For every grain of sand on all the world’s beaches, for every star in the known universe…there is a piece well intentioned, but possibly stress-inducing parenting advice.
Whether it’s the astounding amount of hidden dangers that parents might be unwittingly exposing their child to, or the myriad ways they might be missing on maximizing every moment of interaction, the internet is teeming with so much information that it can be impossible for parents to feel like they’re doing enough to protect and nurture their kids.
However, developmental scientist and mom Dorsa Amir has a bit of “anti-parenting advice” that help parents worry a little less about how they’re measuring up.
First and foremost—not everything has to be a learning opportunity. Honestly, this wisdom also applies to adults who feel the need to be consistently productive…raises hand while doing taxes and listening to a podcast on personal development…
“Not everything has to be ‘educational.’” wrote Amir. “It’s truly completely okay (& indeed, good) for kids to play for the sake of play. They don’t have to be learning the alphabet or animal noises. They can just do whatever silly thing they want to do. They are ALWAYS learning!.”
Amir also encouraged parents to remove the pressure to be constant teachers, offering the reminder that “direct instruction” is actually quite rare, and that kids are “extremely good” at learning through observation.
First: not everything has to be “educational”. It’s truly completely okay (& indeed, good) for kids to play for the sake of play. They don’t have to be learning the alphabet or animal noises. They can just do whatever silly thing they want to do. They are ALWAYS learning! 2/
This hands-off approach can be good for parents who also might feel they should provide neverending entertainment. According to Amir, “kids should be allowed to experience boredom.”
“It’s part of the human experience & it’s okay if they’re bored. You do not have to feel obligated to constantly entertain them or provide new activities for them. They should be allowed to generate their own activities & ideas,” she wrote.
Similarly, Amir stated that kids should experience arguments, disagreements, negative emotions and general conflict. Instead of “getting involved” to prevent these uncomfortable situations from happening, she suggests letting kids practice resolving and processing on their own.
More generally, negative emotions are not bad & it’s good for kids to experience what they feel like & learn how to process them. A childhood that’s entirely carefree & completely devoid of emotional challenges is NOT the goal. It’s good to experience all of life’s nuances. 7/
Amir then gave full on permission to simply be the “boring” parent. Not the “zany cartoonish friend.” Not the supplier of “600 toys.” Not someone whose schedule “revolves 100% around your child’s preferences.” In fact, she noted that kids actually enjoy “mimicking” adults, so it’s completely okay to have them do household chores, play with “adult-utilized” objects instead of dolls or action figures and do “adult-centered” activities like grocery shopping.
Ultimately, Amir’s goal was not to bash any particular way of parenting, but rather to encourage parents—especially confused first time parents—to give themselves a break. “There are a million different ways to be human and they’re all valid,” she wrote.
Please give yourself some patience & grace, especially if you’re a first-time parent. Even with a literal PhD & over a decade of research experience on these topics, I still struggle to not let the pressure get to me. It’s a LOT. So, I hope this has helped, just a tiny bit. 15/15
This anti-advice clearly struck a chord with parents who have indeed felt pressure.
“Loved this thread, thank you. I spend a lot of time worrying I’m a bad parent – are my kids spoilt? Are they sad? Am I overprotective? Is letting them walk alone to school dangerous? Have they eaten enough? Have they eaten too much Etc etc..,” wrote one person.
Another added: “Thanks for this!! The pressure in the US to be my toddler’s entertainment 24/7 and to buy the best organic and educational everything marketed by influencers is absolutely bonkers.”
“Incredible thread. Those of us on the fence on becoming parents get overwhelmed with the frankly absurd expectations that modern parenting appears to require.…a post like this gives me hope!” commented one person, noting how intimidating these societal expectations could be for those who are still figuring out whether or not they want to start a family.
As Amir said—at the end of the day, we’re all human. Part of being human means making mistakes and allowing for imperfection. That goes for parents too.
A psychologist who’s an expert in narcissism has released a telling video that reveals one of the red flags of the disorder, being an erratic driver.
“Most people, when they tell the story backwards of a narcissistic relationship, are able to see the red flags very clearly,” Dr. Ramani said in her video. “However, seeing them forwards isn’t hard. But if you see them too late, it means you’ve already been through the narcissistic relationship, you’re devastated and have likely wasted a lot of time.”
Dr. Ramani Durvasula is a licensed clinical psychologist in Los Angeles, Professor Emerita of Psychology at California State University and author of several books, including “Should I Stay or Should I Go: Surviving A Relationship with a Narcissist.”
Dr. Ramani is exposing these red flags because narcissists are challenging romantic partners, coworkers and friends because they have difficulty empathizing with other people’s feelings.
She describes dangerous drivers as those who weave through traffic, cut people off and aggressively flash their lights and honk their horns. They are “road-ragers” with “short fuses” who try to drive people off the road.
In the video, the psychologist explains that dangerous driving “encompasses everything that is narcissism.” Dangerous drivers lack empathy for other people’s safety and are entitled, arrogant, impatient and validation-seeking.
“One word of advice: Do not ever engage with these drivers,” she said. “When dysregulated, it’s a very dangerous personality style.”
Disclaimer:This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for clinical care.
Kyrie Irving reportedly requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, just six days before the 2023 NBA trade deadline. Multiple reports indicate that talks on a contract extension between the Nets and Irving did not go the way the All-Star guard wanted, and as a result, he told the team he’d like to go elsewhere.
This raises the question: Which teams are interested in making a run at Irving? According to a number of reports, the Los Angeles Lakers want to renew their pursuit of the mercurial guard from over the summer, while the Dallas Mavericks view him as a backcourt partner for Luka Doncic and the Phoenix Suns believe he would be a good addition to their roster.
The Lakers and Mavericks are among the teams Brooklyn is expected to engage in Kyrie Irving trade talks as next Thursday’s 3 PM ET trade deadline approaches, league sources say.
The Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks have emerged as potential suitors for Brooklyn Nets All-Star starter Kyrie Irving, sources tell @TheAthletic@Stadium.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN confirmed that the Lakers are expected to chase Irving, and added that he has remained interested in joining forces with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
ESPN Sources: Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving has not shared a list of preferred teams, but he has maintained an interest in the Lakers. LA is expected to be among the teams that’ll explore a possible trade with the Nets.
Back in the summer, the Lakers were a popular potential landing spot for Irving when it appeared that the Nets were going to blow things up in the aftermath of Kevin Durant’s trade request. While Durant eventually withdrew his trade request, it appears Los Angeles has stayed ready in the event the possibility of acquiring Irving popped up, even if they will have some competition for his services.
It’s pretty thin on the ground this week with regard to new releases. Maybe everyone’s still sleeping off the holidays, or maybe all the ruckus with Ticketmaster, the Super Bowl, and the Grammys all being crammed into the first two weeks of this month have made artists wary of being lost in the noise.
That said, there were a few artists willing to take the risk to drop some singles — and it might well pay off, considering the lack of competition for attention.
Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending February 3, 2022.
Albums/EPs/Mixtapes
2KBaby — Scared 2 Love
2KBaby
The Louisville rapper, who first made his mark with tracks like “Zack & Cody” and “Don’t Love Me Now,” gets an early start on his Valentine’s Day festivities. Scared 2 Love maintains his melodic trap groove with 12 tracks focusing mainly on the whirlwind emotions of young romance.
JayDaYoungan — Forever 23 2x
JayDaYoungan
The Louisiana rapper may not have been a household name at the time of his tragic death last year, but he was well on his way. A handful of fan-favorite SoundCloud singles were the stepping stones to his debut commercial mixtape Misunderstood making it onto the Billboard 200, and his debut album Baby23 landed at No. 46 on the chart in 2020. And while his rise was disrupted by legal troubles, it’s a shame nonetheless that his life was violently ended before he got the chance to turn it around. Forever 23 2x is a testament to the resonant urgency of his meager catalog.
Singles/Videos
Armani Caesar — “Survival Of The Littest”
Griselda’s first lady has been building her buzz, most recently releasing her second album, The Liz 2, late last year. This week, she shared the latest video from the project; backed by a keening whistle and those signature Griselda horror flick synths, the Buffalo native swaggers her way through rags-to-riches boasts, bolstered by one-of-a-kind punchlines worthy of her crewmates.
NLE Choppa — “Champions”
The Memphis kid has been producing fairly consistently since his breakout with “Shotta Flow,” even if he hasn’t quite reached those heights since. “Champions” is a suitably triumphant-sounding meditation on his success so far, and everything he’s willing to do to keep it going.
Rob Markman — “4 Cornered Room”
A great big shout-out goes to my esteemed peer Rob Markman, who conducts an emotional seance, ridding himself of some heavy thoughts on a pulsating instrumental produced by DviousMindz. It’s a poignant and relatable rumination on depression and anxiety that ends up being more motivational than anything.
Russ — “Can’t Get This Right”
Russ does what he does best on his latest loose release, spitting deceptively complex emo bars over a woozy, self-produced beat about a complicated romantic situation.
Symba — “Never Change” Featuring Roddy Ricch
The Bay Area bar juggler drops a video for a standout from his DJ Drama-produced tape Results Take Time. The two rappers spit nostalgic lyrics reflecting on their respective rises to prominence and the changes that have been effected in their lives since rap.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
These days, if you have enough internet clout and a couple of million-dollar ideas, you are automatically qualified to speak at Harvard Business School. Recently, Kim Kardashian visited the smart folks at Harvard Business School to discuss her various endeavors, and now another young business professional has been invited to speak: notorious scammer Anna Delvey. Which isn’t even her real name (that was her first scam).
While Kardashian has had her fair share of business mishaps, she also has some marketing wins from time to time, so it’s pretty fair for her to want to speak on that. But Delvey’s business prospects are a little more out there. After she was found guilty of conning various NYC friends and businesses out of money, she then began pushing NFTS before curating an art show from her jail cell. She has ideas, that’s for sure! But it seems like the class she is speaking in might be closely aligned with her interests.
According to Page Six, Delvey will be a guest speaker for Borderline, a class that explores companies “driven by well-intentioned managers whose plans go astray, ambitious entrepreneurs who misjudge their risks, and professional organizations led by scamsters.” This is one of the few things Delvey feels uniquely qualified for, so it might be beneficial! Delvey was convicted of grand larceny in 2019 and served two years in prison before entering ICE detention.
After being released in October, Delvey is planning a dinner talk show from the comfort of her own house…because she is still under house arrest, mind you. So maybe she will just have to Zoom into that Harvard class after all.
M. Night Shyamalan‘s movies have long had a messianic, religious-but-not-specifically-about-any-one-religion quality to them, which many critics have noted. The (great) book about the making of Lady In The Water was called “The Man Who Heard Voices.” “Visionary” and “kook” have always been kissing cousins, especially so for a filmmaker as simultaneously acclaimed and derided as Shyamalan.
So I suppose it should be no surprise that Shyamalan’s latest, A Knock At The Cabin, ponders some big questions. All great fiction writers tend towards grandiose, and I generally love the ones who aren’t shy about it. Yet at a certain scale, the “big questions” (the meaning of life, the nature of time, the boundaries of the universe, etc.) become so big that they’re essentially imponderable without a metaphor.
Asking the big questions and only the big questions also skips over all the dumb little questions, the minor slings, the Seinfeldian observations that, for me, are most of what make it interesting. After a promising opening, A Knock At The Cabin becomes basically like watching an ensemble cast stand around arguing about whether a tree that falls in the forest actually makes a sound.
We open with a little girl (Kristen Cui) catching grasshoppers in the forest (eccentric, precocious children being a Shyamalan staple). A hulking man (Dave Bautista) somewhat unnervingly shows up, and at first he seems gentle and friendly. Bautista embodies that inviting/menacing dynamic perfectly, his tattoos and bulldog neck always warring with his dewy eyes and shar pei-like scalp wrinkles. It’s hard not to enjoy this man. The man helps this little girl catch grasshoppers, but when she asks him why he seems sad and he answers “Because my heart is breaking for what I have to do today,” she’s smart enough to run.
It turns out Bulldog Dave and a few pals (Rupert Grint, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Abby Quinn) have shown up to this cabin in the woods to present an ultimatum to little Wen and her two gay dads (Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge): the family has to agree to kill one member or it will bring about the Biblical(ish) apocalypse and everyone else on Earth will die.
The big question being pondered here is whether you would sacrifice your own future or a loved one’s to rescue a future for everyone else, even knowing you or your loved one will never see it. It’s basically the story of Jesus, Abraham, and almost every Marvel or action hero. Whenever a superhero grows a beard, you know someone, usually a small girl, is going to have to try to convince them that even though humans can be terrible, humanity is still worth saving. A Knock At The Cabin is essentially that story, only the superheroes are two gay dads and their daughter, and the little girl is four randos.
Complicating matters somewhat is the fact that, when confronted with four strangers telling them that they have to murder a loved one or watch all of humanity die, the family in the cabin do what most rational people would do in this situation: they assume these strangers are kooks. They spend basically the remainder of the movie arguing over whether this prophecy is real from the confines of this self-same cabin.
A good single-location movie makes you forget that it’s a single-location movie. The bad ones feel like someone trying to impress their teacher. A Knock At The Cabin mostly just makes you wonder why you would want to ponder the same question so many exciting action movies have before from the confines of a not-particularly-visually-interesting cabin. God forgive me for saying so, but the concept of selflessness was a lot more exciting when Randy Quaid was suicidally flying a jet into an alien spaceship’s butthole.
M. Night Shyamalan has made a lot of bad movies, but rarely an ugly one, and here most of his legitimate facilities for framing and composition are wasted on a cabin where people do nothing but yap yap yap. Turns out, the fate of humanity hanging in the balance actually gets really dull after a while.
Moreover, a question like “is humanity worth sacrificing yourself over” is one that’s so big that it can only really be answered in ways that feel either too-pat or abstract to the point of being supernatural and quasi-religious. And that, in the end, is sort of what A Knock At The Cabin is: an extended, pseudoreligious sermon delivered without many direct references to any one religion. The longer it went on the more I felt like I’d accidentally wandered into a personality test or had invited in a missionary who wouldn’t leave. Pondering the big questions is great from time to time, but to me, life is really dull when you can’t sweat the small stuff.
‘A Knock At The Cabin’ is available now, only in theaters. Vince Mancini is on Twitter. You can read more of his reviews here.
Michter’s is one of the biggest and most respected names in American whiskey. There’s no denying that. The Kentucky brand has a cult-like following among the whiskey elite as both a “look at me” sipper and an investment brand. What makes Michter’s essential, though, is that it’s also accessible to the passive whiskey drinker. You can actually find truly high-quality mid-shelf labels of rye, bourbon, sour mash, and American whiskey on the shelves at most liquor stores nationwide (and internationally) for a decent price.
So a ranking of all the bottles of Michter’s whiskey is relevant to more than just the true aficionados. It’s for the people!
All told, Michter’s has 17 expressions out there. I’m ranking every single one of them below according to how good they taste. For this exercise, I’m looking at the latest release from each expression. That means the lion’s share of these are going to be from 2022. I’m lucky enough to get to taste these as they roll out, so this is a fresh and current ranking of the stuff you can actually find out there.
We can’t really dive in without talking about Micther’s without talking about price tags. Outside of Michter’s core four entry-point expressions, it’s very allocated. That means that a small number of bottles are released to bars, restaurants, and retailers quarterly, yearly, or whenever a special release happens. That in turn means that finding the rarer bottles is going to be hard and expensive if you’re not in the know. Some of these will be available for MSRP at the Fort Nelson Michter’s Distillery in Louisville, Kentucky. But only some of them. Others will only be attainable through trade (if you know someone) or the aftermarket at inflated prices. That’s just the reality of rare whiskey in 2023, especially with limited Michter’s releases being a pretty well-known whiskey investment brand.
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
Generally speaking, when you see a whiskey labeled as “blended whiskey” or just “bourbon” (instead of “straight bourbon”), it’s a blend of whiskey with neutral grain spirits to help keep costs down and profits high. This expression is labeled as “Unblended,” specifically because it’s made with whiskey only (no grain spirits added). The whiskey in these bottles was aged in barrels that are “whiskey-soaked.” Once the whiskey is just right, it’s then blended and small-batch bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Orchard fruits, butterscotch candies, and vanilla cake greet you on the nose with a hint of wooden spice.
Palate: That fruit becomes more dried and almost salted on the palate while bourbon vanilla and mild caramel sweetness mingle with cinnamon and nutmeg.
Finish: The finish is pretty short and sweet with a red berry vibe next to some thin apple cider.
Bottom Line:
This is one of those whiskeys that truly slaps as a mixer, and it’s fully built that way. A pro tip: Keep this one in the freezer and make killer highballs and cocktails with it. It’s also delicious poured over some ice cream.
16. Michter’s US*1 Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Michter’s really means the phrase “small batch” here. The tank they use to marry their hand-selected eight-year-old bourbons can only hold 20 barrels, so that’s how many go into each small-batch bottling. The blended juice is then proofed with Kentucky’s famously soft limestone water and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this is very fruity with a mix of bruised peach, red berries (almost like in a cream soda), and apple wood next to a plate of waffles with brown butter and a good pour of maple syrup that leads to a hint of cotton candy.
Palate: The sweetness ebbs on the palate as vanilla frosting leads to grilled peaches with a crack of black pepper next to singed marshmallows.
Finish: The end is plummy and full of rich toffee next to a dash of cedar bark and vanilla tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This is a great, classic bourbon that hits high notes. I’d call it a “bourbon-y bourbon” in the best way possible. It’s also a really solid cocktail base, especially for any whiskey-forward pour.
15. Michter’s US*1 Small Batch Original Sour Mash Whiskey
This was the first American whiskey to be named “Whiskey of the Year” by The Whiskey Exchange in the U.K. back in 2019. The reason this is a “sour mash” and not a “bourbon” or “rye” is that the mash bill doesn’t focus on corn or rye, hence it’s just a sour mash whiskey. The whiskey is aged in new white oak with a heavy char.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with smoked plums, crunchy rye crusts, a hint of caraway, and deep caramel with a hint of salt next to vanilla and apple/pear cider.
Palate: The sip really embraces the smoky dark fruit with hints of vanilla and cherry popping up next to winter spices and a touch of green savory herbs.
Finish: The whiskey carries that smoky plumminess through to the end with a nice nod to an oaky and bourbon-y vanilla underbelly.
Bottom Line:
This is a fun and balanced whiskey. It feels like the best of both the rye and bourbon worlds in one glass. It also makes a hell of a Manhattan.
This release takes Michter’s signature Kentucky Sour Mash — which doesn’t have enough corn or rye to be either bourbon or rye whiskey — and finishes it in toasted barrels. In this case, those barrels are first air-dried for 18 months and then lightly toasted barrel before the whiskey is filled in. Finally, the booze is batched and bottled with a good dose of that Kentucky water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a soft sense of a pile of firewood cut from an old fruit orchard next to dark chocolate oranges with a flake of salt and a drop of honey with a hint of vanilla cake frosted with apple-cinnamon butter frosting.
Palate: The palate has a lightly smoked cherry vibe next to clove and allspice with a sense of lush and creamy eggnog and vanilla-cherry tobacco stuffed in a slightly pitchy pine box.
Finish: The end really leans into the cherry tobacco with a layer of mild chili spice and more of that soft and sweet orchard firewood.
Bottom Line:
This is like a “bourrye” (bourbon-rye hybrid) that has an extra layer of dank wood added. That’s balanced out by nice creaminess, spice, and dark fruit, making this a good whiskey for drinking on the rocks with a dash or two of bitters.
This juice is Michter’s standard rye that’s finished in a second, toasted barrel. In this case, those barrels are air-dried for 24 long months before being lightly toasted and loaded with the rye. The juice then goes into the bottle at barrel strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This has a spicy and sweet nose that’s just like a buttery, candied and dried fruit, and nut-filled holiday cake that’s been drenched in good whiskey and left to sit for a month to really amp up those flavors.
Palate: The taste has a clear sense of dates, creamed vanilla honey, walnuts, wet brown sugar, and a touch of salted dark chocolate with a whisper of bitterness.
Finish: The mid-palate dries out towards that pitchy yet dry woodpile with an echo of dirt from the bottom of that woodpile on the finish.
Bottom Line:
This is woody rye that shines best with a rock or two. This is a great example of pushing the limits of “toasted” whiskey without overdoing it. That said, if you’re not into heavy, pitchy, and dank wood notes in your whiskey, you might want to skip this one. It reminds me of chopping firewood with my old man when I was a kid so I’m all in.
Michter’s originally dropped this back in 2014; it has since become a mainstay of their release schedule. The whiskey is standard bourbon that’s then finished in a toasted barrel from the famed Kelvin Cooperage in Louisville. They build these barrels by hand from 18-month air-dried white oak and then lightly toast the inside before the aged whiskey goes in.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with a pecan pie vibe that’s nutty, dry, and full of dark Caro syrup sweetness with a hint of candied orange peels with a touch of cinnamon and dry cedar bark.
Palate: The palate holds onto the sweetness as it leans towards a campfire roasted marshmallow, a touch of saffron and clove-stewed pears, a pile of sappy firewood, and creamy nuances of vanilla pudding all meander through your senses.
Finish: The end has a light savory nature that leads back to the pear, vanilla, and marshmallow on a very slow fade toward a pile of fresh firewood piled high on soft black soil.
Bottom Line:
The softness and sweetness of the bourbon create a nice balance for the earthy wood notes. Again, if you’re not into the hefty woody whiskeys, this might be a skip. I dig it over some rocks with a dash of Angostura.
Michter’s fills their barrels with 103-proof hot juice off the stills. After a handful of years spent aging, that proof inches upwards as the angels take their share. Usually, the whiskey is cut with that soft Kentucky limestone water before bottling but not in this case. This is pulled from single honey barrels that were just too good to cut and bottled at the Fort Nelson Distillery right on Louisville’s Whiskey Row.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose draws you deep into the classic bourbon ecosystem of rich buttery toffees next to salted dark chocolate-covered cherries, a touch of smoked stone fruits, and a minor note of spicy tobacco leaf.
Palate: The palate delivers on those notes as the tobacco spice amps up before being smoothed out by rich and creamy vanilla, salted caramel, and apricot stone dryness.
Finish: That dryness drives the mid-palate towards the finish with a pecan shell vibe next to slightly bitter singed cedar bark.
Bottom Line:
This is a great bourbon for mixing up cocktails. The deeply classic bourbon vibes really shine through in a Manhattan, boulevardier, or old fashioned.
This whiskey is made with a fair amount of rye whiskey over a bit of bourbon whiskey in a traditional sour mash style. 2022’s release varied mildly in that some of those whiskeys in the blend were aged in specially made toasted French oak that spent 24 months seasoning before they were made. The barrels were all vatted and bottled with just a touch of Kentucky limestone water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Soft leather, burnt orange, spiced Christmas cake, fresh vanilla beans, sultanas, and a hint of fresh firewood round out the nose with a hint of almost sweet oak char.
Palate: The palate has a nice sweet spiciness to it like a box of Hot Tamales next to allspice and orange with raisins, nutmeg, and a whisper of espresso bean sneaking in late.
Finish: The end marries the orange oils to soft cedar notes with a woody spiciness next to soft notes of sweet cinnamon, stewed plums, minced meat pies, and brandied cherries layered into chewy tobacco leaves.
Bottom Line:
This “sour mash” is a great stepping stone from Michter’s standard bottle (above) and their famed Celebration Sour Mash (below). I dig this over a single large rock. It’s a great pour for when I don’t know if I want a rye or a bourbon that satisfies both cravings.
This rare Michter’s expression is pulled from single barrels that were just too good to batch or cut. Once the barrels hit the exact right flavor profile, each one is filtered with Michter’s bespoke system and then bottled as-is at the strength it came out of the barrel.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Dark cherry and butterscotch candies pop on the nose next to sour red wine mixed with mulled wine spices — lots of cinnamon, clove, and star anise — next to tart apple skins, apple bark, and a hint of singed marshmallow between lightly burnt Graham Crackers.
Palate: The palate leans into spices in a subtle way with a nutmeg/eggnog vibe next to rich vanilla ice cream and smoked cherries with a minor note of fresh pipe tobacco and singed cedar bark.
Finish: The end adds some dried red chili and sharp cinnamon to the tobacco with a pinch of freshly cracked black pepper and a supple sense of a fresh fruit bowl with a lot of red berries.
Bottom Line:
This is where we get into the stellar stuff. This makes a wonderful cocktail, thanks to the ice taking the edge off the high ABVs. That said, if you’re looking for a classic Kentucky rye with a spicy/fruity sweet edge with a nice kick, this is the pour.
8. Michter’s US*1 Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
Michter’s well-crafted juice is warehoused until the deeply charred new white oak barrels hit just the right moment in both texture and taste. Those barrels are then hand-selected and bottled one at a time with a touch of Kentucky water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Peppery rye and a hint of citrus open this one up before deep fatty nuttiness, dry espresso beans, soft dark chocolate sauce, and a twist of sharp spearmint dance through the nose.
Palate: There’s a distant line of toffee candies dipped in roasted almonds next to a brioche smeared with Nutella and dipped into a fresh cup of espresso with mild notes of white pepper, ground chili powder, and maybe a whisper of honey.
Finish: The finish leans into woody winter spice barks and buds — think cinnamon, clove, and allspice — with a sense of whole red peppercorns soaked in molasses, a whisper of walnut cake, and a thin line of toasted marshmallows dipped in dark chocolate.
Bottom Line:
Goddamn, this bottle has no business being as good as it is for this price. It’s a legitimately first-rate single barrel rye that you can actually find pretty much everywhere and also afford. That’s a quasi-miracle on its own these days.
All of that aside, this is the only whiskey you should be making Sazeracs with it. It’s freaking delicious. It also works perfectly well as a sipper on the rocks too.
7. Michter’s US*1 Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 10 Years Old
The whiskey barrels sourced for these single-barrel expressions tend to be at least 10 years old with some rumored to be closer to 15 years old (depending on the barrel’s quality, naturally). Either way, the whiskey goes through Michter’s bespoke filtration process before a touch of Kentucky’s iconic soft limestone water is added, bringing the bourbon down to a very crushable 94.4 proof.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a peppery sense of cedar bark and burnt orange next to salted caramel and tart red berries with a moist and spicy sticky toffee pudding with some brandy butter dancing on the nose.
Palate: The palate blends vanilla tobacco with salted dark chocolate-covered marzipan while espresso cream leads to new porch wicker and black peppercorns.
Finish: The end has a pecan waffle vibe with chocolate chips, maple syrup, blackberry jam, and minced meat pies next to old tobacco and cedar with a sweet yet singed marshmallow on the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is the most bourbon-y bourbon on the list. It’s just straight-up quintessential and the bourbon so many other single barrels at this age are measured against. I do enjoy this over a single, large ice cube but I also make a mean old fashioned with it too.
This whiskey heralds back to Michter’s historical roots in the 19th century before the brand was even called “Michter’s.” The whiskey in the bottle is rendered from a very small batch of bourbons that were aged in Chinquapin oak which was air-dried for three years before charring and filling. The Kentucky bourbon was then bottled in an extremely small batch that only yielded 2005 bottles this year.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet mashed grains — thinks a bowl of Cream of Wheat — mix with sticky toffee pudding, old leather, old cellar beams, and sweet cinnamon with a hint of burnt orange and dark chocolate next to eggnog with a flake of salt.
Palate: The palate is super creamy with a crème brûlée feel that leads to soft winter spices, dry cedar, and orange chocolates with a hint of marzipan in the background.
Finish: The end has a creamed honey vibe next to figs and prunes with fresh chewing tobacco and salted dark chocolate.
Bottom Line:
This is a like secret Michter’s that’s totally unique on the palate. It’s a nice example that the team at the distillery can really nail varied styles of bourbon with ease. Overall, this is a great slow sipper either neat or over some ice. Dealer’s choice.
5. Michter’s US*1 Single Barrel Straight Rye Whiskey 25 Years Old
All we really know about this single-barrel rye release is that the barrels Michter’s sourced for it are some of the best of the best in the whiskey world. It’s rare that a 25-year-old whiskey aged in a new oak will taste this nuanced but that’s sort of the magic of Michter’s and this bottle.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s an earthiness here that feels like dried white moss on a wet forest floor next to little popping notes of bitter yet oily espresso beans, vanilla that costs way too much to buy, oranges wrapped in gold cellophane, and an almost wet black pepper vibe.
Palate: Golden sultanas draw you in with a very clear sense of clove that almost leads to anise (maybe black licorice) with that vanilla staying dry as the orange oils become burnt and this distant note of salted, almost black cacao powder harkens the finish.
Finish: That finish does lean into a classic Tellicherry cracked black pepper but remains dry and features just the right amount of dried fruit sweetness.
Bottom Line:
Every whiskey from here on out is just incredible. It’s so damn rare to find a good whiskey barrel that’s over 20 years old. It just doesn’t happen that often. So a 25-year-old rye whiskey that actually tastes this good is a small miracle. It might sound like sacrilege to some, but this over a single large rock is bliss. The creaminess really spikes with a sense of spiced creamed puddings and cakes on Christmas morning.
4. Michter’s US*1 Limited Release Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 25 Years Old
This whiskey is made from a special mash bill and then left to rest for a quarter of a century. The whiskey in the bottle is cask strength version of very old bourbon that still hits amazingly high marks according to the Michter’s crew.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This draws you in with this matrix of rich and brandy-soaked holiday cake brimming with candied and dried fruits that edges into a smoked almond nuttiness and an almost funky rummy molasses next to browned butter.
Palate: The palate really leans into the smoked almonds with a nice savory edge while the butter marries the holiday cake and almonds to create rich marzipan with a very mild cedar note that’s like a very old cigar humidor.
Finish: The end just sits on your palate — like a soft hug from an old friend as the nuttiness and dark sweetness slowly fades out, leaving you … happy.
Bottom Line:
This is a great pour of bourbon. Pour it neat or over a rock and you’ll be set.
3. Michter’s US*1 Single Barrel Straight Rye Whiskey 10 Years Old
2022’s only Michter’s 10-Year release was an instant classic. The whiskey is made from a corn-rich rye whiskey mash bill with a good dose of barley in there. The absolute best barrels are chosen — with some up to 15 years old — for this release. Then each of those barrels is individually bottled as-is with a hint of proofing water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rich and lush toffee combine with soft marzipan on the nose as a dash of freshly cracked black pepper lead to cinnamon-laced apple cider and cherry-soaked cedar bark.
Palate: The palate is part Red Hot and part zesty orange marmalade with creamy vanilla pudding, sweet and spicy dried chili peppers with a hint of smoke and woodiness, and this fleeting whisper of celery salt.
Finish: The end dries out the almond with a vanilla cream tobacco, soft and sweet cedar, and dark chocolate orange vibe all balanced to damn near perfection.
Bottom Line:
This is another rye whiskey that has no business tasting as good as it does while still being fairly gettable (albeit at a price).
All of that aside, this makes the best Manhattan you’ll ever have. I like to call them $50 Manhattans. They never fail to wow.
2. Michter’s US*1 Limited Release Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 20 Years Old
Master Distiller Dan McKee personally selects these (at least) 20-year-old barrels from the Michter’s rickhouses based on… I guess just “pure excellence” would be the right phrase. The bourbon is bottled as-is — no cutting with water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: A sense of dark cherry with deep rummy molasses, dried rose petals, old almond shells, and cedar bark mingle with a fresh pipe tobacco leaf just kissed with apple and pear essence with a hint of vanilla oils and old wintry wine spices.
Palate: The taste leans into smoldering vanilla pods with a sense of old oak staves from a dusty old cellar next to sweet cinnamon and cherry over dried sage and sharp spearmint with a clove syrup base and a dash of toasted marshmallow sweetness.
Finish: The end is full of dark cherry and woody spice with moist marzipan, burnt orange oils, and chewy fresh tobacco wrapped up in old leather and cedar bark with a hint more of that old cellar sneaking in.
Bottom Line:
This was my favorite bourbon of 2022. It’s unequivocally a classic from top to bottom and one of the best bourbons that money can buy.
The fourth ever Michter’s Celebration release — and the first one since 2019 — is finally here. This American whiskey is a collaboration between Michter’s Master Distiller Dan McKee and Master of Maturation Andrea Wilson. The duo chose seven whiskeys for this special blend that ranged from twelve to thirty-plus years old. Those barrels were batched and bottled without any cutting with water, creating only 328 bottles for the whole world.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose subtly opens with a sense of dark chocolate cut with brown butter, Saigon cinnamon bark, and a light note of crème brûlée made with just a drop of cognac.
Palate: That boozy vanilla opens the luxurious palate toward a dusting of winter spices — clove, anise, nutmeg — next to stewed peached and burnt orange over singed marshmallows, old smoldering hickory, and orchards full of falling leaves next to whisper of creamy black cherry and candied pecans.
Finish: Those pecans meld with woody maple syrup, more cinnamon bark, orange-studded cloves, and a sense of bushels of orchard fruits mixed with nuts and dried fruits in an old wooden basket and wrapped with thick old twine and leather next to a spiced chocolate-cherry tobacco leaf dropped in the middle of it all.
Bottom Line:
This is easily one of the best whiskeys you can buy in 2023. Most of these bottles will go to investors and their vaults, meaning that if you do find one (especially open at a whiskey bar), try it at the very least. It’s a phenomenal pour of American whiskey.
While Donald Trump is the Republican party’s only official candidate for president for 2024 (so far), his most likely competitor for the GOP nomination is Ron DeSantis. And if that happens, he’s going to need to come up with a lot better material than “Ron DeSanctimonious” to take out the competition — but Seth Meyers isn’t worried.
On Thursday night’s “A Closer Look” segment, Meyers talked about the many similarities between Trump and DeSantis, right down to the bizarre hand movements they make when they’re speaking. “What is this thing they both do with their hands going out and then back in over and over again, like they’re playing an invisible…,” Meyers wanted to know. “They both look like flightless birds who aren’t willing to give up on the dream.”
NBC
Another way in which the two politicians are similar is in how they let stories they’ve heard on Fox News shape their political agendas. Take, for example, the whole gas versus electric stove debate that has been going on. It’s something that both Trump and DeSantis have brought up at recent press conferences, with the latter going so far as to eliminate any tax on gas stoves.
“They want to go after the gas stoves,” DeSantis said of… whoever he thinks “they” are. “We want you to be able to buy those.” Except, as Meyers pointed out, no one in Florida seems to give a sh*t about this conversation, as a mere eight percent of homes in the Sunshine State cook with gas. Which just happens to be the lowest rate of gas stove usage in the country.
“Think about how dumb that is,” Meyers said. “He wants a tax break for a thing his own residents don’t use just because it will make the libs mad. Also, a tax break for gas stoves is SO boring. At least when Trump does the culture wars, he goes all out: ‘Antifa is coming to your house to take away your gas stove and kill Santa Claus.’”
It’s the subtle difference in approach that has Meyers pretty excited to see what happens if Trump and DeSantis really do go head-to-head for the GOP’s nomination:
I have no idea what’s going to happen in the GOP primary, and I’ve certainly been wrong before. But I’m just not sure DeSantis has what it takes. If you hired the world’s greatest scientist to build someone in a lab for Trump to make fun of, you couldn’t do better. I mean, he’s shorter than Trump; he stands weird; he’s got those fancy little white boots. His full name is Ronald Dion DeSantis — that’s 100 percent true. I’m not saying DeSantis won’t win, but Trump’s gonna have a field day with this dork.
‘Many people are saying Ron Celine Dion DeSantis likes to wear big white go-go boots so he seems taller than he is. He’s a very short man. It’s very sad. And that way he stands with his chest, puffed out like a pigeon who stole a French fry.’
Now that Logic has gone fully independent, it appears he’s increased his output, following up the absolutely massive Vinyl Days just eight months later with College Park, his first album under the new Three Oh One Productions imprint.
Everything you need to know about College Park can be found below.
Release Date
College Park is out on February 24 via Three Oh One Productions.
Tracklist
As of February 3, the tracklist has not yet been revealed, but two songs, “Wake Up” and “Highlife,” have been released. They are the second and fourteenth tracks, respectively, of the 17-track project.
Features
Logic teased a diverse array of featured artists in the album’s trailer. They include: Andy Hull of Manchester Orchestra; Big Lenbo, Logic’s own artist from Maryland; Texas legend Bun B; C Dot Castro, another Logic signee; DC neighbor Fat Trel; Joey Badass, Jordan Harris; Houston veteran Lil Keke; Lucy Rose; jazz chanteuse Norah Jones; DC rapper Phil Ade; Redman; RZA; Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane; and respected rap producer Statik Selektah.
Artwork
Logic
Singles
“Wake Up” and “Highlife.”
Tour
A tour for College Park hasn’t been announced yet. Stay tuned.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
With the Fast X trailer only a week away, Universal is getting fans of the vehicular action series pumped with a high-octane trip down memory lane. Starting with the original The Fast and the Furious film, the studio is dropping the legacy trailers for each movie in the series before finally releasing the epic new trailer for Fast X on January 10.
Ahead of the trailer countdown, Vin Diesel started touting the film on Instagram where he gave a shoutout to the latest addition to the Fast and Furious crew Jason Momoa. The Aquaman star will reportedly play the film’s villain, and then presumably become a beloved fixture at the family barbecue’s as these films do.
“Two weeks away from the FastX trailer launch!!!!” Diesel wrote at the end of January. “Blessed to be a part of a Saga that encourages such great work from the many amazing artists that have made this the world’s Saga! A still from set after an intense, week long scene with my brother @prideofgypsies.”
You can see the new trailers below that will pop up each day on The Fast Saga YouTube channel before finally culminating in the first look at Fast X.
The Fast and the Furious
2 Fast 2 Furious
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
Fast X revs into theaters on May 19, 2023.
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