Month: September 2023

Jack Daniel’s has had a phenomenal run over the past few years. The team down in Lynchburg, Tennessee, continues to drop new and innovative releases one after another. Part of that innovation came last year with the new “Bonded” line starring a Triple Mash and Tennessee Whiskey drop that shook up the American whiskey world. Both whiskeys were damn fine expressions.

The best part? Those whiskeys were inexpensive and widely available.

Well, Jack Daniel’s has done it again — this time with a Bonded Tennessee Rye. Jack Daniel’s just released a Bonded Rye whiskey that’ll be on every shelf around the country and only cost you about $30-$40 (depending on your state’s taxes).

The best part? It’s a pretty goddamn good rye whiskey for $30-$40. Oh, and you’ll actually be able to find it, stock it on your bar, and enjoy it whenever you want. I feel like I need to drive this point home — This isn’t some allocated bottle of $40 whiskey that you’ll have to spend $500 on. This is the good stuff that you can go out and get right now.

All of that aside, I’ve actually tried this whiskey quite a few times over the last couple of months in varying environments (concerts, closed tastings, at home on a lazy Sunday, etc.). I’ve gotten a pretty good handle on this rye whiskey in all of its forms and I’m a fan. Let’s dive into what’s actually in the bottle.

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Jack Daniel’s Bonded Rye Tennessee Rye Whiskey

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $33

The Whiskey:

The base of this new Bonded whiskey is Jack’s signature rye whiskey with a mash bill of 70% rye, 18% corn, and 12% malted barley fermented with their own yeast and lactobacillus. The juice is then twice distilled via column stills and then slowly filtered through 10 feet of sugar maple charcoal. That filtered whiskey then rests in a barrel for four long years before batching, proofing, and bottling.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Ripe peaches, bananas, and Granny Smith apples lead on the nose with a light sense of molasses winter ginger cakes, a touch of cinnamon bark, and light hints of dry sweetgrass that’s just smoldering.

Palate: The taste really leans into the toffee with a good dose of banana creaminess before veering toward roasting herbs and more sweetgrass braided with cedar bark, pipe tobacco, and smudging sage.

Finish: The end warms up just enough with banana bread cut with dried ancho chili layered into light dark chocolate tobacco leaves and more of that sweetgrass.

Bottom Line:

This is a great mixing whiskey. Make cocktails with it all day long. I do like it over some rocks for an “I don’t have to think about this” pour too.

All of that said, this is fruity rye — in Tennessee fashion. If you’re looking for a spice bomb or grassy herbal greeny, this isn’t it. Those elements are in this whiskey for sure, but they’re not the star of the show.

Ranking:

85/100 — This feels like it was built to mix cocktails and highballs. It’s humble yet tasty — a solid “B.”

Where To Buy:

Everywhere liquor is sold.

Pretty much everybody has been talking about the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce dating rumors… aside from Swift and Kelce themselves. Now, though, Kelce has finally spoken.

In an interview on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show today (September 21), the NFL star was asked about all the rumors and he started, “I’ll tell you what: It’s hilarious how much traction this has actually got. Right now, it’s like an old game in school called ‘Telephone,’ where everybody’s just whispering in each other’s ear, just hearing some random stuff.”

He then addressed his brother Jason Kelce joking about the situation, then continued, “I threw it out there. I threw the ball in her court, and you know, I told her, ‘I’ve seen you rock the stage in Arrowhead, you might have to come see me rock the stage at Arrowhead, and see which one’s a little more lit,’ so we’ll see what happens in the near future.”

This follows a recent report that indicated Swift and Kelce have so far hung out a couple times and have been texting each other over the past week, with Kelce reportedly telling Swift that he’d like to see her some more. Per the report, “Taylor and Travis have hung out twice, and it’s nothing serious. She thinks he is very charming, and they have been texting this last week. He is a little embarrassed at how much attention they are getting, but he has told her he would love to continue seeing her.”

The lights dim, the crowd erupts into cheers, and your heart is racing with pure, unadulterated excitement. Remember that magical night under a canopy of twinkling stars, with your favorite band playing live, where the electrifying energy in the air made you feel truly alive? Those moments of joy, laughter, and perhaps a shared glance with a fellow fan turn into cherished memories, etched in your mind forever.

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Heading out on the open road? Gearing up for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure? Planning a hang with friends? Spending a rainy day solo with a good book? Whatever the moment, there’s a playlist for it and UPROXX’s newest series, Sound Fixations, is here to help you build it.

The theme for the show’s premiere? Fall road trips. Host Cam Jones, who you may recognize from his popular @studiotwotv channel on TikTok, is here to capture the unique essence of a fall car ride. It’s a blend of nostalgia-inducing moments and thrill-seeking experiences and it deserves a fire soundtrack to go along with it. That’s why Jones has curated a handful of songs — some that may sound familiar, others that feel like hidden gems just waiting to go viral — that should inspire the right kind of vibe, no matter the destination.

From “Invincible,” Omar Apollo’s neo-soul ballad with Daniel Caesar to Lucky Daye’s dreamy, almost soothing “Magic” and the quirky, upbeat tempo of BENEE’s “Glitter,” Jones gives his recs for the sounds that will define the season. It’s all about serene introspection, the feeling of possibility, an appreciation for nature, and the discoveries we make along the way.

Watch the full video above and feel free to add these tracks to your own road trip playlist.

The Milwaukee Bucks are in a familiar situation with Giannis Antetokounmpo. In multiple interviews over the last few weeks, the former league MVP has made clear that he will only sign an extension with the team if he believes they are still all-in on competing for a championship. He said something similar the last time he was up for an extension, and after the team traded for Jrue Holiday, he put pen to paper on a new deal and won his first title a few months later.

This time around, Milwaukee has a little bit of time before he can hit the open market, as Antetokounmpo is under contract each of the next two seasons before he has to make a decision on his player option in 2025. But there’s a whole lot of time between now and then, and in recent comments to Tim Bontemps of ESPN, one of his teammates made clear that he’s not too worried.

“I think it’s kind of business as usual either way,” Khris Middleton said. “It doesn’t affect me personally. I don’t think it affects us as a team. I think this is something he said almost every year he’s come up in contract extension talks.”

Middleton made it a point to say that everyone in Milwaukee wants Antetokounmpo, who he referred to as “one of the best players in the world,” to stick around. At the same time, he recognizes why he’s making it a point to challenge everyone within the Bucks organization — himself included — to do whatever it takes to be in a position to compete.

“But I think it’s just something that he just wants to keep putting pressure on everybody,” Middleton said. “And that’s himself also. He’s not just pointing a finger at everybody else saying, ‘You guys have to do this for me. I think he’s putting that pressure on himself to be better, to come in and be great every year. So there’s no pressure on, there’s no added pressure when he says that to us as a team, or me as a person, that I have to be better.”

Middleton, of course, was teammates with Antetokounmpo the last time he made clear what needed to happen for him to sign a new deal with the Bucks, so it makes sense why he’d take this approach. It certainly helps that Milwaukee is in a position to make a run at a championship this year, as the team will enter the 2023-24 campaign with the third-best odds to life the Larry O’Brien trophy.

The latest installment in the John Wick universe doesn’t involve John Wick at all (unfortunately). But it does take place in New York in the 70s so you know there will at least be a little bit of disco involved. It makes up for the lack of Keanu Reeves. Kind of.

The prequel follows a young Winston Scott (played by Ian McShane in the films, and Colin Woodell in the series) who is climbing his way up the organized crime ladder in New York City. The series also stars Mel Gibson (yeah, that guy) as mob boss Cormac. Ayomide Adegun portrays a young Charon, while Peter Greene, Ben Robson, Hubert Point-Du Jour, Jessica Allain, and Katie McGrath round out the rest of the cast. The three-part event begins this weekend on Peacock, with a new episode on Fridays through October 6th. Here is the official synopsis:

The three-part event will explore the origin behind the iconic hotel-for-assassins centerpiece of the John Wick universe through the eyes and actions of a young Winston Scott, as he’s dragged into the Hell-scape of 1970’s New York City to face a past he thought he’d left behind. Winston charts a deadly course through the hotel’s mysterious underworld in a harrowing attempt to seize the hotel where he will eventually take his future throne.

If you don’t get your John Wick fill from The Continental, no worries! The first three Wick movies are available to stream on Peacock now. At least you have Keanu in those.

When the Jonas Brothers, Uproxx’s June cover stars, opened their ambitious The Tour on August 12, Sophie Turner, Joe Jonas’ wife of four years, showed her support by wearing a Taylor Swift-inspired “Mr. Perfectly Fine” friendship bracelet. Just over one month later, it seems nothing is fine between Jonas and Turner, who confirmed their plans to divorce with public statements on September 6.

Jonas has issued a statement to Page Six refuting a lawsuit filed by Turner, as NBC News obtained and shared earlier this morning (September 21), asking “for the return of their two young children to England” because she felt Willa, whom they welcomed in July 2020, and their second child, whose identity has remained private since birth in July 2022, “have been wrongfully retained in New York City since September 20 from ‘their habitual residence’ in England.”

Through his representatives, Jonas stated that he didn’t “abduct” their daughters and called Turner’s filing “a harsh legal position,” which surprised Jonas because they’d previously agreed to an “amicable co-parenting setup.”

“Less than 24 hours [after meeting last Sunday], Sophie advised that she wanted to take the children permanently to the UK,” Jonas’ statement reads. “Thereafter, she demanded via this filing that Joe hand over the children’s passports so that she could take them out of the country immediately.”

It continues, “Joe is seeking shared parenting with the kids so that they are raised by both their mother and father, and is of course also okay with the kids being raised both in the US and the UK.”

Additionally, Jonas’ took issue with the assertion in Turner’s court documents that she only learned of Joe’s divorce filing “through the media” on September 5. Jonas offered that he believed Turner was “aware” of his filing because they’d had “multiple conversations” about the state of their marriage prior.

Page Six noted that Jonas’ divorce filing in Miami from earlier this month “restricts both Jonas and Turner from relocating with their children.”

However, Turner’s filing states, “They decided that as Turner started filming a new drama series in the UK in May, the kids would travel with Jonas and a nanny as he kicked off his tour with The Jonas Brothers in the US in late July.”

Earlier this week, Turner was spotted with Taylor Swift in New York City. Meanwhile, the Jonas Brothers’ ongoing tour is next scheduled to hit Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Thursday night, September 21.

On Wednesday, September 20, Jada Pinkett Smith posted throwback videos of her and Tupac during their junior year of high school as a way to promote her forthcoming memoir, Worthy. In the clips, Pinkett Smith and the late Tupac are performing to Will Smith’s “Parents Just Don’t Understand” with DJ Jazzy Jeff from 1988.

This morning, September 21, Smith revealed plans to explore that time period even more thoroughly with his Class Of ’88 podcast. According to Billboard, Smith “will celebrate 1988 hip-hop with episodes alongside Queen Latifah, Salt-N-Pepa, Darryl ‘DMC’ McDaniels, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Rakim, and Chuck D.”

The publication additionally relayed, “Smith will explore the landmark year of 1988, which included the rise of Public Enemy, the ascension of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, and the outpouring of female MCs such as Salt-N-Pepa and Queen Latifah.”

The Wondery podcast will last for eight episodes. Beginning on October 26, Class Of ’88 will be available exclusively on Amazon Music and Audible. Amazon Prime members can listen to the podcast’s trailer here.

“Today, hip-hop dominates pop culture,” Smith says to start the trailer. “But it wasn’t always like that. Before 1988, a lot of people saw our music as just a passing fad.”

The nearly two-minute audio trailer also includes excerpted perspectives from Smith’s A-list guests, including Queen Latifah recalling, “[Hip-hop] had an expiration date, like milk. That’s what they were saying.”

In 1988, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince released He’s The DJ, I’m The Rapper, housing “Parents Just Don’t Understand.” The track claimed the first-ever Best Rap Performance at the 1989 Grammys, which DJ Jazzy Jeff and Smith boycotted because the category wasn’t televised (as revisited by Andscape in January 2018).

X, formerly Twitter, is gradually becoming more and more of a dumpster fire. Owner Elon Musk essentially asked Taylor Swift to help him save the platform by posting her music directly on it. Now, pop star Kim Petras is expressing dissatisfaction with the website.

The singer, who just dropped a surprise album cleverly called Problematique, is living up to her provocative image. On her Instagram Story on Wednesday (September 20), she posted a screenshot indicating she was banned on X for having a NSFW avatar. It demanded she “delete profile image” for “violating our rules against graphic violence or adult content in profile images.” She put several middle finger emojis over the screenshot.

NSFW imagery is a key part of her campaign for her music. The artwork for her June album Feed The Beast depicted her topless. She also spiced up Paris Hilton’s 2006 hit “Stars Are Blind” for a sultry remix earlier this year.

Surely, this hiccup with Elon won’t ruin her party. She’s about to bring her new songs to the road on the Feed The Beast World Tour, which kicks off in less than a week in Texas.

Problematique is out now via Republic Records/Amigo Records. Find more information here.

Rick and Morty fans are used to long waits between seasons. That’s not the case for season six, which wrapped up in December 2022, and season seven, which premieres next month, but there’s another source of anticipation.

Who will voice Rick and Morty?

Co-creator and voice actor Justin Roiland is out after Adult Swim “ended its association” with him after he was charged with felony domestic violence (the charges were later dismissed). Everyone involved with the animated series has kept quiet about his replacement — or possibly replacements if Rick and Morty are voiced by two people. We will find out the answer soon, however.

The trailer for season seven of Rick and Morty will be released on Monday, September 25th. Unless every line is given to Jerry, which isn’t out of the possibility, that’s when we’ll hear the new voices for the first time. (On Solar Opposites, which was very good this season, Roiland was replaced by Dan Stevens.)

Earlier this year, Rick and Morty executive producer Steven Levy discussed the recasting. “We are closing in on the end of our process of the recast, but I do want to say it’s gonna be great,” he said. “I am thoroughly impressed with everything that’s going on, including all the work on season seven. Truly, that’s the thing I don’t want to be overshadowed. The show is as good as it’s ever been.”

Rick and Morty returns to Adult Swim on October 15th.