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.
Sonoma’s Simi bottles a range of whites and reds, sourced from vineyards throughout Sonoma County. Here’s a look at two of the winery’s more widely available bottlings. 2019 Simi Pinot Noir Russian River Valley – Instantly weird — though not corked — and hard to shake. Notes of mint chip ice cream, strawberry soda, and…
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Strainge Beast is the hard kombucha spinoff of California’s Sierra Nevada, and the product is available in (at least) 6 flavored versions, at two different abvs. The standard version of the product, available in 16 oz cans, is canned at 7% abv. The newly released “light” version is just 4% abv and comes in 12…
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Back in 2017 we reviewed two bottlings from Rock N Roll Tequila, distinguished by its extremely heavy bottles shaped like electric guitars. Three expressions are offered: a standard blanco, a cristalino, and a mango-flavored liqueur. Since that time, the brand has changed ownership, though the same distillery, operated by Master Distiller Jose Aceves, is still…
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Schofferhofer Grapefruit was a pioneer in fruit-beer radler-style blends (the original was 50% hefeweizen and 50% grapefruit soda), and now the German brand is back with two line extensions, one made with pomegranate soda and the other with passion fruit. (Both maintain the 50-50 ratio of beer to soda.) Let’s try them both. Both are…
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Back in the day when we ran the semi-daily news bulletin Drinkhacker Reads, we reported on an article featured in the New York Times discussing such trends as gluten-free beer, non alcoholic alternatives, and kombucha starting to take hold with the more health conscious among us, author excluded. Fast forward six years and we’ve managed…
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My tamarind fandom is well documented, so naturally when Smirnoff released a tamarind-flavored vodka, I was ready to give it a try. This bottling was originally exclusive to Mexico, where the tamarind is king, but recently it arrived in the U.S., complete with a spooky glows-under-black-light label. As cool as the label is, it’s the…
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Depending on how you frame the question and with whom you are speaking, the answer to “What is Ibiza?” could be twofold: a magical island filled with kindhearted soul searchers steeped in tradition, mysticism and unparalleled beauty both in spirit and physical. Or it’s a place where Europeans go for weeks on end during their…
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Harpoon made waves in 2018 with its solid Coffee Porter collaboration with, of all brands, Dunkin’ (nee Donuts). At the tail end of 2020 it came out swinging with four more brews (well, three plus a reissue), part of a “Dunkin’ Dozen” case, all inspired by Dunkin’ stuff — and not necessarily its coffee —…
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District 9 is a movie about a dystopian future on earth. District 7 is a new, affordable label out of Monterey, produced by Scheid Family Wines, all made from sustainably-grown estate fruit. Let’s try them. 2018 District 7 Chardonnay Monterey – A curious wine. While the body is gummy up front, the palate is surprisingly…
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Diora is a winery located in San Bernabe Vineyard, in the tiny San Bernabe AVA in Monterey County. When first planted to grapes in the 1970s, the vineyard was optimized for large-scale commercial winemaking, with wide vine spacing to accommodate machine picking and pruning. Delicato Family Wines, owned by the Indelicato family, purchased the San…
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