Review: Regatta Ginger Beer
The ginger beer Renaissance continues, with newcomer Regatta joining the fray as another solid alternative on the market. Not as full of bite (or little chunks) as Fever-Tree, it’s a sweeter brew that can be consumed in a cocktail or on its own. The ingredients include fructose, ginger extract, and a variety of gums and…
Review: Unwind Citrus Orange Relaxation Beverage
Unwind is another entry into the budding “relaxation” beverage category, imbued with additives designed not to pump you up (or get you drunk) but to knock you out after a long day. Unwind counts among its ingredients valerian root, rose hips, acai, goji berry, passion flower, and that age-old calming standby, melatonin (with a whopping…
Review: Newcastle Summer Ale
Don’t look at the label and taste this one blind: Newcastle’s new, limited edition Summer Ale has no resemblance to its better-known, Browner big brother at all. This golden lager is instead a moderately-to-heavily hopped version of a standard ale, refreshing but bracing with its bitterness. There’s a surprising amount of sweetness in the finish…
Review: Beefeater London Dry Gin Summer Edition
Take standard Beefeater and add hints of elderflower, blackcurrant, and hibiscus flower and you’ve got Beefeater’s limited-release Summer Edition gin. At least that’s what it says on the bottle. In my mouth, this tastes an awful lot like standard gin to me, with juniper top notes — always big in Beefeater — still dominating the…
2009 Boxed Wine Review: Silver Birch Sauvignon Blanc and Folonari Pinot Grigio
Eventually the boxed wines stack up here at Drinkhacker HQ, and as much as we like the way they work as iPhone stands, eventually we have to do our duty and review them. Here are thoughts on two new boxed wines, both in 3-liter containers. 2009 Silver Birch Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough New Zealand – Actually…
Review: UV Coconut Vodka
You aren’t imagining things: UV Coconut is white. Not clear in a white bottle. It’s white. Like milk. It’s actually the first white vodka, a naturally-flavored spirit sweetened (considerably) with sugar cane, distilled four times, and left in a murky/milky color for you to figure out how exactly to present it. The utility is obvious:…
Book Review: The Sommelier Prep Course
Need to bone up on the wines of Greece and Hungary? Can’t keep straight the various styles of Madeira? Desire a greater understanding of the production of various ciders? You need The Sommelier Prep Course: An Introduction to the Wines, Beers, and Spirits of the World. As the name might imply, wine is the focus…
Review: Old Crow Reserve Bourbon
I get that the words “Old Crow” and “Reserve” don’t immediately make sense together. Though it was the first ever sour mash whiskey, dates back to the 1830s, and counts U.S. Grant among its famous drinkers, it’s still a budget brand, sold by the handle for $10 or less, a simply bourbon that gets the…
