Ron DeSantis doesn’t want you being woke in his state. The Florida governor does, however, want to push through a controversial bill that would prohibit teachers in the Sunshine State from discussing either sexual orientation or gender identity at any time between kindergarten and third grade.
Understandably, the proposal—which has been dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill—has been met with swift backlash, not just from Florida residents, but all around the world, including at the Happiest Place on Earth, Walt Disney World, which wields considerable political power. According to the Tallahassee Democrat, Disney has a $75.2 billion economic impact on Central Florida each year, represents about 463,000 members of the state’s job force, and puts an additional $5.8 billion into the state tax revenue’s coffers. In other words: You don’t want to piss off Mickey.
Yet, as The Wrap reports, DeSantis is tempting fate—not to mention his chances at re-election—by taunting Disney executives, who have openly stated that they disapprove of the bill. As Dessi Gomez writes for The Wrap:
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis slammed the Walt Disney Company as “woke” at a Thursday rally in Boca Raton, after Disney expressed disapproval of the Parental Rights in Education bill during the company’s shareholders meeting on Wednesday…
DeSantis’ swipe against Disney comes just a day after Disney CEO <a href=”https://uproxx.com/viral/disney-responds-florida-dont-say-gay-bill/” target=”_blank”>Bob Chapek</a> said that he will be meeting with the Florida Gov. in order to discuss the bill, which prohibits Florida school faculty from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten to third grade. The bill passed the state Senate Tuesday after passing the House last month. DeSantis’ spokesperson, Christina Pushaw, confirmed on Wednesday that the two spoke but said “The governor’s position has not changed.”
DeSantis, however, seems more intent on keeping issues related to LGBTQ+ kids—or students with LGBTQ+ parents—out of his schools than maintaining the state’s financial health.
“The chance that I am going to back down from my commitment to students and back down from my commitment to parents’ rights simply because of fraudulent media narratives or pressure from woke corporations—the chances of that are zero,” DeSantis said.
In a video exclusively obtained by @FoxNews Digital. @GovRonDeSantis slams #Disney saying “In Florida, our policies got to be based on the best interest of Florida citizens, not on the musing of woke corporations.” pic.twitter.com/Op87xgsLzB
In the eighth episode of the Showtime series Yellowjackets, a woman named Nat (Juliette Lewis) is about to relapse after an extended period of recovery. Her frenemy, Misty (Christina Ricci), sees this from a secret camera that she’s planted in Nat’s hotel room and she bolts over there to stop her. What unfolds is a scene that’s simultaneously comedic, heartbreaking, and endlessly watchable.
This scene is directed, acted, and written by women. Ladies ladies ladies, all the way down. As female creatives begin to get more opportunities to tell their stories, they have also been working to bring the murky and often unknowable topics of addiction (and addiction’s best buddy, trauma) into the light.
When the Showtime dramedy Nurse Jackie hit the airwaves in 2009, the concept of the female antihero didn’t even exist. Star Edie Falco had just finished her powerhouse turn as Carmella Soprano on the HBO mega-hit The Sopranos, but there she played a supporting character to the OG antihero, Tony Soprano. In the world of Nurse Jackie, Falco was placed front and center as a high functioning, opioid-addicted nurse who had charisma for days but an acerbic bite that could render anyone in her way powerless.
Nurse Jackie was created by a three-person team, featuring two women: Liz Brixus and Linda Wallem. (Evan Dunsky rounded out the trio.) The subject matter was so sensitive and hit such a nerve with the real-life New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) that they angrily petitioned Showtime to tack a disclaimer on to the end of the show stating that Jackie was an anomaly and that most nurses did not have the problems depicted on screen.
Addiction is a disease that does not discriminate. It touches the lives of absolutely everyone. The NYSNA’s reaction only served to illustrate that television was in desperate need of more honest, raw depictions of people — specifically women — struggling with addiction in a very real way. When Nurse Jackie kicked off its seventh and final season, Eric Deggans of NPR lauded it as “TV’s most honest depiction of addiction.” By that point in time, statistics for substance use and abuse were sharply on the rise and a host of other TV shows had begun to gamely tackle subject matter that was painfully obvious in real life with increases in alcohol use and substance abuse.
In 2013, two TV series debuted that introduced viewers to indelible and relatable characters that would help to change the face of addiction and provide representation for millions who struggled with the disease. Netflix debuted Orange Is the New Black that summer, and CBS followed suit with Mom in September. While each series tackled addiction, trauma, community, and sobriety in their own way, they both focused on women with few resources and a lack of access to professional treatment who struggled with substance use. The shows gamely tackled real-world barriers to receiving help that especially apply to women, including shame, guilt, and perceived gender roles.
Both OITNB and Mom also had women at the helm. Gemma Baker joined Chuck Lorre and Eddie Gorodetsky on the Mom team, and Jenji Kohan served as showrunner and creator of OITNB. Also, both shows were funny! Addressing the topic of addiction can be done through a comedic lens. It doesn’t always have to be doom and gloom, it just has to be done with the care and skill that these shows demonstrated.
These series gave much-needed breath to a public conversation that was already underway. Addiction and substance misuse continued to rise and, with a lack of services available, incarceration was increasingly being used as a “solution” to the problem. Characters such as Nicky Nichols (Natasha Lyonne) and Poussey Washington (Samira Wiley) on OITNB found themselves trapped in Litchfield Correctional with no one to turn to but their peers. Relapse was often staved off when these women utilized the strength of their support networks. And, while they weren’t incarcerated, the same held true for the motley crew of AA attendees on Mom.
It’s been nearly a decade since these two series debuted and, sadly, not much has changed in terms of providing a more robust social safety net for individuals struggling with addiction. But these humble TV shows made a mark on society by helping provide context for the struggle. Addiction is often defined as continued use or behavior despite consequences, but it is almost always a symptom of a larger, more pervasive issue. Many people seek to self-medicate issues such as unresolved childhood trauma or untreated mental health disorders because it initially seems like the easiest or most convenient path to take. Then, when addictive behaviors begin to control their lives, feelings of shame, isolation, and loneliness are compounded and asking for help can feel damn near impossible.
However, fueled by shows like Nurse Jackie, OITNB, and Mom, the titans of TV seem motivated to continue providing the world with touchstones for addiction and mental health struggles. BoJack Horseman, created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg and Lisa Hanawalt, debuted in 2014 and remains the gold standard of storytelling focusing on addiction and mental health. Yet, a wealthy, depressed celebrity horse might not be a realistic fictional doppelganger for some, so thankfully there’s been a deluge of other characters that struggling viewers might be able to relate to.
In the past few years, there has been a boom (and boon!) of characters on TV that wrestle with these issues. Alongside executive producers Amy Poehler and Leslye Headland, Natasha Lyonne followed her stint on OITNB by co-creating and starring in her own series for Netflix called Russian Doll in which her chain-smoking, alcohol-dependent character has to relive her birthday over and over again until she confronts her inner demons. And, coincidentally, Headland went on to create the recent Freeform series Single Drunk Female, a show that focuses on a twenty-something woman who loses everything due to her addictive behaviors and has to return home to figure things out.
Additional TV series such as You’re the Worst, Mare of Easttown, The Flight Attendant, Love, Euphoria, and so many more have dared to throw down and tackle the thorny topic of addiction and all its associated conundrums in thoughtful and meaningful ways. And each time a new, fully-formed character appears on our screens, the (very common) struggle becomes more normalized, and an opportunity to decrease our societal stigmas and individual shame surrounding addiction is created. TV characters might not solve our addiction problems, but they can definitely help pave the way for desperately-needed understanding and empathy.
Monday Night Football has tinkered with its booth for years, and on Friday, Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reported that ESPN will have a new 1-2 punch on its weekly NFL broadcast. The catch: Instead of giving the spot to folks who have never called NFL games before, the Worldwide Leader went out and poached Fox’s top pairing.
After it had previously been reported that Troy Aikman would spurn Amazon’s Thursday Night Football telecasts to call games for ESPN, Marchand brings word that Joe Buck will leave Fox to reunite with Aikman in the booth.
On Friday, Fox granted Buck permission to talk with ESPN, according to sources. A deal is expected to come to fruition shortly.
With Fox, Buck had one-year at $11 million remaining on his contract. Fox, though, is letting him out early as a good gesture for his years of service to the company. He is expected to sign a contract in the five-year, $60-$75 million range with ESPN, according to sources.
Rumors of Buck’s potential switch to ESPN have circulated for a few weeks. It’s a gigantic move even beyond Buck’s calling of NFL games — he’s been the voice of Fox’s World Series broadcasts for years and has worn a number of other hats for the network. Marchand reports that beyond Monday Night Football games, Buck will have a hand in producing ESPN+ content.
Almost everyone who’s ever done the contemporary dating thing knows the perils of lining up in an online meat market. It’s been a thing for quite some time, and it’s a thing that’s grown even worse with a parade of so-called “dating apps.” Fresh, starring Sebastian Stan and Daisy Edgar-Jones, reminded me of an online dating duck-and-run that I’d long since buried. Actually, maybe it wasn’t completely buried, since these things never really leave you. But I came out far better than Daisy Edgar-Jones’ unlucky character, Noa, in Fresh, co-starring Sebastian Stan (as a very bad doctor). Here’s the gist of it, and again, this was years ago: chatted for a few weeks with a fellow, had coffee with him once. Days later, he messaged, saying that he had an urgent situation.
All of this sounds preposterous and unbelievable, even while I type it. The guy wanted to know (at that very moment) whether I felt anything at all. Because money was on the line, you see. He had booked a full-on vacation for some “expedition” in Russia, with some service that arranged to meeting “brides,” all of whom were interested in moving to the U.S. This man (who seemed otherwise “normal,” if that’s quantifiable at all) wanted to gauge, since he only had a few days to cancel the trip and receive a refund (!!), whether I could envision a future with him. He was perfectly cool with canceling his bride-finding mission, meaning that he’d prefer a “free” substitute.
This was the most bizarre sh*t, and so I told him this: Go on that trip.
He responded, much like the guy in the disastrous scarf-date with Noa, that I was the worst person ever and a stuck-up b*tch.
Not that this insult affected me too much on the immediate front. This really didn’t have anything to do with me. The guy simply wanted to, you know, “buy” something (in a way that is apparently legal, even if it sounds Jeffrey Epstein-esque). He was lashing out at what he perceived as a system that was gamed against him. He was gaming his own system, and geez, it’s all so circular and ultimately scary. Yes, this experience is extreme, which probably why I filed it away for so long in my head. Yet it came roaring back due to Fresh, which takes aim at the deals that we make to be in relationships. We all make them, in a way. Much of the time, this doesn’t have to do with money at all. But I think that, in a lot of cases, the art of dating is metaphorically transactional. You’re “buying” the person’s “package,” including baggage, and vice versa. You barter and trade and give away, and so on. And then, at the end, if and when (statistically speaking) a split happens, you might lose part of what you gave them, permanently so.
These are the sort of real-life experiences that are skewered by Fresh, which does critique the dating scene as a meat market, yes. Even more than that, it skewers how people lose parts of themselves while they’re in toxic relationships. And that’s how the meet-cute goes: after Noa endures an endless deluge of a-holes, here comes the perfect match, as we are conditioned to believe happens in movies. And it’s easy to see why she falls for Stan’s character after meeting him in such a normal way, in a place where one literally buys meat. Nice Guy Steve ends up being not only a cannibal but a guy who caters to (and profits mightily from) other cannibals. He sells the perfect romance to Noa, and then he starts to sell her body away. And my god, this all happens in such a terrifying way, with the tiniest of comical twists, because after Noa’s display of resistance, he paralyzes her with an epidural and declares that he’s “taking” her “ass.”
Yep, her ass. Noa eventually ends up escaping (and freeing other women who’ve lost other body parts), and she’ll live just fine after Steve is dead, but she’ll never get her ass back. It’s a good thing she took his d*ck from him because that’s some justice.
There were red flags, of course, that Noa should have seen along the way, but she didn’t pay attention because she’d already felt a little silly while being cautious. Like when she sensed shadowy danger approaching on the street, and it was simply a jolly man (and his baby) harmlessly strolling. These are the balancing acts that women must perform, attempting to figure out what’s safe and what might be ridiculed as an overreaction. Sometimes, being vigilant can grow exhausting, and Noa simply let her (rational) guard down at the wrong moment. Overall, it’s a film that could stay with you, especially when one considers the bargain that Steve’s wife made. She clearly decided that being with him was worth the price of taking down other women. Yup, that was totally transactional and in the worst, Karen-esque way.
Fresh is both a horror film and a rom-com. This film also can’t be summed up as a “Sebastian Stan vehicle to step away from his MCU image” because, man, there have been enough of those already. Ultimately, it is a breezy film and peppered with humor, but it’s sticking with me. It’s a movie that deserves to spark conversation for quite some time. The dance scenes, the charisma, it’s all meant to seduce but, hopefully, to get us to think about an unavoidably complex subject. Boundaries, man. One’s gotta have them in relationships, or you’re nearly selling yourself for free.
Searchlight Pictures’ ‘Fresh’ is currently streaming on Hulu.
NorCal and SoCal unite. LA’s Jay Worthy and San Francisco’s Larry June have not only just released the new track entitled “Leave it Up To Me,” but they’ve also announced a collaboration album. Dubbed 2 P’s In A Pod, it arrives on March 25, and for anyone who’s heard numerous collab tracks from the pair in the past, this is a long time coming.
“That’s really my brother u don’t meet many people in this industry that are solid and genuine like that,” Worthy said in a statement. “We really a team and it’s deeper then than rap with us, it’s family! Larry the only person who truly understood the Lndn Drgs sound. If you notice, Larry June the only other rapper other than myself who receives production from Sean House.”
June, who is coming off of last year’s album, Orange Print — which might very well be the best installment in his prolific catalog thus far — is a fluid foil to Worthy — who did the first Uproxx Sessions performance of 2022 — on “Leave It Up To Me.” Sean House’s soul sample-soaked production lets the pair flourish on a track that’s tailor-made for cruisin’. This is the vintage sound of West Coast rap and when two pillars from each end of the state can link up with such lyrical harmony, it’s a real smooth proposition.
Watch the video for “Leave It Up To Me” above.
2 P’s In A Pod is out on 03/25 via GDF Records/EMPIRE
Although both rose to prominence decades apart, Griselda rapper Benny The Butcher and The Notorious B.I.G. have plenty in common. Both men rap with a gritty, underground-approved delivery about life in the streets, yet have risen to mainstream prominence on the strengths of their talents and connections. Both made their money via shall we say “alternative means” before finding success in the rap game. And now, both have parlayed their hard-won experience into instructional songs about the commandments of the illicit drug trade.
Building on the ground rules established by Biggie’s Life After Death standout “10 Crack Commandments,” Benny linked up with the late rapper’s number-one benefactor Diddy to offer “10 More Commandments” from Benny’s newly released project, Tana Talk 4. Produced by Griselda’s go-to beatsmith Daringer, “10 More Commandments” finds Benny counting down from number 20 this time around, dishing more advice that, while being far less pithy than Big’s, is no less useful to the aspiring kingpins who might be listening. Some examples:
Count the money
Test the work before you buy it
Only buy sh*t that can be sold
No social media postin’
The most important one: The first chance you get, you better get out this sh*t
Man’s got a point.
Watch the “10 More Commandments” video above. Tana Talk 4 is out now via Griselda Records / EMPIRE. Stream it here.
After Disney faced internal and external criticism for its tepid response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, CEO Bob Chapek announced on Friday that the massive entertainment conglomerate will be pausing all political donations in the state. Chapek also apologized to LGBTQ+ employees for his failure to be a “stronger ally” in the face of the looming legislation that will restrict teachers from discussing any non-heterosexual issues, which will negatively impact non-cisgender students.
In his open letter to employees, Chapek finally recognized the severity of the bill’s impact, which he called “yet another challenge to basic human rights” with ramifications that go far beyond Florida. He also doubled on Disney’s promise to tell more inclusive stories while recognizing that, clearly, even more action needs to be taken.
Starting immediately, we are increasing our support for advocacy groups to combat similar legislation in other states. We are hard at work creating a new framework for our political giving that will ensure our advocacy better reflects our values. And today, we are pausing all political donations in the state of Florida pending this review. But, I know there is so much more work to be done. I am committed to this work and to you all, and will continue to engage with the LGBTQ+ community so that I can become a better ally. You will hear more about our progress in the coming weeks.
Chapek concluded the letter by fully admitting that he “missed the mark” in his initial response to the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation. Clearly, the public and internal pushback worked as Disney appears to have made a significant 180. Whether the company actually makes good on the promises in Chapek’s letter will be the subject of intense scrutiny in the days ahead.
As the conflict in Ukraine continues, artists around the world are finding ways to show their support and benefit the people of the war-torn nation. Scotland’s Belle and Sebastian have just shared a moving song and visual collage entitled “If They’re Shooting At You,” which also functions as a benefit for the countless Ukrainians affected by the Russian invasion of their country.
The band are pledging all of their income from streaming, digital sales and publishing royalties to the Red Cross. The UK government have also agreed to match any donations made via Bandcamp until March 18th as part of the joint appeal with the Disasters Emergency Committee.
“We think any way in which we can get behind Ukraine – politically, culturally, practically, spiritually – it must all add up in the end. Together we have to do what it takes to help Ukraine beat this tyranny,” singer Stuart Murdoch said in a statement. The moving video for the song is a visual collage, comprised of images taken by photographers who have been covering the ongoing conflict.
Watch the video for “If They’re Shooting At You” above and read Murdoch’s full statement on the effort below.
“When the situation in Ukraine first started to happen it became clear that the lives of the people there, and probably ‘ours’ too, were never going to be the same. The band had just started rolling out tracks for our new album, and it all felt a bit silly to be honest.
We had one track called ‘If They’re Shooting At You’, it’s a song about being lost, broken and under threat of violence. The key line is ‘if they’re shooting at you kid you must be doing something right.’
We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and hope that their pain and suffering can be brought to a halt as soon as possible.
We got in touch with various photographers and creatives in Ukraine and they generously said that we could put their pictures to music. In creating this we aspire to show a hopeful, defiant side, as well as bringing an awareness to the plight of the people there.
We think any way in which we can get behind Ukraine – politically, culturally, practically, spiritually – it must all add up in the end. Together we have to do what it takes to help Ukraine beat this tyranny.
Please consider giving to the Disasters Emergency Committee, The Red Cross, or any other humanitarian charity involved in the crisis.
If you choose to donate to the Red Cross, please visit here redcross.org.uk/ukraine. They are part of the joint appeal with the DEC until March 18th, and money donated before then will be matched by the UK government.
All Tennessee whiskey is technically bourbon but not all bourbon is Tenessee whiskey. The juice from Tennessee mandates one tweak that differs from its Kentucky cousin, charcoal filtration. With very few exceptions, all Tennessee whiskey has to be filtered through sugar maple charcoal before barreling to be classified in the regional style. Does that make Tennessee whiskey “better” than Kentucky’s bourbon?
That’s a question for the ages. And, like everything, comes down to a matter of taste.
Today, I’m going to try and answer that question for myself by blind tasting six Kentucky bourbons and six Tennessee whiskeys. I’ve picked mostly mid-range bottles that all clock in around the $30–$60 price point with some above and below that mark. There’s nothing super rare or old. Just good-but-pretty-standard whiskey you’re able to actually find. I also threw in one blend of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana whiskeys to see if it would stand out or maybe even win.
Overall, the point is to find out which whiskey style (generally) reigns supreme.
Our lineup today includes:
Woodford Reserve (KY)
Bib & Tucker 6 (TN)
Uncle Nearest 1884 Small Batch (TN)
Noah’s Mill (KY)
Paul Sutton (KY)
Barrell Bourbon Batch 029 (TN, IN, KY)
George Dickel Bottled-in-Bond Fall 2008 (TN)
Benchmark Old No. 8 (KY)
Bulleit Bourbon (KY)
Nelson’s Green Brier Tennessee Sour Mash (TN)
Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Travelers Sweet & Oaky (TN)
Four Roses Small Batch Select (KY)
Let’s get tasting!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
This feels classic from the nose to the end with vanilla, chocolate oranges, and a hint of minty tobacco leading the way. The taste has a buttery toffee vibe next to dried stone fruits, cinnamon sticks, and a woody mid-point. The finish arrives with a return to the chocolate orange with mild hints of winter spice, old wicker, and a hint more of that mint tobacco.
Taste 2
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Leather and wet cedar drive the nose toward woody vanilla with a hint of spiced apple pie filling. That pie filling leads the palate while old cedar boxes mingle with ginger snaps and spicy apple tobacco. That fruity spice fills out the finish with a final note of sweet oak.
Taste 3
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with sweet cornmeal, pecan cookies, and leather rubbed with cinnamon sticks. The palate smoothes out with a soft vanilla cream pie next to a tart apple crumble with plenty of brown sugar. The mid-palate sweetness edges towards walnuts, dried cherries covered in dark chocolate, and a hint of leather. That leather fades to an old potting soil earthiness on the short finish.
Taste 4
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nutmeg-laden eggnog opens the nose with lines of a cedar box full of dry tobacco and warm leather. Cinnamon candy arrives early on the palate as buttery toffee, chocolate Corn Pops, and dry wicker drives the taste. The mid-palate feels like a caramel and vanilla marriage that’s countered by more of the wicker and a sweet, fresh potting soil full of minerals with a winter spice tobacco warmth rounding everything off.
Taste 5
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Barnyard funk and wet straw lead on the nose as salted caramels and cherries in a pine box counter. Sweet corn cakes with vanilla cream come together on the palate as chocolate-covered cherries lead to a slight eggnog vibe. Pecan pie filling drives the mid-palate toward dark chocolate and cherry tobacco on the finish.
Taste 6
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Spiced oatmeal cookies pop on the nose with fresh leather, orange oil, and honey. Plums meet that honey on the palate with a sense of roasted almonds, toasted coconut, dark chocolate, and just a hint of crusty Tuscan bread. That final note lingers as a touch of fresh green savory herbs arrive on the finish with an echo of the nuts and orange oil.
Taste 7
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Maple syrup and pecan pie lead the way on the nose with dried apple and worn leather. The palate has big notes of apple pecan crumble with a scoop of malted vanilla ice cream next to cherry syrup and dark chocolate powder. That powderiness leads the mid-palate to a cherry Necco Wafer and a touch of brown butter. The finish holds onto that cherry Necco as the nuttiness and mild spices from the crumble slowly fade away.
Taste 8
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Lemon candies and honey lead to a vanilla wafer on the nose but not much else. The taste is classic bourbon with hints of leather, spice, and cornmeal next to vanilla extract, caramel, and buttered popcorn. The end is very faint and almost vodka-like.
Taste 9
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Again with the classic nose of vanilla, caramel, leather, spice, and “oak.” There’s a thin line of cinnamon on the palate that leads to vanilla pudding, apple tobacco, and dry cornbread with a pad of butter. There’s a dry wicker deck chair woodiness near the end that’s augmented by brown sugar sweetness and wintry spice.
Taste 10
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This pops with milk chocolate on the nose next to leather, cinnamon sticks, and rich caramel. There’s an apple-cinnamon toast vibe on the front the taste that leads to cherry wood and more of that milk chocolate with mild tobacco feel to it all. The cherry marries to that tobacco as wet cedar and apple skins fade away on the finish.
Taste 11
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This is sweet from the nose to the finish with sour cherries leading to Cherry Coke, vanilla pudding powder, salted caramel, and wet barrels. The palate leans into the Cherry Coke with almond shells and Brazil nuts next to vanilla cream. That vanilla mid-point circles back to a cherry wood/cherry tobacco mix on the finish that ends with wet wicker, vanilla pods, and flat cherry root beer.
Taste 12
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Old oats and dried raspberries with a hint of clove mix with worn leather and apricot on the nose. The palate lets dried dark berries mix with apricot jam as winter spices warm the sense. The mid-palate is all about vanilla sugar cookies with a thin layer of red spiced jam. The finish arrives with a sense of that worn leather tied to an old pine box, a sense of damp soil, and blackberry chewing tobacco.
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 felt like a $10 budget bourbon from top to bottom. Even the vanilla extract was more like the plastic bottle than the actual fluid. I guess I’d mix this with Coke or ginger ale.
Bulleit 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:
This was fine, but nothing to write home about. Again, I can see mixing with this or drinking it with ginger ale when I want a sugar rush.
Bib & Tucker pulls barrels of Tennessee whiskey from an old and quiet valley in the state. They then blend those barrels to meet their brand’s flavor notes. While they are laying down their own whiskey now, this is still all about the blending of those barrels in small batches.
Bottom Line:
This felt like a cocktail whiskey through and through. That’s not a bad thing at all. It’s more of a shrug and a “yup, tastes good. Next.”
The mash bill on this bourbon is mid-range rye with 18 percent of the grain added for support. The triple distilling in pot stills and blending with column distilled whiskey is utilized. The juice then rests for six to seven years before barrels are pulled for blending, proofing, and bottling.
Bottom Line:
This was where things get “fine” in that this whiskey felt like it could easily be an on the rocks sipper or cocktail base. It wasn’t challenging or bland. It just… was.
This whiskey is built from a batch of barrels that are a minimum of seven years old. Nearest’s Master Blender, Victoria Eady-Butler, builds the blend according to classic flavor notes first put into Tennessee whiskey by her ancestor, Nearest Green, back in the 1800s.
Bottom Line:
This, again, feels perfectly fine though maybe a little more suited to mixing than sipping. There was nothing offensive by any stretch. This was more just lost in this big middle section of the tasting.
Paul Sutton is a new bourbon from an old family recipe. I know, we’ve all heard it before. The new whiskey is not a blend of sourced bourbons. The brand took the time to release its contract distilled whiskey. The bourbon mash bill has a touch of rye in it and it aged for up to five years in medium char barrels.
Bottom Line:
That barnyard funk on the nose is enticing. It really helps this whiskey stand out. There’s just not much after that that feels like it commits to that unique opening volley. It’s classic through and through, which is fine as both a sipper on the rocks or cocktail base.
This limited edition, traveler’s exclusive is classic Jack Daniel’s at a much higher ABV. The mash is 80 percent corn, 12 percent malted barley, and eight percent rye. That whiskey is then aged in Jack Daniel’s vast warehouses after going through the iconic Lincoln County Process of sugar maple charcoal filtration. The barrels are then hand-picked by Master Distiller Chris Fletcher for their uniqueness and flavors that lean into what’s advertised on the label.
Bottom Line:
Goddamn, this was sweet compared to all the other whiskeys. That helped in stand out and really hide those higher ABVs. That puts this squarely in the middle for me. It’s pretty damn good for what it is and stands out in interesting ways.
This release from Barrell Bourbon is a blend of whiskeys from Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee. The final mix is a blend of six, seven, nine, ten, 14, and 16-year-old barrels that are vatted and then bottled at barrel proof.
Bottom Line:
This is where things get interesting. The proof on this sort of outshined the nuance of the flavor profile, but that’s not insurmountable. A little water or a rock will really let this whiskey shine.
4. Nelson’s Green Brier Tennessee Sour Mash — Taste 10
Nelson’s Green Brier is a heritage brand that has a great comeback story. The family’s shingle was killed by Prohibition until descendants of the former owners stumbled upon the old distillery. Now, they’re making one of the finest, wheated Tennessee whiskeys at one of the most accessible price points of any whiskey.
Bottom Line:
Honestly, I’m pretty shocked to see this so high. That pure chocolate throughline really enticed me today. It was a really easy sip neat but I can see this working well on the rocks.
3. George Dickel Bottled-in-Bond Fall 2008 — Taste 7
Nicole Austin has been killing it with these bottled-in-bond releases from George Dickel. This release is a whiskey that was warehoused in the fall of 2008. 13 years later, this juice was bottled at 100 proof (as per the bottled-in-bond law) and sent out to the wide world, where it received much adoration.
Bottom Line:
I thought this would be number one. I generally really like this whiskey but it didn’t quite stand up to the next two in true depth. It’s excellent, even as a neat sip, but didn’t wow me on this tasting.
This is Willett’s high-proof bourbon that’s barely cut down to a very high 114.3 proof. This is kind of like the big and bolder sibling of Willett’s Rowan’s Creek bourbon, which is cut down to 100.1 proof.
Bottom Line:
This felt like “grown-up” whiskey. There was so much going on that I wanted to really take my time with this dram and go back into the glass to find more of the nuance. This feels damn near perfect compared to the rest of this list.
This expression uses six of Four Rose’s 10 whiskeys in their small-batching process. The idea is to blend both high and very high-rye bourbons with yeast strains that highlight “delicate fruit,” “slight spice,” and “herbal notes.” The whiskeys tend to spend at least six years in the barrel before blending and proofing with just a touch of Kentucky’s soft limestone water.
Bottom Line:
This really shined the brightest. It was all-around a more nuanced and flavorful whiskey that seemed super dialed in. I wanted to go right back and pour another of these once I finished.
I did. It was excellent.
Part 3: Final Thoughts
Zach Johnston
Four Roses pulling off the win feels like a bit of an upset. But it’s really not. That whiskey is really good for a mid-range bottle that you can actually find.
When it comes to Kentucky bourbon versus Tennessee whiskey, well… It looks like Kentucky took the gold medal home. But two Tennessee whiskeys made the top five with a blend landing in fifth place. Also, the lowest two slots both went to Kentucky bourbon. What I’m getting at is that it was a pretty even result at the end of the day.
That said, there was just no beating Noah’s Mill and Four Roses today and that’s a clear win of Kentucky.
Perhaps you’ve seen recent photos of Chris Pine out and about and thought to yourself “hm, that must be him preparing for some sort of Aquaman sequel, or a gritty Gorton’s Fisherman origin story.” You would be incorrect, though those are pretty good theories. In reality, the Star Trek star is actually just lazy. Stars! They’re just like us.
While promoting his new movieAll The Old Knives (not the Knives Out sequel, just to be clear. That’s a different Chris.) the actor was asked about his new bearded look. He attributed his long, graying beard to “equal parts laziness and equal parts something I may do in the future here.” Perhaps a Santa Clause biopic is in the works?
Pine added that his publicist was a fan of the new style. “This is my Gregg Allman ’70s look,” he reportedly told Entertainment Tonight. “My publicist said I look like a Bee Gee, but I prefer Gregg Allman.”
In All The Old Knives, Pine stars as ex-spy Henry Pelham who is haunted by an unsolved case. The movie, which drops on Amazon Prime next month, also stars Thandiwe Newton, Laurence Fishburne, and Jonathan Pryce. The actor is also gearing up to star and shoot his directorial debut, Poolman, alongside Hollywood icons Annette Benning and Danny DeVito. Hopefully, the beard is here to stay. We are still waiting to hear about his upcoming Dungeons and Dragons project, though.
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