Rated D/F
Reviews of spirits, wine, and beer (and various errata like mixers and garnishes) comprise more than 80% of the content at Drinkhacker. This category is a catch-all for everything rated D+, D, D-, or F, our lowest rating. These products should be categorically avoided by everyone (and preferably discontinued altogether). On a five-star scale, these products would score 1.5 stars (for D+ ratings) or 1 star (for D, D-, and F ratings). On the traditional 100-point scale popular with many wine and spirits graders, these products would merit scores 68 or below.
Is sake making a comeback? For whatever reason, Drinkhacker HQ has been flooded with the stuff of late. The intricacies of sake styles are too involved and complex to go into here, so if you’re interested in the differences between, say, junmai and ginjo, I’ll refer you to this Wikipedia article. Here’s our look at…
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Can the French go toe to toe with the Australians at their own game: Putting out cheap and simple varietally-focused wines that consumers will lap up? All that’s missing is the animal on the label. Here’s how the five wines of the HobNob label — sometimes seen as Hob Nob and all hailing from “the…
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Made from coca leaves. Wow, OK. Not quite sure how to even begin with this one. Agwa de Bolivia (“crafted in Amsterdam”) is one hell of a liqueur, a mouthwash green monster that’s pungent with menthol character and greener than Scope — and, yes, made with real coca leaf. (Hey, don’t get too excited. So…
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Master of Malt is a whisky and spirits merchant, and it’s also making its own line of spirits from privately bottled single malt scotches from all over Scotland — including at least one I’d never even heard of before. We sampled a solid five of these offerings, with results all over the proverbial map. Master…
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Premixed cocktails are always a dicey proposition, and Purista’s two new mixers probably aren’t going to win any overnight fans. Offering two spins on a theme — a traditional Mojito and a Blackberry Mojito — these mixes promise they are “hand-crafted” creations made with premium ingredients: In the case of the former, all-natural ingredients including…
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Energy is for sissies. The future is all about the chillax. Little two-ounce plastic shots filled with caffeine, taurine, and other ‘ines are all the rage, but the newer phenomenon is shots designed not to pump you up but to cool you down. Two boxes of these things arrived on virtually the same day, both…
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Pre-mixed, bottled cocktails that include alcohol continue to make a splash. Tribeca Light’s tactic: Do it all with a low-calorie approach; the label promises that a glass of a Tribeca-tail packs just half the calories of a standard cocktail. Naturally, some sacrifices may be in order… the promise of a “sophisticated taste in a natural…
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Great googly moogly, how does one approach discussion of FrostShot? Put simply, it’s an Otter Pop with booze in it: A plastic tube filled with sugary goo which, when frozen, becomes like slushy ice. You squeeze it out directly into your mouth. Only Otter Pops can’t get you drunk. They also taste a lot better…
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More and more producers are turning to boxes to move lots of product (they typically hold three liters vs. just 750ml of wine in a standard bottle) at rock-bottom prices. Here’s a look at two more offerings that use cardboard and plastic in lieu of glass and cork. 2008 Fish Eye California Pinot Grigio is…
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While I was pleasantly surprised to find that the recent Complete Idiot’s Guide to Wine Basics was a credible and well-written introductory guide to the world of wine, another book from the Idiot’s series unfortunately bears little similarity. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Bartending, by Amy Zavatto, boasts 1,500 recipes on its cover, but sheer…
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