Few have been as enthusiastic about Greta Gerwig’s unlikely — and apparently excellent — movie take on Barbie than Ryan Gosling. He’s called the script, by Gerwig and her partner Noah Baumbach, “the best script I’ve ever read.” He’s freely bandied about the term “Ken-ergy.” But he wasn’t always sure he was on board.
In a new profile of Gerwig by The New York Times (in a bit caught by The AV Club), the paper speaks to Gosling, who confesses he really dragged his feet saying yes to playing the lesser half of the Barbie-Ken duo. In fact, he spent a year before signing up.
“There were times where I was sure I wasn’t doing the film,” Gosling remembered. “I would call my agent and ask who was playing Ken. And they would say, ‘Greta says you are.’”
Obviously he ultimately gave in. As he puts it, “She was just, in the end, more confident that I should play him than I was that I shouldn’t.”
One thing that may have nudged him into accepting is that they solved one crucial problem: Ken needed, as NYT puts it, “an additional beat.” So they gave him one: a dream dance number, with a song that has already dropped. (When asked about caving in, Gerwig shrugged and said, “I like dream ballets, and I like mothers.”)
In fact, despite the star-studded soundtrack, Ken is the only character who gets to break out into a power ballad — a number that features a “Ken-on-Ken beach battle that leads to a Ken-and-Ken dream ballet that ultimately allows Ken to realize that he is ‘Kenough.’”
Rye whiskeys are certainly sharper, more floral, funkier, and grass-forward and all of that sometimes computes as “spicy” in our heads. But “spices” in whiskey generally come from yeast strains and wood aging and not the type of wheat (rye is a type of wheat) in the recipe.
So what is going on in “high-rye” bourbons? A lot of the flavor profile basically boils down to high-rye bourbons being sharper on the palate. Compared to high-corn bourbon, a high-rye bourbon will be less sweet, less cherry, and less vanilla creamy. Instead, it’ll seem sharper (apple/pear, sage, herb-heavy) and funkier (think sourdough rye bread with caraway or dill), which makes for a different (not more complex) whiskey.
Now, I love me some rye whiskey. It’s my preferred American whiskey pour and cocktail base. So it tracks that I’d lean toward high-rye bourbons, too. Surprisingly enough, I’m not that crazy about them. I like my bourbon sweet and full of vanilla cream, dark cherry, winter spice, and old leather — or “classic”, as it were. There are some rye-heavy bourbons that I do dig, however. So I figured it was high time to line up some rye-forward bourbons for a blind taste test.
Just for some sort of clarity here, I’m defining “high-rye bourbon” as any bourbon with 20% or more rye in the mash bill. That makes our lineup today the following bottles:
Heaven’s Door Aged 10 Years Decade Series Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Series Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Remus Repeal Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey Repeal Series VI
Four Roses Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Still Austin Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey
My wife was kind enough to shuffle and pour these for me. I then tasted through all 10 pours and ranked them by taste alone. It turns out all of these are pretty goddamn good, though a few weren’t as balanced as they could be. That last bit actually made ranking them pretty easy. So read through, find the tasting notes that jump out at you, and then click those price links to see if you can get the bottle in your region!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
Nose: Mocha and leather mix on the nose with fresh-cut green grass and piping hot cornbread dripping with butter and caramel sauce, creating a very grain-forward/crafty vibe.
Palate: The palate starts off with a nice and subtle barrel char leading toward Almond Roca toffees, cherry-chili tobacco, and velvety vanilla cream before those sweet porridge grains kick back in, confirming this as a very crafty bourbon.
Finish: The finish leans into a stewed apple with a hint of clove and sassafras that, in turn, leads to almond tobacco and plenty of cedar wrapped in old leather.
Initial Thoughts:
Well, this is delicious, balanced, and runs deep. I like this one a lot thanks to that matrix of, well, everything. This whiskey just works.
Taste 2
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a hint of dry cornmeal on the nose with clear and rich butterscotch (which feels a little young) alongside vanilla pudding cups, wet brown sugar, and a hint of an old leather jacket.
Palate: The taste holds onto that leather note as a foundation and builds layers of sticky toffee pudding with vanilla buttercream, a handful of roasted almonds, and a thick buttery toffee sauce tying it all together.
Finish: The finish is green with a big note of fresh mint that leads back to the leather with a whisper of dark fruit leather and Red Hots.
Initial Thoughts:
This has a really solid base that gives way to a balanced and lovely profile. It was a little thin on the finish but nice nonetheless.
Taste 3
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet woody notes next to oily vanilla open the nose with a rush of black peppercorns, red chili pepper, and a hint of dark caramel.
Palate: The taste delivers ripe peaches next to more peppery spice and a hint of Christmas spices, with the vanilla taking a backseat and the oak really stepping in to shine.
Finish: The end is spicy, hot, oaky, and peachy, with a hint of caramel corn that fades pretty quickly.
Initial Thoughts:
This was another solid pour. Again, the finish didn’t quite land for me. Still, this was pretty classic bourbon with a good woody spice to it.
Taste 4
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with a balance of old leather boots and freshly cracked black pepper next to a hint of walnut shell, vanilla pod, and orange zest.
Palate: The palate leans into what feels like star fruit as orange marmalade, salted butter, and fresh honey drip over rye bread crusts.
Finish: The end comes with a good dose of peppery spice and old leather as those walnuts and orange combine with a handful of dried fruit and a dusting of winter spices on the finish.
Initial Thoughts:
This has a nicely balanced profile that goes above and beyond. It nails the finish too with a great warming depth. This is a nice one.
Taste 5
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Huge sweet grain porridge notes attach to old figs dipped in pine-y honey as rich (almost wet) pipe tobacco drives the nose with hints of old winter spices that lean sharp and woody.
Palate: Those spices really amp up on the palate with cinnamon sticks, clove buds, and allspice berries leading to a soft eggnog nutmeg creaminess with a hint of vanilla pods and dry cacao nibs all swimming in a bowl of white grits.
Finish: The dryness of the vanilla and winter spices take over the finish as the sip fades, leaving you with powdery cinnamon, dark chocolate, and vanilla with a whisper of apple chips/bark in there too.
Initial Thoughts:
This is a grain bomb that balances out really well toward complex and rewarding whiskey. It’s crafty, sure, but has a deeply rendered bourbon vibe that’s almost fresh.
Taste 6
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a tannic old oakiness on the nose (this is older) with hints of pecan waffles covered in maple syrup with vanilla butter.
Palate: The taste is pure silk with salted caramel, vanilla cream, black licorice, marzipan, and a hint of cinnamon-pecan ice cream with a dusting of powdery chocolate in malt.
Finish: The end has a moment of warmth thanks to that cinnamon before lunging toward old porch wicker, cinnamon bark, star anise, pear tobacco, and old leather with a hint of potting soil.
Initial Thoughts:
This is like sampling silk in a glass. It’s luscious. It’s also delicious.
Taste 7
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a nice sense of toffee, corn husks, and apricot jam on the nose with a hint of eggnog just kissed with spearmint.
Palate: The creamy eggnog — vanilla and nutmeg heavy — drives the palate toward a whisper of cedar and mint chocolate chip with a touch of cedar bark.
Finish: The end is short and dry with a hint of vanilla pod, old cherry syrup, and dank tobacco in a cedar box with a touch of red chili and dry black tea leaves.
Initial Thoughts:
This is good, classic bourbon. It’s a tad on the thin side at the end but there’s enough leading up to that to forgive it. I can see this making a killer cocktail base.
Taste 8
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this one is complex and meaders through mint fields and caramel apple stands as hints of old boot leather, plum jam, winter spice, and a hint of sweet oak round things out.
Palate: The palate opens with a rich toffee before a warmth takes over with a soft spice (nutmeg and allspice) before woody vanilla and creamed honey take over.
Finish: The end feels like a handful of candied fruits wrapped up in leathery tobacco leaves with a hint of cedar bark and dried mint in the background.
Initial Thoughts:
This is classic bourbon that feels like it has a good dose of rye in it — that mint and apple really stands out. This is also a lush bomb and almost impossible not to love.
Taste 9
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Soft and sweet apple and cherry woods greet with a good dose of sour red berries dusted with brown winter spices, especially clove and nutmeg.
Palate: The palate leans into soft and salted caramel with a hint of those berries underneath while the spices get woodier and a thin line of green sweetgrass sneaks in.
Finish: The finish is silky and boils down to blackberry jam with a good dose of winter spice, old wood, and a hint of vanilla tobacco.
Initial Thoughts:
This is amazingly well-balanced and has a good sense of rye and bourbon that works in all the right ways. It was on the thinner side, but not overly so.
Taste 10
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is really fruity. Think a tropical, hazy IPA with clear notes of pineapple, lemon-lime, and maybe a slight hint of savory papaya next to more a-typical bourbon notes of vanilla, holiday spices, and caramel.
Palate: There’s a clear sense of those spices on the palate with a hint of dark chocolate leading back to all that fruit, a touch of marzipan, and a dash of vanilla cream pie.
Finish: The end warms a bit with the fruitiness waning towards a spicy, choco-tobacco end.
Initial Thoughts:
This is great but really blows out the ABVs in the end. It’s hot, hot, hot and a little of the profile gets lost. Still, this is a pretty tasty whiskey overall.
Part 2 — The High-Rye Bourbon Ranking
Zach Johnston
10. Still Austin Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 10
The folks at Still Austin have spent the last six years perfecting their grain-to-glass whiskey experience. The juice is rendered with grains from Texas and water from the ground beneath their feet, all imbued with a crafty Texas vibe in every sip. The actual whiskey is a two-year-old high-rye bourbon (25% Elbon rye grown in Texas) that’s batched to highlight the bright fruits of the new and crafty whiskey.
Bottom Line:
This is only here because of that hot AF finish. Had this been poured over a rock, it’d be much higher. That said, I think this would make a solid cocktail base as mixing this will calm that finish down and let the rest of the beautiful profile shine through.
This is Bulleit letting its high-rye bourbon whiskey (25% rye) shine at full force. The bourbon is small-batched from hand-selected barrels and bottled at the new Bulleit distillery in Kentucky with their own juice mixed in with some old sourced barrels that they’ve been stewarding for years now.
Bottom Line:
This is the opposite of the last entry in that the finish just sort of disappeared. Again, that makes this a great candidate for building a great cocktail.
8. Green River Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 2
Green River Distillery has been pumping out contract distilled juice for a while. In the spring of 2022, they finally released their much anticipated Green River Bourbon to much hoopla. The bourbon is a blend of five years and older barrels of bourbon made from a mash bill of 70% corn, 21% winter rye, and 9% malted two-row and six-row barley.
Bottom Line:
This is a nice whiskey that’s clearly made for mixing whiskey-forward cocktails. Use it accordingly.
7. Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Series Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 7
This new expression from Bardstown Bourbon Company is the team shining a light on their own barrels. The juice for this one is made from a mash bill of 36% rye, making this a classic “high-rye” bourbon. The blend is then built for perfect cocktail mixing.
Bottom Line:
This is 100% the same as above. Good profile, a softer finish, great for cocktails.
6. Four Roses Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 9
Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon is a blend of four whiskeys. The blend is split evenly between the high and less high-rye bourbons (35% and 20% rye respectively) with a focus on “slight spice” and “rich fruit” yeasts. After six to seven years of aging, the whiskey is blended, cut with soft Kentucky water, and bottled.
Bottom Line:
This has a nice balance, a great finish, and good overall rye vibes throughout. This is nice but did feel like it’s made for mixing cocktails more than slow sipping, but only barely.
This exclusive line from Evan Williams and Heaven Hill is a true craft bourbon experience from a huge distiller. The whiskey in the bottle was distilled and aged at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience on Whiskey Row in Louisville, Kentucky. The mash bill for this one is very high rye with 52% corn, 35% rye, and 13% malted barley. The whiskey then ages for just north of five years on Whiskey Row before it’s batched in extremely small batches and bottled with a touch of that local Kentucky limestone water.
Bottom Line:
This is a craft bomb whiskey that balances out amazingly well. Yes, you’ll have to dig the sweet porridge vibes in your bourbon. For me, that’s what makes this fresh and fun. Well, that and the great overall profile.
4. Brother’s Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey Original Cask Strength — Taste 4
The newest release from Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley is an evolution of their brand. The whiskey in the bottle is a blend of three bourbons (all MGP of Indiana) which create a four-grain bourbon with a mash bill of 65% corn, 22% rye, and wheat and barley mixed for the final 13%. That blend was then bottled as-is.
Bottom Line:
This is just good whiskey, folks. Drink it however you like your whiskey poured.
3. Remus Repeal Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey Repeal Series VI — Taste 8
This year’s Remus Reserve is a mix of six to 14-year-old bourbons. Buckle in. The blend is made from 2% of a 2008 bourbon with a 21% rye mash, 27% from a 2012 bourbon with a 21% rye mash, 29% from a 2014 bourbon with a 21% rye mash, 17% from a 2012 bourbon with a 36% rye mash bill, and 25% from a 2014 bourbon with that same very high rye mash bill. Once vatted, the whiskey is just touched with water for proofing and bottled as-is.
Bottom Line:
This had a wonderful balance of funky rye and classic bourbon that just works. This is another pour that you can enjoy however you like your whiskey — neat, on the rocks, or in a cocktail.
2. Heaven’s Door Aged 10 Years Decade Series Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 6
This is the first release in the new series of Bob Dylan’s Heaven’s Door Tennessee whiskeys. The juice is a 10-year-old straight bourbon with 20% rye in the mix that was made in Tennessee but wasn’t charcoal filtered before or after aging. The sourced barrels were blended and just proofed down before bottling without any other fussing.
Bottom Line:
This is f*cking delicious whiskey. I don’t even care if there’s rye in the mix. It’s just too good.
This craft darling from Washington State is all about local ingredients. The mash is rendered from locally grown corn, rye, and barley in a 72/22/6 ratio. The spirit is distilled in Western Washington and then shipped to Eastern Washington to age for at least five years. That whiskey is then batched and bottled as-is with no fussing or cutting.
Bottom Line:
This is a perfect pour. It’s balanced. It highlights herbal rye and classic bourbon creaminess. It’s also just really freaking good.
Part 3 — Final Thoughts on the High-Rye Bourbon
Zach Johnston
Any of the top four entries in this ranking are going to be smart buys. They’re all delicious in their own ways and each one does highlight rye in a special way. I’d say grab number five, the Square 6 High-Rye Bourbon, if you’re looking for a craftier version with a lot of grain-forward vibes.
The rest are all solid mixing bourbon options with the Four Roses Small Batch being the standout. Still, you really want to focus on the Woodinville Cask Strength and Remus if you want the best of the best. Those two bottles rule.
A bombshell was dropped on the NBA world one day prior to the start of free agency. According to multiple reports, James Harden informed the Philadelphia 76ers that he would pick up the player option in his contract for next season, only it would come under the condition that he would like a trade. While there have been a few teams kicked around as potential landing spots for Harden, the Sixers have made pretty clear that they won’t rush into making a move.
The team is willing to drag this out and bring Harden back this year, with Joel Embiid going as far as saying his preference is for Harden to change his mind. It’s an understandable stance for Embiid to have — he’s close with Harden and it stands to reason Philly won’t be able to turn him into another All-Star caliber guard — and there’s even been some optimism that Harden could change his mind. But unfortunately for the team, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN reports that Harden took some time to think about things and still wants out.
“James Harden has spoken to Daryl Morey since the first trade request, and I think there was some cooling off period. ‘OK, let’s let this lie and see how things play out,’” Shelburne said. “And they’ve spoken again, and he still reiterated he wants to be traded. Now, this isn’t a demand, it’s a request. And I think the Sixers have said, ‘OK, we will try to trade you, but there is no hurry to do this.
“I think the Sixers understand here that they have the leverage here,” Shelburne continued. “[Harden] picked up his option, this is an opt-in to a contract and he’s going to be a free agent after this season. And so, at some point, he needs to play, whether that’s in Philadelphia or elsewhere.”
Shelburne did note that there’s a belief that Harden’s relationship with his teammates could potentially lead to him coming around on the idea of playing in Philly next season, although he’s not at that point yet.
Have you ever seen something in a movie or online and thought, “That’s totally fake,” only to find out it’s absolutely a real thing? That’s sort of how this house in Pennsylvania comes across. It just seems too fantastical to be real, and yet somehow it actually exists.
The home sits between Greencastle and Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, and houses a pretty unique public secret. There’s a cave in the basement. Not a man cave or a basement that makes you feel like you’re in a cave, but an actual cave that you can’t get to unless you go through the house.
Turns out the cave was discovered in the 1830s on the land of John Coffey, according to Uncovering PA, but the story of how it was found is unclear. People would climb down into the cave to explore occasionally until the land was leased about 100 years later and a small structure was built over the cave opening.
The idea was to make it accessible to visitors and use the cave as a tourist attraction, and the small structure was eventually built into a two-story house. But it was closed to the public in 1954 after the land was purchased for limestone mining and it remained closed for nearly 70 years. (In the words of Stephanie Tanner, “How rude.”) Sometime during that 70-year closure, the home that contains the cave was purchased by Dara Black, and in 2021, it reopened to the public.
Currently, the home is occupied by Black, but to gain access to the cave you can simply book a tour. The best part about booking a tour is that you only have to make a donation to enter. It’s a pay-what-you-can sort of setup, but since someone actually lives in the home, you can’t just pop in and ask for a tour. You have to go during the “open house” times available.
According to the Black-Coffey Caverns Facebook page, they treat the tours truly as an open house, complete with snacks and drinks. There’s a waiting room area where people can chat and eat their snacks while they wait for the tour to start. They also offer cave yoga once a month. According to Uncovering PA, the tour takes about 45 minutes to complete and there are about 3,000 feet worth of passageways.
Imagine living on top of a cave and just taking strangers on a waltz under your floorboards essentially. It makes me wonder if the house is quiet at night or if you can hear echoes of the cave sounds while you’re trying to sleep. From the Facebook page, it appears that the cave doesn’t have any lights, but there were pictures with some Christmas lights mounted to the cave walls. Otherwise, you have to use flashlights.
Hopefully, no mischievous children decide to play hide and seek or you just might have to call in a rescue crew. Literally. But what an unbelievable “pics or it didn’t happen” kind of story to tell. It’s not every day you run into someone that has a door that leads you to an underground cave.
If you want to see what a cave tour looks like starting from the outside of the house, check out the video below:
Ryan Gosling surprised fans and critics with his turn as a song-and-dance-man in 2016’s Academy Award-winning “La La Land” opposite Emma Stone. Many doubted whether he could actually sing and dance, but he’s dabbled in music in the past and even belted out a tune or two on “The Mickey Mouse Club” as a kid.
Now, Gosling again shows his musical side with a song in the soon-to-be-released “Barbie” movie where he plays Ken to Margot Robbie’s Barbie. But, according to the song, Ken isn’t too pleased about playing second fiddle to the princess of pink.
In “Just Ken,” Gosling sings, “I just don’t know who I am without you” to Barbie. “You’re Ken,” Margot Robbie’s Barbie responds.
“But it’s Barbie and Ken,” he fires back. “There is no ‘Just Ken.’”
“Doesn’t seem to matter what I do / I’m always No. 2,” he sings as Barbie dances away, oblivious to his pain. “Is it my destiny to live and die a life of blonde fragility? / I’m just Ken,” he continues.
But eventually, Ken finds his strength and realizes that he’s more than just a piece of arm candy. “I’m just Ken, and I’m enough / And I’m great at doing stuff / So, hey, check me out / And I’m just Ken / Baby, I’m just Ken,” he sings.
Recently, Jack Black’s hit song “Peaches” from the “Super Mario Bros. Movie” has received over 47 million views on YouTube and was his first entry into the charts as a solo artist. Who knows, Gosling’s “Just Ken” may also be a hit with fans. The video should get plenty of views. Come for the fun song, and stay to see Ryan Gosling with his shirt off.
Shelters are consistently full of animals, especially since people have gone back to work out of the home. There has been a steady influx of dogs that gets compounded by puppy season so shelters have to get creative with their marketing. Convincing families to add a permanent fixture to their lives can be a bit tricky. So shelter staff has done things like photo shoots, have kids write about the dogs and make up elaborate back stories on the animals temporment.
But this TikTok video from Louisiana SPCA has to be one of the most creative pet adoption attempts out there. The shelter created a “Paw & Order” special which shows each dog and their alleged crime that they’re “in for.” It’s almost impossible to not want to go pick up one of the dogs after you see what kind of shenanigans they have been involved in.
The first puppy Mickey is apparently responsible for crimes in the local area. Not one crime, but all of the crimes. He’s adorable so it’s ok, right?
There was one dog who allegedly stole social security numbers just to have. She didn’t use them to steal people’s identities but just because she liked the smell of new social security numbers. A dog named Whoopsie Daisy was supposedly named “Accidental Manslaughter” before she came to the Louisiana SPCA. While the stories are obviously made up, giving these furry criminals elaborately funny backstories likely helps with adoptions and let’s be fair, it’s also pretty amusing to the staff.
PetSmart Charities National Pet Adoption Week is from July 10-14 and meeting a four-legged criminal from your local animal shelter at a PetSmart near you could be a great way to celebrate. They won’t mind if you make up a story about them, promise. Just check out the suspects on “Paw & Order” below.
It’s been a big year for Sam Smith. After releasing their new album Gloria, the artist has been reveling in the fame of their “Unholy” collaboration with Kim Petras, as well as teaming up with Madonna for the track “Vulgar.”
So it doesn’t come to much surprise that Smith ended up on the Barbie soundtrack, whose roster also includes Nicki Minaj, Dua Lipa, Lizzo, Charli XCX, Gayle, Haim, Ice Spice, and more. In an Instagram post, Smith wrote, “I cannot begin to express how incredibly excited I am to be a part of the soundtrack to this already iconic film. I was invited by the incredible @iammarkronson and Greta Gerwig to write a song from the perspective of Ken for one of the scenes and we honestly had so much fun with this. I cannot wait for you to hear what we’ve created together.”
They continued, writing that the song, “Man I Am,” is out July 21, the day of the movie premiere.
Yesterday, Billie Eilish shared a sneak peek of her song on the Barbie soundtrack called “What Was I Made For” in a teaser for the film. “absolutely over the MOOOOON excited for you to see this,” she captioned the post.
Donald Trump is currently trying to wriggle out of that case about mishandling classified documents, but there’s another he’s already lost: The lawsuit brought on by E. Jean Carroll. Back in May, he was found guilty of sexual misconduct and defamation — then promptly went on national TV and defamed her again. Late last month he also countersued Carroll, claiming that it was really she who defamed him…by claiming he raped her. But Carroll’s legal team doesn’t seem too worried.
In the counterclaim, Trump’s lawyers try to argue that Carroll “made these false statements with actual malice and ill will with an intent to significantly and spitefully harm and attack [Trump’s] reputation, as these false statements were clearly contrary to the jury verdict.” They also claimed Carroll caused Trump “inordinate” harm by claiming he used “not only used his fingers, but also his penis” in his alleged assault.
But as per Raw Story, Carroll’s lawyers slammed and dragged Trump’s legal move. “Trump’s ‘tit for tat’ counterclaim is nothing more than his latest effort to spin his loss at trial,” they said in a statement. “While that might read like an article penned by Andy Borowitz in the New Yorker or by a writer at the Onion, it’s actually the theory of the counterclaim that Trump now purports to assert in this action.”
Carroll’s legal team asked that the countersuit be tossed, saying, “here in federal court, where logic and reason rather than satire prevail, it is clear that Trump’s new counterclaim for defamation should be dismissed with prejudice.”
In the meantime, Carroll is suing Trump again because, well, he keeps defaming her. He also at least once let slip that he probably did at least grope her. Carroll is also suing him in a separate case about comments he made about her while in office, which Trump has tried to stall by saying his then-presidency protects him from legal action. But as per The New York Times, the Justice Department announced they were no longer sticking by that argument.
If you’re wondering where we’ll be this summer, well… it’s pretty simple. You can likely find us basking in the sunshine on some of the world’s most beautiful beaches. The thing about going to the beach is that as much as they are similar, none are exactly the same. Meaning that the art of beach-hopping is as much about becoming a connoisseur as say, savoring bourbon or wine.
With travel and tourism at an all-time high post-pandemic and with new measures in place to protect flight passengers, now is the perfect time to savor the sunshine, sand, and sea spray. So we asked some of our favorite travel writers and influencers to reveal their best-kept beach destinations around the world, so you can start prepping and planning your next beach getaway. From the idyllic and secluded Kalalau Beach to the softest sand in Siesta Key, let these recommendations leap to the top of your own tropical travel list.
Balos Beach is truly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited. Accessible only by foot via a walking path, the lagoon is tucked away on the northwestern side of the island of Crete, promising turquoise-hued waters, white sand beaches, and an unforgettable good time.
Pro tip: While snack stands are available around the beach, pack a heftier meal if planning to spend the day – and definitely bring sneakers for the trek down to the sand!
For my 24th birthday, I spent four days with no service (which I loved) and hiked the Nāpali Coast on the island of Kauai. Known as one of the world’s most dangerous hikes, the Kalalau Trail traverses 11 miles of lush valleys and towering sea cliffs that have killed quite a number of people who don’t watch their steps. While it was one of the hardest physical challenges I’ve endured, taking that first step onto Kalalau Beach is something I’ll never forget. It’s only accessible by foot and leads you to one of the world’s most remote beaches, surrounded and blocked by sheer, fluted pali.
Here you can do literally anything – including running across the beach naked, if you so desire – because it’s completely secluded. My friends and I spent my birthday morning here and I felt completely cradled by and in awe of Mother Nature. No wonder why Jurassic Park was filmed here, it truly looks like something out of a movie.
NOAMI GREVEMBERG (@irietoaurora): GRAND RIVIERE BEACH, TRINIDAD
As a proud Trinidadian, I can’t help but gush about my favorite beach destination—Grand Riviere. Nestled within this serene fishing community on the northeastern coast of the island lies a hidden gem that has stolen my heart—the annual arrival of leatherback turtles. Let me take you on a journey to this enchanting beach, where nature’s spectacle unfolds.
What sets Grand Riviere Beach apart is the overwhelming abundance of these gentle giants. It’s the only place on Earth where you can witness such a remarkable concentration of leatherback turtles.
But it’s not just about witnessing nature’s marvels. Grand Riviere offers a deeper connection. Guided by passionate locals and dedicated ecologists, folks can learn about the tireless efforts to protect these incredible creatures and their nesting grounds. This shared dedication to conservation and preservation resonates with my own values, amplifying my love for this beach and its inhabitants.
Grand Riviere’s beach is where my soul finds solace. It’s a place where I can escape the chaos of daily life and immerse myself in the harmony of nature. The leatherback turtles symbolize resilience and the timeless cycles of life and remind me of the interconnectedness of all living beings and the importance of cherishing our environment. It’s a beacon of hope and inspiration, of the power we hold as humans to protect and preserve the wonders of our planet.
Grand Riviere is more than just a beach—it’s a sanctuary of natural marvels.
OLGA MASLIANKO (@honest.trip): KAILUA BEACH PARK, OAHU, HAWAII
OLGA
Kailua Beach Park is hands down one of my all-time favorite spots to unwind and have a blast! Located on the eastern side of Oahu, Hawaii, it’s a total gem. The beach itself is like a dream, with soft, powdery sand that stretches on for miles and water so clear and turquoise it’s like a postcard.
The best part? It’s awesome for the whole family! You can swim, snorkel, or even rent a kayak and explore the gentle waves. The beautiful mountains and cool breezes make the scene even more magical. Whenever I’m there, I feel like I’ve found my own personal paradise. So, if you’re looking for a relaxed and exciting getaway with your loved ones, Kailua Beach Park is the place to be!
Punta Uva is a tucked-away beach on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. It is a beach as raw as it comes, a spot that’s mostly known by the local Costa Ricans. We love it for its pristine white-sand beach with palm trees that dangle over the clear blue waters. It’s a one-of-a-kind beach due to the wildlife spotted in this area, like sloths and macaws. Just pure nature!
At Punta Uva, it’s about pure relaxation and taking in the remote environment. Closeby is a kayak rental that you can take up the river to spot even more wildlife. Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica, is the nearest large town to Punta Uva and a fantastic place to spend your beach holiday.
In my career as a travel journalist, I’ve been so fortunate to have seen so many beautiful beaches all over the world. From the Cayman Islands and Central America, to Bermuda and Hawaii, there are incredible beaches with crystal clear water and amazing snorkeling. But one beach in particular will always hold a special place in my heart.
I’ve been going to Siesta Key Beach since I was a kid with my family, and my parents were going with friends way before my sisters and I were even born. What keeps my family and I coming back is not just the beach, but the sense of community in the village filled with tacky souvenir shops and oyster specials, live music, and bad karaoke coming from the dive bars. The laid-back beach village is a great place to unwind with family and friends.
In addition to the area itself being a vibe, the beach has turquoise waters and the softest sand. I think what really makes it special is the sand. Most beaches have sand consisting of coral, rocks, shells, and quartz. The sand at Siesta Key Beach is so soft it’s like stepping on cooking flour. It’s so light and fluffy, that when I posted a video of myself walking through the sand barefoot, I had messages asking why I was walking through snow barefoot. The sand is 99% quartz, which is quite unusual, giving it an incredibly smooth texture and keeping the sand cool despite the extreme temperatures during the summer. There’s a reason this beach has continuously received a top rating on the Best Beaches in America list by TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice awards. It’s truly one of the best!
My favorite beaches have not been one particular beach, rather every beach I visited in the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas. The glistening white sand, perfectly clear, warm blue waters, and abundance of wildlife were a dream. At many of the beaches I visited, it felt like I had stumbled into a hidden paradise as they were never overcrowded, many times with no one else around at all.
We have visited plenty of incredible beaches around the world, but our favorite beach is Playa Avellanas in Costa Rica. Despite being located in the Guanacaste region just south of the popular tourist hot spot of Tamarindo, Playa Avellanas somehow manages to keep its “off-the-beaten-track” feel. It’s an incredible stretch of sand with a very low-key vibe.
At high tide, you’ll spot lots of surfers in the water — Avellanas is home to Little Hawaii, a famous surf break, loved by pro surfers in the area. At low tide, it’s popular with families, there is plenty of space for kids to run around and build castles in the sand. But our favorite time is at sunset, you can grab a drink at Lola’s, a popular spot, named after their late mascot, Lola, the pig, or take a long walk along the beach, and watch the sun dip into the ocean. How could you beat that?
I’ve been to a lot of beautiful tropical destinations, but my favorite beach will always be Ventura Beach in California. I grew up 45 minutes from here, and I spent many summer days playing in the sand, boogie boarding, and grabbing post-beach burgers at Duke’s Griddle n’ Grill. I also love Main Street in downtown Ventura where you’ll tons of thrift shops, as well as lively restaurants, bars, and other local businesses.
I’ve probably been to over one thousand beaches all over the world, but my recent beach ventures in 2023 have left me completely mesmerized, impressed, and intrigued! They’re far from the typical popular or famous locations, like the Seychelles, Maldives, the Philippines, etc. and in countries where you wouldn’t expect crystal clear waters brimming with colorful sea life and white sandy beaches!
That being said, my top choice for the best beach in 2023 is Tokashiki Beach, located on Tokashiki Island which is part of the Kerama Islands of Okinawa. It takes a lot for me to start drooling at the sight of a beach, but when I stepped foot on the powdery sand, my eyes drenched in the electric blue colors of the water ahead, flanked by striking rocky cliffs on either side, I immediately fell in love. Extra perk; there was not a single person there, because I went in shoulder season just before the beaches actually opened.
Okinawa has dozens of beautiful beaches, but Tokashiki Beach was my top choice. To get to Okinawa in general, you fly into Naha (I flew from Malaysia but it’s pretty affordable to do roundtrip from Tokyo). Most people stay in Naha, but I’d recommend renting a car and venturing up towards the northern coast. To get to Tokashiki, you need to take the ferry like I did, which departs from a port in Naha, or you can schedule a tour to make it easier.
EDITOR’S PICK: STEVE BRAMUCCI (@steve_bramucci): WHITEHAVEN BEACH, WHITSUNDAY ISLANDS, AUSTRALIA
Steve Bramucci
What have I done? What a monster I must be to give this terribly difficult assignment. For those of us who obsess over sand quality, water clarity, and the like, picking a favorite beach is torture. In fact, I’ve gone so far out of my way to avoid this conversation while at Uproxx that I’ve written extensively about beaches without ever touching the “best beach in the world” framing.
The list goes on but there’s no “Best Beach On Earth” article. There are just so many elements to consider before landing on a best. And they weigh differently with you at different times. Some of my best memories are surfing and watching the sunset at Envision Festival in Costa Rica, where I spent one of the last weeks before the pandemic. My adopted hometown of Laguna Beach never ceases to amaze me in that even in peak summer, you can escape the crowds if you know where to go. There are beaches in Thailand, Nicaragua, Mexico (so so many in Mexico), Italy, Uganda (at an inland lake), Mozambique, Madagascar, and so many more that I’ll never forget. But for “best,” I’m thinking of the beach that left me the most euphoric; the most thrilled to be alive.
And that’s Whitehaven Beach, in the Whitsunday chain, Queensland, Australia — where the sand squeaks underfoot, the water feels like god’s own bathtub (to paraphrase Return to Paradise), and you can dance alone at sunrise (if you have the camping permits to stay on the sand). With truly crystalline water, a few roving monitor lizards to keep things interesting, and a miraculous mile of parched white sand, Whitehaven is truly incomparable among beaches. It’s a special spot and I recommend camping for a few days to anyone who wants to truly soak in the beauty of this planet.
Yes, you can also day trip to the island. But the chance to spend a sunset and sunrise on Whitehaven alone is what makes this incredible beach shine so brightly in my memory.
Most actors slow down as they get older. If they do action, they eventually pivot to…not action. Not Tom Cruise! He’s doing life pretty much in reverse: Having done mostly dramas and such (and the occasional Top Gun or Days of Thunder) in his youth, he now exclusively puts his life at risk to entertain. A few years back he announced he’d found the ultimate death-defying dare: He’d go to space with Elon Musk, all to make a movie. He’s still into the idea, though it’s unclear if the Twitter guy is still involved.
As per Variety, Cruise gave a brief but vaguely optimistic update about his outer space movie, and it sounds like it’s vaguely going well. “We’ve been working on it diligently and we’ll see where we go,” he told the publication at the New York City premiere of Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One.
Absent from Cruise’s terse update are the words “Elon Musk.” Back in 2020, when he was just the Tesla/SpaceX guy — and when he was “only” worth $38.7 billion before accruing far more than that, then losing a chunk of that over the whole Twitter fiasco that keeps getting worse — it was reported that Musk was teaming up with Cruise to make world’s first action movie in space. He very well still could be involved, or maybe he’s a little distracted getting ripped so he doesn’t get beaten up by the guy who co-created Facebook.
Since announcing the outer space action movie three years ago, there has been progress. It now has a studio (Universal), a budget (about $200 million), and a director: Doug Liman, who teamed with Cruise on Edge of Tomorrow and American Made.
Of course, it will still be some time before Cruise even heads to the cosmos. After all, he has another big project on his plate: He still has to finish filming Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part Two, which is on pause so they can promote Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One. According to director Christopher McQuarrie, they’re not messing around.
“We finish this tour, and on our way back to the U.K. we stop to scout along the way. We hit the ground running as soon as we get back,” McQuarrie informed Variety. “I get two days of vacation between here and Tokyo and I’m back on.”
But perhaps by the time Cruise is done swimming with actual sharks or eating pufferfish or going to grad school or whatever life-threatening things he does in Dead Reckoning Part Two, he’ll realize that going to outer space just to make a movie is kind of dangerous.
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awards. It’s truly one of the best!
