If someone asked you which of the three stars of The Banshees of Inisherin, Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, or Barry Keoghan, was hosting SNL this weekend, you’d probably guess the devastatingly handsome Farrell or maybe the guy who’s playing the Joker. Nope. It’s 67-year-old Gleeson, who deserved an Oscar for playing Knuckles McGinty in Paddington 2, but might actually get one for The Banshees of Inisherin.
In Bruges director Martin McDonagh’s new movie, about two long-time friends (Farrell and Gleeson) who suddenly stop talking, or as our Mike Ryan put it in his positive review, “in The Banshees of Inisherin, McDonagh has distilled the last 100 years of Irish history into two dolts who get into a heated feud for literally no reason.” Also, there’s a donkey named Jenny that kicked Farrell in the knee. Let her host SNL next.
Here’s the official plot synopsis:
Set on a remote island off the west coast of Ireland, The Banshees of Inisherin follows lifelong friends Padraic (Colin Farrell) and Colm (Brendan Gleeson), who find themselves at an impasse when Colm unexpectedly puts an end to their friendship. A stunned Padraic, aided by his sister Siobhan (Kerry Condon) and troubled young islander Dominic (Barry Keoghan), endeavors to repair the relationship, refusing to take no for an answer. But Padraic’s repeated efforts only strengthen his former friend’s resolve and when Colm delivers a desperate ultimatum, events swiftly escalate, with shocking consequences.
Less than two weeks ago, Russians began flocking across borders after Vladimir Putin announced the call-up of 300,000 reservists. Many didn’t want to fight in a war that they condemned, and many other men of fighting age (who didn’t receive draft papers yet) feared that the draft would grow, and they needed to get out while the getting was good. We’d heard that the numbers were huge, but they’re even bigger than imagined, to the point where the number of Russians who have fled already exceeds the number that Putin’s regime managed to conscript for military duty.
As it turns out, men don’t want to be stranded with Putin’s army in Ukraine. That’s practically a death sentence where men are being denied armor and told to bring tampons to treat their own bullet wounds when the inevitable happens. Via Al Jazeera, the “partial mobilization” announcement led to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu declaring, “As of today more than 200,000 people have entered the army.” And via Bloomberg, the number of Russians who have (thus far) fled to neighboring questions dwarfs the number of actual recruits into the Army. Here’s what those numbers look like, according to Bloomberg’s data:
– 200,000 to Kazakhstan
– 69,000 to Georgia
– 66,000 to the European Union
– 12,000 to Mongolia
– And counting
As these numbers came together, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy declared that his country has no interest in “peace talks” with the Kremlin. And it’s no wonder why this is the case, given that Russia may have been able to annex four rural regions of Ukraine, but the cities aren’t really yielding to Russian forces. In fact, Russia was recently forced out of Lyman (an Eastern stronghold), and this week, Ukraine made a Southern advance that bolsters the claim that Russia will never be able to take Kiev. It’s no wonder that Putin’s allies are starting to to drag him, very publicly in front of the world.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made his movie debut in 2001’s The Mummy Returns, but his first leading role came a year later, in the hastily made spinoff, The Scorpion King. It was an inauspicious (and poorly rendered) beginning for a wrestler-turned-actor who would later become one of the biggest movie stars in the world. This week, after being presented with a mosaic of all of his leading man movies, The Rock thanked his fans — and a ritzy hotel in Los Angeles — for his justified-salary success.
“Holy sh*t – this surprise really sat me down and got me thinking about the journey and these unpredictable roads we all go down,” he wrote on Instagram about the Hotel Bel-Air giving him the mosaic, along with bottles of Teremana Tequila, naturally (no In-N-Out?). He continued:
“20yrs ago when I first got to Hollywood – all the ‘experts’ told me, I shouldn’t call myself The Rock, I shouldn’t go to the gym and needed to lose weight – and definitely don’t talk about pro wrestling. I was told, ‘If you want to make it in Hollywood, you gotta be like these other guys…’ That never sat right with me, so I said I’m not doing that and the only person I gotta be like – is me. If I failed, then at least I failed being real and being myself.”
Years (and many Fast and Furious feud updates) later, “here we are and I’m saying ‘holy sh*t’ to this career mosaic on the wall and most importantly, I’m saying.. THANK YOU to all of you for rockin’ with me down these roads for all these years,” The Rock continued. “Love U guys and cheers to the most important thing we can all be – ourselves.”
You can read the post and watch The Rock’s video below:
Lil Nas X is perhaps the biggest gay icon in the music industry today, but it wasn’t always that way. Once upon a time, he was just the “Old Town Road” guy, but eventually, he publicly came out. While he has gradually become more comfortable in his own skin, he was still nervous to perform in front of his family at a recent hometown show in Atlanta. The experience ended up being a powerful one, though.
“I was really nervous about going out on stage in front of my family and everybody in my cute, little Coach skirt. But as soon as I walked out, I felt like I was setting my younger self free. Afterwards, my family — a lot of whom used to believe in everything opposite to what’s up on that stage — told me they were really proud. I feel like I’m changing some minds.”
After the show, Nas’ father shared a message on social media, writing, “I’m beyond proud of you. Thinking back to this conversation we had about 4 years ago and to see your show last night, by the way was the best show I’ve seen since MJ. You was a kid with a dream and the determination to follow it. You was that one in a million.”
In the interview, Nas added, “I’m less afraid to step out of my comfort zone. Lil Nas X is helping Montero become more himself. Music has made me much more confident.”
Of his evolving style, he also noted, “Style is a form of self-expression. It’s a way to show people who you are, or at least how you want them to perceive you. I feel like to get further in life, you have to shed skins and do things that you normally wouldn’t.”
Kanye West has always fancied himself a free thinker. Going all the way back to the time depicted in his Netflix documentary Jeen-Yuhs, being a bit of a contrarian has always seemingly benefitted him. When it looked like the whole of the rap industry had placed their chips on gangsta images, he went with a preppy look that set him apart and won him millions of adoring fans who wanted something more relatable. When his dream label home, Roc-A-Fella, gave him the cold shoulder as a rapper, he toured with Rawkus Records fave Talib Kweli to show he had the chops to carry a full project — then smartly put representatives of both sides of the underground-mainstream divide on his album at a time when it felt like the line between them was more like the Berlin Wall.
With that in mind, Kanye’s recent, more controversial, left turns to make more sense. He still sees himself as the rebel, shaking the table, challenging the status quo, and blazing new trails. Unfortunately, for both us and him, he’s trying to do so in an arena in which he’s less knowledgeable or experienced. In making political statements like slavery “sounds like a choice” or “me putting the hat on forces an evolution,” he’s taking the mentality that worked so well for him in music and fashion and applying it to concepts that are far more nuanced than the ones he’s used to dealing with. In fashion, a faux pas is forgotten by the next season. When he supported Donald Trump in 2016, he undoubtedly helped an unqualified candidate get elected, causing incalculable damage to both the American political system and the very fabric of our shared society.
I say all that to say, I get why he thought wearing a “White Lives Matter” shirt to his Paris Fashion Week YZY season nine show would be a good idea. It’s provocative. It gets the people going. It starts a conversation, which is very likely his goal outside of just getting attention. I have little doubt that Kanye sees himself here as the catalyst for a much-needed discussion about the lack of equality in our society. But the problem is that he does not appear to realize that this is a discussion that has been going on around us for the past 300 years. Maybe he missed it — after all, much of that discourse has been recounted in books, and we all know how he feels about those. Kanye may think he’s trolling a particular mindset or folks who “take things too seriously” on the internet, but as usual, his inexperience is making him a mouthpiece for more nefarious players.
Enough has been written about the misappropriation of the “Black Lives Matter” slogan that I shouldn’t have to recap it, but “shouldn’t” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence (as demonstrated by Mr. West himself). The slogan was coined as a response to the very real threat against Black Americans’ lives by the society around us. Institutional racism permeates social systems including banking, education, healthcare, policing, and even environmental policy, all of which contribute to a deleterious effect on Black people’s lives. The recent government response to the COVID-19 pandemic is just one example; the fact that Black Americans were disproportionately hospitalized and killed by the virus due to inadequate education and allocation of services proves that too many of those in power still need to see the reminder that our lives matter as often as possible.
This is all that needs to be said in regards to Kanye West and his White Lives Matter shirt. pic.twitter.com/v2ykdgT4WN
Kanye’s shirt not only undermines that point but it also undercuts his own desire to “start the conversation” and set himself apart from the Black “establishment” voices he sees as dominating it. For one thing, Kanye appears to want to reach the same end as the establishment, but his need to set himself apart, to play the provocateur, has him embracing a counterproductive, asinine argument that requires too much mental contortion to get there when the original slogan is already more effective at doing so. He’s also setting himself up to be used as a sock puppet by the actual forces promoting division and antipathy. It’s happened to him before; this time, one of the main people who used him as a shill, Candace Owens, was right next to him in a matching T-shirt, likely already plotting her next grift with his name attached.
Ultimately, Kanye is not really as much of a free thinker as he thinks he is. He sees himself in the way Twitter users sharing their “unpopular opinions” do. They’re being contrary to get attention, but they’re also poking holes in the hivemind status quo. But Kanye promoting a message literally and specifically designed to undermine a statement of solidarity and self-determination is not the same as me saying the new Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer did nothing for me. Me saying Black Panther was always a lame comic book character and is just as lame of a concept on screen is a hot take. Kanye parroting alt-right talking points actually spreads dangerous, toxic rhetoric — and validates it in the minds of those bigots who already embrace it. This latest troll isn’t just annoying and unfunny, it emboldens ignorant, hateful people and makes it that much harder to shut them down.
Since the end of Oasis, Noel Gallagher has built a successful solo career for himself, with three albums that have all reached the top of the UK charts. His most recent album was 2017’s Who Built The Moon?, and at a gig earlier this year, he revealed he’s expecting to drop a new LP in 2023. Brother and former Oasis bandmate Liam Gallagher, with whom Noel has a famously contentious relationship, caught wind of this and has weighed in, as it not uncommon for him to do, with an insult.
Earlier today (October 4), a fan asked Liam on Twitter, “Noel said he’s releasing a new album in 2023. Do you get excited when he releases new material… you know as a connoisseur of music and your rock n roll knowledge?” He responded, “Let’s hope he’s hired a proper singer to sing his songs can’t be doing with his whimpering.” When another user noted his answer was “not very nice,” Liam replied, “It wasn’t meant to be.”
Let’s hope he’s hired a proper singer to sing his songs can’t be doing with his whimpering
It’s not always shade coming from Liam, though. About a month ago, after performing with Foo Fighters at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert in London, Liam said of the band’s leader, “Dave Grohl is the most inspiring musician person on the PLANET tday.”
Over the past year, several festivals have made returns, following pandemic-related hiatuses. Unfortunately, those wanting to score passes for Tyler The Creator‘s Camp Flog Gnaw festival will have to wait another year.
In an interview with Billboard, Tyler’s manager Chris Clancy shared that the festival will not return this year.
“It’s really not that deep,” said Clancy. “Tyler toured all year and was busy with a number of projects. Reading the tea leaves and what’s happening with festivals coming out of the pandemic, we thought it would be best to come back next year.”
This past year, Tyler toured in support of his album, Call Me If You Get Lost, and he headlined festivals like Buku and Made In America.
The last Camp Flog Gnaw took place in 2019, with performances from Solange, FKA Twigs, YG, Clairo, 21 Savage, and more.
While it may seem like Tyler has a lot on his plate, he does plan to continue to diversify his palate, as he revealed in an interview with Numero.
There are two types of people – those who think they have to do a variety of things but are not able to handle a single one of them, and those who excel in one particular area and thus can enter any other field freely. In other words, Usain Bolt could simply run fast, while Jazmin Sullivan could only sing… but they don’t do that.
Single malt whisk(e)y can be made anywhere. So can rye whiskey for that matter. But let’s stay on track with single malt. All that you really need is some barley, a process to malt it (or not), some mashing tanks, fermenters, stills, and space to stack up some barrels. There’s a lot more to it than that, but you get my point.
For this blind tasting, I grabbed ten pretty much brand new single malts whiskies from, well, all over really. Taste is the primary factor for my ranking of these based on sipping them blind, sure. But there’s also a bit of jostling for prominence. I know going in that the Japanese single malt is going to be hard to beat — that’s why I picked it. I also know that the Canadian single malt is going to struggle against this lineup. Can it breakthrough? Is the most expensive pour going to reign supreme? What about the oldest whisky, where will that fall? Age in single malt is far more of a defining factor than it is in, say, bourbon or Irish whiskey.
I’m probably overthinking all of this. Maybe it is all about simply what tastes the best. Anyway… Our lineup today is:
Shelter Point Single Cask Whisky Canadian Single Malt (CAN)
Lost Lantern 2022 Single Cask #15 Copperworks Distilling Washington Single Malt Whiskey Single Variety, Single Farm (USA)
Old Line American Single Malt Double Oak Series Sherry Cask (USA)
Starward Octave Barrels Single Malt Australian Whisky (AUS)
Bruichladdich Organic Barley 2010 Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky (UK)
Morris Australian Single Malt Whisky Muscat Barrels (AUS)
The Dalmore Aged 14 Years (UK)
Indri Single Malt Indian Whisky Trini, The Three Wood (IN)
The Yamazaki Single Malt Whisky Spanish Oak 2022 Edition (JP)
MaltyVerse First Edition 30-Year-Old Single Cask Whisky (UK)
There’s a lot to get into, so let’s get going.
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Scotch Whisky Posts of The Last Six Months
The nose is full of butterscotch to the point of diacetyl (which feels like a fault in the cuts used for aging) next to malty crackers, a hint of raisin, and some honey. The palate holds onto the diacetyl with a note of tannic oak, apple skins, soft brown spices, and sour red wine. The end has a slight leatheriness with a honey malt finish.
Nope.
Taste 2
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Sour grapes and vanilla malts mingle on the nose with a hint of white pepper and dried lavender next to a touch of almost sweet cinnamon and nutmeg. The palate leans into the sweet spices and cuts some apple saltwater taffy, creating a sweet and spiced apple cider next to old wicker and a twinge of vanilla lurking in the background. The end has a whisper of dried lavender braided with old wicker and apple tobacco leaves next to a hint of creamed honey.
This is much nicer (and way better built) than the last pour. It’s very nice overall.
Taste 3
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Caramel jumps out on the nose with a touch of salt and burnt toffee next to soft brown sugar, old leather, and prunes with a whisper of spiced tobacco. The palate is very plummy with plenty of buttery brown sugar and cinnamon clumps (like fancy restaurant butter balls) next to a hint of almond and rum-raisin. The end leans toward the almond shells with a touch of vanilla tobacco wrapped up in old leather and cedar bark.
Again, this is way better than the first pour. It’s nicely made and has a nice depth. It’s very bourbon-heavy on the nose and palate though, which is fine but not very “malty.”
Taste 4
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
The nose has a mix of silky chocolate-dipped toffees next to rum-raisin, sharp cinnamon bark, tart red berries, and a thick braid of dried sweetgrass, cedar, and peach tobacco. The palate is kind of like blackberry pie filling on top of a warm buttery biscuit with a bowl of creamy vanilla sauce on the side for dippin’. The end goes back to that dry braid from the nose with a sense of huckleberry, firewood bark in black dirt, and well-worn leather gardening gloves.
This is the best pour so far. Where it’ll land (since I’m not even halfway through) is another story.
Taste 5
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
The nose is soft like soft-serve vanilla ice cream next to green apple skins, pear candy, and wet straw bails. The taste is malty and earthy with a sense of buttery brioche next to orchard wood with a hint of moss under apricot jam, stewed pear, and some saffron. The end has a malted vanilla milkshake vibe next to wet sweetgrass and a hint more of that sweet pear throughline.
This was fine. It didn’t really grab me. It’s still about a million times better than pour number one though.
Taste 6
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This opens fairly tannic with a sense of burnt leaves and very dried dates, raisins, and prunes next to blackstrap molasses, darkly roasted espresso beans covered in dark AF chocolate, and a hint of salted caramel smoothness under it all. The palate leans into dark caramel malts with plenty of cinnamon bark, nutmeg, and nutshell next to a soft vanilla chewing tobacco. The end is malty and kind of tannic with a burnt orange next to very dried prunes.
This was a lot of “dark” and “burnt.” Still better than the first pour though! At least this had a hard-boiled character and was enticing enough that I wanted to go back to it.
Taste 7
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with a sense of subtle citrus — almost bitter orange and lemon — next to salted black licorice, caramel malted ice cream, toffee candies, and marzipan cake covered with poppy seeds and vanilla wafers. The palate is pure sticky toffee pudding fresh out of the oven with a little bit of orange zest and flaked salt next to black-tea-soaked dates, sweet cinnamon, fresh nutmeg, rum-soaked caramel sauce, and a dollop of brandy butter with a twist of dark chocolate nibs. The end leans into the dates and marzipan with a touch of spiced fig jam and prunes dipped in creamy yet very dark salted chocolate.
This is so polar opposite of the last pour (and miles beyond most of this panel).
Taste 8
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
The nose greets you with a hint of Earl Grey next to rich toffee with a nice sense of apricot jam with a line of cinnamon and clove next to creamed honey and a touch of tangerine rinds and passion fruit-infused malts. The palate opens with a sweet oakiness next to vanilla pods before a hint of bruised peach arrives and slowly boils down to fresh mango, seared pineapple, and a hint of pomelo pith. The end dries out toward rummy macerated peaches and mango with a hint of dried banana leaves and warm brown spices.
This is delightful but very fruity, which all works well but does sort of make it feel like an old rum at times.
Taste 9
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This is dank on the nose with a mix of old dates packed into an old wooden box next to tart dried cranberries, lush and meaty prunes, and a lavish sense of stewed plums with dark winter spices that are cut with a hint of forest mushroom and thick green moss. The palate leans into thick and moist sticky toffee pudding with a hint of Pekoe tea, dates, and spicy cinnamon next to creamy eggnog, creamy salted caramel, dashes of orange oils, and dark-chocolate-covered espresso beans with a hint of sourness to them. The end is luxuriously smooth with a deep mix of bitter orange and espresso next to creamed marzipan and chocolate next to orchard wood dryness and a fleeting sense of powdered mushrooms and maybe a hint of mashed red berries.
This is just f*cking incredible. Like “best whiskey of the year” good.
Taste 10
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
The opens with a dried fruit salad brimming with brandy-soaked dried cherries with a hint of tartness to them, rum-soaked raisins, stewed plums, Earl Grey-soaked dates, and some prunes swimming in cinnamon syrup spiked with cloves, allspice, and star anise next to a hint of oakiness by way of an old dirt cellar floor. The palate leans into the dried fruit while layering in mulled wine spices with a sour yet sweet edge next to a hint of minced meat pie next to Christmas nut cake with plenty of fatty nuts and a hint of fig pudding. The end opens with a hint of red peppercorn spice next to dried vanilla pods, a twinge of date pits, and a whisper of huckleberry tobacco leaves.
And again, f*cking great. This is so nuanced and delicious. It’s old, sure, but that doesn’t get in the way of the subtle profile.
Part 2: The Ranking
Zach Johnston
10. Shelter Point Single Cask Whisky Canadian Single Malt — Taste 1
This British Columbia whisky is made with malted barley grown in BC. That juice then spends a few years aging near the sea before a single barrel was hand-selected, proofed, and bottled.
Bottom Line:
This was faulty from the jump. The diacetyl and ethanol dominated the nose and palate. Hard pass, unfortunately.
9. Morris Australian Single Malt Whisky Muscat Barrels — Taste 6
This whisky from Down Under is made with 100 percent locally grown malted barley in the mash. The juice is aged in Muscat wine barrels from local wineries for three years. Those barrels are then batched and proofed down with local pure water from the nearby Snowy Mountains.
Bottom Line:
This was very tannic and I liked it for having its own vibe. The only reason it’s so low is that it’ll be a lot for someone looking for a softer experience on the palate.
8. Bruichladdich The Organic Barley 2010 Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky — Taste 5
These special releases from Islay’s Bruichladdich are all about highlighting specific barley farms/farmers. In this case, the barley used is specifically from Mid Coul Farms in Inverness, Scotland, was harvested in 2009, and was distilled into this whiskey in 2010. After eight years mellowing next to the sea at Bruichladdich’s warehouse in ex-bourbon casks, the whiskey was vatted, proofed, and bottled.
Bottom Line:
This was nice but a little light for me today. I think I’d probably build this into a cocktail before I’d sip on it, though it feels like adding a rock will help it bloom in the glass a bit.
7. Lost Lantern 2022 Single Cask #15 Copperworks Distilling Washington Single Malt Whiskey Single Variety, Single Farm — Taste 2
This super rare release of only 225 bottles is all Washington state in a bottle. The juice is mashed from 100 percent Baronesse malted barley from Joseph’s Grainery in Colfax, Washington. The whiskey was loaded into a single 53-gallon barrel and left to settle for three years in Seattle before it was picked and bottled as-is.
Bottom Line:
This is where we start to get into the good stuff. This is very nice but a little milder than the rest of the list. That said, this over a rock would be pretty damn nice. So grab one of those bottles if you can.
6. Old Line American Single Malt Double Oak Series Sherry Cask — Taste 3
This Baltimore whiskey is made with 100 percent malted barley — Premium 2 Row Malt and Deep Roast Malt — before going into new American oak for exactly “3.6 years” (their metric). Once those barrels hit that sweet spot, they’re vatted and then re-barreled into ex-Olorosso sherry casks for a final ten-month rest.
Bottom Line:
This is a lush and easy-to-drink whiskey. I think I rated it a little higher (but also lower) due to it really tasting like a sweet American bourbon. If you’re looking for a bridge from bourbon to American single malt, this is it.
5. Indri Single Malt Indian Whisky Trini, The Three Wood — Taste 8
Indri
ABV: 46%
Average Price:
The Whisky:
This whisky starts off with Six-Row malted barley grown in Rajasthan. The whisky is then filled into three types of casks, ex-bourbon, ex-wine, and ex-sherry casks, and left to rest through extreme temperature shifts from season to season, ranging from 120+F in the summer to freezing in the winter. That, in turn, allows for a lot of expansion and contraction of the wood, which lets the spirit have more direct contact and rest with/from the wood.
Bottom Line:
This had a hint of butterscotch on the nose that was more like candy than burnt butter, which was nice. Then there was all the fruit. It was truly complex and built to a natural crescendo. That all said, I need to take way more time with this. It’s enticing but so fruity.
4. Starward Octave Barrels Single Malt Australian Whisky — Taste 4
This new whisky from Austrailia really leans into the old-school red wine tradition from Down Under. The 100 percent malted barley juice is aged in old shiraz red wine barrels that held Yalumba The Octavious from the oldest wine-making family in Australia. Those barrels were dumped in 2018 and Starward filled them with their whisky. Three years later, those barrels were vatted and just proofed with a little local water before bottling as-is.
This Highland single malt is classic malted whisky from The Dalmore that spends 14 years mellowing. Then The Dalmore’s Master Whisky Maker Gregg Glass hand-selects specific barrels for vatting and re-barreling in very rare Pedro Ximénez casks from the House of Gonzalez Byass in Spain. Once Glass deems those barrels just right, they’re vatted, proofed, and bottled exclusively for the U.S. market.
Bottom Line:
And here we go! This was fantastic. It’s deep and fun. The only reason it’s not a little higher is that it was not as mind-blowing as the next two.
2. MaltyVerse First Edition 30-Year-Old Single Cask Whisky — Taste 10
The first-ever whisky released as a comic book — and available in the U.S. right now — is way more than just a gimmick. The juice in this bottle is a super-rare 30-year-old whisky from the now-shuttered Cambus Distillery in Scotland. That means that you’re never seeing this whisky again. The actual juice was aged for three decades in first-fill ex-sherry butts (huge 500-liter barrels) and then bottled in 2021 with a touch of proofing water.
Bottom Line:
This was crazy good. It’s supple and subtle. The only reason it’s not first is that the next pour is a tiny bit more well-rounded. But that’s me reaching hard for something to nitpick.
1. The Yamazaki Single Malt Whisky Spanish Oak 2022 Edition — Taste 9
This single malt is all about marrying meticulously made Japanese whisky with Spanish oak. The malt whisky is aged exclusively in oak from Northern Spain. After the flavor profile hits the exact right depth, the barrels are vatted and proofed with a dash of water for bottling.
Bottom Line:
This is one of the best whiskies of 2022. Full f*cking stop.
Part 3: Final Thoughts
Zach Johnston
Yeah, I know. The expensive and rare stuff really cleaned up in this tasting. Not everything can be about value for money. Sometimes you have to accept that great whiskey is, well, great … and gonna cost ya.
Seriously though, that Yamazaki is so good it’s kind of painful that it’s so rare and fleeting. That could be my forever pour. It’s just delicious from top to bottom and hits every note so true. It’s like hearing Daniel Barenboim play Beethoven’s sonatas or watching Jake Kiszka play a 20-minute face-melting guitar solo for the first time with every sip.
In the end, you’ll be set with any of the bottles between number nine and three too. Just avoid that Shelter Point bottle at all costs.
Talib Kweli has never been afraid of hard work. In his quest to keep creative autonomy, he’s had to face down the record industry, fight racist trolls online, and, most recently, call out people he believes are culture vultures. Still, it seems like a pretty rewarding (often adventurous) path to walk when we hop on the phone for an interview, with the rapper phoning from an undisclosed location in Amsterdam — on the road with Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, and Yasiin Bey.
This two-pronged struggle surfaces in myriad ways in our interview — as the internet has been ablaze recently with articles about how the legacy and art of J. Dilla and MF DOOM have allegedly been exploited. Kweli has been vocal in stating that he blames record executive Eothen Alaplatt aka Egon, who he has openly deemed a “culture vulture.” It’s a phrase I asked him to define and expand on in our conversation, which also sheds light on his next project, his longstanding relationship with Luminary, Dave Chappelle’s role in Black Star, and the band’s upcoming live shows.
***
I’ve been listening to No Fear Of Time on Luminary and saw that you played with Yasiin at the Blue Note Festival. Do you guys have more shows on the way? Will you be playing spring festivals together? Any scoop you can share on what that looks like?
There are a lot of Black Star shows on the horizon. I don’t have the schedule in front of me but I do know there are a lot of deals floating around for shows. So I think we can look forward to seeing more Black Star on stage — Black Star started as a live thing anyway. We’ve recorded a lot of material. There are a lot of songs that we recorded that didn’t come out. We’re trying to figure out the best ways to put these songs out and retain our control, like we did with Luminary.
Your long anticipated Drink Champs with Yasiin and Dave Chappelle finally dropped. Can you speak to how Dave has supported Black Star over the years?
Oh, man. Dave is like the third member of Black Star. I met Dave Chappelle and became friends with him in the Black Star era. He has been very, very vital and instrumental in bringing Black Star to the masses. The first musical act on Chappelle’s Show was Yasiin Bey. The next musical act was Talib Kweli. Then we did Black Star on the show. I also did Chappelle’s Show again with John Legend later. So he’s not just supported who we are but put money in our pockets and provided his platform.
I’m on the road right now with Dave and Chris Rock. We have our podcast Midnight Miracle, so we’ve been doing podcast stuff during the day, but just the fact that he even has Yasiin and me with him for most of his shows… It’s amazing. The Black Star album, No Fear of Time, half of it was recorded in Europe. The other half of it was recorded at Dave Chappelle’s house, or backstage at a show.
The next music coming from you is Liberation II, correct?
That’s what I’m focused on and working on now. Whether or not that’ll be the next thing you hear from me I don’t know… most likely.
On social media recently, your name’s been popping up because you accused Madlib’s long-time business partner, Egon — Eothen Alapatt — of being a culture vulture. Can you unpack that?
There’s a lot to it. You know, and I wanna be careful here because I wanna speak for myself and I don’t wanna speak for J Dilla’s mom and MF Doom and Madlib, particularly. Especially not for Madlib because Madlib is still alive and he can speak for himself. I have my own personal stuff with Egon that I feel like I could speak to with clarity. It overlaps with some of the issues that he has with some of these other people. I feel like some of the things that have become public about him, that I had a hand in making some of this public, are relevant to my issue with him.
My relationship with Egon began in 2006 when I dropped Liberation with Madlib. My timing might be incorrect but he worked at Stones Throw and he had a falling out with Stones Throw. Madlib’s company is Madlib Invazion and Egon started Now-Again Records around then. At that same time, Madlib’s manager was Egon. We put that out and Madlib and Egon got into it.
Later, after a change in management, I started dealing with Egon on my own. I started working on Liberation II around 2012 or 2013. But by 2015, I was in conversation with Madlib and Egon, mostly Egon, about possibly putting out Liberation II through Madlib Invazion.
So you signed a deal with Egon?
There was a deal memo that we all signed and just said, “We’re gonna do it.” There was an amount of money discussed but I never received that money. And beyond the initial deal memo, we never did anything to get this album out. Yasiin decided he wanted to do the whole Black Star album over Madlib beats right? So now I’m reaching back out to Egon and I put Liberation II on the back burner because I thought “If anybody hears anything from me and Madlib next, it should be Black Star.”
When I told Egon that we weren’t gonna go with Madlib Invazion, that we were gonna go a different route, that’s when my problem with him started. He started becoming rude and belligerent. The way he was talking to me was as if he was at odds with me. I didn’t understand why someone who doesn’t make music would have any control over me, why he felt any type of way. Then the issue became “Okay, well we’re not gonna put it through your company. We still wanna pay Madlib. So how much does Madlib want for his advance?”
The amount Egon asked for was the whole advance. And he did that to show us that we wouldn’t be doing it without him — not without a fight.
How did you and Yasiin respond to his initial proposal?
That rubbed Yasiin and me the wrong way. We argued about this for months back and forth through emails. Those are the emails that I posted a week ago, where Egon is calling me a bully is because I was calling him out for trying to delay the Black Star album because he wasn’t getting what he wanted out of the deal.
How did all this impact your relationship personally or artistically with Madlib?
Madlib is a recluse. So my only conversation was with Egon. I wasn’t talking to Madlib about anything. So I had to trust that Egon was representing Madlib properly.
It devolved to the point where Egon bragged about the price of his home saying things like “I don’t even need money… I got money stashed in the walls.” And I just thought it was weird for someone’s manager to be bragging to me about how much money they got, as they’re negotiating on behalf of their client to a creative partner. I got to the point where I was frustrated with the fact that I couldn’t reach Madlib and I was frustrated with the fact that Egon seemed to be in the way.
How did you get around Egon to speak to Madlib?
I made, a social media post about it. My post was something about interlopers being in the way, and I’m not sure if it [No Fear Of Time] will ever come out. To his credit, Madlib reached out to me when I made that post and said “Can you please take that post down? Because this is involving my business,” which is a fair request. I took the post down immediately. But when I took the post down, I was like, “Listen, I still have an issue with the way that Egon is talking to me and you can do business with him. But if I’m gonna do business with you, I can’t do business if I have to deal with Egon.”
So Madlib made a caveat for me. He said, “Look, when it comes to Black Star business, when it comes to business that you and I have together, you don’t have to deal with Egon.”
Okay, boom, then we got to work. Me and Madlib had a conversation and about maybe two years after that conversation, the Black Star album comes out. Just from me being able to finally be in touch with Madlib and communicating artist to artist.
Did everything go smoothly after that?
There’s a sample on the Black Star album that Egon administered. Now-Again, records, essentially from my understanding, buys up catalogs of older soul artists, mostly Black artists, the type of artists that Madlib would sample. He’s providing Madlib with these records to sample from his own stack of music that he owns. So when Madlib samples something, they can clear it easily. They don’t have to worry about the sample clearance. But the problem is, now we’re asking for Black Star samples to be cleared that Egon administered. So now he’s, he’s like, “I’m not gonna clear that sample to the Black Star and Madlib album. I’m not even gonna tell you what that song is.”
Madlib has done interviews where he’s like, “I freestyle sample — I’m not paying attention to where the sample’s coming from.” Egon, being shrewd and dastardly, realized this years ago. So he’s like, “Madlib is not paying attention, but I’m gonna pay attention.” So when the money has to come in, for example, it gotta come into Egon. That’s like some real double-dipping type of shit.
We have the song called “National Sunday Law” — Egon knew the sample but refused to tell us. So I had to find out the name of the artist and I sat there and I listened to all their music and found the song myself. We were able to circumvent Egon. But that’s just one example of how he was actively putting himself in the way because he wasn’t involved in the album.
This feels like predatory sampling practices. Do you feel that is the case?
That whole sample clearance thing happened a year ago. But I feel like, it’s over, we got the album out. We don’t have to deal with Egon. Everything’s all good. Well, now we have LiberationII. So now there are two songs on the LiberationII album with samples. One is a song called “Pop Up, Pop Art.” I think the name of the band is The Hykkers. There’s another song that’s featuring Sticky Fingaz, Pete Rock, NIKO IS, and myself, the song is called “Neighbor.” I’ve shot videos of these songs because I’ve been working on this album for years. The videos are ready to go.
For those two songs we reached out to Egon cordially, as you would do, “Can you clear the samples for this project for your business partner, the reason that you have a three million dollar house and that money in the wall, can you clear the samples for me and Madlib?”
Where did it go from there?
I brought up the deal memo, I completely forgot about it because I didn’t get paid for it. If I got paid in 2015 for the deal memo between Egon and Madlib, I guarantee you, I would’ve turned that album in!
If you gave me money for the album, I would’ve given you an album. I wouldn’t have wanted that to be lingering. When asked for sample clearance what was Egon’s response? “Not only do I need to consider whether or not I wanna clear the sample, but I own the Liberation album.”
That’s what he said in the email.
So now you are finding out even more than you thought was happening?
I was like, “Let me read some articles.” I started reading articles and a couple of things jumped out at me. The first was an interview with Ma Dukes from last year. I posted it on my Instagram, Ma Dukes is explaining how Egon was taking advantage of her. He had this lawyer, Sheila Bowers, I would guess is her name — that’s his lawyer. He would sic her on me. But she was explaining how Egon was representing himself and making decisions on behalf of Jay Dilla. But she wasn’t with that.
So I was like, “Okay, that’s a huge red flag for me.”
What else did you find?
I came across another interview with a major magazine [Huck] in which Egon is talking about the legacy of releasing that last J Dilla record that they released. Egon said, “during the time we spent at that vulnerable space at the hospital, she told me it was okay [to work on The Diary]. When I took the role of creative director [of The Estate of James Yancey], I’d just listen to whatever she said and do it. But when she told me to shelve the record, I said ‘I can’t.’”
My question is — what’s physically stopping you from honoring this woman’s request of her son — who passed away? But you just made a whole shit ton of money off it?
If Egon were Black, would he be a culture vulture or would he be just an unkind executive in the music industry?
I think culture vulture to me has nothing to do with race because of a white supremacist system of status quo culture, vultures tend to be non-Black. He’s not a cultural vulture because he’s non-Black. The only reason I highlight the fact he’s non-black is to highlight the context of how often black artists are taken advantage of in the music industry, by non-Black people
There are plenty of Black culture vultures I’ve met. They just happen to be non-black a lot more. It’s not Egon being a non-Black person that makes him a culture vulture, it’s his actions.
What in your eyes are the most artistically respectful and business-balanced ways you would like to see Egon and others like him conduct themselves?
The people like Egon, with that mentality, should just leave us the fuck alone. Stay away from us and stop trying to be in the way. I worked hard. I worked hard to do the first Liberation with Madlib. I worked hard to do this one because of all these people in the way that are not me and Madlib.
It’s like, Egon is an agent. He’s agent Smith. He’s like a federal agent. He’s like a music business agent. Just in the way. And without respect, if you look at his Instagram, he’s like buying wine at Sotheby’s, that’s a flex, he’s flexing on us.
That’s like old-school colonial shit. “I’m buying that with the money I’ve made from a black artist, I don’t sing, rap, make a beat, nothing.”
He didn’t create anything. I’m not speaking for Madlib. Now-Again is considered a successful record label. His success is built on his association with Madlib. This is what gets him in the door, period. This is what puts him in the position to be able to run a successful record label. Anything that Madlib wants to sample, he should give to Madlib for free. That’s how I feel about it. If Egon controls any samples on Liberation II, regardless of how he feels about me, he knows that Madlib wants to Liberation II come out. I can say confidently that Madlib wants Liberation II to come out the same way Madlib wanted Black Star to come out.
You should give Madlib anything he wants for free, bro. Matter of fact, Madlib should get a percentage of everything Now-Again makes, to be honest with you. That would be fair. The second thing is you need to give MF DOOM’s family his rhyme book back.
Do you know how he got hold of it? What is that story?
I don’t know how he got ahold of it. If I had to guess, I would guess that he hasn’t made a public response. I would guess that he’s like “No, I don’t have it. Prove I have it.”But it’s not like the FBI’s gonna run into his house and find the book and take it. He’s not under threat of that. So he could just lie and be like, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
So there’s no real consequence from that besides his reputation. But I think he should apologize for saying publicly that Ma Dukes asked him to do something and he said, no. I think he should apologize for that. Then as far as everything else, he should just leave us alone, go drink your wines, listen to vinyl with Logic and whoever you be hanging out with. Do that, stop trying to be in the way of things. You got away with it, bro. You won. The heist is a success. You became a rich man off of Madlib. Take your winnings and your coins and your toys and your ascots, and scarves, and go away. Stay away from Black artists.
You have a social media philosophy that is 1) very clear to you, and 2) often something that friends, family, and strangers on the internet try to talk you out of. You have often said that you respect the right of even your best friends to unfollow you, but the approach you have to social media isn’t changing. Can you share why this has become such an essential piece of your being and what about it feels crucial to how you represent yourself publicly?
I don’t live like a celebrity. I never have, never will. I don’t behave the way people expect celebrities to behave because I’m an artist and celebrity has never been a goal of mine. The dope part about that is that it keeps my ear to the street. The problem with that is people who don’t normally have access to celebrities have access to me. Fame is a virtue to these people. It’s not to me. I’m not going to pretend I don’t see what the people are saying about us. I’m not going to live in some sort of celebrity echo chamber, that doesn’t sit right with my spirit.
At my core, I’m an anti-racist and I’m about social justice. As our lives become more meta and we spend more time online, racism and bigotry become more insidious. The algorithm is programmed to be racist. We do ourselves a disservice by ignoring this and saying that online racism ain’t real. Ignoring online racism got us Trump. Ignoring the language of internet trolls led to the insurrection at the capitol. I cannot in good conscience see this stuff and do nothing, and I am in a privileged position to be able to combat this stuff head-on without losing my job. People who actually do activist work thank me for supporting their voices. The ones who complain the most about how I spend my free time are the ones that do the least for our people.
Finally, what’s next for Talib Kweli?
Right now, Yasiin Bey, Dave Chappelle, and I are gearing up to release season two of Midnight Miracle on Luminary. It was recorded all over the world and I’m incredibly proud of this work. Liberation 2 with Madlib will be on Luminary as well as vinyl after the Luminary release. People’s Party is still going strong — headed into a third season and just dropping our Season 2 finale, with Yasiin Bey — and I am happy about that.
But honestly, what I’m most excited about is my kids’ music. My son Amani Fela was on that Alchemist Arman Hammer album last year and this year we are gearing up for his solo release. And my daughter Diani, who also works on People’s Party, just dropped an amazing lyric video for Lil Bit ft Chelsea Reject. 2023 is going to be an amazing year for Javotti Media and the Greene family.
Rye whiskey is often the most surprising whiskey on the shelf these days. Part of that is the stellar juice coming in from Canada and mingling with locally-grown sauce. Another part of it is simply the ingenuity behind the scenes at distilleries and blending houses across the country. The old days of “rye=spicy” are long gone and, now, rye ranges from funky to fresh to fruity to herb-driven — sometimes just on the nose. With that in mind, I thought it was high time for another rye whiskey blind taste test of some new fall drops.
For this blind taste test, I grabbed some brand new rye whiskeys that have landed on my desk. I’m going to dispense with the usual “this is all about taste for this ranking” and just get to this: These whiskeys were all pretty damn good. While there was a good distance between eighth and first place in my ranking, it wasn’t a Pacific Ocean-sized gap. The ranking on this one is more like a gentle slope from good to great.
In short, you’ll be fine if you pick up any of these bottles. I get it, that’s not much help, so onward we go. Our lineup today is:
Uncle Nearest Rye
Smooth Ambler Founders’ Cask Strength Series Rye Aged 5 Years Batch Two
Frey Ranch Single Barrel Rye Barrel Strength Barrel # 260
Lost Lantern 2022 Single Cask #14 Cedar Ridge Iowa Straight Malted Rye Whiskey
Redemption Sur Lee
A Midwinter Night’s Dram Limited Engagement Act 10 Scene 4
There’s a hint of fresh sourdough rye bread (the good real stuff you still get in Central Europe) next to a hint of fennel and almost woody black currants with a touch of soft cardamon. The palate leans toward dry wicker and fresh green herbs with a snap of spiciness (almost chive) next to woody cinnamon and allspice berries with a hint of spicy orange chocolate. There’s a hint of salt on the backend with a wonderfully layered dry cedar bark, herbal tobacco note, and a touch of dried nasturtium that ultimately leads to a silky vanilla/cinnamon finish.
Well, this is a winner. It’s delicious, complex, and very deeply layered while staying easy to drink.
Taste 2
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
There’s a hint of leather and pine tar on the nose with a hint of tart red berry and burnt toffee. The palate opens towards a bourbon vibe with dark cherry, soft vanilla cream, and light old oak staves with a hint of bitter dark cacao. The end leans into cinnamon bark and clove layered into a vanilla tobacco leaf that’s braided with wet cedar, dry leather, and old bouquet garni with a light sense of an old cheese cellar lurking on the very backend.
This is another stellar pour.
Taste 3
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
There’s a light sense of old orchard wood and dead leaves (that might just be my open window) with a twinge of potpourris, dried Italian seasoning, and a hint of strawberry soda. The palate leans into the sweet red berry vibe with a nice mix of spiced holiday cake, old leather, moist marzipan, and even some dried fig. The end gets warm a little woody with almond shells, singed apple wood (and maybe hickory?), a touch of root beer, and more of that old leather.
This is pretty nice but warm. It definitely needed a drop or two of water or a rock to calm it down.
Taste 4
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
A rush of chocolate malts greets your nose with a hint of lemon meringue pie, vanilla pudding cups, and a hint of oatmeal raisin cookie dough. The palate has a buttermilk biscuit dipped in dark chocolate sauce vibe next to cinnamon toast, old raisin boxes, and a light sense of orchard wood. The end leans into the fruit orchard with a hint of honey sweetness next to a mild dose of winter spices.
This was pretty damn nice too.
Taste 5
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
The nose on this is pretty broad with hints of bitter orange next to pecan, dried apricot, and a lot of spearmint gum with a sweet edge to it. The taste has notes of pecan waffle, eggnog, and marshmallow but ultimately ends up back at the spearmint. The end hints at lush vanilla and fresh fennel with a touch of dill next to old dried-up figs, soft cedar, and a hint of orange tobacco.
This was pretty nice but didn’t quite hit the heights of the last four pours.
Taste 6
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This feels like classic rye on the nose with brandied cherries dipped in woody winter spices next to burnt orange, cinnamon, and clove-spiked plum jam, and a hint of sour red wine by way of a mulled wine barrel. The palate has a nutty base with smooth vanilla next to spiced Christmas cakes full of candied and dried fruits and citrus rinds, plenty of nuts, dark spices, plenty of brown butter, and rummy molasses. The end hints at that mulled wine oak barrel next to rich toffee sweetness and a whisper of old leather, spiced tobacco, and lush vanilla cake.
This is realllllllly f*cking nice.
Taste 7
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This opens with Wether’s Original candies still in the wrappers next to dark cherry, fig jam, a whisper of espresso bean bitterness, and a touch of orange rind studded with cloves. The taste has a fruity saltwater taffy vibe next to vanilla, dried apricot, a touch of ginger candy, and some dark caramel. The end leans into woody spices — cinnamon, cloves, and some soft nutmeg — next to burnt orange and sweet caramel tobacco.
This was pretty solid but didn’t quite pop as much as the last pour.
Taste 8
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a cherry-forward nose next to vanilla beans, burnt orange, a hint of old leather, and a whisper of … lavender I think. The palate is woody with a soft oak and old wicker vibe next to sweet orchard woods and a hint of white moss next to a blackberry milkshake with a hint of vanilla. The end leans into the blackberry and ties it to cinnamon and menthol tobacco on the finish.
Again, this is ~good~ but it didn’t quite pop as much as the others.
This Brooklyn whiskey is made from grains grown in New York state. The juice is aged for at least three years before single barrels are hand-selected for their excellence and bottled with a touch of water.
Bottom Line:
As I mentioned in my tasting notes, this was perfectly fine. I like the blackberry milkshake vibe on the palate. It just didn’t quite have the same depth as the next pours.
This brand new whiskey from Redemption is going deep on drawing out flavors from the spirit and wood by utilizing the “wine less” method. Very basically, when MGP is contract distilling Redemption’s 95 percent rye, they take the backset or “whiskey lees” that usually would be redistilled and instead put that into the barrel to activate the wood before the heart cut of rye distillate goes into the barrel for its aging period. The barrels are then rolled and rotated throughout that aging spell before vatting, non-chill filtering, proofing, and bottling.
Bottom Line:
This was better than “fine” but was a little light on the palate. I think I’d use this for making a cracking cocktail.
6. Still Austin “The Artist” Straight Rye Whiskey — Taste 7
This Austin whiskey is made with 100 percent Texas rye. The juice is loaded into the barrel at a lower proof and the “slow watered” throughout the aging process so that the whiskey comes out of the barrel already proofed and ready for bottling.
Bottom Line:
I like this. It had a nice sweetness and fruitiness. I’d still likely use it for a good cocktail before I’d reach for it as a sipper.
This version of Frey Ranch is the farm and distillery in a single bottle. The juice is made with 100 percent Winter Cereal Rye grown on the ranch by Colby Frey, who also oversees harvesting and processing the grain for mashing. After several years of aging, single barrels of rye are chosen for these releases and they’re bottled without any fussing whatsoever.
Bottom Line:
This was a complex and interesting whiskey but it definitely needed a rock or some water. That said, there’s so much good going on in the nose and palate that I can forgive it that and just spend time diving deep into what’s in there. But yeah, you’ll need to add a rock…
4. Lost Lantern 2022 Single Cask #14 Cedar Ridge Iowa Straight Malted Rye Whiskey — Taste 4
This rare single barrel release from Lost Lantern only yielded 211 bottles. The juice in those bottles was hewn from a rye mash of 51 percent malted rye, 34 percent cereal rye, 12 percent corn, and a mere three percent malted barley. After distillation, the juice was loaded into classic 53-gallon barrels and left to mellow for six long years in Iowa.
Finally, this specific barrel was picked for non-chill filtration and bottling without any proofing.
Bottom Line:
This is where we basically get into the splitting-hairs portion of the ranking. This was delicious but just a tad less so than the next three.
3. Smooth Ambler Founders’ Cask Strength Series Rye Aged 5 Years Batch Two — Taste 2
This 100 percent West Virginia whiskey is made from a mash of 88 percent rye and 12 percent malted barley — no corn needed here, folks. The barrels are left to age in the Appalachia hills for five long years before coming together in tiny batches and bottled as-is at cask strength.
Bottom Line:
This is going to be a little harder to find (especially at MSRP). But it is worth the hunt. This is good whiskey, rye or not.
2. A Midwinter Night’s Dram Limited Engagement Act 10 Scene 4 — Taste 6
This whiskey starts off as High West’s famed Rendezvous Rye, which is a blend of MGP’s 95 percent rye (with five percent malted barley) batched with High West’s own 80/20 rye/malted rye juice. The difference here is that once that juice is vatted it is then re-barreled in both tawny and ruby port barrels for a final maturation stretch. Those barrels are then small batch blended and proofed down every so slightly before bottling.
Bottom Line:
Yup, this is a winner. It’s delicious and, frankly, could have been number one today. The only reason it’s not is that the next one had this little something extra that just couldn’t be beaten today.
This brand new juice from the multi-award-winning Master Blender, Victoria Eady-Butler, is a true traveling whiskey. The juice is made up in Canada with 100 percent locally grown rye, according to American straight rye whiskey specifications. That juice is then sent to New York where it is barreled and aged for at least four years. Finally, Eady-Butler steps in and selects the honey barrels and ships them to Tennessee where she blends this whiskey and bottles it as-is.
Bottom Line:
This is that funky and fresh whiskey that just shines from top to bottom. It’s so easy drinking while still offering a full journey across your palate and through your mind as it transports you. A true winner.
Part 3: Final Thoughts
Zach Johnston
Overall, I stick by my statement up top. These are all pretty damn fine whiskeys. I would say the top five are all stellar with the top whiskey really standing out as a beautiful pour of rye.
If you’re looking for a new whiskey, in general, that Uncle Nearest Rye is the one to get. If you’re looking for a great whiskey to show off on your bar cart and maybe hold onto for special occasions — the holidays are coming up — then I’d go with the Midwinter Night’s Dram from High West. It’s also a genuinely great pour of whiskey.
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