Fox and Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade filled in for Tucker Carlson on the COVID beat, and wow, he really went all in with Clay Travis. The segment certainly wasn’t (and this is saying something) too out of the norm for Tucker’s audience (who’s accustomed to his COVID cartoon villainy). Yet to celebrate, Kilmeade hosted Fox Sports commentator Clay Travis to talk about how they both think it’s a great idea to pack football stands during the height (yep, humanity is in this spot again) of a pandemic.
“They never want us to have a normal life,” Kilmeade groused while thinking about those CNN commentators who’ve been declaring that this is a bad idea. Travis had a “solution” for him: “This is how we win! How does covid ever end? My answer is, when people decide to let covid in and live their lives.” He continued:
“There are so many people out there for the last 18 months, they have been asking a question I think is the paramount one: how does COVID ever end? And my answer is when people decide to let COVID end and live their lives. That’s why all over the country I was so ecstatic to see millions of fans finally saying ‘it’s been 18 months. It’s time to take our lives back.’”
So… pandemic over, just because that’s what Clay Travis said? Kilmeade seems to be on board with the idea. And on Wednesday morning, Kilmeade (in the below clip) had slightly less energy while the Fox and Friends gang spoke with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), who is also a fan of putting lots of people in football stadiums again. To that notion, Kilmeade chimed in, “I don’t want to stay in my closet for the next 20 years.”
Naturally, Jordan replied, “No one does. We want to be Americans and exercise our freedom like we’re supposed to.” Yep, that’s a demographic.
There aren’t many American cities situated as far north as Duluth. Located at the base of the state’s armpit right where Minnesota extends beyond Wisconsin, Duluth sits at the top center of the country, like a star on a Christmas tee. When you visit there, it’s as if you can see from a distant remove the entire vastness of all that lies below. Like the town’s most famous band, the indie-rock institution, Low, Duluth is beautiful and cold, and also resilient. But it’s the feeling of separateness that defines the place. When you’re there, you don’t feel like you’re here.
First emerging in the early ’90s, Low still feels like a band apart. They started out playing crushingly slow and eerily quiet music that was all drone-y ambiance and pregnant pauses. It didn’t sound at all like contemporary rock music, which at the time meant grunge; it was more like a comment on contemporary rock music, a photo negative of the heavy riffs and bellowing melodrama that was in vogue at the time. This was a natural byproduct of the band’s core partnership between Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker, a Mormon couple who eventually settled into a typical married Minnesota family life with two kids as they carried on an unlikely indie music career. Their brand was making records that inevitably led listeners inward, with languid grooves and spider-leg guitars leaving enough space to fill in with one’s own thoughts, fears, and existential dread.
As Low progressed into the 21st century, they kept writing quiet songs, but now they played them louder. Robert Plant became a fan and covered two of their songs. A Christmas EP of reverent religious tunes went on to be an enduring seasonal hit. They never found fame or riches, but they were respected and appreciated enough to carve out an admirable career. By the early 2010s, they were known as the kind of band who always makes good albums, an exceptional but numbing consistency that typically sets the stage for the “respectable and slightly dull” era of a legacy band’s existence.
Then, something incredible happened: Low radically reinvented themselves. With 2015’s Ones And Sixes, they commenced a relationship with producer B.J. Burton, who at the time was also in the process of assembling Bon Iver’s shape-shifting third album, 22, A Million. A long-time Low fan, Burton “had this vision of pushing them to make the most beautiful, distorted, post-apocalyptic record,” he later said, “the sort of thing you’d find 2,000 years ago if you dug the earth up.” But Ones And Sixes wasn’t all that different from Low’s previous albums.
On the next Low record, 2018’s Double Negative, the band finally fulfilled their producer’s ambitions. They brought him songs, and Burton then proceeded to digitally deface them, processing the sound of Low’s guitars and vocals the way a washing machine might “produce” a cassette tape mistakenly left in a jacket pocket. The final results sound like the afterbirth of another album that was destroyed in a fire, a haunting echo from an already dead source. These jagged and scrambled sounds exhilarated Sparhawk and Parker. Just as their early records deconstructed rock music, they were now discombobulating technology. “Maybe it’s revenge,” Sparhawk said in a recent interview. “I want to see technology break as much as it has broken me.”
The new Low album out Friday, HEY WHAT, completes a trilogy of Burton-assisted records. It’s also the strongest of the lot, an instant classic that culminates and sharpens their previous experiments for an overwhelming emotional experience. Like fellow upper midwestern legacy rock acts Bon Iver and Wilco, Low have mastered a unique form of “psych” music — as in “psychedelic” and also evoking extreme “psychic tension” — that balances an earthy musical approach with intense digital perversion. It might very well be the best album of a long and storied career.
The initial feeling that HEY WHAT prompts is disorientation. As was the case with Double Negative, it’s difficult to discern what exactly you’re hearing at any given moment. Is that a strangled synth noise gurgling the hook on the astonishing “All Night”? Could that really be a guitar playing an ersatz Black Sabbath riff on the thrillingly abrasive “More,” or is it actually the sound of an android being tortured in a secret S&M dungeon? HEY WHAT is a sonic assault, and yet Low once again achieves so much with relatively few sounds. This is essentially a voice and guitar record, so every added element carries extra weight. When a drum beat expectedly enters midway through the album’s closer, “The Price You Pay (It Must Be Wearing Off),” it hits like “When The Levee Breaks.”
What separates HEY WHAT from its predecessor is the prominence of Sparhawk and Parker’s vocals. On Double Negative, the voices are frequently buried amid the glitchy detritus. But on HEY WHAT, Low’s power couple sing out loud and proud with more or less total clarity, often contrasting with the absolutely hellacious soundscapes that surround them. Like on “Days Like These,” in which they sing as they would in church, before distorted guitars violently crash in and torch the pews, leading to an extended, oddly peaceful ambient coda. Or the chilling “I Can’t Wait,” in which they plead “I’m afraid” several times over what sounds like a bloodless computer beeping out binary code after a nuclear blast.
Whereas Double Negative unfolded as a mood piece, expressing the shocked trauma of the Trump years in purely musical terms, HEY WHAT is more dynamic, juxtaposing calm and hysteria throughout. The former comes entirely from Sparhawk and Parker, who sing about their marriage most explicitly on the almost unbearably tender “Don’t Walk Away,” an old-fashioned, ’50s-style ballad in which they jointly croon lines like, “I have slept beside you now for what seems like a million years.” But the whole album feels like a celebration of how having a longtime partner can make living in a confusing, terrifying world a little less confusing and terrifying.
Perhaps that’s why HEY WHAT, in spite of a musical palate that ensures the word “apocalyptic” will appear in every album review, ultimately feels redemptive, and even romantic. Low’s ability to re-think their approach and achieve a genuine artistic breakthrough that caps an already great discography is certainly inspiring; how many bands this good made their greatest LP 27 years after their debut? But — I know this is a mawkish phrase but screw it — it’s the power of love shared between Sparhawk and Parker that resonates most profoundly. Together, they sound strong and indefatigable on HEY WHAT, even as demons descend.
It’s been a few years since FKA Twigs’ latest album, 2019’s Magdalene, but now it appears a new project is on the way.
Speaking with fans on Discord (as noted by a user in the r/popheads subreddit), she noted that her next project is a mixtape. When asked when she expects to release it, Twigs said, “currently thinking about a capri season take over.” Assuming she means “Capricorn season” (as in the zodiac sign), as Reddit commenters speculate, then the project could come out between December 22, 2021 and January 19, 2022, or at some point around that time.
Of the nature of the project, she noted, “it’s really deep emotional and honest but hopefully more golden tears than blue i channelled my melancholy differently this time and it was so amazing. […] i made my next project thinking about all of u and my friends it’s for getting ready and going out to and being with people who make u feel good, turnt litty bronzer in the sink shimmer on the bathroom floor.”
She also revealed some of the people she’s been working with, including Koreless, El Guincho, Cirkut, Mike Dean, Arca, and “lots beautiful others to be revealed soon and some stun and special collabs.”
Back in October 2020, Twigs noted that she made an entire album during quarantine and worked on it extensively with El Guincho, so perhaps that project and this upcoming mixtape are one in the same.
After being on vacation for the past few weeks, Stephen Colbert returned to The Late Show on Tuesday night where he promptly went to town on the latest right-wing fad dominating social media: Ivermectin. The horse drug’s manufacturer, Merck, and medical experts have been clear that the drug does not “cure” or treat COVID-19.
So if doctors aren’t prescribing ivermectin, where are right wingers and Joe Rogan devotees getting it? The livestock store. No, really. Folks have been buying up ivermectin horse paste, and Colbert immediately tackled the subject with a Mister Ed parody called “Doctor Ed.” In the short cold open, Doctor Ed walks into the middle of a surgery being performed and recommends ivermectin for everything. Except a broken leg, where he recommends a shotgun.
More bitingly, the parody video ends with a twist on the Mister Edtheme song: “A horse is a horse, of course, of course/don’t trust it as a medical source/that is of course unless the horse/is the famous Doctor Ed.”
Following the Mister Ed parody, Colbert kept the jabs coming as he mocked people complaining about the taste of the horse drug. “Ivermectin is ineffective against COVID, and when used incorrectly, it can kill you. Worst of all, it tastes yucky,” Colbert quipped. Via HuffPost:
“The terrible taste led one Facebook user to ask, ‘Can I squeeze the paste into my anus instead of my mouth?’” Colbert noted, then answered the question: “Last time I checked, this was America. You bet you can!”
In fact, he added, “It says right on the label: for a horse’s ass.”
Not to beat a dead horse here, but for the record, don’t ingest livestock medicine. It’s not safe, Willllburrr.
After Britney Spears spoke about her conservatorship in court this summer, many of her peers in music came forward with messages of support. That group includes Iggy Azalea, who collaborated with Spears on their 2015 single “Pretty Girls” and performed with her at at 2015 Billboard Music Awards. Now, in a new Instagram post, Spears reminisces about that performance and thanks Azalea for her support.
Sharing photos from the show, Spears wrote, “Me and Iggy on stage!!! It was so much fun working with such a strong, badass woman like her …. I haven’t met her new baby but if she’s reading this God bless you and thank you for all your kind words!!!! Pssss although the name of the song is Pretty Girls I think the concept is more like revenge of the NERDS !!!!”
In the comments, Azalea responded, “I absolutely adore you more than words (and I still have the barbies you gave me). Loving you always you brilliant, too-genius-for this-world-to-understand, kind hearted, gracious & beautifully ethereal being. We are definitely two big ole goofballs in the best way possible.”
After a two-week vacation, Stephen Colbert returned to The Late Show stage on Tuesday night. And while much has happened in his absence—“there was continuing plague, war, floods, fires,” according to the host—there was really only one thing on viewers’ minds: What was that fuzzy white thing perched dangerously close to Colbert’s upper lip? Turns out, Colbert grew a mustache… or at least what he claims to be a mustache. He knew his viewers had a lot of questions, and took a proactive move in answering them:
“I’m sure you all have a lot of questions, like: Why? And: Really? And: Really, why? Well, it’s kind of a complicated story. I went on a vacation, and I didn’t shave. And then I shave this part of down here. Now, the reverse Abe Lincoln here has not gone over well with some—or so far, any. For example, my executive producer Chris, who is almost angry at my face right now.”
When Colbert asked Chris whether his fear was that the new facial hair was going to lose them viewers, his response was a confident: “Undoubtedly.”
Meanwhile, Twitter was indeed talking about Colbert’s new facial accouterment—and there were a variety of opinions, none of them a straight-up positive review. Some people just told it like it is: “Colbert’s mustache looks like he ate a powdered doughnut.”
Colbert’s mustache looks like he ate a powdered doughnut. #LateNight
While one person was truly angry: “Stephen Colbert with a mustache should be illegal and it makes me irrationally angry!! And I simply want to scream and throw a tantrum over this because there is already too much instability in my life rn!! And I just have so many questions. But the most important one is WHY??!!”
Stephen Colbert with a mustache should be illegal and it makes me irrationally angry!! And i simply want to scream and through a tantrum over this because there is already to much instability in my life rn!! And i just have so many questions. But the most important one is WHY??!!
You’re probably well aware by now that Texas enacted an oppressive new abortion law that not outlaws the (medical) practice at six weeks, and that’s not all. The law also allows any private citizen to sue someone (including doctors or anyone who even gives a patient a ride to a clinic) who assists a woman in getting an abortion. It’s scary stuff and a law that will disproportionally affect those women without the financial resources to head elsewhere to secure an abortion. And if one looks at the room full of white dudes who were present when Gov. Greg Abbott signed this thing into law, hoo boy.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (who has revealed herself to be a sexual assault survivor) saw straight through the bullsh*t of Abbott announcing that he planned to quickly round up all the rapists in the state of Texas, as well as his claim that six weeks is plenty of time for a woman to secure an abortion. During a discussion with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, AOC had no patience for Abbott’s clear misunderstanding of how the female anatomy works: “He speaks from such a place of deep ignorance, and it’s not just ignorance. It’s ignorance that’s hurting people.” That was only the beginning.
“He speaks from such a place of deep ignorance, and it’s not just ignorance. It’s ignorance that’s hurting people.”
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slams Texas’s GOP Gov. Abbott for defending the state’s abortion law by saying he’s working to “eliminate all rapists.” pic.twitter.com/lAGG731QGP
“I don’t know if he is familiar with a menstruating person’s body,” AOC said while laying the truth bare. “In fact, I do know that he’s not familiar with a female or menstruating person’s body because if he did he would know that you don’t have six weeks… In case no one has informed him before in his life, six weeks pregnant means two weeks late for your period.”
And it’s not even as simple the sheer math of the situation. AOC added that it’s quite normal, actually, for a period to run a few weeks late, which “can happen if you’re stressed, if your diet changes, or for really no reason at all.” So it is definitely not uncommon for a woman to not realize that she’s already six weeks pregnant. Not only that, but one actually cannot get an abortion until at least five weeks of pregnancy, so that only really gives a woman a week to get an abortion, and that’s if she immediately realizes that her late period is due to pregnancy.
AOC wasn’t done yet. She had some harsh truth to deliver about Abbott’s claims that he’ll handily round up rapists. “These aren’t just predators that are walking around the streets at night.” Rather, AOC pointed out that these are often relatives, family friends, teachers, and so on. “And when something like that happens it takes a very long time first of all for any victim to come forward,” let alone before six weeks into a pregnancy.
This Twitter reply to the CNN clip really says it all when it comes to Texas’ love of gun rights and absence of women’s rights.
Credit transcendent guests, luck, or underlying chemistry between guest and host, but sometimes late-night interviews can move from being inoffensive content to being a lot of fun and a great example of the form. This is exactly what happened on the latest Late Night with Seth Meyers when John Mulaney stopped by (for the first time since November 2020) to share the intimate details of his most eventful year. Really, it’s quite remarkable. Look down. See all these remarks?
I’m sure you know this, but for context’s sake: Meyers and Mulaney are long-time friends and colleagues, working together as writers on Saturday Night Live. Mulaney also had a brief stint writing for Meyers’ late-night show prior to going into rehab last year for substance abuse.
As the internet’s comedy boyfriend, the ups and downs of Mulaney’s life have drawn a lot of focus over the last 10 months. Well wishes and high anxiety over his struggles colored the moment when it was announced that he was going to rehab — a rare example of unified human empathy. But then we found out that he was getting divorced and rumors popped up — first that he was dating Olivia Munn and then that they were having a kid together — causing the internet to lose its sh*t because that’s not the narrative we picked out for him and his dog, Petunia.
Mulaney was all smiles on Late Night las… early this morning (I know days end at midnight but doesn’t it feel like it should be conversationally 5AM?), lavishing praise for Munn’s ability to weather his post-rehab self before confirming that he’s about to be a dad. Which is great. Mazel Tov! But that’s not the big takeaway from his appearance on Late Night.
No one owes anyone access into the sh*ttiest moments of their life, but it’s nevertheless interesting to see Mulaney casually converse on the timeline of his relapse and the apparently star-studded intervention that helped spur him to get help. He and Meyers are funny throughout — this isn’t a “very special episode” of Late Night — but the interview’s also unyielding in talking about the jeopardy Mulaney was in. And while it primarily stands as an example of A) the bond and trust between Mulaney and Meyers and B) Mulaney’s intent to keep diving into this part of his life as he gets out on the road as a part of a stand-up tour, it also incidentally helps to destigmatize conversations about falling down and reaching out for help. Which is a nice thing. Way to go, Kid Gorgeous.
When it comes to cocktails, few elicit more eye rolls from “bartenders” than the espresso martini. That’s sort of bullshit. I’ve worked in plenty of high-end cocktail bars and, trust me, this is not a hard cocktail to make. Nor is it insufferably loaded with ingredients or intent on masking the flavor of booze with sugar.
Sure, it takes longer than, say, a daiquiri but it’s really not any more difficult. And while there’s some sweetness, this is no appletini.
The crux of this drink is in the shot of espresso that goes into the mix. Some bars will have a bottle of pre-chilled espresso at the ready or they’ll make their own cold brew. Others will pull a shot of espresso for each espresso martini they shake (which is really what you want to do).
What you can’t do is cut a corner by using drip coffee or, gasp, instant coffee. If you don’t have an espresso machine on your counter, better grab some high-quality espresso cold brew from the supermarket — it’s a great fix in a pinch.
I like to use higher-end vodka with this. You want one that adds a little something — vanilla, citrus, nuttiness, something. So in this case, I’m using one of my all-time favorites, Absolut Elyx.
As for the coffee liqueur, Kahlua is going to be your best bet. Sure, you can find some bespoke local distillery craft versions if you like. But there’s rarely been a coffee liqueur as good or reliable as Kahlua.
The last element is the espresso. I have an espresso machine on my counter. So I’m using that with a strong “creme” espresso bean from Italy. You can use a thicker cold brew or cold espresso but you won’t get quite the same textural experience. Drip coffee isn’t going to cut it. It’ll be too thin and not bring the depth you need for this cocktail.
But just to be clear: To get that really nice “cocktail bar” vibe to this cocktail, you need to pull a fresh shot of espresso. The creaminess on the top of that shot is a crucial textural element to this drink. Take a look at the espresso shot in the image below. Ideally, that’s what you want to start with.
Zach Johnston
What You’ll Need:
Coupe, martini, or Nick and Nora glass
Cocktail shaker
Cocktail strainer
Fine-mesh strainer
Jigger
Zach Johnston
Method:
Pre-chill your glass (preferably overnight).
Make a shot of espresso.
Pour the vodka, coffee liqueur, simple, and espresso into the cocktail shaker.
Add about two handfuls of ice, affix the lid, and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds.
Remove the glass from the freezer.
Remove the lid from the shaker and double strain it into the waiting glass.
Let the drink rest for at least 30 seconds, allowing the cocktail to settle and the foam to thicken on the top.
Gently place a coffee bean in the center of the drink. It should float.
Serve.
Bottom Line:
Zach Johnston
There’s no underselling how good one of these is after a long week, weekend, or just day. The coffee liqueur creates this almost creamy and nutty underbelly to the rich and equally creamy espresso.
The vodka works more as a thinner to cut through the thicker ingredients while adding a touch of minerality and maybe orange citrus. The simple syrup adds a slightly sweet edge. I like mine less sweet (or more sweetened from the Kahlua), so I dial it back. A lot of recipes call for equal parts simple and coffee liqueur and I think that’s just too sweet. But that’s just me.
Overall, this goes down very easily. It’s also pretty simple to make. Aside from making your own coffee (which, again, you don’t have to do… but should), this takes about 90 seconds to make from start to finish. That stretches out to just over two minutes when you add in pulling a shot of espresso.
So if a bartender ever rolls their eyes at you when you order this, know they’re full of shit. This is an easy, delicious, and relatively fast drink to master. Press them to try it or tell them you (and your date?) will just make your own back at your spot.
Cheap bourbon is getting better and better as the whiskey boom drives into its second decade. These days, you can find pretty killer bottles between $10 and $25 on pretty much every shelf around the country. Just to be clear, these aren’t going to be bottles stacked with unique flavor profiles or insanely high ABVs. But they will be perfectly drinkable, mixable, and crushable.
Honestly, what more can you ask for at this price point?
In our never-ending endeavor to better understand bourbon and share that knowledge with you, we decided to blind taste test and rank some cheap bourbons. We’re adding a twist this time though, I’m going to try and call out the brand of each of these bottles — completely blind. A lot of these bourbons are mainstays on my shelf for weekend mixing, so I feel like I know them pretty well. That being said, some of these bottles were pretty dusty when I pulled them down, so clearly I don’t reach for them that often.
Our lineup today is:
Evan Williams Green Label ($11)
Benchmark Old No. 8 ($11)
Early Time Old Reserve ($14)
Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 ($17)
Jim Beam ($13)
Buffalo Trace ($24)
Wild Turkey 101 ($22)
Bulleit Bourbon ($24)
I know I can spot Jack Daniel’s, Jim Beam, Wild Turkey, and Evan Williams from across the room. The other four on this list are a little less of my jam, so let’s see if I can logic this all out based on taste alone. If you want to try this challenge yourself, just click on the prices to grab your own bottle.
This has a solid layer of vanilla, caramel, and dry corn — think unpoped popcorn. The taste is pretty slight with notes of orange candy next to cornmeal, a touch of spice, and the idea of oak.
I’m using this as a calibration. I’ll start guessing brands on the next dram.
Taste 2
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This has a lemon candy nose with a touch of honey and then … nothing. The palate is classic vanilla and spice notes next to a slight buttery edge with a warm honey tobacco end.
This isn’t too bad but I don’t really recognize it. So I’m going with being Benchmark or Early Times for now.
Taste 3
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This opens with vanilla, butterscotch, and very light spice. The palate is warm but thin with a hint of dry wood next to the bitterness of apple and pear pits and maybe seeds. The end is thin and fades almost instantly.
Again, this is pretty new to me. So, I’m going with either Benchmark or Early Times again since those remain the two I’m least familiar with.
Taste 4
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Huge notes of buttery vanilla and rich cherry candy greet you on the nose, and this is Jack Daniel’s, baby! The palate is a balance of cinnamon spice, wet oak, dry corn, and banana bread with a slight walnut vibe. Still, the big fruit notes dominate this whole experience.
The nose gives this away immediately with all that bold cherry. But it’s really the texture of this sip that is undeniably more refined.
Taste 5
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a note of sweet corn next to caramel apples, a touch of cherry Coke, and a nice hint of spice. The taste is all about the wood with a dry edge leading towards caramel corn candy, a touch more spice, and a short and sweet cherry end.
This is Jim Beam through and through. That corn+cherry+wood makes this brand the world’s favorite bourbon for a reason. Admittedly that is a very similar flavor profile to the JD above, but this is much rougher (a lot woodier) and less “bam!” on the palate, comparatively speaking.
Taste 6
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Raw leather, Caro syrup, and eggnog spices? Hello, Buffalo Trace. That raw leather note drives the palate towards a nice mix of those spices next to bright red berries, rich vanilla, a touch of wet cedar bark, and a final sweet honey note.
That raw leather note is hard to get past and gives this one away immediately.
Taste 7
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Creamy vanilla, cedar notes, and a holiday cake spice and candied fruit matrix immediately mark this dram as Wild Turkey. The palate of rich vanilla pudding, brunt sugars, fruity tobacco, and butter toffee only confirms that fact.
This is also really complex and deep comparatively.
Taste 8
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This opens with vanilla next to damp oak, mild brown spices, and a touch of leather (meaning it’s certainly a little more expensive). The cinnamon drives the palate towards salted caramel apples with a hint of masa lurking in the background. The end is sweetened with brown sugar and a touch of buttery toffee.
I’d say this is Bulleit.
Part 2: The Ranking
Zach Johnston
First of all, I’m going to call out each brand for each taste.
Taste 1 is Evan Williams. Though this was thinner, it still had that Evan vibe.
Taste 2 is … I’m going to say this is Benchmark since the Buffalo Trace (taste 6) also had that same honey note.
Taste 3 has to be Early Times then. I don’t know this well enough for it to be anything else.
Taste 4 is Jack. There was no question.
Taste 5 is Beam. See above.
Taste 6 is Buffalo Trace. That raw leather on the nose really gives this away.
Taste 7 is Wild Turkey. This is one of my favorite cheap bourbons and probably one that I know the best (besides JD).
This is an interesting whiskey. The brand was just sold to Sazerac but Brown-Forman is still distributing the bottles (and this juice is from the Shively plant in Kentucky for now). Still, this isn’t a “straight” bourbon and was aged in both new and used oak, meaning that it’s more a blended whiskey at the end of the day.
Bottom Line:
“Meh…” was the main reaction to this. It’s perfectly fine for a cheap bourbon and will kill in bourbon and Coke or bourbon and ginger. But that’s about all there is to say.
This is the whiskey that heralded a new era of bourbon in 1999. Famed Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee came out of retirement to create this bourbon to celebrate the renaming of the George T. Stagg distillery to Buffalo Trace when Sazerac bought the joint. The rest, as they say, is history — especially since this has become a touchstone bourbon for the brand.
Bottom Line:
My reaction to this is kind of like when Kurt Russell told Leo in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood “I just don’t dig him,” about Brad Pitt’s Cliff Booth. I can’t get past that raw leather vibe. The rest of the taste is fine but this is one of those bottles that collects dust on my shelf.
This is Heaven Hill’s signature bourbon mash bill with a touch of rye: 78 percent corn, 12 percent malted barley, and ten percent rye. That mash is the same for their much-beloved Elijah Craig and Henry McKenna labels. This juice is aged for four years before it’s proofed all the way down to 40 proof with soft limestone water.
Bottom Line:
This is fine. It’s a little thin, but that’s the point. This is built as a cheap mixer for the Kentucky market.
This bourbon has a low-rye mash bill. It’s aged for four years before the barrels are blended and it’s cut down to 80 proof. This is a lot of folks’ entry point into the wider world of bourbon because it’s a quaffable whiskey that’s very affordable and on pretty much every liquor store shelf right at eye level.
Bottom Line:
This is, again, perfectly fine. It’s made for mixing and shooting. So stay in that lane when drinking it and you’ll be set.
The juice in this bottle is from Buffalo Trace’s Mash #1, which has a scant amount of barley and rye next to mostly corn. This is the same mash that’s used for bigger hitting brands like Eagle Rare, Stagg, and E.H. Taylor. In this case, this is a four-year-old bonded that’s sort of like a proto-E.H. Taylor Small Batch.
Bottom Line:
This wasn’t bad — a testament to Sazerac’s ability to elevate even the cheap stuff over at Buffalo Trace. Don’t get me wrong, this is a mixer through and through but it’s a nice one at that.
This whiskey embraces a high-rye mash bill that’s comprised of 68 percent corn, 28 percent rye, and four percent malted barley. The juice is then rested for six years before blending, cutting down to proof, and barreling.
Bottom Line:
I rarely reach for this and I often forget why. This really hit nicely today. Maybe I should move it to the front of the shelf.
Nathan “Nearest” Green and Jack Daniel’s created this Tennessee whiskey after the Civil War, thanks in part to Green utilizing the Lincoln County Process when making his whiskey. The low-rye (eight percent) sour mash is made with that iconic soft limestone water and then filtered, drop by drop, through ten feet of sugar maple charcoal. The juice is then aged for at least four years in new oak.
Bottom Line:
Hopefully, we’re starting to get past the too-cool-for-school whiskey drinkers slagging off this juice. It’s goddamn delicious and really hits that workhorse vibe perfectly as a great shooter, on the rocks pour, highball base, and mixing whiskey.
A lot of Wild Turkey’s character comes from the hard and deep char they use on their oak barrels. 101 is a high-rye and high-ABV bourbon that leans into the wood and aging, having spent six years in the cask. A little of that soft Kentucky limestone water is added to cool it down a bit before bottling.
Bottom Line:
The fact that this is around $20 is kind of a miracle. This is a really solid bottle of booze that’s as sippable as it’s mixable. It’s also the deepest flavored and most well-rounded of the whiskeys on this list. Where Jack is eye-opening and bold, this is subtle yet deep. It’s just damn good.
Part 3: Final Thoughts
Zach Johnston
As someone who drinks upwards of 200 drams a month (or more), a lot can get lost in the mix. Cheap bourbon is often what gets lost and it really shouldn’t. There are some real gems in this ranking. That being said, I wasn’t surprised at all with it. I love Jack Daniel’s and Wild Turkey for very different reasons but I do drink a lot from those two brands.
As for calling out the brands, I scored 8/8.
What can I say? I do this for a living and live and breathe this stuff on a day-to-day basis. Even when I’m on vacation, I’m usually meeting up with friends in the industry who are collectors or bar owners and I still find myself trying and drinking new whiskey. It truly never ends. So, yes, I can call out a lot of brands on nose alone — that’s just part of the job. Still, it’s fun logic-ing out the ones that I don’t know and finding those small nuances that make each brand unique.
It’s a fun gig, passion, and life. Hopefully, it makes for some fun reading, too!
As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive a commission pursuant to certain items on this list.
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