Month: January 2023

Remember Billy Bush? Hopefully not! He’s the nephew of George H.W. Bush who got fired from hosting the Today show after a tape of him and Donald Trump making lewd comments about women was obtained by the Washington Post.

And that’s the last we heard from either men.

Uh, not quite. We all know what happened with Trump (he went insane). As for Bush, he’s been the host of Extra since 2019, proving there’s no such thing as cancel culture, and now he’s caught in another hot mic controversy. The Daily Beast reports that “Bush joked on-set during a taping of Extra about model Kendall Jenner’s Toy Story-inspired Halloween costume and her attractiveness in the outfit.” During the October 31st taping of the news-gossip show, Bush joked, “Kendall goes as Jessie and, believe me, there were a lot of woodies,” eliciting hyena-like laughter from production staffers.

Notably, in the final segment that aired on Oct. 31, Bush was a bit more demure when it came to discussing female celebrities’ physical appearances. While reporting on Jenner’s costume, the Extra host only went so far as to remark that “it’s going to be hard to see Toy Story the same way ever again.”

Bush will inevitably apologize for the remark — the world still doesn’t want it.

You can listen to the audio here.

(Via the Daily Beast)

Cask strength single malt Scotch whisky is usually the rarer stuff. The vast majority of single malt whisky is proofed down to 46% or 43%. Generally, if you’re looking at a 46% ABV bottle, you know it wasn’t filtered. 43%, it was. Cask strength single malts are often only released as limited edition batches or special yearly one-off releases as a sort of highlight of the brand’s wonderful, lesser-seen barrels.

All of this is to say that it’s time for another blind taste test, and this time I’m reaching for single malt Scotch whiskies that are bottled at cask strength. That makes our lineup today the following bottles:

• The GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 10 Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
• Octomore 13.3 Edition Aged 5 Years Super Heavily Peated Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
• Oban Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 10 Years 2022 Special Release
• Cardhu Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 16 Years 2022 Special Release
• The GlenAllachie 10-Year-Old Cask Strength Batch 7
• BenRiach Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky Malting Season Second Edition
• Clynelish Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 12 Years 2022 Special Release
• Talisker Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 11 Years 2022 Special Release

When it comes to ranking these, it’s all about the taste, folks. Peated and unpeated whiskies have equal value, depending on what you’re looking for. Well-made whisky is a well-made whisky whether it’s peated or not and whether you like it or not. So, I’m mixing some great peaties in with the sweeter unpeated malts for this one. In the end, I’m just looking at which bottles have the deepest and most enticing flavors.

It’s that easy so let’s dive in a rank some single malt!

• Johnnie Walker Vs. Chivas: Which Scotch Whisky Brand Will Win Our Blind Test?
• The 50 Best Scotch Whiskies Of 2022, Ranked
• The Best Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whiskies Under $100, Ranked
• World Class ‘Sipping’ Single Malt Whiskies Under $100, Ranked
• The Best Peated Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Blind Tasted And Ranked

Part 1: The Tasting

Taste 1

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Backporch wicker vibes with soft prunes and spicy holiday cake with a clove focus next to soft sultanas and berries with an echo of dead fall leaves lurking underneath it all.

Palate: The palate leans into the holiday cake with a matrix of ginger sharpness, cinnamon, nutmeg, candied fruits, and citrus peels, and a roasted nuttiness with a hint of dates and black tea with soft toffee drizzle just touched with salt.

Finish: The end leans back into that wicker from the nose with a supple sense of toffee-covered shortbread and stewed plums.

Initial Thoughts:

This has a heavy bourbon vibe. It’s pretty great if you’re looking for a dark, spicy, and fruity whisky that will feel familiar to an American whiskey drinker. But does that take away from the “scotch” of it all?

I’m on the fence.

Still… delicious.

Taste 2

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose is a subtle mix of salted caramel with sweet caramel malts, apricot jam, gingerbread, and a touch of nasturtium with a whisper of smoked apples and pears before the ashen peat starts sneaking in with a sense of a BBQ pork rib rack smothered in BBQ sauce.

Palate: The palate opens with smoked brown sugar next to rich marzipan with a hint of Almond Joy next to Kiwi boot wax, orange marmalade, dried roses, lemon pepper, and a hint of oyster liquor.

Finish: The end has a caramel maltiness that’s just kissed with sea salt and potpourri cut with mild dark spices and more of that marzipan, finishing on a light fruit soda vibe.

Initial Thoughts:

This had me at BBQ pork ribs. Beyond that very familiar note, it’s also just complex and rich with a lightness that keeps things fun for the senses. This is good whisky.

Taste 3

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a lithe sense of lemon/lime saltwater taffy and Whether’s candies wrapped in white wax paper with a hint of lime leaves and wild sage next to salted smoked lemons and tangerines with a hint of really good and cloudy extra virgin olive oil speckled with smoked sea salt and freshly cracked red peppercorns.

Palate: The palate is silken and full of layers of smoked grapes, smoked plums, and salted chili pepper candies with a fleeting sense of violet and lavender creaminess tied to a lush vanilla underbelly.

Finish: The end has a mild woody chili pepper spiciness that’s dry and leads to a limber finish with warmth, lightly caramelized malts, and smoked apricot jam with brandy cream.

Initial Thoughts:

This is pretty nice. The butterscotch on the nose was subtle and felt real. By the end, you felt like you were drinking candied malt.

Taste 4

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a definite sense of aura of funky rumminess with a hint of barrel char and grilled tropical fruits with plenty of brown spices — clove, allspice, nutmeg — surrounded by creamy lemon meringue pie, mango lassi, and freshly washed sheets flapping in the summer breeze (it’s wildly engaging and kind of weird but I love it).

Palate: The palate has a rummy butterscotch syrup mood with spiced rum cocktails cut with banana bread, walnuts, and brown butter with a hint of brandy-soaked oak staves.

Finish: The end has a light black pepperiness with more of that rummy barrel funk and soft and sweet (not acidic) tropical fruit.

Initial Thoughts:

That butterscotch was a little better on this sip. Overall, this was complex and had a great feel with a wonderfully nuanced finish that sticks with you.

Taste 5

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Subtle notes of honey and raisins mingle with cinnamon sticks and nutmeg with a hint of dark chocolate orange balls and maybe even some orange mocha frappuccino on the nose.

Palate: That dark chocolate dominates on the early palate as rum raisin, figs, and stewed plums with plenty of winter spice and orange zest dance with each other.

Finish: The end has a gingerbread vibe with more dried dark fruits and a very mild maltiness.

Initial Thoughts:

This ended very mildly. It felt a little thin but still perfectly okay overall.

Taste 6

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a nice sense of rich caramel malts on the nose with a sense of distiller’s beer from the washback next to fresh tangerine skins, almond shells, and a touch of macadamia nut cookies.

Palate: The palate leans into fresh and lightly piney honey with a sense of apple bark and orange oils next to creamy caramel malts and vanilla malts.

Finish: The end leans into marzipan laced with lemon oils next to plums and apricots dipped in that fresh honey and spun with thin lines of apple tobacco.

Initial Thoughts:

This was also perfectly okay all things considered.

Taste 7

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a subtle mix of mincemeat pies, syrupy pears from the can, floral honey, and a herbal note of maybe bay leaf or sage with a whisper of mint on the nose.

Palate: The palate has a waxy saltwater taffy vibe tied to vanilla with a soft pepperiness and woody winter spice warmth next to soft toffees.

Finish: The end is lightly spiced with dried chili pepper and peppercorns next to that soft and waxy vanilla saltwater taffy on the spicy finish.

Initial Thoughts:

This was a fruity and classic malt whisky. I felt quintessential from the nose to the finish and really delivered a nice experience.

Taste 8

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a clear sense of seaside campfires far down a rainy beach next to a fruit orchard with a hint of nori sheets, old boat rope, and a dash of brown wintry spices on the nose.

Palate: The palate leans into the oiliness of the nori with a slightly singed salmon skin vibe, smoked fish oils, and a touch of that distant campfire next to smoked plums and apricots with a hint of salted pear chips and dry red chili pepper.

Finish: The end has a long meander through a pebble beach with sea salt, smoked pear, and briny seaweed salad next to a hint of fatty smoked salmon bellies with a black and red pepper crust.

Initial Thoughts:

This was on another level. There was a depth and complexity to this pour that just blew the last seven pours out of the water (no pun intended). It’s just perfectly balanced whisky.

Part 2: The Ranking

8. The GlenAllachie 10-Year-Old Cask Strength Batch 7 — Taste 5

ABV: 56.8%

Average Price: $108

The Whisky:

Aged in a combination of Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry puncheons, Rioja barriques, and virgin oak casks, all personally selected and blended by esteemed Master Distiller Billy Walker. without added coloring or chill filtration

Bottom Line:

This very much slotted into the “fine” column today. I can see this working in cocktails perfectly well but would pass on it as a sipper.

7. BenRiach Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky Malting Season Second Edition — Taste 6

ABV: 48.9%

Average Price: $232

The Whisky:

The second edition of BenRiach’s Malting Season series is also made with barley malted fully in-house at the distillery in Speyside. The barley in this case is Concerto barley grown for this release. Once distilled, the hot juice went into 30 first-fill bourbon barrels and was rested for around nine years before batching and bottling as-is.

Bottom Line:

This was also “fine” but had a little more moxie to it than the above pour. There was a nice sweet porridge vibe that was enticing on the nose and delivered a citrus-forward maltiness that was overall pretty nice.

6. Oban Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 10 Years 2022 Special Release — Taste 3

ABV: 57.1%

Average Price: $135

The Whisky:

This lightly peated Highland whisky from the tiny Oban Distillery is rendered from refill and new American oak barrels. That whisky is vatted and then refilled into Amontillado-seasoned casks for a final rest before batching and bottling as-is.

Bottom Line:

This had a nice balance of peat and sweet malts that ended very sweet with a “candied malt” vibe. If you’re looking for that sweetness with a hint of peat, then this is the bottle for you.

5. Cardhu Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 16 Years 2022 Special Release — Taste 4

ABV: 58%

Average Price: $353

The Whisky:

This Speyside unpeated malt was aged in refill and re-charred American oak bourbon barrels for 16 years. That whisky was then refilled into Jamaican pot still rum-seasoned casks for a final rest before vatting and bottling as-is.

Bottom Line:

This had a clean and deep flavor profile. The sweetness was tied to a lot of great fruit and spice with a classic maltiness. In the end, this is a pretty easy-going sipper that’s sure to please (just not “wow”).

4. Clynelish Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 12 Years 2022 Special Release — Taste 7

ABV: 58.5%

Average Price: $221

The Whisky:

This unpeated Highland malt was mellowed in refill American oak barrels that held bourbon and then finished in Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso sherry-seasoned casks.

Bottom Line:

This was a classic unpeated malt whisky. It’s fruity, sweet, and lush. It’s kind of everything you want from a classic, well-made single malt in every sip.

3. The GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 10 Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky — Taste 1

ABV: 58.6%

Average Price: $121

The Whisky:

The 10th release from the most beloved The GlenDronach Cask Strength series is another instant classic. The whisky in the bottle is blended by Dr. Rachel Barrie from whisky aged in Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry casks. The whisky is then vatted and bottled as-is with no fussing.

Bottom Line:

I really like this but it is 100% a bourbon drinker’s single malt. Which is totally cool, yo. Because this is such well-made whisky that I don’t even care if it has a bourbon aura about it.

That said, if you’re looking for a bridge between American bourbon whiskey and unpeated Scotch single malt whisky, this is the bottle to grab.

2. Octomore 13.3 Edition Aged 5 Years Super Heavily Peated Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky — Taste 2

ABV: 61.1%

Average Price: $226

The Whisky:

This new limited edition Octomore from Bruichladdich is all about Islay. The whisky is made from heavily peated malts grown on the island (most malts are shipping in from the mainland) back in 2015. In 2016, the whisky was distilled right by the sea at Bruichladdich and then loaded into first-fill, ex-American whiskey casks and second-fill European oak casks from the Rivesaltes region of France and the Ribera del Duero region of Spain. After five years, the casks were vatted and then bottled completely as-is.

Bottom Line:

This is just good whisky. It’s very peated, sure. But that peat expresses itself in very familiar ways via that BBQ pork rib vibe. There are touchstones that help this one shine, especially on an American’s palate.

1. Talisker Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 11 Years 2022 Special Release — Taste 8

ABV: 55.1%

Average Price: $142

The Whisky:

This classic lightly-peated Talisker is aged by the sea in American oak, ex-bourbon first fill, refill casks, and wine-seasoned casks. Those barrels are batched and then bottled as-is after 11 years of quiet mellowing.

Bottom Line:

This is a perfectly balanced whisky that just slaps from top to bottom. Nothing on this list came close to this pour.

Part 3: Final Thoughts

Yes, this list was full of great whiskies. Each one had its own feel and worth. But that Talisker really had no competition today. It was just so hauntingly brilliant and balanced.

That said, if you’re looking for a big and familiar peated whisky, the new Octomore is a great play, especially with spring BBQ season just around the corner. I also really dig The GlenDronach as a bourbon drinker. It’s just that little bit extra.

In the end, get the Talisker. It’s a truly fantastic whisky and — at that price — a pretty great value.

January is an exciting month for new whiskey. Mostly, that’s due to a bunch of late December releases hitting shelves and everyone being a little too busy and distracted to notice it all. Luckily, January is a long month with plenty of time to appreciate new whiskeys so let’s name some great whiskeys that you should be looking for and drinking right now.

For this list, I pulled 12 whiskeys that popped on my radar over the last couple of weeks (some of them in the last couple of days) that are easy(ish) to find right now. These are the new whiskeys that you should be excited to drink because they’re all really f*cking good. That in turn means that these whiskeys aren’t ranked. That’d defeat the purpose and also be a little mad. There are some whiskeys on this list that transcend ranking due to their pure greatness. That also means that some of these aren’t going to be on every single shelf around the country — so happy whiskey hunting out there, folks.

Let’s dive in and find you a great whiskey to drink this January!

• The 100 Best Bourbon Whiskeys Of 2022, Ranked
• We Put A Whole Bunch Of Bourbons To A Giant Blind Test And Discovered Some Absolute Gems
• The Affordable Vs Expensive Blind Bourbon Bottle Battle
• The Best-Known Basic Bottles Of Bourbon, Blind Tasted And Ranked
• The 30 Best Bourbon Whiskeys For Fall, Blind Tasted & Ranked

Johnnie Walker Blue Label Blended Scotch Whisky, Limited Edition Year of the Rabbit

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $232

The Whisky:

This is the mountaintop of Johnnie Walker’s whiskies. The blend is a marriage of ultra-rare stock from extinct Diageo distilleries around Scotland. That’s just … cool. This expression is all about barrel selection and the mastery of a great noser and blender working together to create something special.

Beyond what’s in the bottle, the actual bottle is also really freakin’ cool. This year’s Chinese New Year design was created by rising fashion star Angel Chen. Chen interpreted the Chinese rabbit Zen sign for a stunning bottle and box design that hinges on the ethea of mercy, elegance, and beauty.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose on this one feels like silk with soft malts, dried plums, good marzipan, old boot leather, mulled wine spices, and a whisper of fireplace smoke.

Palate: The taste layers orange oils into the marzipan as rose-water-infused honey leads to a line of bitter dark chocolate that’s touched with smoked malts and nuts.

Finish: The end has an even keel of velvet mouthfeel next to floral honey, soft smoldering smoke from a fireplace, and old dried fruit.

Bottom Line:

Johnnie Walker Blue Label really is that good. It lives up to all of the hype. Add in a collectible and dazzlingly beautiful bottle and you have a must-have bottle of whiskey for January 2023.

Barrell Bourbon New Year 2023

ABV: 56.77%

Average Price: $85

The Whiskey:

Barrell’s New Year Bourbon is one of the most beloved releases of the year. This year’s batch is made from a grouping of five, six, seven, eight, and 10-year-old straight bourbon whiskeys distilled in Tennessee, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Wyoming, New York, Texas, and Maryland. Those whiskeys were batched in Kentucky and bottled as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This is a classic bourbon on the nose with deep flavors of buttered buttermilk biscuits, salted caramel, singed marshmallow, Almond Joy, cherry cream soda, and a touch of Nutella and maple syrup.

Palate: The palate leans into cherry root beer with a hint of vanilla cream soda next to eggnog spices and creaminess, old dried roses in older leatherbound books, and a whisper of red peppercorn cracked over some sweet pipe tobacco.

Finish: The end has a candied chili pepper vibe next to burnt orange, marzipan, and creamy dark chocolate with a hint of walnut and cherry saltwater taffy.

Bottom Line:

This is a pretty easy win for January 2023. It’s a bottle that’s specifically made for celebrating the new year. That aside, this is also a very tasty and unique bourbon that’s sure to wow novices and aficionados alike.

Frank August Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrel No. 0002

ABV: 62.05%

Average Price: $159

The Whiskey:

This brand-new release from awards-favorite Frank August dials things into a single barrel of whiskey. The whiskey in the bottle is a 5.1-year-old Kentucky bourbon from an undisclosed source. That barrel is bottled 100% as-is with no cutting, filtering, or fussing.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This is a very classic Kentucky bourbon nose with big winter spice notes tied to barks and buds with a hint of nutmeg before leaning into oily vanilla pods and salted caramel chews with a nice hint of apple cider and black cherry cola.

Palate: Clove buds, cinnamon bark, and allspice berries lead on the palate with a hint of chili pepper spiciness before a lush sense of vanilla white cake with toffee frosting and burnt orange creates a luxurious mouthfeel with a hint of alcohol warmth.

Finish: The end arrives with a deeply classic vibe that’s slightly tied to old oak cellars next to cherry bark, old bottles of vanilla, and easy-going salted caramel sweetness next to a hint of apple cider tobacco rolled with cinnamon bark and cedar.

Bottom Line:

This is an excellent bourbon whiskey. If you can find a bottle, buy two. It’s that good. Then take your time with it and let the nose and palate wash over you slowly.

Pursuit United Blended Straight Rye Whiskeys Finished with Sherry French Reserve Oak

ABV: 54%

Average Price: $75

The Whiskey:

This brand-new rye from the team over at Bourbon Pursuit is a masterful blend. The juice is hewn from Bardtown Bourbon Company 95/5 Kentucky rye batched with two Sagamore Spirit ryes — one a 95/5 and one 52/43/5 rye/corn/malted barley. Those whiskeys are batched and re-barreled into a French sherry reserve cask for a final rest before batching, proofing, and bottling.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a sense of dark fruits — black cherry, dates, rum raisin — on the nose that leads to soft and sweet oak next to worn leather, mulled wine, and brandy-soaked fig cut with nutmeg and clove.

Palate: The taste is more on the woody side of the spice with a clear sense of old-school mulled wine with sweet vanilla and star anise over orange rinds and raisins with a slight chili warmth underneath.

Finish: The chili warmth drives the finish toward a soft red-wine-soaked oak that’s spiced with orchard barks and fruits next to vanilla/cherry tobacco just kissed with dark chocolate.

Bottom Line:

This is a real home run from the Bourbon Pursuit team. While I lean more towards Manhattans and Sazeracs with this one, it’s perfectly nice as a slow sipper on a cold winter day too.

Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Series Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Finished in Toasted Cherry Wood and Oak Barrels

ABV: 48%

Average Price: $69

The Whiskey:

This whiskey — from Bardstown Bourbon Company’s own Origin Series — is their classic 95/5 rye that’s aged for almost five years. Then the whiskey is finished with alternating toasted American oak and toasted cherry wood staves in the barrel. Once the whiskey is just right, it’s batched, proofed, and bottled.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose is classic with fresh cherry layered with nasturtiums, cinnamon sticks, and soft cedar planks just kissed with clove, nutmeg, and anise before light red peppercorns and brandy-soaked cherries dipped in salted dark chocolate kick in.

Palate: The palate follows the nose’s lead with a lush mouthfeel that’s full of spicy stewed fruits and ciders mixing with creamy vanilla and nutty bases over subtle chili pepper spiciness far in the rear of the taste.

Finish: The end pushed the woody spices toward an apple cider/choco-cherry tobacco mix with a cedar box and old leather vibe tying the whole taste together.

Bottom Line:

Bardstown Bourbon Company’s new rye is a buzzer-beating three-point swish from half-court. This whiskey rules and will be a staple going into 2023 as a house pour on the rocks and an excellent cocktail base.

The Balvenie The Tale of the Dog Aged 42 Years

ABV: 47%

Average Price: $18,799

The Whiskey:

This whisky was named after a famed whisky thief — or “dog” — that was flattened to stop too much whisky being thieved back in the day. The actual whisky in the bottle is from two casks that were put on the racks in 1974 and 1978 and left alone.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a classic sense of old and sweet malts on the nose that leads you to sweet and floral perfume that’s so subtle and enticing before a hint of sticky toffee pudding and geranium bound toward old mint rolled into chocolate malts.

Palate: The palate has a soft and salted toffee with honey nut cluster dusted with light notes of sweet winter spice and floral orchard blossoms before a hint more of honey and sweet old oak arrives.

Finish: That sweet oak drives the finish toward nutty creaminess, old orchard wood, and a sense of soft summer flowers with a hint of malt cookies cut with raisin and cinnamon.

Bottom Line:

This is one of those whiskies that come around once in a lifetime. If you’re in the market for this level of whisky, then kudos because you’re rich.

Seriously though, this is truly delicious whisky that deserves all the love it gets.

Booker’s 2022-04 “Pinkie’s Batch”

ABV: 61.2%

Average Price: $249

The Whiskey:

The last batch of Booker’s of 2022 is a nod to Booker Noe’s father, Pinkie Noe. The whiskey in the bottle was created from barrels from the middle/sweet spot of four warehouses. The average age of the batch ended up being 6 years, 10 months, and 10 days old when it was bottled completely as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This is full of dark brown sugar vanilla pods and winter spices that start to lean toward chili and cumin and then a sense of a well-seasoned pork butt before it goes into the smoker — it’s kind of like raw leather.

Palate: The palate is classic bourbon with a rich vanilla white cake frosted with buttercream next to bold dark cherry, woody notes of dry reeds, and salted caramel with a twinge of orange oils.

Finish: The end has a mild sense of tangerine flesh and star fruit that leads back to warm ABVs and dark winter spices layered into fresh tobacco and old cedar bark.

Bottom Line:

I love it when Booker’s goes a little funky and fresh and this release is that to a tee. It’s delicious, different, and worth tracking down right now.

Talisker Forests of the Deep Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 44 Years

ABV: 54.6%

Average Price: $4,892

The Whiskey:

This is one of the more unique Taliskers to hit shelves. The 40-plus-year-old juice is made finished in casks made with staves that were charred with Scottish sea kelp and stave wood shavings. The staves are then used to finish the whiskey before it’s vatted and bottled 100% as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a sense of classic fruit orchards with a hint of blossom next to briny smokiness from a distance that slowly fades in toasted seaweed salad tossed with roasted sesame seeds and chili oil with a fleeting sense of mild soy sauce lurking way in the background.

Palate: The taste leans into orange zest and maybe even lime leaves with a twinge of old and sweet oak before a twinge of soft rope dipped in seawater leads to a thin line of a beach campfire surrounds by grey stones and spitting rain.

Finish: A mild note of chili pepper arrives late with a mild waxiness tied to chocolate, plum, and pear with a final flourish of a fruit orchard in full bloom.

Bottom Line:

Only 102 bottles of this are available in the U.S., which is a shame because it’s a delicious whisky. You really want to take your time with this one and nose it, taste it, add some water, do it all again, and really plumb the depths of this masterpiece pour.

A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength Bourbon Batch #2

ABV: 72.25%

Average Price: $2,999

The Whiskey:

This new batch from Sazerac’s Virginia distillery is all about upping the ante on last year’s bold ABV release. This year, Batch #2 takes the ABVs even higher in this cask-strength bourbon bomb thanks to the careful selection of old barrels that are batched and left completely uncut and non-chill-filtered.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a leathery nature on the nose with classic bourbon deep flourishes of very black cherry, salted caramel, cinnamon toast with cream butter and old vanilla pods, a touch of orange oil, and woody spice berries and barks.

Palate: Apple orchards and cherry pies open the sweet palate toward a massive heat from the ABVs that eventually fades towards creamed soft nut butter, vanilla cake, and apple cider spiked with spiced cherry tobacco.

Finish: The heat comes roaring back on the finish with brash woody winter spice and burnt orange with a touch of vanilla trying to find a counterbalance to all the heat.

Bottom Line:

This whiskey is bold with a capital “B”. It’s also nuanced and delivers a great bourbon flavor profile. For something with a shockingly high Hazmat ABV, this is perfectly balanced. Just add a rock before you dive in head first.

Blackwood Toasted Rye Whiskey Batch #1 Barrel Strength

ABV: 58.2%

Average Price: $150

The Whiskey:

This rye is sourced from expertly picked barrels for a very small batch offering. The mash is a classic 95/5 rye/malted barley bill. The barrels are close to seven years old before a handful come together to create this barrel-strength bottling of only 620 bottles.

Nose: The nose is a straight-up classic with a sense of cherry and cinnamon tied to fresh and chewy tobacco with a sense of old cedar bark braided with dry sweetgrass and smudging sage with a light sense of pear candy and cream soda.

Palate: The taste leans into spiced cherry tobacco and stewed pear with a hint of marmalade and peach cobbler next to a hint of black-tea-soaked dates, salted whiskey-laced toffee, and clotted cream before a red chili pepper spiciness kicks in with a sense of cinnamon and cherry bark.

Finish: The woodies of the orchard fruit and spice drive the warm finish — but never hot — toward a luxurious and creamy end full of sharp yet sweet tobacco, a whisper of dank resin, and echoes of old fruit orchards.

Bottom Line:

This is one of the best ryes of 2023. Yup, I’m calling it now. It’s that good.

Waterford Heritage Hunter

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $129

The Whiskey:

This new release from whiskey-nerd-beloved Waterford out in Ireland is named after pioneering plant breeder Dr. Herbert Hunter. The initial grow for the barley for this whiskey was started with a 50-gram bag of Hunter barley. Over several seasons, they produced enough barley to fill 50 barrels of whiskey with the help of two other almost extinct heritage barley varieties, Goldthorpe and Old Irish. Finally, the whiskey in the bottles ended up being a blend of 45% first-fill ex-bourbon, 19% new American oak, 21% French oak, and 15% Vin Doux Naturel barrels (a Southern French sweet wine).

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a sense of old black potting soil on the nose with a rush of freshly bailed hay, bushels of red apples, orange marmalade, and a whisper of fresh rain on slate roofs.

Palate: That orange turns into an orange upside-down cake with a cinnamon/clove caramel drizzle next to old prunes, oatmeal cut with raisins and brown sugar, salted butter, and a twinge of old cedar planks with singed edges and a faint echo of sage.

Finish: That sage leads to a green pepperiness and a hint more of savory green herbs with plenty of orange oils and dried fruits next to a final note of soft spice.

Bottom Line:

This is a one-of-a-kind whiskey from Waterford. It’s delicious and dark and different. You really need to take your time with it, add water, let it oxygenate, and go back and forth on the nose and palate … really take it slow and savor it.

Mortlach Midnight Malt Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged for 30 Years

ABV: 49.1%

Average Price: $4,799

The Whiskey:

This is 30-year-old Mortlach from a couple of barrels that actually made it that long without drying out or becoming undrinkable — it’s kind of a miracle in that sense. The vatted whisky was finished in a trio of barrels — Bordeaux wine, Calvados, and Guatemalan rum — before bottling completely as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a lovely hint of malt dipped in honey with a touch of apple stewed with cinnamon and saffron that leads to roasted pork skin and fat cut with a sense of rosemary and singed sage before a honeyed oaked sweetness arrives again

Palate: The taste is like a creamy, apple-forward, malty lush elixir cut with hints of black pepper, burnt orange, and marzipan that leads to a sense of honey-soaked cinnamon sticks floating in apple cider.

Finish: There’s another rush of that black pepper late that leads to woody apple cores and wintry barks that eventually fade towards a mildly spiced apple-cinnamon tobacco leaf packing into an old cedar box.

Bottom Line:

This is a pièce de résistance whisky. It’s just perfect.

Like most people across the country, the big topic on Jimmy Kimmel’s mind last night was the seemingly never-ending inability for House Republicans to just name a Speaker of the House and get on with it. Of course, as we all know — and as the host explained — “the reason Kevin McCarthy can’t get over the hill is because a group of about 20 super-right-wing holdouts are refusing to go along with the majority.”

Chief among the so-called Republic Freedom Caucus is the Forehead from Florida, Matt Gaetz. The 40-year-old congressman has treated the floor of the House like open mic night at the Chuckle Hut as he has spent the past several days standing up and excitedly nominating a roster of names with zero chance of succeeding. But it seems as if Gaetz might be a fan of Mike Lindell’s Frank Speech TV, because just a day after the MyPillow kook wondered why no one had yet thrown Donald Trump’s name into the mix, Kimmel shared that “circus jerk” Matt went ahead and did it.

It didn’t go well.

With all eyes on him, Gaetz declared that he was nominating Trump “because we must make our country great again, and he can start by making the House of Representatives great again.” One person clapped. (If elocution queen Lauren Boebert can indeed be described as a “person.”)

Kimmel loved every second of Gaetz’s performance, calling him an “ass-kisser,” and really ate up the fact that no other person voted for Trump — nope, not even Boebert. (Which didn’t stop Gaetz from nominating the former president a second time during the next round.) In the many, many rounds of voting since, Gaetz has thrown some more names into the mix. It’s only a matter of time before he starts naming vegetables and Disney characters.

You can watch the clip above, beginning around the 3:55 mark.

James Gunn has been pretty busy lately as he single-handedly tries to breathe some life back into the DC universe. Gunn was shuffled in late last year alongside Peter Safran in order to try and repair some of the damage that has been done over the years.

Though as the duo began to announce some projects, things seemed to look even worse: Gunn announced that Wonder Woman 3 is probably not happening anytime soon, meanwhile, Henry Cavill is out as superman once again and The Rock seems to be done with Black Adam. This begs the question: are they moving forward with anything at all over there in DC world?

Gunn seemed to sense the hesitation among fans, so he sent a nice little update with everything he’s been working on this week, including various MCU projects. Is that even allowed?! Regardless, Gunn tweeted that he wrote a third of a currently unannounced DC series.

It was announced last year that Gunn would be working on season two of Peacemaker, the John Cena-led series on HBO Max. Since he specified that he had been working on an “unannounced” project, this might spark some hope among fans. And not one but two big DC meetings could be a good sign, though sometimes those meetings don’t pan out too well.

(Via Deadline)

Without giving away the big twist in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (we won’t do you like that), there’s a big moment when the characters started smashing a room full of glass sculptures. It makes for some compelling cinema, but according to writer/director Rian Johnson, one of the actors got a little too excited filming the intricate scene.

In a new interview, Johnson revealed how Jessica Henwick got a little over-zealous during a rehearsal and accidentally broke one of the sculptures that the production didn’t have a replacement for. Fortunately, she made a fantastic face after realizing her mistake, and Johnson kept the moment in the film.

Via Entertainment Weekly:

“One of my favorite moments was Jess had a massive one that she got to smash, and she was so excited,” Johnson tells EW. “It’s a massive wheel of glass. We start rolling the camera, and I’m saying to her, ‘Okay, we want to get this exactly right. We only have one of these. And so what I’m going to do is I’m going to say one, two, three.’ She drops it and then looks right into the camera and does this [makes a shocked face]. We had started the camera just to practice the thing. She broke it and then looked right in the camera. That’s the take that’s in the movie.”

While Johnson finds the accident hilarious and loves that it made the final cut, Henwick is still haunted by the slip-up. “I broke into a cold sweat,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “I still have nightmares about that moment.”

You can watch the scene at the 1:40 mark below:

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is available for streaming on Netflix.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

It’s likely that the Coachella lineup is dropping soon. The annual festival, taking place in Indio, California, is highly anticipated, especially since it’s likely that Frank Ocean will be a headliner since he was supposed to be in 2021 before it was postponed.

There are rumors about other artists headlining as well. One of them is the massive group Blackpink, who released Born Pink last year and made fans go crazy. Of course this is just a rumor — it remains unconfirmed.

It would make sense, though, considering the group’s domination as of late. Last year, the release of their single “Pink Venom” was monumental, serving as the biggest premiere on YouTube of 2022. They hit 90.4 million views in the first 24 hours — so if they played Coachella, it’s safe to assume that the crowd they’d draw in would be inconceivably big.

They were also named 2022 Entertainer Of The Year by Time: “Blackpink has managed to become the biggest girl group in the world precisely by allowing its members to be solo stars in their own right,” Raisa Bruner, a Time contributor, wrote. “The group may be bigger than the sum of its parts, but each of its parts is bigger than most other pop groups’ combined efforts.”

This week, a potential landmark case in the music industry was filed against Universal Music Group for allegedly withholding over $750 million of royalties from its artists over streams. Meanwhile, in Fulton County, a recording artist who was included in a gang indictment using his lyrics as evidence will face the legal fight of his life later this month, while his record label lies in ruins as a result.

It’s clear that, when the law crosses paths with the business of making and selling music, the course of one or the other can shift dramatically. In response to Young Thug’s case above, several states have introduced bills protecting artists’ freedom of speech whose lives and livelihoods can be wrecked by overeager prosecutors looking to score political points. Meanwhile, if Black Sheep’s class action suit against UMG proceeds, it could change the way streaming profits are shared with musicians, effecting broad-ranging changes in the way labels do business.

There have been plenty of other court cases that defined the course of the music industry. Some were copyright fights that caused new rules to be adopted — whether formally or informally — about how artists use and credit past works. Others are legal fights between artists and their labels, which prompted the latter to work out new types of deals in efforts to protect profits and attract savvier recording partners. And at least one seemed to be about artists and labels against the oncoming seismic shift caused by new technology. Here are ten of the court cases that defined the music industry.

1944 — Olivia de Havilland vs. Warner Bros. Pictures

One of the court cases that had the biggest impact on the recording industry wasn’t even about music. In 1944, actress Olivia de Havilland sued Warner Bros. Pictures after the term of her seven-year contract with the studio expired. However, much like with record contracts today, back then, actors signed to studios for a certain number of “pictures” over the course of a given term, and if they didn’t deliver, they couldn’t leave.

However, de Havilland argued that this was a violation of California labor law and that seven years means seven years. The courts agreed, forcing WB to release her; since then, numerous recording artists have used the same statute to end contracts they deem unfair, from Courtney Love and Metallica to Luther Vandross and most recently, HER. Even Kanye cited the rule during his feud with EMI and Roc-A-Fella, although a 1980s amendment allows labels to sue artists for damages if they don’t deliver the full number of contracted albums — even after seven years.

1960s — Chuck Berry vs. The Beach Boys

When the California rock band The Beach Boys basically plagiarized Chuck Berry’s 1958 “Sweet Little Sixteen” to create their 1963 hit “Surfin’ USA” (an event that was parodied in the 2006 adaptation of Dreamgirls), they inadvertently kicked off what nearly became the first copyright lawsuit in recording industry history. Although a lawsuit was never actually filed, all the royalties for “Surfin’ USA” go to Berry’s publisher Arc Music after the Beach Boys’ manager Murray Wilson struck a deal.

1990 — Queen vs. Vanilla Ice

This infamous case wound up being settled out of court, but it also laid the groundwork for future cases in which older artists expressed resentment for hip-hop’s proclivity for sampling their past hits. In 1990, upstart white rapper Vanilla Ice lifted the bassline from Queen’s 1981 song “Under Pressure.” The resulting single, “Ice Ice Baby,” became a monster hit and was hugely profitable, despite its later reputation as a novelty song.

However, the British band wasn’t too happy about it and sued Vanilla Ice over the song. Years later, it was revealed that the rapper paid for part of the publishing rights for “Under Pressure,” while giving credit to the original writers. Although he claims he bought the rights from the band outright, they refuted it, saying that a profit-sharing agreement was reached.

1990 — Roy Orbison vs. 2 Live Crew

Another landmark case revolving around the use of sampling in hip-hop, this one went all the way to the Supreme Court before all was said and done, and laid down some ground rules about how sampling can work. After requesting the rights for Roy Orbison’s “Oh Pretty Woman” and being denied, the group went ahead and released their parody track, “Pretty Woman” anyway in 1989. 2 Live Crew argued that their version constituted “fair use” which allows for parody.

After going through a federal district court and an appeals court, the Supreme Court ruled that 2 Live’s “Pretty Woman” does fall under fair use. However, not many artists have tried to use this defense in the years since — in part because parody tracks have fallen out of favor in hip-hop (although Weird Al is still cranking them out) and in part, because no one really wants the headache.

1990 — 2 Live Crew vs. Decency

Poor Uncle Luke. The 2 Live Crew spent a massive part of their early career battling legal enemies when they should have been enjoying the sort of debauchery that defined much of their creative output. In this case, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office had issued an edict that any stores selling 2 Live’s 1989 album As Nasty As They Wanna Be would face arrest on the grounds of obscenity. 2 Live fought back, filing suit in federal district court. Although an initial judge agreed with the Sheriff, an appeals court overturned the ruling, and the Supreme Court backed it up by refusing to hear a second appeal. Despite the raunchy material, the appeals court decided that the music itself had artistic value and that the band being “nasty” wasn’t enough to ban them outright.

1994 — Tupac Goes To Prison

This was impactful less as a matter of how it changed the rules of the game and more as how it changed the substance — even if indirectly. When Tupac was sentenced to 18 months in prison on rape charges (he eventually served just eight), he became something of a folk hero to a fanbase that felt he was railroaded by a racist system, emerging from prison more popular than ever. This set a precarious precedent in hip-hop, but it also helped to solidify what the genre looked like and represented. “Thug life” more or less became the default expression of the art form and Tupac became its avatar.

So many artists now have at least a little of his DNA in their flow, business moves, and public personas and this was arguably the start of his iconic status. After his prison stint, fans were so ravenous for new music that his final two albums, released during and after his sentence, both went No. 1 after he’d previously only managed to peak at No. 24. We certainly see echoes of that in artists such as 21 Savage and the support for Young Thug.

1994 — Prince Vs. Warner

Also in 1994, Prince waged his infamous one-man war on his label, Warner, for control over his music. By now, you’ve undoubtedly heard of how he changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in an attempt to free himself from his contract, or how he wrote “Slave” on his face to protest his inability to release music how and when he wanted under those contract terms. Ever since then, artists have spoken out about how they disagree with label practices — whether they’re practical or not — and ownership of their creative output, and any number of them, from Kanye to Megan Thee Stallion to New Jersey rapper Russ, have taken the Prince route to freeing themselves from the constraints of the major system.

2000 — Metallica vs. Napster

The first case of an artist suing a peer-to-peer file-sharing company, Metallica’s victory over Napster not only effectively ended Napster’s reign over the distribution of music, it basically opened the door for the whole streaming era in which we currently find ourselves. P2P sharing was never effectively ended, but it was forced underground, eventually evolving into the download sites that fueled the so-called “blog era.” It also demonstrated the viability of digital distribution, first in the form of .mp3s, and later, as streams, as fans had demonstrated that they were willing to adopt the new technology in lieu of only purchasing physical media.

2000s — MusicNet and PressPlay

Of course, the above transition wasn’t quite as smooth as that sentence may have made it out to be. In the early 2000s, the labels’ early attempts to get into the music-streaming game, MusicNet and PressPlay, weren’t quite as user-friendly as Spotify and Tidal would later turn out to be. But that wasn’t the only problem. The US Justice Department investigated the apps for antitrust violations, suspecting that the labels were suppressing competition and inflating the price of downloads.

Once iTunes hit the scene, though, the labels closed up shop on MusicNet and PressPlay, instead shifting their business models from trying to dominate the streaming space with their own propriety platforms in favor of partnering with tech companies who could do the concept justice.

2014 — Marvin Gaye Estate vs. Robin Thicke & Pharrell Williams

In a case that changed the standards for just what constitutes copyright infringement, the estate of Marvin Gaye alleged that Robin Thicke’s Pharrell-produced hit “Blurred Lines” illegally reproduced Gaye’s 1977 soul staple “Got To Give It Up.” A court agreed that, even without direct plagiarism of sheet music or lyrics, the later song certainly reproduces a lot of the sound of the original — enough that $5.3 million and 50 percent of all future royalties of the song were awarded to the Gaye estate.

This opened the door (and a couple of windows) for all kinds of copyright cases, with everyone from upstart rappers to established producers alleging plagiarism for even the slightest similarities in tone, style, lyrics, or instrumentation. And while a significant portion of those is getting chucked out, they’re likely to keep coming until another ruling draws firmer boundaries around what’s protected and what isn’t.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Seth Meyers may as well have been speaking for all Americans (well, maybe with the exception of Kevin McCarthy) when, on Thursday night, he admitted that the chaos surrounding Republicans’ continued inability to get their sh*t together and just name a Speaker of the House already “is pretty fun to watch.”

While the political shenanigans will continue today (and who knows for how much longer), Meyers very keenly decided that now might be the right time to remind the world of just how confident Kevin McCarthy was that he’d surely be kicking his feet up in Nancy Pelosi’s former office by now. As part of Thursday’s “A Closer Look” segment, Meyers shared some clips of McCarthy over the past several years (not months) making essentially the same promise/joke: “I want you to watch Pelosi hand me that gavel… It will be hard not to hit her with it.”

Classy!

That specific quote came from a GOP dinner in 2021, but McCarthy was using iterations of the same line going back to 2020. Although, at one point, he claimed that “I won’t bang [Pelosi] with it, but I’ll bang the end to the socialism and yes to America.” Putting aside the fact that listening to McCarthy talk about the things he will and won’t “bang” is nauseating, you’re right if you think that sentence makes no sense — as Meyers was quick to point out:

Are you sure you didn’t bang yourself with it? ‘I’ll bang the end to the socialism and yes to America.’ I can’t believe that soaring message didn’t resonate! He has the same broken syntax as a Norwegian tourist looking for the M&Ms Store.

Even more amusing to Meyers is how “McCarthy and the GOP were full of bravado about how they would seize the gavel in a show of Republican power and confront Joe Biden and the Democrats.” Instead, while we’re all watching “feuding Republicans in utter chaos on the House floor,” Biden’s week consisted of stopping by Just Q’in BBQ, a Cincinnati restaurant, where he was photographed chowing down on a peach cobbler.

“The only way that could have been more fun for Biden right now is if he was eating his peach cobbler while sitting in the back row of the House of Representatives.”

You can watch the full clip above.

Bad Bunny could be performing on the main stage of Coachella next. Today (January 6), a report was released naming the Puerto Rican superstar as a possible headliner for the upcoming music festival.

Hits Daily Double released a report with the rumored headliners for 2023 Coachella. Bad Bunny is listed as a possible headliner along with South Korean girl group Blackpink and elusive singer-songwriter Frank Ocean. After finishing off 2022 as the No. 1 global artist, Coachella would be the perfect stage for Bad Bunny to take on next.

Thanks to his success of his blockbuster album, Un Verano Sin Ti, Bad Bunny made history by claiming the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 year-end chart. The album was first Latin LP and the first all-Spanish release to reach the summit of the chart. Bad Bunny was also named Spotify’s most-streamed artist of 2022. He claimed the top touring artist of the year title as well. Bad Bunny pulled ahead of Ed Sheeran and Elton John with a total touring gross of $373.5 million.

Bad Bunny started off 2023 in a storm of controversy. Earlier this week, a video went viral of the singer tossing a fan’s phone after they were forcefully trying to take selfies with him. Bad Bunny responded to the backlash by calling the fan’s behavior “a lack of respect.” The Coachella stage in April could be a great way for him to make a triumphant comeback to the live music scene.