Review: Firestone Walker XXVII Anniversary Ale
It’s anniversary time once again for California’s Firestone Walker Brewing Company. The brewery recently dropped their 28th anniversary release which arrived to Drinkhacker HQ as part of the fall brew bundle in the distillery’s impressive beer club, dubbed Brewmaster’s Collective. We’ll dig deeper into that literal box of goodies at a later date, but today…
Review: Crown Royal 30 Years Old
You’re reading that headline right: Canadian whisky keeps getting older, and Crown Royal has just dropped its oldest expression ever. The second expression in the Royal Series (we missed last year’s 29 year old) sees Crown at a full 30 years old, distilled entirely in Coffey stills and bottled in an impressively fancy, bag-draped decanter.…
Review: Govino Go Anywhere Wine Glass
Today we road-test the latest rendition of stemless plastic reusable wine “glasses” from Govino. They’ve been around since 2008, so it’s likely that many in the wine community are already familiar with their line of stemless plastic drinking vessels. Per their website, these apparently are the “best Govino ever” glasses, and are shatterproof, BPA-free, and…
Review: Old Elk Wheat N’ Rye
Old Elk‘s newest release is a combination of two whiskeys we rarely — if ever — see blended together: wheat and rye. Appropriately dubbed Wheat N’ Rye, the whiskey is a combination of 7 year-old straight wheat whiskey (95 percent wheat, 5 percent malted barley) and 6 year-old straight rye (95 percent rye, 5 percent…
Review: Yeti Rambler Cocktail Shaker
Yeti continues to expand into the backyard bar space with its newest product, the Rambler Cocktail Shaker. Earlier this year, we test drove the Rambler Beverage Bucket, a straightforward yet impressively capable mini cooler of sorts, but moving into the cocktail gear space feels like a new frontier for the brand. How does Yeti’s trademark…
Review: El Mayor Tequila Extra Anejo – Bourbon Barrel Aged
Each year we have the treat of seeing a special edition from the tequila pros at El Mayor. This year is no exception, and it’s even more special since the company is celebrating its 25th anniversary. To mark the occasion, the company has dropped another Extra Anejo bottling, aged for 39 months in surprisingly traditional…
Review: Dyfi Gin Pollination Edition
First surprise: “Dyfi,” which hails from Wales, is pronounced “Dovey.” And let me be the first to say, good luck calling for it in your martini at the bar! Made in a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, the gin incorporates classic gin botanicals along with hand-foraged Welsh botanicals, including “wild flowers, aromatic leaves, fruits, and conifer…
Review: Flor de Cana Rum – 12, 18, and 25 Years Old (2023)
Seven years ago, I wrote a review of four rums from Nicaragua’s Flor de Cana, referring to the 7, 12, 18, and 25 expressions with “years old” attached. That was laziness on my part: Flor de Cana has long used only vague numbers attached to terms like “slow aged” rather than providing a real age…
