Last year proved fruitful for Atlanta rapper Kali. With the release of her critically-acclaimed EP Toxic Chocolate, as well as landing XXL‘s coveted Freshman List, we knew she was no flash in the pan. Today (April 6), Kali is back with a gender-flipped spin on a Ludacris classic.
On her new single, “Area Codes,” Kali breaks down the roster of the many men waiting to see her when she touches down in their city.
Some of these contenders include “a white boy on my roster” who feeds her “pasta and lobster,” as well as a man “from the trap” who prefers to “stay off the map.”
“I got hoes / In different area codes / Everywhere I go / I call and they drop the lo’,” she raps over a snappy beat on the song’s chorus. Though there’s no direct sample of Ludacris’ “Area Codes,” the song sounds like an empowered version of his early hit, but for a new generation of ladies running the game.
In the accompanying video, she is joined by a flashy clique in a school setting, as she lays down the law, reminding the men that she can’t be tied down.
You can watch the video above.
Kali is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Still, not all Scotch whisky is created equal, and it’s not all worth the price of entry. This is why we feel duty-bound to share 10 bottles that are worth the price tag. These are the bottles that truly transcend. They’re rare but they’re also… just f*cking delicious. Frankly, that combination is paramount when selecting a Scotch whisky at this price point.
While all of these bottles are great whiskies, I did rank them. I’d argue that 10 through six are all bangers but a bit more niche. The top five are all that perfect mix of fleeting and delectable that they transcend beyond any price-tag-based hesitation. Find the one that speaks to you and hit that price link to see if you can find it in your area. Let’s dive in!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Scotch Whisky Posts of The Last Six Months
This Lowlands whisky is all about tradition and patience in a nearly-thousand-year-old abbey setting. The wash is made from Kingdom of Fife barley with an extra-long fermentation period. After distillation, the juice is loaded into ex-bourbon barrels, ex-wine barriques (casks from Bordeaux), and sherry butts. Those barrels are batched and blended before proofing and bottling as-is without filtration or coloring.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: A pile of grilled tropical fruits greets you on the nose with pineapple and mango being the most distinct alongside wintry spices, a touch of vanilla, old leather gloves, and a hint of sweet oak.
Palate: The taste largely follows that path and layers in fresher orchard fruits, some dried-out dates, more dark spice, and a touch of dry vanilla tobacco.
Finish: The end is a distillation of the sugars from the tropical fruits with a line of spicy malts tying it all together.
Bottom Line:
This is a real whisky nerd whisky. This is the bottle you break out when you have some hardcore whisky fans over who you can regal with stories of rare Lowland whisky, speculate about old abbey monks, and go deep on finishing barrels. Oh yeah, the whisky is tasty and unique too, which is sure to spark more conversation.
9. Teaninich Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 17 Years
Teaninich is one of the rarest drops from the Diageo distilleries. There is the Flora and Fauna edition and this 2016 limited edition. The rest of the whisky goes into Johnnie Walker. This drop was comprised of malt aged in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry and then bottled at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is very Highland on the nose of orange marmalade on butter wheat toast bespeckled with pumpkin seeds, poppy seeds, and maybe a sunflower seed or two next to vanilla candies wrapped in white wax paper and a touch of canned brown bread.
Palate: The palate has an apple cider vibe with hints of that brown bread sweetness leading towards the syrup from a can of peaches, eggnog spices, and a hint of cedar.
Finish: The finish is soft and slow and leans into the peaches as the spice gently fades towards apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks and allspice berries.
Bottom Line:
If you can find this, you’re going to be in for a treat. It’s really one of those brands that you’ll wish had so many more expressions on the shelf.
8. Cardhu Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 16 Years 2022 Special Release
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.
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.
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.
Hailing from the Tobermory Distillery on Mull, this brand is all about the peat. The whisky was made to mimic the hardcore peated whiskies of the 1700s that were made in the Inner Hebrides. That heavily peated barley is mixed with local spring water for fermentation. Finally, the whisky spends 18 years in used oak before a finishing spell in Oloroso sherry casks.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with a nose full of smoked apple and pear chips with a woody underbelly next to dates and prunes swimming in dark spices and honey with a touch of sweet cherrywood.
Palate: The palate leans into the spice with a mix of ground ginger, allspice, clove, nutmeg, and maybe some mace as fatty pork belly smokiness adds some serious depth and creaminess.
Finish: The finish has a malty chocolate vibe that leads to more smoky fat, woody spice, and dark leather fruit on the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is one of those whiskies that if you know, you know. And if you know, you know how great it is. If not, it’s time to grab a bottle and dig in.
6. Octomore 13.3 Edition Aged 5 Years Super Heavily Peated Islay Single Malt Scotch 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.
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.
Bottom Line:
This is the whisky for the peat-seeking whisky nerds out there. That said, this is a nuanced and subtle peated malt that has so much more than just “smoke” or “ashiness” on the palate. If you can get past that (or if you love it), you’ll be treated to a truly deep and fun whisky experience. And if the peat is too much, try it with a large ice cube. It’ll calm down the harsher edges of the ash and sea brine while amping up the creaminess of the nuttiness, orange, and caramel.
This brand-new release from Compass Box came off the bottling lines in December of 2022 and is hitting shelves right now. The blend in the bottle is a mix of single malts from the Imperial Distillery, Miltondu Distillery, and Glen Elgin Distillery with a single grain whisky from Cameronbridge Distillery.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a stewed pear with a deep sense of orchards in the sun next to bright pineapple, burnt orange, and a lush sense of vanilla buttercream.
Palate: Tart berries lead to macadamia nut cookies with a hint of floral honey, oolong tea, and savory guava with a touch of honeyed malt.
Finish: That honeyed malt drives the finish with a creamy nuttiness and a touch of spiced and creamy chai.
Bottom Line:
This is a stellar blended whisky. It’s so easygoing and luxurious. Again, I get that it’s spendy, but you’re not going to see this blend like this again until next year so act now.
4. MaltyVerse First Edition 30-Year-Old Single Cask Whisky
The first-ever whisky released as a comic book — and available in the U.S. right now — is way more than just a gimmick. The whisky in this bottle is a super-rare 30-year-old whisky from the now-shuttered Cambus Distillery in Scotland. That means that you’re never seeing this whisky again. The actual juice was aged for three decades in first-fill ex-sherry butts (huge 500-liter barrels) and then bottled in 2021 with a touch of proofing water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The opens with a dried fruit salad brimming with brandy-soaked dried cherries with a hint of tartness to them, rum-soaked raisins, stewed plums, Earl Grey-soaked dates, and some prunes swimming in cinnamon syrup spiked with cloves, allspice, and star anise next to a hint of oakiness by way of an old dirt cellar floor.
Palate: The palate leans into the dried fruit while layering in mulled wine spices with a sour yet sweet edge next to a hint of minced meat pie next to Christmas nut cake with plenty of fatty nuts and a hint of fig pudding.
Finish: The end opens with a hint of red peppercorn spice next to dried vanilla pods, a twinge of date pits, and a whisper of huckleberry tobacco leaves.
Bottom Line:
Comic book tie-in aside, this is a superb pour of whisky that would stand up to any whisky pro’s palate and give them a new thrill.
3. Glenfiddich Grand Cru Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 23 Years
It’s all in the name of this yearly special release from Glenfiddich. The whisky in the bottle matures for over 23 years in both ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks before it’s vatted and then filled into French Cuvée casks that held Champagne. That whisky is then cut down to proof and bottled just in time for the holiday season.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is straight-up classic malt on the nose with stewed apples and pears with a slight tartness and floral impression over a buttery brioche with a hint of maple woodiness.
Palate: The palate is lush and supple with a vanilla foundation and layers of pear candy, old toffees, creamed honey, and orchard wood with a sweet side.
Finish: The end has a pear and apple skin ambiance that leads to barks, cores, and stems with soft floral honey and a tiny bit of proofing water.
Bottom Line:
If you looked up Scotch whisky (unpeated) in the dictionary, this bottle might be there as the prime example of the style. It’s delicious and deeply flavored for the experts while still being 100% accessible, even to a new whisky drinker. It’s a wonderful balancing act and something that you can go back to again and again.
This new whisky from Compass Box is part of the Extinct Blends Quartet they’ve been releasing. The blend is about 50% malt whiskies from Caol Ila and Glendullan distilleries and grain whiskies from Cameronbridge and Girvan distilleries and 50% malt and grain whiskies from seven other lots from all over Scotland. The end result is bottled as-is without coloring, filtration, or proofing.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a light sense of briny fruitiness on the nose with a sweet toffee candied malt, light pine varnish, and a hint of smoked pear and apple woods.
Palate: The palate has a nuttiness that leans toward smoked pecans and marzipan with a light feel of minced meat pies cut with dark spices and just a whisper of vanilla that leads back to mild earthy peatiness with a whisper of smoked brisket fat.
Finish: The end is all about stewed plums with a rum-raisin and winter spice feel.
Bottom Line:
Compass Box is always ready with something big and enticing, and this whisky hits every high mark the blending house is known for.
1. Ardbeg Traigh Bhan Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 19 Years Old
This is Ardbeg’s yearly release of special batches of 19-year-old peaty malt. The whisky is Ardbeg’s signature, heavily peated whisky that’s bottled during a “haar.” That’s a thick and briny foggy morning on Islay, which imparts that x-factor into the whisky before it goes into the bottle.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: A soft smokiness comes from smoldering lime leaves that lead to a hint of sour cream bespeckled with fennel seeds and wrapped up in cold-smoked salmon with a hint of pine resin and black tea in the background of the nose.
Palate: The palate has this soft and sweet hint of grilled pineapple that works the taste toward salted dark chocolate fudge, orange zest, and dried lavender with a whisper of wet granite and sea-soaked charcoal.
Finish: The end has a slight sweet ash vibe that’s more fruity than peaty with a sense of seawater-soaked wood smoldering away and roasting some marshmallows.
Bottom Line:
Ardbeg hit a pinnacle with their 19-year Traigh Bhan yearly limited release. It’s a masterpiece of peated audaciousness and one of the best peated malts from Islay, full stop.
People often perceive Fashion as an industry that prioritizes profit over people. But Passion Lilie is challenging this notion. It’s an ethical fashion brand committed to creating beautiful and sustainable garments through ethical fashion/ They create affordable, high-quality clothing using sustainable and eco-friendly methods with a focus on fair trade practices and artisanal techniques.
Passion Lilie was founded in 2013 by Katie Schmidt, a fashion lover with a passion for sustainability and social responsibility. She always loved the world of fashion but was also aware of the industry’s negative impact on people and the environment. So she started Passion Lilie to create change and make a positive difference.
The brand began as a small collection of handmade clothing created in partnership with fair trade artisans in India. Since then, Passion Lilie has grown into a full-fledged fashion brand known for its unique designs and commitment to ethical fashion. The brand’s mission is to create clothing that is beautiful, sustainable, and socially responsible. This mission is inspired by the idea that fashion can be a force for good.
Passion Lilie approaches ethical fashion with three key principles: sustainability, social responsibility, and affordability. The brand is committed to minimizing its environmental impact by using eco-friendly materials and processes, such as organic cotton and natural dyes. In addition, Passion Lilie partners with fair trade organizations and artisanal communities to ensure that its garments are ethically made. Finally, Passion Lilie strives to make its clothing affordable because ethical clothing shouldn’t just be for the wealthy.
Passion Lilie is not just a fashion brand; it’s a movement toward a more sustainable and equitable future. The company’s commitment to ethical fashion is reflected in every aspect of its business, from sourcing materials to producing garments. The brand’s designs are inspired by nature and traditional textile techniques, giving each garment a unique and timeless quality. By choosing Passion Lilie, consumers can feel good about their purchase, knowing that they are supporting a brand that is making a positive impact on the world.
Passion Lilie is a brand committed to ethical manufacturing practices. The brand’s commitment to fair trade is a core mission. It partners with fair trade organizations and artisanal communities to ensure its garments are made ethically and sustainably. By working with fair trade organizations, Passion Lilie ensures that its workers are paid fair wages and have safe working conditions. The brand’s commitment to fair trade is not just about meeting basic standards but about creating a better future for all those involved in the manufacturing process.
Artisanal Techniques Passion Lilie’s garments are made using traditional artisanal techniques, which give each garment a unique and timeless quality. By working with skilled artisans, the brand creates clothing that is not only beautiful, but also sustainable and socially responsible. These techniques include hand block printing, hand embroidery, and hand weaving, which are all labor-intensive and require a high level of skill. By incorporating these techniques into its manufacturing process, Passion Lilie supports artisanal communities and promotes the preservation of traditional textile techniques.
The brand uses organic cotton, which is grown without harmful chemicals and is better for the environment and the people who grow it. The brand also uses organic dyes that do not contain toxic chemicals. In addition, Passion Lilie is committed to minimizing its environmental impact by using energy-efficient production processes and reducing waste. By prioritizing sustainable materials and production processes, Passion Lilie sets a new standard for the fashion industry and proves that it is possible to create beautiful, sustainable clothing made with respect for people and the planet.
The fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world, with significant environmental impacts from textile production, dyeing, and transportation. Passion Lilie recognizes the urgent need for sustainable fashion practices and is committed to reducing its environmental impact. The brand’s approach to sustainable fashion is grounded in the principle of “reduce, reuse, and recycle.” The brand’s production processes are designed to minimize waste and reduce energy consumption. Passion Lilie also emphasizes durability and quality in its designs, encouraging customers to buy fewer, higher-quality garments that will last for years.
In addition to using organic cotton and organic dyes, the brand also incorporates recycled materials into its designs. Passion Lilie uses recycled cotton , made from textile wastage. The brand also uses eco-friendly printing practices and packaging materials, minimizing its carbon footprint and waste.
Through its focus on sustainable materials and practices, Passion Lilie is setting an example for the fashion industry and demonstrating that it is possible to create beautiful, high-quality garments that are also environmentally responsible.
The world of fashion has historically been dominated by men, and women have faced significant barriers to entry and advancement. By partnering with women-led initiatives and supporting women’s education, healthcare, and entrepreneurship, Passion Lilie is helping to create a more equitable and inclusive fashion industry. Passion Lilie is also committed to promoting diversity and representation in its marketing and advertising and actively seeks to feature women of all ages, sizes, and backgrounds in its campaigns. By prioritizing women’s rights and equality, Passion Lilie is leading the way in creating a more just and sustainable fashion industry.
The brand is also committed to empowering women in India. The brand works with women-led initiatives and provides them with a platform to showcase their skills and talent. These partnerships enable them to support women’s education, healthcare, and entrepreneurship and help break down gender barriers in the fashion industry.
Passion Lilie’s fans rave about the brand’s unique designs, high-quality fabrics, and comfortable fits. Customers frequently share their purchases on social media and tag the brand, generating a buzz around its products. But the company’s community engagement goes beyond social media. Their impact on customer awareness of ethical fashion extends beyond its brand, inspiring customers to make more informed and intentional choices when it comes to their clothing purchases. After learning about Passion Lilie, many customers report being more conscious of the impact of their clothing purchases and actively seeking out brands that align with their values.
Passion Lilie is dedicated to staying at the forefront of sustainable fashion practices, and the brand is constantly exploring new ways to innovate and reduce its environmental impact. This includes using more eco-friendly materials in its products, developing new techniques for recycling and repurposing fabric waste, and exploring new partnerships to increase sustainability across the entire supply chain. As the fashion industry continues to evolve, Passion Lilie is committed to remaining a leader in ethical and sustainable fashion practices.
It’s important to remember that our purchasing decisions have an impact beyond just the item we’re buying. By supporting ethical and sustainable fashion brands, we’re promoting a culture of conscious consumerism that can have a ripple effect on the industry as a whole. By supporting brands like Passion Lilie, we can create a more equitable and sustainable future for everyone.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Teachers deserve all the kudos, high fives, raises, accolades, prizes and thanks for everything they do. Even if they just stuck to academics alone, they’d be worth far more than they get, but so many teachers go above and beyond to teach the whole child, from balancing equations to building character qualities.
One way dedicated educators do that is by developing relationships and building rapport with their students. And one surefire way to build rapport is to dance with them.
A viral video shared by an assistant principal at Sumner High School & Academy in Riverview, Florida shows a group of students gathered around one student as he challenges a teacher to a dance-off.
“Our 8th grade Stingrays having a well deserved exam dance break,” wrote assistant principal Natalie McClain. “Of course our teachers are ending 2022 with a win.”
The teacher, Ms. Yolanda Turner, took the challenge—and the students went wild.
Watch:
u201cOur 8th grade Stingrays having a well deserved exam dance break. Of course our teachers are ending 2022 with a win. Love my Stingrays ud83dudc99ud83dudc9a Happy Holidays @HCPS_SumnerHSu201d
The student really thought he had her, didn’t he? It looked as if his soul left his body when he tapped her shoulders and then realized what he’d done. But to her credit, she took it in stride and took him out with her dance moves.
“The music was on, all the kids were pumped,” Turner told Fox 13. “So it was like, let’s have a dance challenge. So I’m like, okay, all right, so everybody’s having fun. And I said, ‘I’m going to tap in. I’m going to tap into the dance.'”
“I really try to emphasize for kids to be their authentic selves and to really never be afraid to express who they are no matter who’s watching,” she told the outlet.
This dance-off video is a prime example of how schools can be places of joyful connection in addition to academic achievement. Gaining students’ respect doesn’t require being a stuffy authoritarian hard nose, and students generally respond better to teachers they genuinely care for. Meeting them where they are is one of the best ways to reach kids and creating experiences that include for silliness and fun is one of the best ways to keep them engaged.
Plus, who doesn’t need to blow off a little steam in between exams? What a lovely example of striking a balance between academic rigor and modeling healthy stress relief. Well done, Ms. Turner.
After working six years as a labor and delivery nurse Holly, 30, has heard a lot of inappropriate remarks made by men while their partners are in labor. “Sometimes the moms think it’s funny—and if they think it’s funny, then I’ll laugh with them,” Holly told TODAY Parents. “But if they get upset, I’ll try to be the buffer. I’ll change the subject.”
Some of the comments are so wrong that she did something creative with them by turning them into “inspirational” quotes and setting them to “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton on TikTok.
“Some partners are hard to live up to!” she jokingly captioned the video.
The first video featured the following facepalm-inducing quotes:
“I think you should just get a C-section. This is taking too long.”
“How long is this gonna take? I have plans this weekend.”
“Are you sure you want an epidural? My mom didn’t have one. Before you make a decision, we should talk about it.”
“Sew an extra stitch down there for me, doc. We want everything just the way it was before all of this.”
Part 1: Some partners are hard to live up to! Get you a good one #laboranddelivery #labor
It’s unbelievable that anyone would make such selfish comments while their partner is in the throes of giving birth. Anyone who would ask, “How long is this gonna take?” definitely isn’t prepared to raise a child.
Some TikTok users thought that these women should have left their partners right there in the delivery room.
“LOL immediate divorce, I’m not joking,” Rig wrote. Little_n_often agreed saying, “I’d be getting the divorce papers ready.”
“I would sign the divorce papers while in labor and pushing,” another commenter wrote.
Part 2: some partners are hard to live up to! Get you a good one! #laboranddelivery #babydaddy #labor
“Wake me up when the baby gets here I’m tired.” (Rolls over, puts cover over head and slept thru the birth of his baby.)
“Can you move to the birthing ball so I can sleep in the bed?”
(As the patient is pushing) “Do you guys do DNA tests here? My mom wants me to get one before we leave.”
“Call me when you’re about to have the baby. I’m gonna go with [name redacted] to the bar and watch the game.”
Holly also told TODAY Parents that men should also keep their thoughts on pain medication to themselves and to stop looking at the contraction monitor and making comments.
“She can feel it!” Holly said. “You don’t need to ask her if she felt it. Trust me, she did.”
Holly’s public airing of men’s bad behavior had to be therapeutic, because, as a nurse, she can’t tell them off in the delivery room. But it’s also a warning to men out there on how not to behave when their partners are giving birth. If there was ever a time in the world to stop thinking about yourself, it’s while your partner is giving birth.
Remember guys, think before you say anything in the delivery room, the nurses are listening.
Michael Boatwright, Trayvon Newsome, and Dedrick Williams were convicted of murdering XXXTentacion in 2018 on March 20, 2023. Circuit Judge Michael A. Usan is quoted as telling Boatwright, “You turned a robbery into a murder. On that day, when you stood there and fired that weapon you ended five lives, including your own.”
Boatwright, Newsome, and Williams allegedly ambushed XXXTentacion as he was motorcycle shopping in June 2018, shooting him, and fleeing with a bag containing $50,000 he had just withdrawn from the bank. The suspects were later seen flashing the cash on social media.
All three men were previously found guilty of first-degree murder with a firearm and robbery with a deadly weapon. All three life sentences have a ten-year minimum, and they have 30 days to appeal their sentences. Robert Allen, who pled guilty to second-degree murder and cooperated with authorities in their investigation of the murder, will be sentenced at a future date.
XXXTentacion’s manager Solomon Sobande read an impact statement on behalf of the rapper’s family. “This is a loss we will never truly recover from,” he read. “We will never get to see Jahseh live to his full potential, we will never get to watch him grow old, we will never get to watch him be a father.”
As if we needed another reason to enjoy a tasty beer or three at the end of a long week, this Friday is National Beer Day. For those unaware, this isn’t just a randomly selected spring date where we can all enjoy a tasty IPA, lager, Kolsch, wheat beer, or pale ale. It’s actually celebrated every year to remember when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Cullen-Harrison Act into law (even though that technically occurred on March 22, 1933).
The Cullen-Harrison Act amended the Volstead Act (also known as The National Prohibition Act). It allowed the sale of alcohol and wine up to 3.2% ABV. While not completely overturning the epic blunder that was Prohibition, it was a start. If you didn’t guess already, this act led to the repealing of the Eighteenth Amendment the following December when the Twenty-First Amendment was ratified.
To celebrate this important American historical date, we’ll gladly throw back a few beers. Since it’s spring, we’re sticking to saisons, wheat beers, pilsners, IPAs, Goses, Berliner Weisses, and Kolsch-style beers. Keep scrolling to see eight beloved beers we’ll be imbibing on Friday.
If you’re going to drink a saison or farmhouse ale, you can do much worse than Saison Dupont. Ask any brewer or bartender to tell you their favorite saison and you’ll hear this beer brought up often. This popular 6.5% ABV farmhouse ale has been brewed the same way since 1844. This Belgian classic is known for its lightly malty, spicy, citrus, and fruity flavor.
Tasting Notes:
This beer has a very earthy, funky, almost barnyard smell in the best possible way. The palate follows suit with yeast, orange zest, lemon, wet grass, caramel malts, fruit esters, banana, and light spices. The finish is dry, lightly funky, and highly memorable.
Bottom Line:
If you’re only going to drink one saison in these early spring days, make it Saison Dupont. You’ll be happy you imbibed this well-balanced, funky, classic beer.
The classic, salty, tart, refreshing flavor profile of a well-made Gose is hard to top on an unseasonably warm spring day. One of the best is Union Old Pro Gose. This complex beer gets its fruity, citrus, lightly flavor from being brewed with wheat, Pilsner, Acidulated malt, and Perle hops. German ale yeast and Lactobacillus add tartness and acidity. Salt and coriander seed add spice and salinity.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is classic Gose aromas of tart citrus, earthy funk, and yeasty bread. Drinking it reveals freshly baked bread, yeast, coriander, lemon, grass, and a nice hit of puckering salt throughout. The finish is dry and refreshing. All in all, it’s a fairly simple, yet well-made Gose.
Bottom Line:
Who wouldn’t want to enjoy a lightly salty, citrus-filled, crisp, refreshing Gose on a warm spring day?
When it comes to spring beers, it’s difficult to beat the appeal of a crisp, refreshing Kölsch or Kölsch-style beer. Notch’s “Cologne Style Ale” is brewed with Pilsner malts, Spalt hops, and Kölsch yeast. It’s known for its crisp, lightly spicy, floral, Noble hop flavor profile.
Tasting Notes:
Simple, inviting aromas of cereal grains, light spices, and floral hops greet you before your first sip. The palate is dry and crisp with citrus peels, cereal grains, freshly baked bread, and floral, lightly spicy, earthy hops making appearances. It’s a crushable, refreshing beer for the spring days ahead.
Bottom Line:
This “Cologne Style” Kölsch is as authentic as an American version can be. It’s crisp, clean, and sublimely well-balanced.
Spring is a great time for sour beers, specifically Berliner Weisses. One of our favorites is Creature Comforts Athena. This 4.5% sour ale is available year-round but shines in the spring. This wheat beer is refreshing and tart due to Creature Comforts proprietary house blend of lactobacillus.
Tasting Notes:
The nose of yeasty bready, tart citrus, wheat, and herbal, floral hops lets you know what you’re in for. Sipping it brings forth notes of crisp apples, citrus peels, white grapes, and lightly bitter, floral hops at the end. It’s perfectly balanced between spice, yeast, acid, tart flavor, and earthy hops.
Bottom Line:
This isn’t the most exciting Berliner Weisse you’ll ever have (you’d probably want to stick to German beers for the). But it’s refreshing, balanced, and well-suited for a spring evening.
Hopworks recently launched brand new label designs for all of its beers. One of those beers is its popular Ace of Spades Imperial IPA. This bold 8.6% ABV imperial IPA gets its flavor from the addition of 2-row malts and Centennial, Simcoe, Mosaic, and Citra hops. It’s a great choice for an unseasonably cool spring night.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is classic IPA with dank pine taking center stage. It’s followed close behind by caramel malts and light fruity aromas. The palate begins with bready malts and caramel flavor that compliments the citrus and dank, resinous pine of the hops. The finish is pleasantly bitter and memorable.
Bottom Line:
This is a bold, higher ABV IPA for the true, dank hops fans. It’s bitter and resinous and perfect for this time of year.
While you can’t go wrong with a classic American wheat beer like Allagash White, we suggest going to the origin and grabbing a sixer of Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier. This classic German beer is hazy, and fruity, and has the traditional clove and banana flavor European wheat beer fans crave.
Tasting Notes:
Aromas of bubblegum, bananas, yeasty bread, wheat, and cloves draw you in for your first sip. Drinking it brings a symphony of banana, freshly baked bread, cloves, fruit esters, and lightly floral, noble hops. It’s sweet, dry, and highly refreshing.
Bottom Line:
There’s a reason Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier is one of the most popular wheat beers in the world. It ticks all the wheat beer boxes and then some.
Russian River is well-known for its “Pliny” beers and other IPAs. But, if you’re sleeping on its STS Pilsner, you’re truly missing out. This Keller pils gets its name because STS is the code for Sonoma, California’s airport. Dry-hopped with European hops, it’s hoppy, and crisp but also has a nice, malty backbone.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is loaded with yeasty bread, citrus peels, and floral, Noble hops. The palate continues this trend. Dry-hopping adds extra aroma and flavor without bitterness. The result is an exceptionally crisp, refreshing, hoppy, yeasty, lightly hazy pilsner you’ll drink all year long.
Bottom Line:
This German-style pilsner gets an American twist with dry-hopping, creating a flavorful mix of old world and new.
Formerly only available for a limited time during the year, this double IPA is now available all year long. Celebrate National Beer Day by drinking this masterful IPA that’s brewed with Azacca hops in the kettle and dry-hopped with Citra and Mosaic hops.
Tasting Notes:
There are a ton of tangerine, lemon, caramel malt, and dank pine needle aromas on the nose. The palate is more candied orange peels, lemon, wet grass, bready malts, and a whole forest of resinous, bitter pine trees. The finish is dry and refreshing and leaves you craving more.
Bottom Line:
We couldn’t be more excited that this beer is available year-round. It’s a well-made, flavorful DIPA that we never get tired of.
Look, if you don’t want to, don’t — no one is forcing your hand here. But American whiskey at this price point does tend to veer from “very good” to transcendent. At the end of the day, you’re paying for more than just some oak-flavored corn-spirit. You’re paying for the years of meticulous fussing over barrels by people who spent decades mastering whiskey, to the point that it’s damn near magical. That’s worth paying for.
To that end, I’m calling out 12 bottles of bourbon whiskey that fit the “transcendent” bill. This is the stuff that is simply better in every way than those $50 bottles of bourbon. In my opinion, they’re worth the price tag to help expand your palate (and your collection too, I suppose).
I did rank these bottles. They all slap but the top half of this list (numbers six through one) are just on another level. Still, go through and read my professional tasting notes and find the bottle that sparks your interest. Then hit that price link and see if you can find the bottle you want in your neck of the woods. Be warned: Bourbon at this price point is extremely allocated and therefore inflated price-wise outside of a few tiny circumstances. Prices will vary depending on location and which vintage of these expressions you come across. Let’s dive in!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
This is the main age-statement whiskey from Weller. The barrels spend at least 12 years mellowing (some say the barrels can reach into the 20-year range) before they’re vatted, proofed down, and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with soft orchard fruits — think old peaches and bruised pears — that lead to a spun wool, vanilla-heavy pancake batter, and really good marzipan with an echo of rose water and orange oils next to soft and worn wicker canes wrapped in old leather sheets.
Palate: The taste is a perfect balance of cherry wood, dried cranberry, buttery Southern biscuits, salted toffee candy, and Christmas spices (clove and nutmeg heavy).
Finish: The end lets those sharp spices shine but isn’t hot by any stretch alongside moist angel food cake, apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks, and orange-infused marzipan with a hint of dark chocolate coating and a mild sense of old (damn near musty) cherry tobacco leaves.
Bottom Line:
This is an iconic whiskey at an extremely approachable ABV. It’s just an easy AF sipper without water or ice. Adding some, and you’ll get this silky and luxurious pour of Weller that’s damn near second to none.
2022’s Yellowstone Limited Edition is a masterstroke of blending by Master Distiller Stephen Beam. The whiskey in the bottle is a mix of seven, 15, and 16-year barrels finished in Sicilian Marsala Superiore casks (a drier sherry-like Sicilian fortified dessert wine). Once batched, the whiskey is just touched with water to bring it down to 101 proof, which yielded about 30,000 bottles for this limited run.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens soft with an almost meaty dried apricot dipped in pine-laced honey with a line of cinnamon-spiced tobacco sharpening the nose.
Palate: The palate has a mild sticky toffee pudding vibe with plenty of cinnamon and nutmeg next to meaty dates, rum-raisin, and a hint of walnut cake with a twinge of butteriness.
Finish: The end leans into those sweet dates with a hint of black tea and a dash of wet brown sugar before raisins packed in vanilla tobacco leaves round things out.
Bottom Line:
If you buy one bottle of Yellowstone, make it this one. This is the brand’s mountaintop.
10. John J. Bowman Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey Single Barrel
A. Smith Bowman Distillery — a sibling distillery to Buffalo Trace in Virginia — is renowned for bottling some of the boldest bourbons in the game. This release is a no-age-statement and undisclosed mash bill of Virginia whiskey that’s around 10 years old. The whiskey is just proofed to 100 proof with local spring water before bottling as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Pain au chocolate leads the way on the nose with chewy toffee candies, Granny Smith apple skins, rich vanilla pods, and a hint of sweet cedar planks rubbed with apple-cinnamon tobacco leaves.
Palate: The palate is sweet and classic as dark Karo syrup leads toward heavy doses of vanilla in a crispy pecan waffle with a side of chocolate milkshake, dark fruit leather, figs, dates, and a hint of marzipan.
Finish: The mid-palate amps up the leathery dark fruit sweetness then tumbles toward an almond-chocolate-toffee vibe on the end with a hint of oak, old leather, and figgy tobacco on the finish.
Bottom Line:
This is some good damn whiskey. It’s also far more approachable than the barrel-proof releases from the distillery, making this a must-have if you’re looking to get into the Virginia juice.
9. Elmer T. Lee Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Elmer T. Lee is another hugely popular release from Buffalo Trace that’s very limited (and sought after). The mash bill has a higher rye content and the barrels are kept in a special location. It’s said that the barrels for Elmer T. Lee are stored where the master distiller himself used to store the barrels he kept for his own stash.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this is like a decadent breakfast of pancakes smothered in cinnamon butter, dripping with the best maple syrup, and topped with a hand-made scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Palate: The palate holds onto the vanilla and spice but settles into more of a floral honeyed sweetness with touches of cedar, old library book leather, and a hint of tobacco buzz.
Finish: The end lingers for a while and leaves you with a dry pear tobacco warmth next to a cinnamon heat and maple bar sweetness.
Bottom Line:
This is a really good single-barrel product though very fleeting. I’d argue it’s worth buying closer to its $40 MSRP instead of its inflated aftermarket price (you can sometimes find these for closer to $100 in Kentucky for instance). Still, it’s a good pour for slow sipping, especially over a rock or two, or mixing into a phenomenal Manhattan.
8. Boondocks Straight Bourbon Whiskey Cask Strength Aged 18 Years
This limited edition release is all about who’s making the whiskey. Legendary Master Distiller David Scheurich is behind this blend. For those not in the know, he came up the ranks working at Seagram (now MGP), Wild Turkey, and Brown-Forman before starting his own shingle. Scheurich selected very rare barrels that were at least 18 years old for this release and ended up with a mere 1,620 bottles.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Salted toffee dipped in ground winter spice opens the nose toward pecans rolled in maple syrup, dark cherry bark, and a sense of dry spice barks and buds next to this faint flutter of dried mimosa blooms.
Palate: Rich vanilla pods mingle with that salted toffee on the front of the palate as dark chocolate-covered coffee beans lead to a dark and sweet cherry syrup, old oak staves, and a rush of orchard fruit and bark.
Finish: The end is lush and full of soft vanilla and cherry notes that fold into a spiced tobacco leaf and old cedar box.
Bottom Line:
This is another rare whiskey that you simply may never see again. The price is steep, but the whiskey is delicious. It’s a good combination. If you’re looking for something special to add to your collection this spring, this is a very good option.
7. Bardstown Bourbon Company Collaborative Series Plantation Rum Finish Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Bardstown Bourbon Company cannot miss with their special oak barrel finish collaborations. This whiskey is made from a 10-year-old Tennessee bourbon with a high-corn mash bill of 84% corn, 8% rye, and 8% malted barley. After just over eight years in new oak, the whiskey is transferred to Plantation rum barrels for another 22 months of resting.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Spiced orange cake with caramel and burnt sugar frosting drive the nose toward gingersnaps and warm tiki cocktails with a dry cherry vanilla powder underbelly.
Palate: Apple cobbler and nutty banana bread are pronounced on the lush taste with a sense of walnut paste, dried apricot, and mulled wine spices next to brown sugar syrup cut with chili and pecan.
Finish: The end has a silken sense of vanilla syrup cut with burnt orange, rum raisin mincemeat pies, and buttermilk biscuits with marmalade and woody winter spice.
Bottom Line:
This is a great sipper that delivers deep rummy notes with a nice bourbon-y underbelly. Add a little water to this and it gets super creamy, almost like a bespoke orange creamsicle dipped in nutty dark spiced syrup. It’s fabulous.
6. Blanton’s Gold Edition Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
This single-barrel masterpiece was made for the international market but is now available widely in the U.S., albeit for a heftier price. The juice is all about the refinement of the single barrel aging process, with masterful finishing to bring this down to a very drinkable 102-proof (regular Blanton’s is 93-proof).
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a big greeting on the nose with notes of spicy tobacco leaves next to honey, dark berries, and orange oils.
Palate: The palate carries those notes forward while leaning into the tobacco and amping up the rye pepperiness then balancing it with a bit more honey and caramel.
Finish: The finish takes its time fading out as notes of vanilla, spice, and oak linger — with a final billow of pipe tobacco popping at the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is so goddamn soft and refined while still holding onto big notes that make it “Blanton’s.” That citrus, honey, berries, tobacco, spice … everything just works, making this an amazingly easy-going slow sipping whiskey.
This 2022 Master’s Collection (that was just released in February 2023) experiments with entry proof. Master Distillers Chris Morris and Elizabeth McCall loaded this whiskey into barrels at a low 100-proof and let it do its thing (125 proof is the industry standard though that varies wildly these days). Once the whiskey in those barrels hit the best flavor profile, it was bottled completely as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose draws you in with real vanilla pods layers into apple-cinnamon coffee cake, spice-rich eggnog, hazelnut cream, black cherry pie filling, and a flutter of fresh and sharp spearmint dipped in creamy dark chocolate and then hit with a flake of smoked salt.
Palate: The coffee cake leans toward banana bread with walnuts on the palate as huckleberry jam leans into an almost sour creamy espresso with a shot of mint chocolate syrup.
Finish: Burnt orange arrives late to cut through the sweetness and adds more bitterness as old oak and dry tobacco round things out.
Bottom Line:
Woodford Master Collection releases are always worth adding to your home collection. This one rises above with an amazingly nuanced profile that starts on the deep nose and finishes so luxuriously that you’ll want to go back and buy a case of this stuff.
4. Booker’s Small Batch 2022-02 “The Lumberyard Batch” Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
The second Booker’s release of 2022 is a masterful blend of barrels from seven locations around Jim Beam’s rickhouses. Those barrels are mostly from the seventh floor of those rickhouses, with one coming from the ninth floor. All of them averaged out to this whiskey being seven years, one month, and seven days old before it was batched and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with a rush of dry nutshells next to old cellar beams, soft old boot leather, salted caramel sauce, sweet black cherries, and dry tobacco leaves and cedar bark braided together.
Palate: The palate has a creamy and lush vanilla underbelly that supports a hint of chocolate chip cookie next to fresh broom bristles, caramel apple from the state fair, and a whisper of freshly cracked black peppercorn with a dash of dried ancho underneath it all.
Finish: The end is all about salted peanuts covered in dark yet creamy chocolate with beautiful lush vanilla tobacco chewiness wrapped in that old leather and cedar.
Bottom Line:
This is another whiskey that’s just hard to beat. Overall, I like the heat of this one neat, but you might need a rock to calm it down a tad and help the deeper flavors express themselves. Either way, you’ll be in for the best of the best from the Beam team.
3. Very Olde St. Nick Antique Barrel Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey Aged 12 Years
This is a brand with a long story that stretches back to Julian Van Winkle, III, and the legendary Stitzel-Weller distillery. The barrels were from leftover whiskey from the same warehouses that aged old-school Pappy until it ran out. Then Diageo got into the mix and they started sourcing barrels from Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (which makes Willett). Today, the whiskey is craft-made in Kentucky but still relies heavily on sourced whiskey from some of the best stocks in Kentucky.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a subtle note of salted caramels on the nose with a hint of dried roses, oily vanilla pods, and a warm spicy mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove with a cherry Coke edge.
Palate: The palate is like a rum-soaked Christmas cake with fatty almonds, candied fruits, dried fruits, and a lot of nutmeg, allspice, and clove with a light touch of silky softness.
Finish: The finish leans into the fattiness of the nuts while the spice gets chewy with a tobacco edge as it very slowly fades away, leaving you with a note of dried fruit.
Bottom Line:
This is going to vary in price drastically, depending on what vintage you actually find. If you come across an old Stitzel-Weller version, it’ll probably be a lot (astronomically more expensive) at an auction and you will be outbid. The new stuff remains very collectible because it’s a very small release of bottles that rarely pop up outside of Kentucky.
Brasstacks, this is collectible whiskey that also tastes amazing. It’s definitely going to cost you but it’ll always deliver excellence.
2. Wild Turkey Master’s Keep One Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
This whiskey is a blend of Jimmy and Eddie Russells’ favorite barrels. Jimmy chose nine to 10-year-old barrels and Eddie added in 14-year-old barrels of their classic bourbon. Once batched, the father and son team re-barrels the whiskey into new oak with a special toast and char level and then stores those barrels in a timber rickhouse called Tyrone G until they’re just right.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Cinnamon-infused caramel candies mingle with creamed honey and old slices of vanilla cake with an orange-clove-chocolate frosting next to old tobacco leaves and a touch of dried chili pepper flakes on the nose.
Palate: The palate opens with a creamy and lush vanilla foundation that leads to salted caramel over apple cake with a cutting ginger and cinnamon spiciness next to a light touch of dried nasturtiums.
Finish: The end starts sweet and spiced with a mouthful of Hot Tamales before old cherry-choco tobacco folds into an old pine box with a hint of singed cinnamon bark and cherry wood mellow with old boot leather and broken-down lawn furniture.
Bottom Line:
This is a masterpiece.
1. E. H. Taylor, Jr. Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Bottled In Bond
This whiskey is aged in the famed Warehouse C at Buffalo Trace from their Mash Bill No. 1. In this case, single barrels are picked for their perfect Taylor flavor profile and bottled one at a time with a slight touch of water to bring them down to bottled-in-bond proof.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Dried dark fruits and a hint of vanilla wafers mingle with fig fruit leather, a touch of orchard wood, and a deep caramel on the nose.
Palate: The palate holds onto those notes while layering in dark berry tobacco with sharp winter spices, new leather, and a singed cotton candy next to a cedar box filled with that tobacco.
Finish: The finish lingers on your senses for a while and leaves the spice behind for that dark, almost savory fruit note with an echo of blackberry Hostess pies next to soft leather pouches that have held chewy tobacco for decades and a final hint of old porch wicker in the middle of summer.
Bottom Line:
This is really, really good bourbon. In fact, it’s one of my favorite bourbons from Kentucky. If you’re looking for a phenomenal single-barrel product to add to your shelf, this is a must-have.
And yes, this is a $40 MSRP bottle of whiskey. And if you’re in the right spot at the right moment, you might be able to get it for that price once a year. Otherwise, this is 100% worth paying above retail for. It’s that good.
Less than one month ago, The Wire and John Wick star Lance Reddick collapsed at his home and was later pronounced dead at age 60. On Thursday, TMZ reported that Reddick’s cause of death, via the actor’s death certificate, was “Ischemic Heart Disease as well as Atherosclerotic Coronary Artery Disease.” Within hours of that report, PEOPLE relayed a statement from Reddick’s family attorney, James Hornstein, and on behalf of his wife, Stephanie, the statement disputes the coroner’s listed cause of death on the certificate.
It further follows from the family, via Hornstein, that the Coroner’s statement “is not a result of an autopsy” because “[n]o autopsy was performed on Lance.” Hornstein also declared that he had no knowledge of heart or coronary disease ever surfacing in Lance’s medical history. That final detail wouldn’t rule out the possibility of heart disease (nor would being as physically fit as Reddick appeared to be), but with no autopsy being performed and Reddick reportedly being cremated, the subject is a complicated one. Hornstein supplied more information via Reddick’s family and PEOPLE:
“Lance was the most physically fit person I’ve ever known. He exercised daily at his home gym, including extensive cardio work, and the availability of gym facilities was a contractual requirement for his work away from home. He ate as if a dietician was monitoring his every meal. The information appearing on the death certificate is wholly inconsistent with his lifestyle.”
Upon initial reports of Reddick’s death, TMZ relayed law enforcement’s word that the actor appeared to have died from natural causes. Mere days later on the John Wick 4 red carpet, co-star Keanu Reeves got choked up over his good friend’s passing and declared, “It f*cking sucks that he’s not here.”
Drake is back, and he’s bringing Kim Kardashian with him. Okay, so, technically, it’s just a sample of Kim from Keeping Up With The Kardashians, but Drake’s dad swears the song isn’t trolling Kanye West, Kim’s ex.
However, Drake just shared the cover art for “Search And Rescue,” his new song dropping at midnight, and fans have already noticed a resemblance between Kim K and the woman in the cover photo with him. “Search And Rescue” is produced by BNYX, who has contributed to songs from Coi Leray and Yeat, and Sadpony, who produced for Lil Yachty on Let’s Start Here and crafted the “Jumbotron Sh*t Poppin” for Drake and 21 Savage last year.
“Search And Rescue” appears to be Drake’s first new solo track since last summer, when he surprised fans with his EDM album, Honestly, Nevermind, and his first solo RAP track since Certified Lover Boy, released the year before. It could also signal that Drake is already prepared to follow-up Her Loss, his joint project with 21 Savage from last fall, as he has been hinting he could do sometime soon.
Either way, Drake fans will surely be relieved that he doesn’t appear to be making that “graceful exit” he talked about with Lil Yachty anytime soon. “Search And Rescue” is out tonight at midnight ET.
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