Spirits). 86 proof and crisp is a fresh apple, Cricket Club isn’t overly surprising. A moderate hand with the juniper helps some of Cricket’s other charms come through:…
One look at Gabriel Boudier’s saffron gin and you are instantly intrigued. The king of the spice world married with spirits royalty? The result is intriguing to say the least, but it’s unfortunately somewhere short of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier. I tried a tiny sample of Boudier at last year’s WhiskyFest but now that…
The name “Kentucky Vintage” immediately leads one to snicker a bit. Vintage? Bourbon? Really? In reality, this is the fourth (and final) bourbon from the Kentucky Bourbon Distillers’ Small Batch Collection — the entire line has been reviewed here now — and it is arguably the least impressive of the series. At just 90 proof,…
I love lists like these (and not just because I’ve had Utopias), mainly because it’s so fun to navel-gaze at this ridiculously expensive booze. That said, I’d love to give the Macallan 1926 a shot. Or two.
Tales of the Cocktail is soliciting mint julep recipes to achieve a spot as the official cocktail of this year’s celebration/trade show/extravaganza. The only rules: It has to have mint and it has to have sugar. Pretty much everything else is fair game. I went pretty wide — figuring a bourbon-based julep wasn’t going to…
Surprisingly light in color, Sea Wynde hails from both Jamaica and Guyana (it’s blended from five pot stills located in those two countries) and packs far more flavor than you’d think from such a The aroma is very sweet — and quite intoxicating — but it lacks focus on the palate. The sweetness is at…
I expect to see lots of recession-minded lifestyle coverage in the upcoming months. Esquire magazine doesn’t disappoint with this roundup of the best cheap spirits — stuff that’s affordable but which you wouldn’t mind actually serving to guests. The winners: Paul Masson Grande Amber VSOP brandy, Brugal Anejo rum, White Horse Scotch, Gordon’s gin, and…
Zwack is wack! Sorry, had to do it. It won’t happen again. Zwack is a Hungarian company that produces amaro-like digestif bitters, dark brown liqueurs flavored with dozens of herbs and aged in oak. For years, Zwack produced only a spirit called Unicum, which is said to be so insanely popular in Hungary that they…