Review: 2014 Psagot Merlot Jerusalem
Congrats, new world capital! Now you have a new world class wine to show off! Psagot Merlot is made from 100% Israeli merlot grapes and is aged for 13 months in French oak before release. This is a rich and earthy wine, almost brambly as it layers in notes of blackberry and currant, very dark, very…
Review: BenRiach 10 Years Old and Curiositas 10 Years Old (2018)
In 2016, Speyside-based BenRiach was acquired by Brown-Forman, making it one of just a handful of Scotch distilleries owned by an American concern. Built in 1898, closed in 1900, and reopened in 1965, it’s a worhorse of a distillery that doesn’t get as much credit as it should. Today we look at a couple of…
Review: Starr Hill Double Bass Variants – Peppermint, Chipotle, and Mocha (Late 2017)
Last year, Starr HIll dropped a stout called Double Bass, a big, chocolate-infused brew loaded with confectionery notes. In November, Starr Hill took this mad brew a step further, releasing three variants, along with the original, in a limited release 12-pack called the Box of Chocolates. Alternately flavored further with peppermint, chipotle pepper, and mocha,…
Review: Dulce Vida Tequila Blanco (2017) and Pineapple Jalapeno
We last encountered Dulce Vida way back in 2010, when we looked at the core lineup of three standard tequila expressions. Today we take a fresh look at the blanco — rebranded but still organic and made from 100% Highlands agave, though now much less expensive — along with a new flavored expression, pineapple jalapeno.…
Review: Savile Rumtini
“Rumtini” would say, to me at least, that one is facing a martini made with rum. But the Savile Premium Rumtini is a ready-to-drink tiki cocktail, a blend of rum and citrus, not martini-like in the slightest. Intended to be served over ice, straight from the bottle, Savile is a cloudy yellow in color, something…
Review: The New Zealand Whisky Collection – Dunedin, High Wheeler, Oamaruvian, and South Island
While Australia has its own whiskey category here at Drinkhacker, New Zealand does not. Why? Because we’ve never reviewed any New Zealand whisky. Until now. Our friends at Anchor have recently embarked on a project to expose America to kiwi whisky — and this is some old, rare stock. Here’s the lowdown, from the horse’s mouth:…
Review: NV Chandon Sweet Star California
A definitive crowd-pleaser, Chandon’s Sweet Star is a lightly sweet sparkler, fresh and fruit-forward, with notes of pineapple, mango, and orange blossoms pervasive from start to finish. Mildly fizzy, the wine has a lovely creaminess that translates into a rich, velvety body — but also a zippy (though, again, somewhat sweet) finish. Easy to love,…
Review: Copper & Kings American Dry Gin and Old Tom Gin
From brandy to orange liqueur to absinthe, what doesn’t Louisville-based Copper & Kings make? You can take off of that increasingly short list gin, thanks to two new expressions now being distilled here — a dry gin and an old tom. Both are double distilled in alembic stills. We sampled both expressions. Thoughts follow. Copper &…
