I have a friend who works in film production who has all but sworn off streaming movies and newer titles in the last few years, preferring to watch physical media and 4K releases of older titles. “Everything just looks like shit now,” he says, decrying the supposedly flat lighting, the drab compositions, the homogenized cinematography of the present era.
Normally I only sort of know what he means, but watching North Hollywood I suddenly feel like I understand. Almost from the very first frames, Mikey Alfred’s feature debut hitting On Demand this Friday feels like something new. A lot of reviews don’t discuss a film’s visual style, because there’s a limited vernacular for it. It’s easier to talk about story than it is to explain why a particular image “pops” while another doesn’t. You don’t have to understand the method to notice that North Hollywood just feels different, greedy for eyeballs in way that not many films are — ostensibly it’s the work of someone who has spent a lot of time with a camera in their hands.
That someone, it seems, is 26-year-old director Mikey Alfred (along with his cinematographer Ayinde Anderson). Alfred, according to this LA Times profile, started a skate and clothing brand (Illegal Civilization) when he was 12, and went on to produce Jonah Hill’s skater coming-of-age tale, Mid90s, when he was 23. Like North Hollywood‘s protagonist, Michael, played by Ryder McLaughlin, Alfred grew up in North Hollywood with a construction worker father. Alfred’s own father had been to prison in the eighties before starting his construction business, and his mother worked in a mall before getting a job as the assistant to legendary TheKid Stays In The Picture subject, producer Robert Evans. Evans is quoted in the profile conferring on Alfred the almost unimaginably high praise, “Mikey is the first kid I knew who reminded me of me.”
North Hollywood doesn’t feel much like a Robert Evans movie but it does feel like it was made by a pro. Perhaps 26-year-old Alfred’s association with his legendarily old school “Uncle Bob” goes some way to explaining North Hollywood‘s timeless quality.
Vince Vaughn plays Mclaughlin’s dad, an old school hardass who wants his son to straighten up and go to college, when all his son wants to do is become a pro skateboarder. It’s an age-old story, this conflict between traditional father and bohemian son. But it’s also a new one, because it’s essentially Alfred’s story, and he’s barely old enough to rent a car. Alfred embraces this vintage cool, new-old aesthetic in almost every facet of North Hollywood‘s construction, from the fifties and sixties doo-wop soundtrack to the way McLaughlin’s character, Michael, goes to meet up with his best friend Adolf (Aramis Hudson) by throwing pebbles at his upstairs window — a self-conscious parody of Norman Rockwell Americana.
North Hollywood, both the film itself and the characters in it, is self-referential in that way, toying with the form and performing a half-joking pantomime of SoCal’s halcyon days, as glorified in Beach Boys songs and hot rod movies. It comes off as not derivative but authentic. After all, what is Gen Z if not self-aware and media savvy, the inheritors of 100 years of mass media video imagery before they were even born? When Michael and his friends Adolf and Jay (the excellent Nico Haraga, previously of Booksmart) meet up to goof around and chat up girls, they do it at the local drive-in during a hot rod meet up, while wearing Chuck Taylors and vintage cardigans while the girls suck milkshakes through candy-striped straws.
About those dude hangs: much has been written about various depictions of male friendship on film, from Entourage to First Cow to Superbad to Swingers, but rarely has the act of doing nothing and busting balls with the boys felt as accurate, as genuine, and as joyful as it does in the scenes between the three principals in North Hollywood — played by McLaughlin, Haraga, and Hudson. I laughed hard and cathartically, not because the characters are so clever, but precisely because they aren’t. Alfred captures perfectly the way that a group of dudes-bein’-dudes can be hilarious without any of them being particularly articulate or clever, solely through timing, familiarity, shared experiences, and repetition.
I wasn’t entirely a fan of Alfred’s last co-production and NorthHollywood‘s spiritual predecessor, Mid90s, but it did have something — an authenticity of character if not of story. That special something achieves full flower in North Hollywood, where the straightforward documentary of McLaughlin and Hudson landing sweet skate tricks plainly without aid of stunt double contrasts beautifully with the manicured, choreographed and carefully composed pop art homages set at the drive-in.
True, the plot about Michael really really wanting to become a pro skater at times does wear a little thin (as do the acting abilities of the real-life pro skate dudes he keeps trying to impress). Inasmuch as North Hollywood‘s protagonist seems to embody Gen Z hustle culture, it’d be nice if he examined a little more what he’s hustling towards and why.
But then, what is adolescence if not a time when everything seems much more important than it really is? It’s true, North Hollywood‘s story isn’t quite as affecting as its style. As such, it’d be easy to label it “all style, no substance.” But when you do it well enough, style is substance, and North Hollywood is a textbook example.
‘North Hollywood’ is available for On Demand rental on May 14th. Vince Mancini is on Twitter. You can read more of his reviews here.
I have a friend who works in film production who has all but sworn off streaming movies and newer titles in the last few years, preferring to watch physical media and 4K releases of older titles. “Everything just looks like shit now,” he says, decrying the supposedly flat lighting, the drab compositions, the homogenized cinematography of the present era.
Normally I only sort of know what he means, but watching North Hollywood I suddenly feel like I understand. Almost from the very first frames, Mikey Alfred’s feature debut hitting On Demand this Friday feels like something new. A lot of reviews don’t discuss a film’s visual style, because there’s a limited vernacular for it. It’s easier to talk about story than it is to explain why a particular image “pops” while another doesn’t. You don’t have to understand the method to notice that North Hollywood just feels different, greedy for eyeballs in way that not many films are — ostensibly it’s the work of someone who has spent a lot of time with a camera in their hands.
That someone, it seems, is 26-year-old director Mikey Alfred (along with his cinematographer Ayinde Anderson). Alfred, according to this LA Times profile, started a skate and clothing brand (Illegal Civilization) when he was 12, and went on to produce Jonah Hill’s skater coming-of-age tale, Mid90s, when he was 23. Like North Hollywood‘s protagonist, Michael, played by Ryder McLaughlin, Alfred grew up in North Hollywood with a construction worker father. Alfred’s own father had been to prison in the eighties before starting his construction business, and his mother worked in a mall before getting a job as the assistant to legendary TheKid Stays In The Picture subject, producer Robert Evans. Evans is quoted in the profile conferring on Alfred the almost unimaginably high praise, “Mikey is the first kid I knew who reminded me of me.”
North Hollywood doesn’t feel much like a Robert Evans movie but it does feel like it was made by a pro. Perhaps 26-year-old Alfred’s association with his legendarily old school “Uncle Bob” goes some way to explaining North Hollywood‘s timeless quality.
Vince Vaughn plays Mclaughlin’s dad, an old school hardass who wants his son to straighten up and go to college, when all his son wants to do is become a pro skateboarder. It’s an age-old story, this conflict between traditional father and bohemian son. But it’s also a new one, because it’s essentially Alfred’s story, and he’s barely old enough to rent a car. Alfred embraces this vintage cool, new-old aesthetic in almost every facet of North Hollywood‘s construction, from the fifties and sixties doo-wop soundtrack to the way McLaughlin’s character, Michael, goes to meet up with his best friend Adolf (Aramis Hudson) by throwing pebbles at his upstairs window — a self-conscious parody of Norman Rockwell Americana.
North Hollywood, both the film itself and the characters in it, is self-referential in that way, toying with the form and performing a half-joking pantomime of SoCal’s halcyon days, as glorified in Beach Boys songs and hot rod movies. It comes off as not derivative but authentic. After all, what is Gen Z if not self-aware and media savvy, the inheritors of 100 years of mass media video imagery before they were even born? When Michael and his friends Adolf and Jay (the excellent Nico Haraga, previously of Booksmart) meet up to goof around and chat up girls, they do it at the local drive-in during a hot rod meet up, while wearing Chuck Taylors and vintage cardigans while the girls suck milkshakes through candy-striped straws.
About those dude hangs: much has been written about various depictions of male friendship on film, from Entourage to First Cow to Superbad to Swingers, but rarely has the act of doing nothing and busting balls with the boys felt as accurate, as genuine, and as joyful as it does in the scenes between the three principals in North Hollywood — played by McLaughlin, Haraga, and Hudson. I laughed hard and cathartically, not because the characters are so clever, but precisely because they aren’t. Alfred captures perfectly the way that a group of dudes-bein’-dudes can be hilarious without any of them being particularly articulate or clever, solely through timing, familiarity, shared experiences, and repetition.
I wasn’t entirely a fan of Alfred’s last co-production and NorthHollywood‘s spiritual predecessor, Mid90s, but it did have something — an authenticity of character if not of story. That special something achieves full flower in North Hollywood, where the straightforward documentary of McLaughlin and Hudson landing sweet skate tricks plainly without aid of stunt double contrasts beautifully with the manicured, choreographed and carefully composed pop art homages set at the drive-in.
True, the plot about Michael really really wanting to become a pro skater at times does wear a little thin (as do the acting abilities of the real-life pro skate dudes he keeps trying to impress). Inasmuch as North Hollywood‘s protagonist seems to embody Gen Z hustle culture, it’d be nice if he examined a little more what he’s hustling towards and why.
But then, what is adolescence if not a time when everything seems much more important than it really is? It’s true, North Hollywood‘s story isn’t quite as affecting as its style. As such, it’d be easy to label it “all style, no substance.” But when you do it well enough, style is substance, and North Hollywood is a textbook example.
‘North Hollywood’ is available for On Demand rental on May 14th. Vince Mancini is on Twitter. You can read more of his reviews here.
In his revealing Applying Pressure: The Off-Season documentary, J. Cole breaks down the rationale behind his new album’s title, details its creation, and pursuing his basketball dreams.
From the opening scenes, in which Cole converses with 21 Savage, recalling the moment he decided to take rap seriously, the documentary provides insights into Cole’s work philosophy, such as his belief that “comfort is the enemy,” and his reactions to becoming a father.
The documentary precedes Cole’s upcoming album The Off-Season, which is due to drop this Friday after Cole took 2020 off to try to make a pro basketball roster. This week, he’ll also accomplish that dream; earlier today, famed reporter Shams Charania revealed that Cole had signed a contract for three to six games with the Rwanda Patriots of the Basketball Africa League, the joint venture between the NBA and FIBA to create a premiere international league on the continent.
While Applying Pressure also features some of Cole’s basketball ambitions, the primary focus is on his new creative process. He talks about having writer’s block, comparing rapping to playing basketball, and putting in the work on being the best player he can be.
Watch Applying Pressure: The Off-Season above.
The Off-Season is due 5/14 via Dreamville/Interscope.
Olivia Rodrigo has so far released two singles in support of her upcoming album Sour and they’ve both been top-10 hits; “Drivers License,” of course, spent an impressive eight weeks at No. 1. The album comes out later this month, but ahead of then, she will release a third new single, “Good 4 U,” which is set to drop in a few days.
She made the announcement by sharing the single art, which features a worn-looking image of her in a cheerleader outfit and long black leather gloves, standing next to a trophy in a hallway lined with lockers. In her Instagram caption, she revealed the song is set for release this Friday, and the next day, she will give the track its live debut on Saturday Night Live.
Although this is the first official news about the song, especially observant fans may have seen this one coming. In a “Deja Vu” promotional image Rodrigo shared on March 31, she stands in front of an ice cream truck that says on the side, “deja vu ice cream is good 4 u.” Then, on April 26, she shared a photo of herself in the same outfit as on the “Good 4 U” art, but only showing her torso and legs. In the image, she stands next to a locker that is numbered 514 and that sports a combination dial with a big 6 on it, alluding to the sixth track of Rodrigo’s upcoming album having a release date of May 14 (5/14).
Sour is out 5/21 via Geffen Records. Pre-order it here.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck only dated for two years, but they packed a lot of headlines into those two years. There was the perfect celebrity couple nickname, Bennifer; there was Gigli, a high-profile bomb that deserves a Hearts of Darkness-style documentary; there was the “Jenny on the Black” music video; and there was the engagement and, a few months later, the subsequent break-up.
It was the stuff of tabloid dreams, and like everything from the early 2000s, it’s back: Lopez and Affleck are reportedly seeing each other again.
“After the stars appeared separately at the VAX LIVE concert in Los Angeles on Sunday, May 2, they jetted off together to the Yellowstone Club in Montana, where they vacationed together for about a week,” according to E! News. The pair, who a source said were “spotted alone,” realized “their chemistry cannot be denied.”
“They have been in touch here and there throughout the years,” a second source close to Jennifer told E! News, noting the duo reunited after she returned from filming in the Dominican Republic. “Ben reached out to her to see how she was doing and they had dinner together a few times within this last month. It’s natural between them and the chemistry is unreal. They picked up where they last left off and are enjoying each other’s company right now.”
If this story ends with Alex Rodriguez (her ex-boyfriend) and Ana de Armas (his ex-girlfriend) dating, I’m going to be very angry. And confused.
The Los Angeles Lakers have struggled this year relative to their preseason expectations, which probably isn’t a huge surprise considering they had a short offseason because of their lengthy stay in the NBA’s Orlando Bubble. They aren’t totally in shambles or anything — the Lakers sit 38-30 on the year despite both Anthony Davis and LeBron James missing major chunks of time due to injuries — but as of right now, it’s likely that L.A. will get the 7-seed and have to participate in the Western Conference play-in tournament.
James has made clear that he’s not a particularly big fan of this, saying the person who came up with the tournament should be fired, but his All-Star teammate in the purple and gold has a different approach. Davis met with the media on Sunday night after the Lakers took down the Phoenix Suns and made clear that he enjoys having to navigate choppy waters.
“It’s been fun, to be honest,” Davis said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “We were a great team last year, and this is the first time since I’ve been here that we ran into a challenge. This is a different challenge for us.”
Davis has responded to this challenge admirably in recent games. While it took him a little to find his form after missing two months with an achilles issue, Davis has had double-doubles in each of the last two games, only the second time this year he’s reached that benchmark in back-to-back contests. He was especially good against Phoenix, going for 42 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and three blocks in a 13-point win over a team that the Lakers very well might face in the first round of the postseason.
Expensive bourbon is an investment. If you’re spending hundreds of dollars on a single bottle of bourbon (or anything, for that matter), it had better be a key stop along your whiskey-drinking journey. For the cost of each one of these bottles, you could easily buy two cases of perfectly good bourbon. That’s 12 bottles of everyday bourbon for sipping and mixing, versus just one.
But today isn’t for prudence. We’re going to be shouting out the unicorns, the mad ones, the bottles you may never see again.
A quick note on prices before we dive in. When whiskey gets this rare and expensive, there’s no hard and fast rule for how much it’s going to cost. Some of these prices are going to vary wildly depending on availability, retailer whims, and where you’re located. Someone is going to comment “Where the hell are you seeing XXX for XXX price????” Here’s the answer in advance: The prices listed are rough averages of the going rates for these bottles online and at retailers.
If any of these bottles feel like a good investment for your whiskey journey, click on their prices to give them a shot yourself. We promise, with each one you’ll be greatly expanding your whiskey palate and knowledge.
Jim Beam is the best-selling bourbon on the planet. That often translates to everyone who drinks whiskey thinking they know the brand. Well, this high-end expression was released to dispel any pre-conceived notion anyone might have about the $10 white label they see on the shelf in every store in America.
The whiskey in the bottle is an exclusive selection of barrels that were looked after by bourbon legend Fred Noe himself. The bourbon is “extra aged” in very particular spots in the Beam rickhouses. Noe transfers that whiskey into Pedro Ximénez sherry casks for a finishing touch. The juice is then touched with that soft Kentucky limestone water to bring it down to a very manageable 100 proof before it’s bottled in a bespoke and hefty decanter.
Tasting Notes:
The nose feels like a sweet honeyed scotch by way of Kentucky’s woodlands as moments of marzipan, cedar boxes full of dried tobacco, and sweet yet earthy dates roll across your olfactories. The taste highlights Beam’s signature cherry vibe while taking it towards dark chocolate and brandy-filled candy depths, while old leather, spicy plum pudding dripping with rich vanilla cream, and more of that cedar humidor dance on your palate. The end is long, spicy, full of those dates, earthy, and as soft as a silk billowing on a clothesline.
Bottom Line:
This is a really “wow” sip of whiskey. There are whiskeys that cost twice as much as this one (and even more) that don’t quite hit the same subtly silken heights, making this a fantastic bottle to bring you into the world of high-end bourbon while also possibly spoiling you on expensive juice for life.
Trey Zoeller is one of the most interesting and masterful blenders working in whiskey today. His Jefferson bourbons are also some of the most unique (we’re big fans of their “Aged at Sea” line). This expression feels like the pinnacle of Zoeller’s prowess as a bourbon master. The juice is a marrying of only 15 casks (a truly small batch) that have aged between 21 and 24 years in the same medium-to-heavy charred barrels. Those barrels were vatted and the whiskey was brought down to a very accessible 94 proof before bottled in Jefferson’s signature decanters.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a deep marriage of walnut-crusted buttery toffee with a bark-forward dark spiciness that edges towards whole peppercorns and allspice berries while an almost dark rum molasses sweetens the whole nose. That sweetness translates to a pecan pie with plenty of salted nuts and dark corn syrup with a buttery and flaky pie crust leading back toward those hot and almost bitter spices. The end smoothes out as the creamiest scoop of vanilla ice cream arrives to counterpoint all the spice and nuttiness, leaving you with a sense of pure satisfaction.
Bottom Line:
It’s extremely rare that bourbon over 20 years old is this subtle. The wood is there but presents through the spice and nuttier notes, tempering the whole vibe of this dram. It’s worth it for the age alone but also as a dashing-looking bottle to give some space to on your bar cart.
Widow Jane is one of those brands that rides a pretty big hype train in the whiskey world. The thing is, their releases live up to the hype (once you actually get your hands on a bottle). This very limited released from 2019 is a great example of what smart sourcing and powerful finishing can do. The juice is a minimum of 14-year-old bourbons from Tennessee and Indiana. Those whiskeys are vatted and finished in New York in specially made barrels that were toasted/seasoned for eight long years before being filled with whiskey (barrels are usually toasted for 18 months or so).
Tasting Notes:
You’re drawn in with a medley of honey-roasted walnuts with a salted caramel underbelly mingling with hints of craft-brewed sarsaparilla and methol tobacco. The palate really holds onto the minty tobacco while adding in a gooey brownie feel counterpointed by a bitter lemon edge near the end, leading towards an eggnog spice mix. The finish doesn’t overstay its welcome as the spices amp up and lead towards a vanilla husk woodiness and a slight return to the salted yet sweet nuttiness.
Bottom Line:
This is a phenomenal example of what great sourcing and blending can achieve. The bottle is rare, driving up its price. Still, it’s one of those experiences where you feel like you’re really drinking something special that truly represents the power of the blender’s talent.
Cowboy Bourbon has become Garrison Brother’s signature bottle of whiskey. The juice from Texas is from barrels that are hand-selected for their depth and deliciousness and then aged for a few more years before being small batched. The whiskey is then bottled as-is — with no filtering or cutting — leaving you with the purest essence of what great Texas bourbon can be in every single sip.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a rush of very sharp cinnamon sticks next to a pile of wet cedar shingles and an almost Chinese hot mustard spice and miso edge that’s as baffling as it’s enticing. That spicy/umami nose makes you want to dive into this sip. Once you do, you’re greeted with an apple pie overflowing with walnuts, spices, and syrupy brown sugar encased in a flaky lard pie crust as spicy plum puddings sit next to more cedar and a throughline of caramel. The end turns to velvet as a vanilla tobacco vibe arrives to calm everything down and numb your tongue with a buzz.
Bottom Line:
If you want to experience “complex,” this is the whiskey you pour. There’s so much going on in this dram. But by the end, it all makes this glorious sort of sense and you’ll have your nose and lips back on the glass almost instinctually.
Willett Family Estate Bottled Single Barrel Bourbon
Willett has been turning out some iconic whiskeys through Kentucky Bourbon Distillers. This bottle is the family’s Private Barrel Selection of bourbon. The juice is from one barrel that meets the sky-high requirements of taste and depth the family is known for. The bourbon is bottled with no filtering or cutting at barrel strength to highlight the masterful work of the Kulsveen clan, one of Kentucky’s best distilling families.
Tasting Notes:
This going to vary depending on which rare release you come across. Expect a throughline of decadent notes of creamy vanilla, woody spices, and deeply stewed dark fruits with a dose of tobacco chewiness. The taste will luxuriate in the smoothest vanilla custard spiked with dark spices you’ve ever encountered while popping with warm apple fritter flavors alongside salted toffee and walnut. The end is the epitome of “smooth” as it fades slowly away, leaving you warmed to your goddamn soul.
Bottom Line:
This might be the smoothest whiskey on the list (and maybe the smoothest we ever reviewed). This is like drinking the silkiest and most deeply flavored and spiced vanilla milkshake on earth that’s clearly spiked with fruity and nutty bourbon.
Barrell Craft Spirits is another craft blendery that’s sourcing some of the best barrels in the game and expertly marrying those barrels. This expression blends 15-year-old bourbon from Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennesse into a final product that reaches new heights for blended bourbon.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a lot to draw you in with this nose of rich tobacco spiciness next to soft cedar, tart cherry pie filling, saffron stewed pears, salted toffee, and what almost feels like the salted water left after boiling artichokes (seriously). The fruitiness really builds as the cherry leads towards a bowl full of ripe raspberries swimming in cream with a dusting of dark spices and brown sugar that’s countered by a dose of floral tea leaves culminating with a mildly bitter coffee bean. The end is long and really holds onto the cherry and raspberry fruit while a note of that soft cedar dips back in with a hint of menthol tobacco buzz.
Bottom Line:
This is another bottle that easily outshines bottles twice the price (secondary mark-up wise). It’s interestingly complex while still feeling 100 percent accessible. That makes it sort of an education in that it takes you somewhere new without pushing you away.
This old single barrel expression from Heaven Hill is a highlight for both single barrel whiskeys and very old bourbons. The barrel is hand-selected every year to highlight the expert craft behind Heaven Hill’s distilling and warehousing. Taking a sip transports you to those huge white barrel houses sitting in the Kentucky countryside surrounded by acres of corn in a way that few whiskeys do. This is truly an experiential whiskey.
Tasting Notes:
You get a sense of oak with a touch of a rock-hewn cellar next to notes of dark chocolate oranges, mild brown spices, a touch of vanilla cream, and a hint of honey. That vanilla takes on a nutty edge as the spices build and the wood softens towards cedar with a hint of fruity tobacco chew. The vanilla creaminess really drives the finish towards a silken mouthfeel with plenty of spicy/fruity tobacco leaving you with a mild buzz across your senses.
Bottom Line:
This whiskey takes you on a journey! It’s also the sort of journey that you want to take again and again. It’s … well, fun. This is the sort of dram that can actually put a smile on your face (though the price might take that smile away).
This is a special bottle of Blanton’s Single Barrel. The juice is mellowed in a specific part of the one Buffalo Trace warehouse until it reaches a honeyed texture and taste. The whiskey is then cut with soft limestone water to drink it down to a very accessible 80 proof and bottled in Blanton’s now-iconic bulbous bottle.
Tasting Notes:
This was made for the international market and the U.K. in particular, and that comes through immediately with a clear honeyed and floral nose that leads towards a dry cedar and vanilla husk edge (much like your sweeter scotches). The palate ebbs and flows between the floral honey, burst of lemon oils, rich toffee, and more of that cedar. The end is surprisingly short as it leans away from the wood, honey, flowers, and citrus towards a hint of ground white pepper.
Bottom Line:
This is incredibly easy-to-drink without being simplistic. There’s a subtlety to the complexity that draws you in from the nose and takes you on a journey through the wood and whiskey and then gently leaves you as it fades. It’s also a hard-to-find bottle (in the U.S.) and definitely a conversation starter, especially with bourbon fans.
Sticking with the Buffalo Trace warehouses, Elmer T. Lee is another hugely popular release that’s very limited (and sought after). Where this differs from the single barrel above is in the mash bill (this is a bit higher rye) and the placing of the barrel in the warehouse. It’s said that the barrels for Elmer T. Lee are stored where the master distiller himself used to store the barrels he kept for his own stash.
Tasting Notes:
The nose on this is like a decadent breakfast of pancakes smothered in cinnamon butter, dripping with the best maple syrup, and topped with a hand-made scoop of vanilla ice cream. The palate holds onto the vanilla and spice but settles into more a floral honeyed sweetness with touches of cedar, old library book leather, and a hint of tobacco buzz. The end lingers for a while and leaves you with a dry pear tobacco warmth next to a cinnamon heat and maple bar sweetness.
Bottom Line:
This is one of those bottles from Sazerac that tends to be very hyped (like Pappy, Weller, and E.H. Taylor). But damn if this isn’t delicious. It leans very much towards the dessert side of things with all that maple, vanilla, and honey but in the best and most bourbon-y way possible.
This wheated bourbon from Heaven Hill is one of those bottles that just works in every way. The history of the brand ties into that other famous wheated bourbon — Pappy. The whiskeys are released twice yearly with varying ages and flavor profiles, making them fun to collect/try. And then there’s the bottle. The decanter is worth the price almost on its own. It’s a very good-looking bottle to have as the centerpiece of any home bar.
Tasting Notes:
This release goes back to spring 2018 and opens with a nose of cinnamon-laced toffee candy with oily vanilla and walnut shells. The palate settles into a light salted caramel next to the idea of vanilla with warm eggnog spices leading towards almost cherry tobacco. The end is just the right length and holds onto that cherry tobacco buzz while folding in soft cedar, more spice, and a rich and sweet toffee that ends buttery on your tongue.
Bottom Line:
There’s a reason these bottles get so much hype. This bottle 100 percent lives up to the accolades with every single sip. It’s bold-yet-subtle. It’s clearly bourbon yet never overpowering. It’s just really good and, dare we say, worth the hype and money.
As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive a commission pursuant to certain items on this list.
Robert Downey Jr.’s tenure as Marvel’s Iron Man officially concluded with Avengers: Endgame, and now, he’s moving over to the DC Comics side of things while executive producing a Sweet Tooth adaptation for Netflix. The film’s teaser trailer already hinted at expansive worldbuilding involved in bringing the world of comic-book creator Jeff Lemire to life (as previously seen under DC’s Vertigo imprint). In this featurette, Robert and wife/producing partner Susan Downey (along with showrunners Jim Mickle and Beth Schwartz) reveal why they were drawn to this story. As Robert puts it, he stood in awe of the “emotional breadth” of the storytelling from Lemire, and from there, prepare for sensory overload as the featurette pours forth.
The series revolves around the aftermath of an Earth where “hybrids” (part human and part animal babies) mysteriously begin to exist following a strange phenomenon. The protagonist, Gus (Christian Convery), is a young boy born half-human/half-deer, and he sets off on an epic adventure across America in search of, well, we can’t tell you what. His reluctant protector would be Tommy Jepperd (Nonso Anozie), and although the show (and this featurette) conveys a sense of wonder, it’s also a hybrid treat, given that the comic’s been described as “Mad Max Meets Bambi” in the nerdiest of circles. In other words, lots of threats exist out there, and even though one might be distracted by the show’s lush surroundings, Gus needs to watch out as Will Forte’s character warns him in the featurette. From the synopsis:
Ten years ago “The Great Crumble” wreaked havoc on the world and led to the mysterious emergence of hybrids — babies born part human, part animal. Unsure if hybrids are the cause or result of the virus, many humans fear and hunt them. After a decade of living safely in his secluded forest home, a sheltered hybrid deer-boy named Gus (Christian Convery) unexpectedly befriends a wandering loner named Jepperd (Nonso Anozie). Together they set out on an extraordinary adventure across what’s left of America in search of answers — about Gus’ origins, Jepperd’s past, and the true meaning of home.
Almost one month to the day after the death of DMX, Def Jam Recordings has announced the release date for DMX’s posthumous album, Exodus: May 28. The album will be produced by X’s longtime collaborator Swizz Beatz and will be his first original release since 2012’s Undisputed. It’s named for DMX’s son Exodus Simmons, while another longtime X collaborator, Jonathan Mannion, will contribute the cover photo. Further details have yet to be announced.
In a statement, Swizz Beatz praised his partner-in-rhyme, saying, “My brother X was one of the most pure and rare souls I’ve ever met. He lived his life dedicated to his family and music. Most of all, he was generous with his giving and loved his fans beyond measure. This album, X couldn’t wait for his fans all around the world to hear and show just how much he valued each and every single person that has supported him unconditionally.”
At the time of his death, DMX had been working on the new album for around two years since being released from prison on tax evasion charges. In various interviews, he teased potential collaborators such as Pop Smoke and the Buffalo-based Griselda Records. It remains to be seen if these songs will be cleared for the final tracklist.
In the highly-anticipated Venom: Let There Be Carnage trailer released on Monday morning, there’s a brief scene that caught Marvel fans’ attention. While Woody Harrelson‘s Cletus Kennedy (Carnage) narrates a message to Tom Hardy‘s Eddie Brock (Venom), he says a line about waiting for “the rescuer that never comes” that’s punctuated by one of their characters squashing a spider. To Marvel fans, this seems like a pretty deliberate reference to Spider-Man, who (despite being directly tied to Venom in the comics) has remained separate from the Venom movies. That’s tied to a rights issue between Marvel and Sony that led to a nasty, but brief split back in 2019.
But before everyone gets their hopes up that the two studios have already worked out a way to connect Hardy’s Venom to Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in the new sequel, director Andy Serkis has some bad news on that front. While breaking down the new trailer for IGN, Serkis said that, for now, the Venom movies are still separate from Spider-Man. Via Comic Book:
“Obviously, there are links between Venom and Spider-Man in the Marvel Universe and the Spider-Man story, but in this, we’re treating this very much as it’s his own world, the Venom story is his own world,” Serkis says. “There are nods and little moments … but on the whole, he’s unaware, they’re unaware, at this point of other characters like Spider-Man. So that’s the way we’ve chosen to play this particular episode of the movie but well we’ll wait and see what little things you can pick out of it.”
While the news will be disappointing for fans hoping to see Hardy and Holland’s characters square off on the big screen, they shouldn’t give up hope just yet. Spider-Man: Far From Home will reportedly introduce the multiverse, which could solve the problem of Venom and Spider-Man existing in separate film worlds pretty easily.
You can watch Serkis break down the new Venom: Let There Be Carnage trailer below (with the Spider-Man talk coming in at the 3:04 mark):
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