Maggie Rogers has revealed the title, cover art, and release date of her much-anticipated second album, Surrender. Recorded in her parents’ garage, Electric Lady Studios in New York City, and Peter Gabriel‘s Real World Studios near Bath, England, Surrender offers 12 tracks detailing her process of winding down amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2020, following the success of her debut album Heard It In A Past Lifethe year before, Rogers was ready to restore her equilibrium. COVID catalyzed this process, prompting Rogers to relocate “to the coast of Maine and completely cut herself off from the noise of the outside world,” according to a statement. Her time reading, resting, and basking in the nature of the North Atlantic ocean inspired her to write and create music with that same sense of exploration.
In the album’s trailer, co-directed by Michael Scanlon, Rogers reveals a clip of new music, and says:
“When I’m angry or in love, I feel it in my teeth.
Strange harmonic buzzing.
Cuts through my hands.
My jaw.
My breast bone.
For a long time I fought it. Resisted. Held up my fists.
Tried to hold the current. Foolish.
I found peace in distortion. A chaos I could control.
Turned the drums up real loud hoping they could shock me back in.
Break the numbness.
Let the bright lights drag me out.
Do you fear what’s underneath? Is your jaw wound tight?
Do you ever want to bite?
And what if you did?
Sink your gums into a shoulder.
Of a lover.
Of a day.
Of a year.
We were 18. We were 23. I’m 27 now.
Here’s all I have. It’s yours to take.
Love. Hate. Anger. Feral joy.
This is the story of what happened when I finally gave in.
Can you let go?
Can you feel it all?
Can you?”
Watch the trailer above and find the Surrender cover art below.
Courtesy of Capitol Records
Surrender is out 7/29 via Capitol. Pre-save it here.
Peated Scotch whisky is perhaps the most divisive style of whisky. This earthy dram tends to either be beloved to the deepest reaches of your soul from the very first sip or hated for life with the fire of a thousand suns without much in between.
I tend to fall in the latter camp, but that really depends on the smokiness of the juice. Phenols are what people love or hate with peated whisky. Speaking very generally, “peated barley” is barley that has been introduced to moisture to begin the germination process (sprouting), then dried using smoke from peat — a type of mossy, carbon-rich soil that can be used as fire fuel — to halt germination and complete the malting process.
While that drying process happens, the malts are imbued with phenols. Which then manifest a certain set of flavors into the wash, the distillate, and eventually, the finished whisky. Think: medicinal, iodine-laced, minerally, earthy, smoky, ashy, umami, fatty, bitter, and, yes, smoky. But, as with all tasting notes in whisky, there are varying degrees to the softness and severity of those notes. That can actually be measured by the PPM (parts per million) of those phenols. 70 to 80 PPMs is very high. 50 to 60 is pretty average. 30 to 40 is low. 20 is pretty much the lowest you’ll find in the mainstream. Again, all of this varies the deeper you go.
Science aside, in order to parse out these peated whiskies, I decided it was high time for a blind taste test and ranking. I grabbed eight peated Scotch whiskies (both single malts and blends) at random from my shelves, had my wife pour them for me, and dug in.
Today’s lineup:
Talisker 8 The Rogue Seafury
BenRiach The Smoky 12
Ardbeg Wee Beastie
Johnnie Walker 18
Laphroaig An Cuan Mor
Bowmore 15
Caol Ila Distillers Edition
Compass Box Glasgow Blend
Let’s get tasting!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Scotch Whisky Posts of The Last Six Months
The sip opens with a matrix of smoked fruits, sea spray, iodine, and dry nori sheets with a hint of wet forest floor and wet marble countertops. The taste leans into smoked sea salt with an echo of dried rose, hints of green bell pepper, and dirty firewood bark. The mid-palate leans into that black dirt as smoked stone fruits lead toward a spicy tobacco vibe at the very end.
Taste 2
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Band-Aids, dark chocolate powder, and sandalwood drive the nose but stay pretty light. That lightness carries on to the palate with a dark chocolate orange next to a grapefruit pith with an earthy moss underbelly. The finish has a whisper of old campfire ash the morning after a cookout with a little more of that Band-Aid.
Taste 3
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Alcohol-soaked dried fruits mingle with saffron stewed pears and a vanilla woodiness that leans into dry peat on the nose. The taste is somewhat briny with smoked pears that lead to smoked bacon fat and black ash. The finish feels like fresh asphalt with smoked pear tobacco that’s been dipped in salty water.
Taste 4
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This is incredibly soft with applewood mingling with buttery toffee, worn leather, and winter spice on the nose. The palate is all caramel and marzipan as vanilla pudding layers with soft spice, fresh tangerines, and dark chocolate. That choco vibe lasts into the finish with sweet spices and dried chili rounding out the lightly peated end.
Taste 5
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a nutty nose next to old leather, oat biscuits, and a hint of Ace bandage. Raisins and plum skins drive the palate toward a medicinal vibe countered by a spicy nut with a hint of honey. The finish moves from light wood toward vanilla tobacco with a final spray of Windex.
Taste 6
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Smoked chocolate malts draw you in as smoked raisins, dates, and figs round out the nose with old leather and sourdough scones. A cedar box full of spicy tobacco opens the palate as Caro Syrup sweetens the whole taste toward more dried fruits. The finish holds onto those dried fruits as cinnamon oat cakes mingle with sweet tobacco on the slow fade out.
Taste 7
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Smoked apricot, honey, dark chocolate powder, and star anise drive the nose. The palate is bold with crispy salmon skins next to anchovy oils countered by smoked salt toffee candy, orange oils, and dark stone fruits. The finish leans into the fatty smoked salmon vibes as the smoke and peat lean towards a dampened seaside campfire after a rainstorm.
Taste 8
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Smoked prunes, nutmeg, and cherry lead the way on the nose. The palate is fairly thin with hints of smoked malts with a spicy edge, dry straw, almond shells, and ripe plums. The finish has a touch of a cold fireplace and BBQ charcoal next to a thin layer of dried figs and plums.
The base is a mix of unpeated and peated malted barley. Those juices are then mellowed for at least 12 years in a combination of ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, and ex-Marsala wine casks. The results are then blended by whisky icon Dr. Rachel Barrie into this arresting whisky.
Blind Tasting Notes From Above:
Band-Aids, dark chocolate powder, and sandalwood drive the nose, but stay pretty light. That lightness carries on to the palate with a dark chocolate orange next to a grapefruit pith with an earthy moss underbelly. The finish has a whisper of old campfire ash the morning after a cookout with a little more of that Band-Aid.
Bottom Line:
This was perfectly fine. There was no wow factor but it did deliver a mild peated whisky. Still, this feels more like a mixing whisky than a sipper.
“An Cuan Mor” means “Big Ocean” in Gaelic. This whisky leans into the ocean by being aged right next to the sea on Islay. The whisky spends years maturing in first-fill ex-bourbon casks. After a while (there’s no age statement), the whisky is then transferred to ex-sherry casks made from European oak. Those barrels are then vatted and proofed down with that soft Islay water before bottling.
Blind Tasting Notes From Above:
This opens with a nutty nose next to old leather, oat biscuits, and a hint of Ace bandage. Raisins and plum skins drive the palate toward a medicinal vibe, countered by a spicy nut with a hint of honey. The finish moves from light wood toward vanilla tobacco with a final spray of Windex.
Bottom Line:
This was a bit much in the opposite direction. The Ace bandage and Windex are a lot to take in. Still, there was a clear presence of each flavor on the nose and palate. It just really wasn’t for me.
This is a new-ish expression from Ardbeg (it was released in April of 2020). The juice is aged for only five years in both ex-bourbon and ex-oloroso sherry casks before marrying for the final product. The idea is to give a sense of the quality of the peaty juice from Port Ellen’s malting house without too much wood influence.
Blind Tasting Notes From Above:
Alcohol-soaked dried fruits mingle with saffron stewed pears and a vanilla woodiness that leans into dry peat on the nose. The taste is somewhat briny with smoked pears that lead to smoked bacon fat and black ash. The finish feels like fresh asphalt with smoked pear tobacco that’s been dipped in salty water.
Bottom Line:
This felt a little young on the palate without a lot of depth, especially for an Ardbeg. The phenols, or peat, were off the charts with that asphalt vibe, and that sort of muted everything else. At the very least, it was a point of view; and as with the Laphroaig above, that counts for a lot.
This expression is a marrying of whiskies from all over Scotland. 65 percent of the juice comes from single malts from a “distillery near the town of Aberlour,” Laphroaig, and Clynelish. The rest is part Highland malt blend (from the Glen Moray, Tomatin, and Balmenach distilleries) and a grain whisky from Cameronbridge distillery. Those whiskies were barreled in sherry and bourbon casks with a French oak barrel thrown in too.
Blind Tasting Notes From Above:
Smoked prunes, nutmeg, and cherry lead the way on the nose. The palate is fairly thin with hints of smoked malts with a spicy edge, dry straw, almond shells, and ripe plums. The finish has a touch of a cold fireplace and BBQ charcoal next to a thin layer of dried figs and plums.
Bottom Line:
This was another whisky that was just fine. It was smoky, fruity, and easy to drink. That said, I would likely lean more towards using this as a cocktail base for a great drink than a sipper.
This blend used to be called Johnnie Walker Platinum, which was also aged for 18 years. You might still see some of those bottles on shelves where scotch sells slowly. This is the same juice, which is comprised of 18 whiskies all of which are a minimum of 18 years old. The primary distilleries in the bottle are Blair Athol, Cardhu, Glen Elgin, and Auchroisk.
Blind Tasting Notes From Above:
This is incredibly soft with applewood mingling with buttery toffee, worn leather, and winter spice on the nose. The palate is all caramel and marzipan as vanilla pudding layers with soft spice, fresh tangerines, and dark chocolate. That choco vibe lasts into the finish with sweet spices and dried chili rounding out the lightly peated end.
Bottom Line:
This was soft and nice. That saved it a lot as it was also one of the lighter whiskies on this list. Lightness aside, there was real flavor in this whisky that stood out and made sense. It’s well-rounded and inviting. It’s just not very bold.
This bottle from Islay’s Bowmore is a 15-year-old whisky that’s a blend of American and European oak. For the first 12 years, this whisky rests in ex-bourbon barrels. For the last three years, the whisky is transferred to Oloroso sherry casks. The whisky is then finished with local spring water, bringing it down to a very approachable 86 proof.
Blind Tasting Notes From Above:
Smoked chocolate malts draw you in, as smoked raisins, dates, and figs round out the nose with old leather and sourdough scones. A cedar box full of spicy tobacco opens the palate as Caro Syrup sweetens the whole taste toward more dried fruits. The finish holds onto those dried fruits as cinnamon oat cakes mingle with sweet tobacco on the slow fade out.
Bottom Line:
This was just … nice. There was nothing overtly off-putting about the low phenols, and that lack of heavy peat meant that more nuanced flavors could shine through. Overall, this felt like a great end-of-day sipper that’d also work wonders in a cocktail. It’s versatile and delicious.
This year’s Talisker sticks with the classic age statement of 8-years while leaning into the smokier side of the island whisky. The build on this expression is a marrying of the “Smokiest Reserves” from the Talisker warehouse. That juice is vatted and bottled at cask strength.
Blind Tasting Notes From Above:
The sip opens with a matrix of smoked fruits, sea spray, iodine, and dry nori sheets with a hint of wet forest floor and wet marble countertops. The taste leans into smoked sea salt with an echo of dried rose, hints of green bell pepper, and dirty firewood bark. The mid-palate leans into that black dirt as smoked stone fruits lead toward a spicy tobacco vibe at the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is freakin’ delicious. It’s so complex and unique while still feeling dialed in and accessible. The only fault is that it wasn’t quite as funky as it could have been, which is why it’s just shy of first place.
This yearly release from the tiny Islay distillery, Caol Ila, is all about the finish. The 12-year-old juice is finished in Moscatel sherry casks to give it a truly deep fruitiness next to that briny Islay peat.
Blind Tasting Notes From Above:
Smoked apricot, honey, dark chocolate powder, and star anise drive the nose. The palate is bold with crispy salmon skins next to anchovy oils countered by smoked salt toffee candy, orange oils, and dark stone fruits. The finish leans into the fatty smoked salmon vibes as the smoke and peat lean towards a dampened seaside campfire after a rainstorm.
Bottom Line:
It was close between this and the Talisker above. But, Caol Ila won out for that little bit more depth and funk. This really is a bold whisky that has a softness that’s very enticing. You’re never overwhelmed by the flavor notes and they all build to a bigger whole at the end. It’s truly a classic pour of whisky.
Part 3: Final Thoughts
Zach Johnston
Overall, I’m not that surprised by this outcome. I love Caol Ila and Talisker deeply. What can I say? I dig that seaside funkiness and lower-peated vibe.
In the end, I think my first statement up top remains true. These whiskies are going to be very hit and miss for folks, especially if you’re coming from the very sweet bourbon world. Sweetness is not the name of the game with these. This is about earthiness, fruit, and smoke with the side of the ocean in all its glory. If you’re into that, these are for you, especially the Caol Ila and Talisker.
As fans eagerly await the return of Bill Hader’s hit TV show Barry on April 24th, Hader has been opening up about his anxiety both on and off-screen.
“Anxiety is always fighting those voices in your head saying, ‘Here’s all the bad things that are going to happen,’” the actor told The Hollywood Reporter. “Weirdly, I have a harder time with day-to-day stuff, as opposed to running a TV show.”
One of the things that helps Hader’s anxiety, as it turns out, is sugar. Lots of sugar! The Saturday Night Livealum admits that sweets are his coping mechanism. “I’ve walked to Vons at midnight with a spoon in my pocket because I know I’m going to buy ice cream and I’m going to eat it on the way back,” he says. “The minute it’s mine, I’m eating this shit and I’ll probably finish it before I get back home. And it just makes me feel like a piece of shit. But, yeah, that’s my stress thing.” He is definitely not alone in that.
The actor also told a story about leaving the SNL set on a Friday at 2 am, eating an Entenmann’s coffeecake with his bare hands in an aisle of the iconic New York City supermarket Gristedes. “The shame of bringing the empty box up to the cashier and him being like, ‘Dude,’” Hader says. “And I was like, ‘Yeah, man,” Hader said.
Despite his anxieties, Hader serves as executive producer, writer, and director on the upcoming season Barry. Henry Winkler, who also stars on the show, says Hader never let his apprehension show. “He used to mouth your words,” Winkler says. “He knew everybody’s lines because he wrote them, he and his wonderful staff. And you would see him saying your line with you and you would have to say, ‘Bill, Bill, you’re mouthing the words again.’”
While Barry season three was written pre-pandemic, Hader admits to having to go in and do re-writes to appeal to audiences as the times have changed. “We were trying to get more to the reality of things,” Hader says. “Are we getting to the honesty of this, the brutal honesty of it? Are we going too far? Is this too silly? Is this too disturbing?” Since fans have been eagerly waiting nearly three years for a new season, odds are good that they will stick around for this season.
Barry season three premieres on HBO on April 24th.
Mother Mother formed in 2005 and have released eight albums across their career. In summer 2020, the Vancouver indie rock band experienced a curious phenomenon: Several older songs, including “Hayloft” and “Arms Tonite” from their second album, 2008’s O My Heart, suddenly became massively popular on TikTok.
Nearly two years later, vocalist Ryan Guldemond says Mother Mother still have no idea how the band’s music found this new audience. “There’s no Patient Zero, you know?” he says, Zooming in from Vancouver. “I think that’s what adds to the beauty of it. It’s just so cloaked in mystery.”
However, this newfound popularity has buoyed the band as they released a new album, 2021’s Inside, and started touring again. Guldemond checked in and shared the impact of their TikTok fame, how it’s influenced the band today and what they’ve learned from the situation.
When were you first starting to get the sense that the songs were taking off?
We noticed that our other platforms were growing, such as Spotify and YouTube. It didn’t make sense, because we were off-cycle [and not releasing or promoting new music]. There was nothing new happening for us at that time. But our management was able to trace the growing metrics to TikTok and noticed that there was a large community of young people vibing, connecting, and sharing early Mother Mother music. That was driving the streams on the other platforms and the hits on other platforms. So it started to make sense.
I like that your earlier work was connecting. When you’re a younger musician, you’re maybe a little less self-conscious when making music, and you’re trying to figure out your voice. It’s interesting that fans really gravitated toward that era specifically.
Yeah. I think that it’s a classic syndrome that the early work is often [freer] by virtue of its naivete. You haven’t failed or succeeded yet. And both of those outcomes can interfere with the creative process. Because if you succeed, then you’re trying to recreate it—and if you fail, then you’re trying to reinvent. All of that trying, it’s so heady. It’s so intellectual. Creativity is anything but cranial. It’s a heartspace endeavor.
I would imagine it’s probably gratifying that the popularity on TikTok translated to other platforms — that people were like, I really like this music so much, I want to follow the band. What did that mean for you as a musician?
It’s the best result when the introduction gives way to a substantial relationship. TikTok is the gateway. People are introduced to your aura, your image, and are then prompted to take a bigger leap onto a streaming platform and try to digest an album as a whole. You know, if you pass that test, then they start venturing into other platforms, like YouTube, to really sink into the visuals. We noticed that the trend was people sticking around and passing through these doors and entering the community, the world that is the band, and staying. We’re lucky that this TikTok moment is actually translating into meaningful fanship.
You started the band’s TikTok account after the songs started taking off. What was your strategy? What did you expect? And were there any surprises you discovered when you really started spending time on the platform?
I didn’t have much of a strategy. I was flailing and making mistakes. Learning and trying not to take it — or myself — too seriously, and not worrying about casting the right image. [I was] trying to trust that you’re being yourself and being authentic, then you can’t lose.
What I noticed really worked for us was making it known and felt that we were actually seeing this community and acknowledging their interests and subcultures. [We were] partaking in those various conversations by dueting, by advocating, by celebrating. Teenage culture is so big for them at that time in their life. So I think it’s pretty powerful for maybe their mentors, or the people they look up to, to acknowledge that and say, “Hey, I see you. I see what you stand for.”
You probably remember being a teenager — all you wanted was to be heard as you’re trying to figure yourself out. Having that support and getting that validation, even a tiny little bit, means so much to teenagers at that age.
It wasn’t anything that we had to feign either. It was very easy to celebrate and encourage what we were seeing because it’s amazing. Gen Z and the youth of today are pretty bright and curious and don’t suffer antiquated foolish notions easily. I think it’s inspiring.
Did having this younger generation discover the songs give the band any more insights into the songs? Or different insights? Considering the fact there was a gap between when they were released and when they hit.
All of that early music was written without any premeditation, which is the best. [It’s that moment] when you sit down with a guitar and a song arrives and there’s a story that was complete with or without you, seemingly. You just so happened to be there for when it found its form in the world.
[These songs] meant the world in that they felt amazing. But they weren’t extensions of our personal narrative. They weren’t autobiographical. I don’t know where all of that language came from. Because they’re pretty wild, these songs. The lyrics, the stories. It’s verbose and it’s abstract and it’s eccentric and dark. It’s a lot of stuff. But as I recall, it just kind of happened.
And now, to learn what it means through other people has been amazing. It’s like, “Wow, now I understand what that song means.” A lot of these interpretations are so powerful and spot on. It’s like, “Oh, I can’t believe I didn’t see that!” All of those years of playing that song or recording or writing it, it’s wild that I skipped over the obvious themes within this music.
That’s really powerful all those years later to have those insights. It’s like when you read a book at a certain age, and you read it years later, and you see all these different layers when you have more life experiences and more insights. A piece of art is a living, breathing thing.
You’d think you would have more to say about your own art, that you wouldn’t need to rely on the interpretation to understand it more. But I like that, because it suggests that it’s beyond you, and that you aren’t the author. You know that old cliché, that you’re a conduit. I do like the conduit philosophy. I feel like it adds humility to the creative process. It also strips the ego from it. So yeah, this has all really kind of emblazoned that idea for me.
You had a new record that came out last year. Did the specter of this blooming popularity hover over the record at all? If so, in what ways? How did that sort of shape the music you were making going forward?
I don’t know if we were lucky or unlucky to be unwitting to what was going on as we were writing our latest record, but we were. We had no idea this was happening when the new songs were being written. I think that was probably a good thing. There might have been pressure to emulate the old magic and to capitalize on the new attention. So, that record was made free of any of that. I think it was a really authentic portrayal of where we were in 2020 as artists and as creatives. I love it. I’m really proud of it. But it wasn’t until we were mixing it and kind of packaging it that we were aware of what was going on with TikTok. It didn’t really influence it, it just made it really exciting to be observing this thing happening while we were finishing something that was disconnected from it.
That’s great timing, because you’re like, “Great, we have all this popularity, and we have something new coming.” You couldn’t have timed it better. But I like that it’s not self-conscious, because that’s very much how those original songs were made. There’s that same feeling that there’s not pressure on it. There’s not that something on your shoulders.
Yeah, and I mean, moving forward, I think the message is one of liberation, as it relates to writing new music. The old music getting this stamp of widespread approval is reminding us that we can—and anyone can—do whatever they want in the creative space with songwriting. Nothing has to be formulaic. Nothing has to abide by any rules. In fact, it’s better when it doesn’t, so long that it’s coming from a channeled and free space. We’re quite thankful for that message, for the permission that we realize now we never needed to just simply be free, to make art and songs unfettered by the rulebook.
Touring has obviously been a little more challenging in recent years. Have you seen crowds change at all?
We just went on a US tour for a month. We’ve been traveling and touring in the US for 15 years. But it was interesting, because these shows, everyone was there seeing the band for the first time. And it was teenagers for the most part. A thousand-plus teenagers in a room every night. We’d ask, “Who is seeing the band for the first time?” Every hand in the house went up. So that would only suggest that the people that used to come and see us that would have come and seen us just weren’t able to get tickets because these kids were hot on the pulse. That was a really bizarre and shocking environment to walk into.
Obviously, it was very exciting. Such good fortune. But it was a new introduction and it was a first impression. It was high octane, young, exuberant energy. You know, we really had to give a lot and do right by this opportunity to greet these folks for the first time and make their inaugural experience worth it. So yeah, the stakes were high and it was amazing.
That’s a lot considering the fact you’re coming back after having time off because of the pandemic and then you have to walk into this. That could be a lot of pressure.
Yeah, I guess it was a lot of energy. Coming off of the pandemic, we were humbled by how tired we got so easily. It was like, “Wow, we don’t remember touring being so tiring.” But it was a good kick in the ass. We came home and said, “Okay, it’s time to train for the road.” You know, in a new way, like Rocky-style. So yeah, we’re pretty inspired and driven right now to greet the rest of this robust touring cycle with some big energy that we create ourselves.
You’ve got to actually do your vocal practice while you’re doing cardio. Like Beyonce — they’re on the treadmill and they’re doing lip trills.
That’s a TikTok video right there. There’s some quality viral content. What other unexpected things have you been able to have because of this experience?
Gosh, I mean, just seeing the world in a way that we haven’t and didn’t think we would. That’s a big part of it. The world is really opened up. We’ve never played Dublin and we’re going to Dublin. You know, small things like that. Or big things like that, depending how you look at it. It’s big to us.
You know, ultimately, the freedom. It’s nice to feel like we have complete freedom to be ourselves musically and do whatever it is that we want to do. That might be the most profound thing.
Inside is out now via Warner Records. Get it here.
Mother Mother is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
If Andrew Giuliani grew up wanting to be just like his dad, former New York City Mayor-turned-total crackpot Rudy Giuliani, he has succeeded. And by that, we mean: He successfully made a very public ass of himself while making some deplorable comments during at a far-right rally.
As The Daily Beast reports, Giuliani the Younger’s comments came over the weekend, where he attended a rally in Long Island, outside of a train station, hosted by Long Island Loud Majority—a group that the Southern Poverty Law Center has branded an “extreme anti-government group.” Which is probably not the group a man running for governor necessarily needs to spend time courting. But court he did. And when talk turned to rights for transgender individuals, Andrew wants absolutely zero—and figured out an awfully creepy way to express his anti-trans sentiments by describing how he had “looked under” his fourth-month-old daughter’s “hood.”
She “made a promise to me on the first day, right? My wife was sleeping, and I’m holding her [my daughter] in my arms. And I get emotional thinking about it, but she made a promise with me. She shook my hand and I said, ‘I’m the only boyfriend till you’re 25 years old, shake hands.’
“Shook my hand. So I have changed the diapers. I have looked under the hood. She’s a woman. I’m gonna be the last guy in a long time that looks under the hood right there. But guess what? She was born a woman and she’s gonna stay a woman, it’s that simple.”
Again: Ewww!
When asked for further comment on his anti-trans stance, Giuliani’s office simply told The Daily Beast that “while Andrew does not claim to be a biologist, he can tell the difference between a male and a female.” This means that he can distinguish biological sex, not gender, but there’s probably no reasoning with the son of man who married his own cousin.
Amy Schumer promised she would “burn every bridge” while hosting the Oscars, and while she probably didn’t burn any bridges (except with Kirsten Dunst fans) she did experience one of the most chaotic shows of all time. While many celebs are divided on where they stand regarding Will Smith slapping Chris Rock, first-time host Amy Schumer says the event was “traumatic.”
Schumer made a lengthy post on Instagram commenting on the debacle, starting out by joking about her new Hulu show Life & Beth.
“I think we can all agree that the best way to unpack what happened is to stream my series @lifeandbethhulu and see me on tour this fall,” the comedian started. She then went on to address the controversy, saying she is “still in shock and stunned and sad.”
“But for real. Still triggered and traumatized,” The post started. “I love my friend @chrisrock and believe he handled it like a pro. Stayed up there and gave an Oscar to his friend @questlove and the whole thing was so disturbing. So much pain in @willsmith anyway I’m still in shock and stunned and sad. Im proud of myself and my cohosts. But yeah. Waiting for this sickening feeling to go away from what we all witnessed.”
On the live broadcast, shortly after The Slap, Schumer made a joke about how the “vibe” changed, but managed to recover with her co-hosts.
Will Smith has since apologized for the slap, and many celebs have either joked about the event or criticized it. It seems like Hollywood will be talking about this for several more weeks…or unless something really big happens at the Grammys this Sunday.
The Recording Academy and CBS have slowly but surely been unveiling their huge list of artists who are set to perform at this year’s Grammy Awards ceremony (this weekend, on April 3). They’ve unveiled even more artists today and joining the list are Silk Sonic, Carrie Underwood, J Balvin, John Legend, and Maria Becerra. Furthermore, press materials note Silk Sonic (aka Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak) will be opening the show.
It is hitting ALL the right notes.
Check out our third round of performers and watch them take the #GRAMMYs stage LIVE, this Sunday at 8pm ET/5pm PT on CBS. pic.twitter.com/EnR6w5Sp86
These artists join a performance lineup that includes BTS, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Lil Nas X with Jack Harlow, Brandi Carlile, Brothers Osbourne, Foo Fighters, Nas, HER, Jon Batiste, Chris Stapleton, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., and Rachel Zegler. (Presumably, Foo Fighters will no longer be appearing since the band just canceled all their upcoming tour dates following the death of Taylor Hawkins.)
Silk Sonic is up for some big nominations this year, as “Leave The Door Open” is up for Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Best R&B Performance, and Best R&B Song. Balvin’s Jose is also nominated for Best Música Urbana Album.
Find the full list of 2022 Grammy nominations here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Ahead of the release of their hotly anticipated third album, Blue Water Road, Kehlani has premiered their Justin Bieber-assisted collaboration, “Up At Night.”
On “Up At Night,” Kehlani sings of love and infatuation over a cooing, thumping groove, offering a throwback vibe that still manages to feel ahead of its time. The Biebs comes in on the second verse, promising someone, presumably his wife Hailey, “even when the sun don’t shine, I’ll be right by your side.”
“It’s about having a healthily obsessed relationship,” said Kehlani of the song in a statement. “You’re telling someone, ‘I love you so much it keeps me awake at night’. I love what Justin did, and it’s such a fun one to dance to.”
“Up At Night” marks the pair’s second collaboration, their first being “Get Me” from Bieber’s 2020 album, Changes.
Blue Water Road is Kehlani’s first album since confirming they prefer to use they/them pronouns. The bulk of the album was written and produced with Pop Wansel while the singer was on vacation.
Check out “Up At Night” above.
Blue Water Road is out 4/29 via Atlantic. Pre-save it here.
Kehlani is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
For the first time in NCAA Tournament history, the Duke and North Carolina men’s basketball programs are set to meet. The long-time rivals will face off Saturday in the Final Four, battling for a berth in Monday’s national championship game.
Coincidentally, country star and UNC basketball fan Eric Church was scheduled to perform the same day at San Antonio’s AT&T Center. That show is no more after Church announced in a message to attendees it will be canceled so he can watch the game with family and friends.
“As a lifelong Carolina basketball fan, I’ve watched Carolina and Duke battle over the years,” he said, “but to have them matchup in the Final Four for the first time in history of the NCAA Tournament is any sports enthusiast’s dream.”
Church described this move as “the most selfish thing” he’s “ever asked of the Church Choir.
“However, it’s the same type of passion felt by the people who fill the seats at our concerts that makes us want to be part of a crowd at a game of this significance,” he said.
County music star and #UNC super fan Eric Church has canceled his show in San Antonio on a Saturday, April 2 so they he can go watch #UNC play #Duke in the Final Four with his family. pic.twitter.com/CSeBwpd9wM
Among the Church Choir on Facebook, many were unhappy and expressed dismay. One person even called Church a “clown” and received quite a few upvotes on their comment. Having said that, we have a hunch that basically every Carolina fan is going to try and cancel their plans with the hopes that their team will unceremoniously usher Mike Krzyzewski into retirement.
Cheap bourbon is one of the delights of the whiskey industry. That you don’t need to spend a crazy amount to get perfectly drinkable bourbon across the country is part of bourbon’s beauty. That’s not to say there isn’t plenty of watery garbage out there, there is. That paradox, that there’s so much good stuff out there and simultaneously so much crap, can make it overwhelming for the novice whiskey connoisseur to know where to start. That’s where our “double-blind” taste test comes in.
To help you get started (or maybe just reset) with inexpensive bourbon that actually tastes good, I’m going to have my wife pull from cheap bottles off the shelves, pour a little into Glencairns, and log everything. Not only will I not know what I’m drinking, I’m going into this tasting with no idea what bottles will even be included. And I’ll be ranking based on taste alone.
The only directions I gave to my spouse were to grab “small batch” or standard labels, and don’t bother with the Old Crow (I already know that stuff is watery garbage). I ended up with eight bourbons in the $10 to $25 range, based on prices at Total Wine in Louisville, Kentucky.
Get it? Good.
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
This has a very distinct nose that ventures from vanilla-soaked leather to a very clear sense of allspice berries and ground clove with a hint of cornbread batter and soft oak. There’s a light sense of caramel apples leading toward Johnnycakes covered in butter and honey with a light nutmeg lurking in the background. The finish arrives with a hint of dry reeds that ends up on a vanilla cream with brown spices.
Taste 2
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Soft vanilla extract mingles with black pepper, winter spices, and smooth suede on the nose. The palate starts with an orange-oil heavy Christmas cake with almonds and dried fruit that turns into cherry cough drops on the mid-palate. The finish leans into dry yet sweet oak and green peppercorns with a touch of that cherry popping back in.
Taste 3
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with mild leather, brown spices, light caramel, sour vanilla cream, and a hint of dried green mint stems. There’s thin cinnamon on the front of the palate that leads to vanilla pudding cups (but kind of like licking the lid), apple tobacco, and dry cornbread. The mid-palate is sweet with a “brown sugar” vibe that leads towards a little more winter spice and dry wicker.
Taste 4
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Lemon-honey candy greets you on the nose with a touch of indistinct leather and wood and a hint of sour pizza dough. Plastic vanilla extract bottles and “spice” drive the thin-ish palate as buttered popcorn and cherry candy pop in. The finish mingles “oak” with apple cores and thin spice.
Taste 5
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Maple syrup and chalky cherry vitamins mix with cream soda, buttermilk pancake batter, and a sachet of vanilla pudding powder. That vanilla powder becomes a soft pudding on the palate as dry cedar bark counters Flintstone vitamins and cherry cream soda. The end lets the creaminess shine as that dry cedar and cherry slowly fade out.
Taste 6
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with hints of old leather, orchard fruits, vanilla caramel candies, and dried pepper tree kindling. Wet corn husks open the palate as Vanilla Coke and cherry candy create a sweet base before dry wicker break the palate towards the finished. Charred oak staves with a hint of bitterness lead toward a creamy end with hints of vanilla and apples.
Taste 7
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Raw leather, dark Caro syrup, nutmeg heavy eggnog, and charred oak lead the way on the nose. The palate starts off with mulled wine spices with ripe, slightly tart, and mildly sweet red berries swim in rich vanilla-laced heavy cream. Cedar planks dipped in honey move the mid-palate toward a finish of cream honey tobacco leaves in an old leather pouch.
Taste 8
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Apple chips (and maybe even banana chips) mingle with spiced honey, mild leather, and a green line of kiwi skins and fennel tops on the nose. Apple and honey granola cereal in heavy cream lead toward a vanilla pod and plenty of wintry spices. The finish has a dry firewood note that leads to honey tobacco with a hint of dried kiwi and red berries.
The juice in this bottle is from Buffalo Trace’s Mash #1, which has a scant amount of barley and rye next to mostly corn. This is the same mash that’s used for bigger hitting brands like Eagle Rare, Stagg, and E.H. Taylor. In this case, this is a four-year-old bonded that’s sort of like a proto-E.H. Taylor Small Batch.
Blind Notes From Above:
Lemon-honey candy greets you on the nose with a touch of indistinct leather and wood and a hint of sour pizza dough. Plastic vanilla extract bottles and “spice” drive the thin-ish palate as buttered popcorn and cherry candy pop in. The finish mingles “oak” with apple cores and thin spice.
Bottom Line:
This felt like a $10 bourbon from the nose to the finish. It was plasticky with a very thin feel. Still, there were clear notes here, so it’s not a total loss. I’d use it for whiskey and Cokes but not much else.
Bulleit embraces a high-rye mash bill that’s comprised of 68 percent corn, 28 percent rye, and four percent malted barley. The juice is then rested for six years before blending, cutting down to proof, and barreling.
Blind Tasting Notes from Above:
The nose opens with mild leather, brown spices, light caramel, sour vanilla cream, and a hint of dried green mint stems. There’s thin cinnamon on the front of the palate that leads to vanilla pudding cups (but kind of like licking the lid), apple tobacco, and dry cornbread. The mid-palate is sweet with a “brown sugar” vibe that leads towards a little more winter spice and dry wicker.
Bottom Line:
This starts off so strong on the nose but then the early palate struggles to connect until the mid-palate kicks in with a nice, classic bourbon vibe. That missing step lowers this one pretty far on this list.
This is the whiskey that heralded a new era of bourbon in 1999. Famed Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee came out of retirement to create this bourbon to celebrate the renaming of the George T. Stagg distillery to Buffalo Trace when Sazerac bought the joint. As for the juice in the bottle, it’s Mash Bill #1 (like Eagle Rare, Benchmark, Stagg, etc.) that’s aged for at least four years.
Blind Tasting Notes From Above:
Raw leather, dark Caro syrup, nutmeg heavy eggnog, and charred oak lead the way on the nose. The palate starts off with mulled wine spices with ripe, slightly tart, and mildly sweet red berries swim in rich vanilla-laced heavy cream. Cedar planks dipped in honey move the mid-palate toward a finish of cream honey tobacco leaves in an old leather pouch.
Bottom Line:
This is where things get pretty good on this list. From here on out, the whiskeys have a clear beginning, middle, and end. There’s a mellow nature to this whiskey that’s very easy-drinking. There’s no “wow” factor and it gets a little lost in the mix but don’t let that stop you if the tasting notes speak to your palate. For me, that raw leather note on the nose tends to push me away a little and that’s why this ranks a tad lower.
This high-rye whiskey is aged for at least four years. The bonded barrels are then vatted according to the Old Grand-Dad flavor profile and bottled at 50 percent ABV, which lets a bit more of the juice shine in the bottle.
Blind Tasting Notes From Above:
Soft vanilla extract mingles with black pepper, winter spices, and smooth suede on the nose. The palate starts with an orange-oil heavy Christmas cake with almonds and dried fruit that turns into cherry cough drops on the mid-palate. The finish leans into dry yet sweet oak and green peppercorns with a touch of that cherry popping back in.
Bottom Line:
This was pretty damn good, albeit a little “peppery” with no distinction on that note until the end. Still, this was perfectly fine and felt like a good base for an old fashioned.
This expression replaced the old Jim Beam Black Label 8 Year. The juice in this bottle is aged longer than your average four-year-old Beam, but there is no age statement on exactly how long. The best way to think of it is that it’s aged for as long as it needs to be, according to the distilling team.
Blind Tasting Notes From Above:
The nose opens with hints of old leather, orchard fruits, vanilla caramel candies, and dried pepper tree kindling. Wet corn husks open the palate as Vanilla Coke and cherry candy create a sweet base before dry wicker break the palate towards the finished. Charred oak staves with a hint of bitterness lead toward a creamy end with hints of vanilla and apples.
Bottom Line:
This was nuanced yet accessible. It was deeply flavored but light in the right ways (that is, not thin or watery). This was just a really nice pour that would work equally well on the rocks or in a cocktail.
This is Dickel’s touchstone whisky. The corn-heavy juice — 84 percent corn, eight percent rye, and eight percent malted barley — is aged for at least five years before it goes into the bottle at 90 proof.
Blind Tasting Notes From Above:
Maple syrup and chalky cherry vitamins mix with cream soda, buttermilk pancake batter, and a sachet of vanilla pudding powder. That vanilla powder becomes a soft pudding on the palate as dry cedar bark counters Flintstone vitamins and cherry cream soda. The end lets the creaminess shine as that dry cedar and cherry slowly fade out.
Bottom Line:
This betrayed itself as Dickel from the jump, thanks to the vitamin chalkiness. I like it. But I can see why it puts a lot of folks off. That aside, this is still a well-built bourbon with a beginning, middle, and an end, with a clear flavor profile that works.
This introductory juice from Four Roses is a blend of all ten of their whiskeys. The barrels are a minimum of five years old when they’re plucked from the warehouses, blended, brought down to proof, and bottled.
Blind Tasting Notes From Above:
Apple chips (and maybe even banana chips) mingle with spiced honey, mild leather, and a green line of kiwi skins and fennel tops on the nose. Apple and honey granola cereal in heavy cream lead toward a vanilla pod and plenty of wintry spices. The finish has a dry firewood note that leads to honey tobacco with a hint of dried kiwi and red berries.
Bottom Line:
This is so damn unique, especially compared to the other pours today. That green nose with the kiwi and fennel really helps this one stand out. After that, the whiskey leans pretty classic and doesn’t take any more big swings, which is kind of disappointing after that nose. Still, this is really well built and damn easy to drink. That’s a win.
This is Evan William’s small-batch bourbon reissue. The expression is a marriage of 200 barrels of Heaven Hill’s classic bourbon (78 percent corn, 12 percent malted barley, and ten percent rye). That juice is vatted, then proofed down to 90 proof (instead of the old 86 proof), and bottled as is.
Blind Tasting Notes From Above:
This has a very distinct nose that ventures from vanilla-soaked leather to a very clear sense of allspice berries and ground clove with a hint of cornbread batter and soft oak. There’s a light sense of caramel apples leading toward Johnnycakes covered in butter and honey with a light nutmeg lurking in the background. The finish arrives with a hint of dry reeds that ends up on a vanilla cream with brown spices.
Bottom Line:
I think this won thanks to the distinctiveness of the flavor notes from start to finish. The nose wasn’t just “spicy.” That spice is allspice and clove, specifically. There were layers that built on each other and created a bigger experience. It also felt pretty classic but had some real depth.
Part 3: Final Thoughts
Zach Johnston
Overall, I’m not overly shocked by this ranking. Evan Williams 1783 is a goddamn solid whiskey. Four Roses is always a funky favorite. The cheapest whiskey tasted cheap. And yeah, I still don’t dig on that Buffalo Trace raw leather note.
In the end, if you’re looking for a good whiskey that you can both drink on the rocks and make solid cocktails with, I’d go with any of the top three, depending on what flavor profile you prefer. If you’re looking for a good, cheap bottle of bourbon that punches way above its price class, then definitely go with the Evan Williams 1783. That stuff rules.
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