At the moment, Doja Cat’s future seems unclear. Late last week, in response to fans from Paraguay complaining Doja wasn’t posting about the country enough when she was there, and she responded, “i f*ckin quit i can’t wait to f*cking disappear and i don’t need you to believe in me anymore. Everything is dead to me, music is dead, and i’m a f*cking fool for ever thinking i was made for this this is a f*cking nightmare.”
A few days later, Doja offered an apology for what she said, which presumably left at least some fans thinking that everything was alright and Doja no longer plans to leave music. Now, though, it looks like that may not be the case after all.
MIX 105.1 shared a post about Doja’s apology yesterday and tweeted, “Ok so maybe @DojaCat isn’t retiring.” Doja went ahead and refuted that speculation, replying, “yes the f*ck i am.”
Meanwhile, she recently shared a message about the death of Taylor Hawkins, tweeting, “I just found out through my team that a legend has passed today so I just want to send love and healing to the family and friends of Taylor Hawkins and the Foo Fighters. Rest in peace to a man with a beautiful young heart and wicked talent.”
I just found out through my team that a legend has passed today so I just want to send love and healing to the family and friends of Taylor Hawkins and the Foo Fighters. Rest in peace to a man with a beautiful young heart and wicked talent.
Summer is on its way, and if you’re anything like me that means one thing: road trips. Specifically, to visit National and State Parks. Of course, with gas prices spiking, a road trip across the country may not be feasible. Luckily, you don’t necessarily have to travel far to have that summer road trip experience. There are parks just a short drive away from every major US city – some well known and some less so.
San Francisco is one of my favorite big cities in the US for spring and summer. It has so much to offer, from food to parties to incredible vistas. Even more importantly, it’s located near some of my top picks for parks and weekend road trip destinations across the country. You don’t have to travel far outside the city for any of them.
Here are the best road trips within just 200 miles of San Francisco:
Yosemite is one of the undisputed crown jewels of not just the National Park system, but of the United States as a whole. Stepping into the valley is like entering another world. But despite feeling removed from everything, Yosemite is just 170 miles or so from San Francisco.
With five entrances, you have options on your road trip – to say the least. The park encompasses 1,169 square miles – 94% of which is designated wilderness – and is home to some of the most iconic vistas of the American West.
What to do:
The options are nearly endless. With over 750 miles of trails in the Yosemite Wilderness, it’s an outdoor lover’s playground. The valley is legendary and worth at least a day of your time to just meander and absorb the incredible landscapes around you. Grab a drink and have the most memorable happy hour of your life on the banks of the Merced.
But be aware: you’ll need a reservation to enter the park between 6am and 4pm from May 20 – September 30 this year. They are released March 23 here.
Where to stay:
This can be trickier than you might imagine. There are plenty of options ranging from campgrounds to short term rentals to traditional hotels and resorts, but they book up incredibly fast for a premium. There are also many rentals who advertise as being close to the park but that will actually add another hour or more onto your driving time.
I generally visit in the colder months and opt to stay in Oakhurst, which is just 16 miles from the Southern entrance of the park. Of course, once you enter the South entrance it is another 45 minutes to an hour drive to get into the valley – but I like this entrance. It will give you jaw dropping views of the valley and take you through the famous tunnel view on your way down. There are a few new major chain hotels in Oakhurst, but I often opt for the more quaint (and allegedly haunted) Sierra Sky Ranch.
Camping is available in the park, of course, but fills up extremely fast. This year there are no first-come, first-serve sites – all open campgrounds are reservation only. The system can be accessed here.
One of my absolute favorite places in the country to visit is just outside of the Bay Area but feels a world away. Point Reyes National Seashore, to me, is a fairytale come to life. From the rocky headlands and beautiful beaches (where you might catch a glimpse of an elephant seal!), to the infamous cypress tree tunnel – this National Seashore has it all.
Tucked away and unassuming, the transition from city to country happens fast. I could feel my stress melt away as I drove down the winding roads towards Tomales Bay on my recent trip. It is a must.
If you have time, try to stop and spend some time at Mount Tamalpais State Park on the drive out – just 37 miles from the city and 21 to Point Reyes. Muir Woods is also nearby.
Where to stay:
There are several small towns in the area with some bed and breakfasts, and some short term rentals. Camping is open at Bootjack and Pantoll campgrounds at Mount Tamalpais State Park as well as group camping and Steep Ravine Cabins.
Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park – Big Sur – 140 miles
There is nothing quite like Big Sur. It’s the image that comes to my mind when dreaming of a California coastal road trip. And while it is fairly remote and undeveloped (with just 1800-2000 full-time residents on the 71 mile stretch of coastline) – it’s still just 140 miles from San Francisco, the perfect length for a short summer getaway.
What to do:
Big Sur has been famously detached from most cell service (although that is changing slightly) and with just one major road – highway 1 – the name of the game is solitude and peace. I always visit Pfeiffer Beach to roam around on the purple sand, then try to nab a spot at the outdoor bar seating at Nepenthe to enjoy a South Coast Margarita with a million-dollar view.
Big Sur can come with a big price tag. Due to the remote location, there aren’t a lot of options and airbnbs are very limited. There is some private and public camping – but it fills up fast. Camping on the road is illegal, so make sure to get your spot in advance. Or save your coins for a splurge like Ventana Big Sur or the Post Ranch Inn.
Mendocino Headlands State Park – Mendocino Coast – 155 miles
Travel north on the Pacific Coast Highway for another unforgettable short road trip to the Mendocino Coast. While it lacks some of the name recognition of others on this list, that is a good thing. Trust me. The Mendocino Coast encompasses Mendocino County – a county with over ninety miles of pristine coastline. Portions of the legendary undeveloped Lost Coast of California are located within Mendocino County, along with several quaint small towns, state parks, and the famous Glass Beach in Fort Bragg.
What to do:
Head to Mendocino Headlands State Park for some otherworldly beauty. Between the undeveloped bluffs, opportunities to whale watch, and trails, it is a peaceful respite. If you visit in July be sure to check out the eclectic Mendocino Music Festival. Another great option is the Big River Unit of the state park, where you can enter the wetlands to hike, canoe and kayak. It is just in between two other state parks – Mendocino Woodlands and Van Damme.
Where to stay:
There are lots of options for lodging and camping in the area. From resorts to bed and breakfasts to short term rentals – you can find nearly anything you need. I recommend looking in Fort Bragg. For camping, check out Hendy Woods State Park, Mendocino Woodlands State Park or the stylish glamping spot – Mendocino Grove.
Winding down the PCH to the south are the coastal enclaves of Monterey and the aptly named Carmel-by-the-Sea. Just four miles apart, you can cover a lot of bases in both towns during a weekend escape. I prefer the quaint bohemian vibes of Carmel-by-the-Sea, where houses have names instead of addresses and Clint Eastwood is a former mayor. It is an interesting town to visit, but an even more beautiful natural area – with tons of beaches and state parks.
There are ample options for hotels and resorts, but like many beach destinations they can be pricey. There are some public and private campgrounds in the area, but book early!
Amelia Meath, singer of Sylvan Esso, was in a Zoom audition for a movie when her iMessage app on her laptop started blowing up with texts. Instinctively, she silenced it and continued reading through the scene without thinking much about it. Once she got out, she checked her phone and saw that everyone was calling her to congratulate her on being nominated for a Grammy. “I yelled a lot,” she says succinctly, then adds: “There was a lot of yelling.”
Sylvan Esso, whose other half is producer and Meath’s husband Nick Sanborn, have their sprawling 2020 LP Free Love up for Best Dance/Electronic Music Album alongside Black Coffee’s Subconsciously, Illenium’s Fallen Embers, Major Lazer’s, Music Is The Weapon (Reloaded), Marshmello’s Shockwave, and Ten City’s Judgement. The album, their third, was met with critical acclaim, with Consequence Of Sound calling it “arguably the best the band have put out so far” and The Line Of Best Fit describing it as “Sylvan Esso at their most cohesive.” It was hard not to enjoy and praise Free Love; it had an inexplicable gravitational pull embedded into its vibrant sonic textures.
When Uproxx talked to the pair ahead of the release of Free Love, they emphasized their confidence, which was a result of their success in touring on their prior record WITH, as well as just spending enough time together to feel comfortable trying new things. Meath and Sanborn still love the record now, a year and a half or so later: “It just feels like the best songs we’ve ever written and the weirdest stuff we’ve ever done,” Meath reflects. Sanborn adds: “To me, it feels like it’s the most open and strange, and it’s my favorite lyrics that we’ve written. It feels the most us to me.”
This, though, is how they feel after working on any record; they realize this with laughter. “I guess,” Sanborn says, “I’m worried about the day when the last thing we make isn’t my favorite thing.” At this rate, that day will probably never come. Their discography is clean with all of the albums flowing into each other seamlessly, and the music steadily getting better every time. “Free Love feels like a conclusion,” Sanborn contemplates. “Those first three records are like a trilogy to me now. But I don’t think I felt that that way when we were making them.”
Despite their appreciation for Free Love, they don’t feel like they’re the same people they were when they were making it, which was mostly in 2019. “Is anybody that same person they were in 2019?” Sanborn says. Meath agrees, saying, “That’s like thinking about when you were like a little baby.” That is the effect of the pandemic; the stress and weirdness of these unprecedented times has made us collectively feel as though we’ve been aging faster. At the same time, the album release was not complete to them until late last year, when they were finally able to play the songs live. Their tour kicked off at Edgefields, outside of Portland, Oregon. Recalling the show, Meath sighs dreamily and says, “It felt really, really good.” Sanborn adds, “It was absolutely magical.”
It makes the risky act of putting out an album worth it. Meath laments the process of sharing such an intimate, vulnerable part of herself with the world: “You spend all of your time trying to be as articulate as possible about how you feel and your experience with the world and then everyone takes that and… it’s like when you’re trying to communicate and it feels isolating because no one ever really understands what you’re saying. Or the thing you are saying they can only relate to it through their own experience, which is kind of nice in a lot of ways. But it also means that the amount of time that you invested trying to be articulate just kind of disappears in the wind.”
Sanborn adds: “There’s this whole period where it’s just yours, and the minute it’s out there it becomes about other people. That has its own benefits. There’s parts of that wonderful, but it can never really be yours again.”
It makes sense that this would be a worry for the duo. What a lot of fans love about Sylvan Esso is their unbridled honesty and transparency that imbues their pulsating tracks with a warm sincerity. The emotional nakedness is as vital to their music as the effervescence. Still, their fear never stops them from setting their creations free into the wild, and they’re rewarded for it not just with the pure joy of shows and the laud from critics, but also with award nominations. Sanborn was with his parents when he found out about the Grammy news: “How often do you get that — like, actually having the little kid experience of a cool thing happening while you’re with your parents?” he says. “I think when you choose kind of a nonstandard life, there’s part of that that’s kind of isolating because your success is harder to translate to your friends and family. Things that are a big deal to you might not be a very big deal to them. But there’s a couple of things that transcend that, and the Grammys in music is one of them. Everybody gets how big of a deal that is.”
The Grammys are less than a month away during this chat, but they giggle mischievously at the idea of having a speech prepared. “Maybe we’ll make a list the night before of people we actually want to thank,” Meath poses. Sanborn agrees, “Yeah I would have to do that because I will absolutely forget in the chance that we do win this thing.” They’re also presenting awards at the premiere ceremony, but they don’t know much about that either. “They were just like, ‘Do you want to do it?’ We were like, ‘Yeah!’ It means I get to wear two outfits, which I’m excited about,” Meath beams. This is the spontaneous, silly energy that livens Free Love; they go with the flow, braving the future with only infectious excitement and a deep trust within themselves and each other.
The 2022 Grammys airs April 3 at 8:30 pm EST. Find out how to watch it here.
The NFL’s overtime rules have been a topic of conversation for a long time. They used to be sudden death, with the first score of any time winning the game, which many complained put too much emphasis on the coin toss. That led to an update to the rule that made it so the team that got possession first only won if they scored a touchdown, with the other team getting a chance at striking back after a field goal — and it being sudden death from there.
That still puts a heavy advantage on winning the coin toss, and has led to some frustrations, particularly for teams that lose in overtime in the postseason without a chance to have the ball. The argument against changing the rule is that defense is part of the game and while a disadvantage to lose the toss, you still have the opportunity to get a stop and get a win, but many teams still see it as unfair, particularly given the offensive explosion around the NFL.
The Bills’ loss to the Chiefs in the playoffs this year is the most recent example of a team losing without getting the ball in overtime, and it led to a proposal from the Colts and Eagles to change the overtime rules to allow both teams possession. Ultimately, a compromise was reached to change the rule for the playoffs, but keep it as it was for the regular season.
This will at the very least lead to less controversy after overtime finishes in the postseason, which seems like a positive development and should produce more drama as teams will have the chance to answer a touchdown in an extra period.
Imagine opening a box of Frosted Flakes and finding not a toy robot or glow-in-the-dark pen inside, but tampons and pads. That’s the prize that comes with every box of Loopholes.
No, Loopholes isn’t a real cereal brand. But the statistics its faux commercial brings up are.
Currently one in four teenagers who menstruate in the U.S. do not have access to period products, not to mention those who are homeless or incarcerated. And as the Loopholes website notes, these people are faced every month with the choice between buying food or buying pads or tampons, as no major government programs support period care. While, yes, the FDA does consider these items “medical products,” programs to help low income individuals such as SNAP and WIC classify them as “luxuries,” which puts them in the same category as pet foods, cigarettes and alcohol.
The federal programs do, however, cover food. Hence … Loopholes.
Behold, a cereal commercial like no other:
As the catchy pop song suggests, because the government helps people buy food (not period products), every box of Loopholes comes with tampons and pads inside.
It’s technically food. So it’s technically covered.
Though rarely talked about, period poverty is an actual public health crisis. The financial burden leaves many to attempt reusing single-use period products, or resorting to socks, rags or paper … if not choosing to forgo using anything and bleeding through clothes. All of which can, to no one’s surprise, cause an infection.
To address period poverty, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng introduced the Menstrual Equity For All Act (ME4ALL), an initiative to help make these products more accessible.
The bill would include:
Incentivizing colleges and universities to implement pilot programs that provide free menstrual products to students
Ensuring that incarcerated individuals and detainees have access to free menstrual products
Allowing homeless assistance providers to use grant funds that cover shelter necessities to purchase menstrual products
Requiring Medicaid to cover the cost of menstrual products
Directing large employers to provide free menstrual products for their employees in the workplace
Requiring all public federal buildings to provide free menstrual products in restrooms
To raise awareness for the bill, creative agency 72andSunny teamed up with Period: The Menstrual Movement, No More Secrets, The Flow Initiative, Ignite and Free the Period to create this commercial starring OffLimits Spark Cereal as Loopholes and featuring August tampons and pads as the “prizes.” And where you can’t really buy a box of this deliciously inclusive cereal (at least not with the Loopholes packaging), the website’s Action Page does offer an easy way to submit your email to contact representatives. I just did it in 10 seconds.
As anyone who has the monthly flow will tell you, these items are a necessity, not a luxury. They might not be part of a balanced breakfast, but they are part of a healthy life.
If there’s one city that knows how to party, it’s Miami, Florida. Its iconic nightlife scene, year-round great weather, abundance of high-end cuisine, and lively atmosphere make it the perfect location for an epic 24-hour rager.
Get Lost music festival in Miami just celebrated its 15th Year Circus Celebration at Factory Town in Hialeah on March 26, 2022. The lineup included more than 70 unforgettable electronic acts, such as Carl Craig & Seth Troxler’s opening 5 a.m. performance and a three-hour set from Groove Jet legend Danny Tenaglia. Attendees also partied to music from some of the electronic scene’s biggest names like Major Lazer Sound System, DJ Tennis, Hot Since 82, TOKiMONSTA, Desert Hearts, Kevin Knapp, and more.
If you couldn’t make it to one of Miami’s hottest festivals of the season, you can still live vicariously through the sights, scenes, and styles that were found at Get Lost. Scroll through the slew of photos below for an instant mood booster.
During the 2016 presidential debates, then-GOP candidate Donald Trump proudly boasted—twice—that he doesn’t pay federal income taxes. Why? Because he’s “smart.” It was a bold, and frankly dumb, statement coming from a wannabe president. But it spoke to a larger truth in this country about billionaires and their money: Those who have the most of it don’t often like to part with even a penny of it. Which explains why, as Raw Story reports, so many billionaires are up in arms about President Joe Biden’s proposal to raise the richest one percent’s taxes.
Biden’s plan is to issue a minimum of a 20 percent tax on billionaires. It comes after a 2021 report by ProPublica that revealed “a vast trove” of leaked Internal Revenue Service (IRS) documents that showed billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk have all avoided paying any federal income tax for several years, despite raking in cash.
That report revealed that Musk’s tax rate was at 3.27 percent, whereas Bezos’ had just 0.98 percent.
If you’re currently thinking: Wait, that’s a hell of a lot less than I currently pay, you’re undoubtedly right.
While, from a logical standpoint, it would make sense that the more money you make, the more you’d pay in taxes, try telling that to the billionaires of the United States. As Insider reports, part of Biden’s plan would include taxing unrealized capital gains, or assets that are regularly increasing in value but are not taxed until they are sold off. When questioned about that part of Biden’s proposal specifically, billionaire investor Leon Cooperman didn’t mince words: “I would say it’s stupid,” Cooperman told Insider, adding that: “It’s probably illegal. It won’t pass… They should stop attacking wealthy people and attack the tax code. They’re so ignorant.”
While Cooperman said that he doesn’t “mind paying taxes,” he takes a philosophical view to it and says “we don’t need new forms of taxation just reform the existing tax code.”
If Biden’s so-called “Billionaire Minimum Income Tax” proposal passes, Fox News reports that it will “would reduce the deficit by about $360 billion over the next decade, representing more than a third of the Biden team’s plan to trim the spending gap by $1.3 trillion.” Which sounds like a good thing—unless you’re the one who’s going from paying virtually zero dollars in taxes to 20 percent.
But Biden’s not ready to back down. In an official statement issued by the White House, the Biden administration noted that: “President Biden is a capitalist and believes that anyone should be able to become a millionaire or a billionaire. He also believes that it is wrong for America to have a tax code that results in America’s wealthiest households paying a lower tax rate than working families.”
In D Smoke’s new video for “Crossover” featuring Westside Boogie, good times go bad as a result of some bad decision-making. The video opens at an outdoor basketball game, where the Inglewood rapper puts the shimmy shake on a prideful player. With his feelings hurt, Smoke’s opponent goes to his bag and winds up clearing the court when he pulls out a pistol. Later, at a house party attended by both rappers, Smoke gets friendly with a lovely lady, only to have their “alone time” interrupted by a deeply unaware admirer.
“Crossover” appears on D Smoke’s 2021 album War & Wonders, the follow-up to the Rhythm+Flow champ’s debut album Black Habits. It’s the fourth video to be released from the project after “It’s OK,” “Shame On You,” and “Say Go.” The new album, which followed a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album, featured 16 tracks and guest appearances from BJ The Chicago Kid, Fireboy DML, John Legend, Marsha Ambrosius, SiR (D Smoke’s real-life brother), Tobe Nwigwe, and Ty Dolla Sign.
Westside Boogie, meanwhile, has laid low since the release of his 2019 debut album Everything’s For Sale, but has released a handful of singles including “Float” while making occasional guest appearances on tracks with Dreamville rapper Lute and his LVRN family.
Watch D Smoke’s “Crossover” video featuring Westside Boogie above.
Good whisky costs good money. That’s especially true if you’re talking Scotch or Japanese whisky. The best stuff takes time and effort to make and that cost is built into the price you pay on the shelf. When it comes to great bottles of scotch (which is what we’re talking about today), paying $200 for a bottle isn’t that out of the ordinary. In fact, this price point is the high-end of the middle of the road, cost-wise. We’re not even into the classic 20-year-old and over bottles yet.
The ten Scotch whiskies below are all special bottles, even if they’re all under 20 years old. I’m diving deep into my tasting notes to pull out ten scotches I think are actually worth paying between $150 and $200 for. And while most of these are simple and delicious sippers, there are a few that might have a small collectibility factor, due to being one-off special releases.
Either way you slice it, all ten whiskies below are worth seeking out. That said, I did rank these according to taste. For the most part, I’d pay these prices for the top seven simply for the pleasure of drinking them. Numbers 7-10 are all great sippers too, but don’t quite grab my attention in the same way. Of course, all palates differ — so read those tasting notes and find your own path into the high-end world of Scotch whisky.
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Scotch Whisky Posts of The Last Six Months
Islay’s Bowmore has one of the lowest peated levels of any whisky from the famed island. This whisky spends 18 long years maturing in both ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks before those barrels are blended, proofed down with Islay’s soft groundwater, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is full of creamy toffee candies bespeckled with dried fruits — think cherry, grapes, plums, currants — that leads towards a light sense of bourbon vanilla next to an echo of smoked cherries and apricots with a hint of smoked candied almonds. The palate luxuriates in soft and almost creamy milk chocolate malts that form a foundation for spicy oatmeal raisin cookies, a whisper of dried roses, and a touch of dry wicker. The finish takes its time and cycles back through the chocolate and oatmeal cookie spice, leaving you with a sense of dried wicker that’s just been singed by flame.
Bottom Line:
This is ranked ten, sure. But this is stellar juice. That said, I generally use this more for a subtle Manhattan variation or Sazerac than a sipper. But that’s just me, because this is a very easy sipper — especially for a peated whisky.
The “Double Cask” of this The Macallan release is a sherry-seasoned American oak cask and a sherry-seasoned European oak cask. Both casks mature the whisky for 15 years before they’re married and that batch is brought down to a very drinkable 86 proof.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a smooth vanilla that feels a bit like it’s cut with honey, a touch of butter toffee, and a hint of stewed apple on the nose. The palate, on the other hand, has a deep dried fruit sweetness and dryness (think sultanas and prunes) next to a bit more of that honey, a whisper of dry cedar, and a spritz of orange oils. The end holds onto that orange and brings the vanilla cream back as it slowly fades away, leaving you with an almost caramel maltiness.
Bottom Line:
This has a lovely balance of dry and creamy with plenty of fruit and honey. It’s really easy to drink all around. That said, this is a bit of a crowd-pleaser that doesn’t quite hit the depths of some of the other whiskies on this list.
Craigellachie is the other whisky that helps make Dewar’s (the other main base spirit being Aberfeldy). This expression is made with old-school stills and stored in old-school warehouses. The juice is aged in ex-bourbon casks for 17 years and vatted to highlight the uniqueness of the brand.
Tasting Notes:
You’re drawn in by that familiar and deep vanilla note with some apple pie in there next to a dried and salted pineapple candy, a touch of smoked oats, and a savory fruit (almost a honeydew melon). That pineapple note holds on and intensifies to a pineapple and vanilla pudding on the palate as dry and woody spices arrive next to a hint of dry tobacco, cedar, and a billow of dry smoke. The end embraces the smoke through the filter of that pineapple pudding as it slowly fades out.
Bottom Line:
Like the Bowmore above, this is a solid sipper that works wonders in a cocktail. This makes for a great boulevardier or Sazerac base thanks to the boldness of the flavor profile.
The expression from Speyside’s Aberlour also uses old bourbon for its primary maturation and ex-sherry for its finishing maturation. Finally, it’s proofed down with soft Speyside water and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
You’re drawn in with a note of hard butterscotch candies next to a touch of chinotto (bittersweet Italian orange), butter toffee, and the slightest wisp of peach pits. The taste builds out from that peach pit layer with a note of ripe peach flesh and fuzzy skin while jammy blackberry leads towards a soft cedar. The finish really takes its time and leaves you with a silken texture next to a honeyed sweetness and a final roundness of vanilla cream.
Bottom Line:
This is where things get interesting. I really adore this as an end-of-the-day sipper with a single rock. That addition of water lets this one really bloom in the glass, releasing those deeper stone fruit, buttery, and jammy characteristics.
This is the younger of two special releases from Diageo last year. The whisky is built from juice aged in refill bourbon casks, meaning that the casks had already aged bourbon and then aged single malts at least once before this whisky was filled into them and left for 12 years. That whisky was then vatted and bottled at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
This opens with notes of air-dried sea salt mingling with nori wetted with sushi rice and a clear sense of green tea with a hint of dried florals that lead toward dry cacao powder, salted lemon peels, and a very distant line of sea-spray laced campfire smoke with wet sand lurking underneath. The palate takes that sea salt, nori, and lemon and tosses them together for a sharp yet dry and briny mouthfeel that leads back to now-sweetened tea with a hint of waxy saltwater taffy. The mid-palate rushes towards a big billow of dry driftwood smoke that’s emboldened by a handful of smoked and dried ancho chilis.
Bottom Line:
This is just straight-up delicious. It’s so complex, alluring, and different while still making sense from nose to finish. You really need to take your time with this one though and add a little water or a rock to plumb its depths.
This special edition Mortlach leans into the “beast of Dufftown” moniker the brand has earned by being bold and unique. The whisky in the bottle is a spirit that spent 13 years aging in both refill bourbon casks and new oak. Those barrels were vatted to create this beast of a whisky and it was bottled at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
This starts off very unexpectedly with a nose full of Thanksgiving dinner. The roasted turkey with sage, thyme, and rosemary leads towards a bowl of cranberry sauce cut with holiday spices and a touch of sweetness next to the bold tartness of the berries while candied fruits, floral honey, and varnished cedar round out the nose. The palate builds on that vibe and adds in a vanilla-chili note that attaches to a dry cedar box full of fruity and sticky tobacco. That spice really leans into freshly cracked black pepper as the fruitier notes from the nose return to mellow everything out on the long finish.
Bottom Line:
This is like a dose of nostalgia in whisky form. This whisky will take you home again. It’s powerful and deep while feeling like you’re being comforted in a warm blanket next to a crackling fire.
Oban is a tiny distillery that makes some of the world’s best whisky. This expression starts off like all Oban by going through their small, lantern-shaped stills twice before the juice is filled into used oak for an 18-year maturation. The best barrels are vatted and proofed down to a very sippable 86 proof.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a mild whiff of beach campfire smoke that leads towards a fruit salad full of pear, peach, plum, and something more tropical (not quite a banana, not quite a pineapple). The palate embraces the fruit to the point where it feels like a smoked fruit saltwater taffy next to a hint of mild eggnog spices. The end stays light as those spices kick up alongside a smoked salted caramel sweetness leading towards a final billow of that beach campfire smoldering a few camps down the beach.
Bottom Line:
Sometimes simple is all that you want. And by “simple,” I do not mean basic. This is a damn-near-perfect whisky that knows what it is and hits every note beautifully. This is a great slow sipper that pairs wonderfully with a full plate of raw oysters or a pile of prawns.
Ardbeg’s boilers breaking down led to this whisky. Instead of throwing out the mash until the boilers were fixed, Dr. Bill Lumsden (the mad-scientist distiller behind Ardbeg) decided to see what would happen if they let it be. The washback lids were opened and the mash was allowed to ferment with the sea-kissed Islay air for three more weeks. To put that in perspective, Ardbeg (and most whiskies) usually ferment for 72 hours before distillation. Once the boilers were back up and running, the whisky was distilled and then barreled in first-fill and re-fill bourbon casks. 13 years later, Dr. Bill decided it was ready.
Tasting Notes:
The nose starts off with this burst of fresh green grass just after the rain that melts into a summer herb garden (mint heavy), grapefruit seeds, and smoked butter with sweet lemon candy and orange trees that are underpinned with a dark and rich soil that’s been turned with manure. Going deeper on the nose, you get fresh tires, mossy fir bark, and maybe a hint of fennel-heavy focaccia. The palate starts off incredibly soft with a toffee note before veering into burnt scones, hints of absinthe, turmeric, and finally Marlboro Red cigarette ash. That ashiness builds on the palate as a slight Windex note pops in next to a hint of mint candy and some more mild toffee. The finish lets that sweetness stay while the cigarette ash builds towards a crescendo and leaves your senses feeling like you’ve licked an ashtray with a hint of minty toffee candies.
Bottom Line:
This is the wild child of the list. As with a lot of Ardbeg special releases, you’ll either love it or hate it with the passion of all the fires of hell. This is so outside the box and unique that I can’t help but love it. That said, you’re going to want to open this up with some water or a rock.
2. The Singleton of Glendullan 19 The Siren’s Song
This Speyside malt — which is getting pushed pretty hard on the U.S. market right now — is all about the honeyed and heather notes of the region. This expression rested in former bourbon barrels for nearly two decades before it was transferred to a cognac cask. After that final maturation, the whisky was bottled at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
The nose on this is one of the fruitiest out there with strong notes of apricot next to dried figs, orange oils, old raisins, and candied fruits that lead towards a rummy fruitcake with a tube of marzipan running through it and a light flourish of fresh heather flowers. The palate really holds onto the fruit with the candied fruits and citrus rinds leading the way as apple cores and stems veer the taste towards a woodier note of cedar with a slight echo of white grape juice. The mid-palate holds onto the sweetness of that juice as the malts kick in with a slight tobacco spice that’s just touched with a hint of dried and candied ginger.
Bottom Line:
Floral, fruity, and honey-hued, this whisky rules. It’s so soft and inviting while delivering deep flavor notes that feel like summer in a glass. This is a stellar sip of whisky that’ll have you hankering for more the moment your glass is empty.
This Highland whisky is a local tradition of sorts, dating back to the brand’s origins in the 1820s. The whisky in the bottles is hewn from barrels of at least 18-year-old whiskies. The maturation is done exclusively in hand-picked Olorosso sherry casks from Spain.
Tasting Notes:
Old orchard wood, soft leather, dried orange peels, raspberry jam, and creamy dark chocolate gently mingle on the nose. That jam leans into a spiced cherry compote as stewed plums with plenty of allspice and clove lead to soft walnut cake with a malty backbone. The mid-palate takes that walnut and sweetness and moves the taste toward velvety malts and soft and sweet orchard wood, a dusting more of that dark chocolate, and dark berry silkiness.
Bottom Line:
This unpeated whisky is perfect. If you buy only one, let it be this one. The perfection of this one transcends styles. I’d drink this before I’d drink another bourbon, especially at this price point. It’s just that good.
Angel Olsen has been churning out a lot of music within the past few years, from the All Mirrors accompaniment album Whole New Mess to collaborations with Sharon Van Etten and Madi Diaz. Today, she announced that she’s releasing a new album titled Big Time on June 3 via Jagjaguwar. The celebratory, inspiring lead single “All The Good Times” is out now. It retains her signature sense of confidence and unbridled honesty, opening the ballad by lulling, “I can’t say that I’m sorry / when I don’t feel so wrong anymore.”
Big Time came after a storm of loss. She was writing the album while reckoning with her trauma and coming out as queer; she was specifically preparing to come out to her parents, and she was relieved when she did. “Some experiences just make you feel as though you’re five years old, no matter how wise or adult you think you are,” she writes of that time. “Finally, at the ripe age of 34, I was free to be me.”
However, three days after, her father passed away and his funeral became Olsen’s way of introducing her partner to her family. Two weeks later, her mother ended up in the ER, and she tragically passed as well. Olsen went to the studio there weeks after her mother’s funeral and recorded Big Time. Despite this devastating series of events, “All The Good Times” predicts a weightless, soaring sound that reverberates with hope.
Listen to “All The Good Times” above. Check out the album artwork and tracklist for Big Time below.
Angel Olsen
1. “All The Good Times”
2. “Big Time”
3. “Dream Thing”
4. “Ghost On”
5. “All The Flowers”
6. “Right Now”
7. “This Is How It Works”
8. “Go Home”
9. “Through The Fires”
10. “Chasing The Sun”
Big Time is out 6/3 via Jagjaguwar. Pre-order it here.
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| solo travel (@emilyventures)
