Review: Penelope Bourbon Valencia
Penelope Bourbon has quickly become a small sensation in the American whiskey world. By taking the familiar non-distilling producer formula of sourcing whiskey and then blending or finishing it to create a new product they’ve seen great success since they got their start back in 2018. Penelope’s founders were known in the brand’s early days…
Review: Calumet Farm Bourbon 16 Years Old Single Rack Black
Here at Drinkhacker we’ve previously covered Calumet “Single Rack Black” at 15 years old, which hit in 2021. Now, the whiskey’s a year older, and the label has been updated appropriately. At the time Monica noted two things that continue to be true – the company behind this expression isn’t very well known and offers…
Review: NV Giesen 0% Dealcoholized New Zealand Riesling
Hailing from New Zealand, Giesen 0% is a recently released line of no-/low-alcoholic wines launched in 2020 by the eponymous vineyard that has been producing notable wines in the Marlborough region for decades (a few of which we covered in our profile of New Zealand wines in 2018). The 0% line actually starts with their…
Review: Grand Mayan Ultra Aged Tequila
Grand Mayan Tequila — which comes in distinctive, squat ceramic bottles — returns with its newest expression, formally known as Grand Mayan Ultra Aged Limited Release. It’s a full extra anejo and more, aged five years in oak. Curiously, it’s billed as using Central-Highland Blue Weber agave, while Grand Mayan’s prior expressions were made with…
Review: Glenmorangie “A Tale of the Forest”
As the successor to the discontinued Private Edition line, Glenmorangie’s “Tale” series continues the tradition of experimentation and innovation for which whisky-maker, Dr. Bill Lumsden, is so well-known. That said, last year’s Marsala-finished Tale of Winter wasn’t exactly a groundbreaking single malt. For this year’s Tale of the Forest, however, Glenmorangie has brought the world…
Review: 2020 Zuccardi Serie A Malbec
Highlighting various microclimates and soils throughout Argentina’s Uco Valley region, Zuccardi’s Serie A serves as an entry point to its extensive line of malbecs. Dense and lively, this 100% malbec wastes no time presenting itself in classic Mendoza malbec fashion, offering dark fruit, chocolate, and baking spice mixed with a touch of pepper on initial…
Review: Cincoro Tequila Gold
Michael Jordan’s Cincoro Tequila brand continues pushing upmarket, it’s latest being a curious blend called Cincoro Gold. This luxe offering blends all four of Cincoro’s other expressions — Blanco, Reposado, Añejo, and “a generous proportion of” 40-month old Extra Añejo — into a product that doesn’t have any official categorization. “Gold” of course has a dangerous…
The Top 10 Tequilas and Mezcals of 2022
2022 has been another big year for tequila, with extra-old expressions coming from every corner – and spending time in all manner of barrels – as well as cristalino bottlings becoming suddenly, incredibly popular. Mezcal continues its rise in popularity, with celebrity mezcal now becoming a thing. We drank a lot of tequila and mezcal…
