Airbnb defines its notorious cleaning fee as a “one-time charge” set by the host that helps them arrange anything from carpet shampoo to replenishing supplies to hiring an outside cleaning service—all in the name of ensuring guests have a “clean and tidy space.”
But as many frustrated Airbnb customers will tell you, this feature is viewed as more of a nuisance than a convenience. According to NerdWallet, the general price for a cleaning fee is around $75, but can vary greatly between listings, with some units having cleaning fees that are higher than the nightly rate (all while sometimes still being asked to do certain chores before checking out). And often none of these fees show up in the total price until right before the booking confirmation, leaving many travelers feeling confused and taken advantage of.
However, some hosts are opting to build cleaning fees into the overall price of their listings, mimicking the strategy of traditional hotels.
Rachel Boice runs two Airbnb properties in Georgia with her husband Parker—one being this fancy glass plane tiny house (seen below) that promises a perfect glamping experience.
Like most Airbnb hosts, the Boice’s listing showed a nightly rate and separate cleaning fee. According to her interview with Insider, the original prices broke down to $89 nightly, and $40 for the cleaning fee.
But after noticing the negative response the separate fee got from potential customers, Rachel told Insider that she began charging a nightly rate that included the cleaning fee, totaling to $129 a night.
It’s a marketing strategy that more and more hosts are attempting in order to generate more bookings (people do love feeling like they’re getting a great deal) but Boice argued that the trend will also become more mainstream since the current Airbnb model “doesn’t feel honest.”
“We stay in Airbnbs a lot. I pretty much always pay a cleaning fee,” Boice told Insider. “You’re like: ‘Why am I paying all of this money? This should just be built in for the cost.'”
Since combining costs, Rachel began noticing another unexpected perk beyond customer satisfaction: guests actually left her property cleaner than before they were charged a cleaning fee. Her hypothesis was that they assumed she would be handling the cleaning herself.
“I guess they’re thinking, ‘I’m not paying someone to clean this, so I’ll leave it clean,'” she said.
This discovery echoes a similar anecdote given by another Airbnb host, who told NerdWallet guests who knew they were paying a cleaning fee would “sometimes leave the place looking like it’s been lived in and uncleaned for months.” So, it appears to be that being more transparent and lumping all fees into one overall price makes for a happier (and more considerate) customer.
These days, it’s hard to not be embittered by deceptive junk fees, which can seem to appear anywhere without warning—surprise overdraft charges, surcharges on credit cards, the never convenience “convenience charge” when purchasing event tickets. Junk fees are so rampant that certain measures are being taken to try to eliminate them outright in favor of more honest business approaches.
Speaking of a more honest approach—as of December 2022, AirBnb began updating its app and website so that guests can see a full price breakdown that shows a nightly rate, a cleaning fee, Airbnb service fee, discounts, and taxes before confirming their booking.
Guests can also activate a toggle function before searching for a destination, so that full prices will appear in search results—avoiding unwanted financial surprises.
A local reporter at Hometown Life shared a unique and heartfelt story on March 16 about a mother struggling to find shoes that fit her 14-year-old son. The story resonated with parents everywhere; now, her son is getting the help he desperately needs. It’s a wonderful example of people helping a family that thought they had nowhere to turn.
When Eric Kilburn Jr. was born, his mother, Rebecca’s OBGYN, told her that he had the “biggest feet I’ve ever seen in my life. Do not go out and buy baby shoes because they’re not gonna fit,’” Rebecca told Today.com. Fourteen years later, it’s almost impossible to find shoes that fit the 6’10” freshman—he needs a size 23.
None
— (@)
The teen’s height doesn’t stem from a gland issue; he comes from a family of tall people. Both his parents are over 6 feet tall.
Eric plays football for Goodrich High School in Goodrich, Michigan, but doesn’t wear cleats, which led to a sprained ankle. He also suffers from ingrown toenails that are so severe he’s had two nails on his biggest toes permanently removed.
Last year, the family was lucky enough to stumble upon five pairs of size 21 shoes at a Nike outlet store. It was discovered they were made especially for Tacko Fall, the NBA player with some of the most enormous feet in the game. To put things in perspective, Shaquille O’Neal wears a size 22.
However, Eric soon grew out of those as well. The family was left with one more option: have orthopedic shoes made for Eric at the cost of $1,500 with no guarantee he won’t quickly grow out of those as well.
After his mother’s heartfelt plea to Hometown Life, the family got much-needed help from multiple companies, including Under Armour and PUMA, who are sending representatives to Michigan to measure his feet for custom shoes.
CAT has reached out to make him a custom pair of boots. Eric hasn’t had any boots to wear for the past five Michigan winters.
None
— (@)
Kara Pattison started a GoFundMe campaign on behalf of the family to help them purchase custom shoes for “the rest of the time Eric has these feet.” It has raised nearly $20,000 for the family in just over a week.
“The success of this fundraiser is well beyond what was ever expected,” Pattison wrote on the site on March 18. “The Kilburns plan to open a bank account dedicated to Eric’s future footwear and some specialized sports equipment. He can use this to get a helmet that fits for football along with pads. They will also look into a football and track jersey for him.”
The sense of relief felt by Rebecca, Eric and the rest of the Kilburn family must be incredible. It has to be frustrating to be unable to provide your child with something as basic as footwear.
“It’s been overwhelming,” Rebecca told Hometown Life. “I have been this puddle of emotions, all of them good…It’s the coolest thing to be able to say we did it! He has shoes! I am not usually a crier, but I have been in a constant state of happy tears…We are so grateful.”
Picture this: you finally settle into your lounge chair overlooking your resort’s infinity pool and you realize you forgot your sunscreen in your bag. A bag that’s back in your hotel room, all the way on the other side of the resort. While it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal… you’re on vacation for crying out loud — you can’t be bothered. Instead of the inconvenient 10-minute trek back to your room, with the touch of a finger you text your butler to bring it down to you as you continue sipping your frozen daiquiri.
As a huge fan of both luxury travel and doing the bare minimum, I feel like butler service naturally appeals to me. And right now is my time to shine — as butler service has become a top travel amenity for luxury resorts, including this Cancun Hotel We Love. Don’t want to walk all the way to the concierge desk and wait in line to make dinner reservations? Just ask your butler. While you’re at it, ask them to steam your clothes, bring you a firmer pillow, chill your tequila shots for when you get back from the beach, decorate your hotel room for your best friend’s birthday, and more.
How much more? To find out we looked at the butler services from five high-end properties and asked them about their service and the requests they’ve received.
Garza Blanca Resort & Spa Cancun is among Mexico’s most coveted contemporary resorts. There’s a lot that makes this Cancun hotel luxurious, but the butler service (the same one — we’reguessing — that Floyd Mayweather Jr. used during his stay in the four-bedroom penthouse) sends it over the top. On a recent stay at the hotel, I used the butler to handle small errands like the aforementioned forgotten sunscreen… and asked him to be my Insta-photographer.
If you’re rolling your eyes, let me tell you that asking my husband to take travel photos causes us a whole lot of conflict. One time he took an epic photo (probably because of my ravishing pose) and I got so mad because he didn’t notice the zipper of my jean skirt was down. We literally got into an argument for over an hour about this. So having a butler who was willing to be my photographer on vacation allowed my husband to relax and spared us some tension.
All stays at Rosewood Mayakoba feature private butler service — a dedicated associate who can handle anything the guest requests throughout their stay, whether that’s laundry service, restaurant/spa reservations, or a (surprise) private dinner on the beach. Guests are encouraged by the hotel to live their best lives and lean on the butlers to elevate and customize their stay. For example, some guests like to text their butler when finishing dinner to draw their bath so it’s ready and warm (to a specific temperature even, if requested) once they arrive back to their suites.
After a long day at the beach during my recent visit, I had a major allergy attack after sitting down to dinner. The kind that had the nearby tables glaring at me and moving their chairs away. Within mere minutes, my butler hand-delivered a fresh pack of allergy meds to my table before the appetizers arrived. It was clutch and allowed me to savor my meal.
Later, the hotel shared the following anecdote with me:
We once had a guest who adored the hotel towels so much that he decided to purchase a set of 32 towels for his new home. He first requested that the towels be embroidered with the family initials. The hotel was unable to complete such a job in-house, but the butler quickly found a local vendor who successfully personalized each towel to the guest’s specifications.
The guest then requested assistance to ship the towels back to his home in the U.S. due to customs issues, the towels could not be sent via regular mail — however, the butler was able to find a fellow butler who happened to be traveling to the US shortly after the guest returned home. This butler agreed to bring the towels with him on his trip – and personally checked several extra pieces of luggage in order to deliver the towels to the guest’s home.
St. Lucia’s most mesmerizing hotel, Jade Mountain is known for its spectacular guest experiences and stunning views. Trained by the British Butlers Guild, Jade’s butlers (aka Major Domos) will do everything from pop your Champagne to pack (or unpack) your suitcase. Upon check-in, guests receive a specialized mobile device to stay connected to their Major Domos 24/7.
The property even recently developed a hiking butler program where travelers can scale the famed Gros Piton with a personal butler in tow who comes equipped with gourmet canapés, minted face cloths, and Nuun citrus mango sachets to fight dehydration…then doubles (or is that quadruples?) as their personal photographer when they reach the summit.
Solaz, a Luxury Collection Resort, Los Cabos is an oceanfront property with stunning views of the Sea of Cortez and the Baja desert. Upon check-in, guests at Solaz are partnered with their very own Artisan Butler who introduces them to the resort, showcases the ins and outs of the room, and makes themselves available 24/7 to help with their every need. From dinner reservations to booking excursions and even finding sunscreen, Solaz’s Artisan Butlers treat guests to an unparalleled rest and relaxation experience.
The hotel shared that one of their most outlandish requests included a helicopter ride to go and play golf, and a last-minute Mariachi to celebrate a birthday. I’m not judging, just curious if either of those guests are looking for new friends?
The pinnacle of luxury in Los Cabos, Esperanza, Auberge Resorts Collection beckons guests to experience the Baja lifestyle. For groups of up to 8 people staying in one of Esperanza’s two haciendas, a dedicated Hacienda Host is available during their stay to coordinate meals, private chefs, nanny services, activities, and more. From in-house spa treatments and culinary workshops to mezcal tasting classes and an intention-setting turtle release, groups can enjoy the best of Baja without worrying about any of the planning.
The hotel shared that a guest once asked their butler to help her “marry herself.” On the fly, the butler curated an intimate ceremony on the beach and even arranged a video shoot of the experience.
***
Like most people in the service industry, you should tip your butler at the end of your stay. How much should you tip? I guess that depends on how much butlering you ask for, but most experts say to tip 5% of your nightly room rate per night is the minimum.
Rootin’ tootin’ Lauren Boebert simply cannot make people forget about her Beetlejuice scandal. If she was a typical public figure, it might be possible for her to duck out of the limelight for a bit, which could conceivably benefit the situation. Yet Boebert needs to keep plugging away in Congress, and she keeps dropping unintentional double entendres like “joy” along with “encounters” and “Southern Border.” It’s not fantastic for her.
It probably also doesn’t make Democrat Bar Guy‘s life easy at his workplace, either, given that his trendy cocktail joint has been review bombed in the aftermath of their frisky public exchange in a theater full of families. In the immediate aftermath of that video footage being released, Boebert insisted that she was attempting to have an evening as a private citizen, but she might be starting to realize that being an elected official means that people are scrutinizing your every move.
People are perhaps also finding enjoyment in how, in all likelihood, Boebert would be pouncing on any opponent who was also caught getting handsy in public. As a result, anything that Boebert posts is fuel for an unfortunate interpretation. For example, she tweeted a photo of herself on the phone (two phones?) with this caption: “Thank you for calling the Office of Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, how can I help you today?”
Thank you for calling the Office of Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, how can I help you today?
I love hearing from constituents on how I can amplify their voices as a Member of Congress! pic.twitter.com/xB2ne6kd8R
It’s been about six months since All Americanseason five came to an end. As with all seasons of All American, season five was filled with drama, but no season matched the dramatic moment of Coach Baker’s death in episode 12 of season five. Baker led a scouting combine for his South Crenshaw high school at an off-campus location. When the combine was complete, he along with team members that included Jabari and Asher, jumped on the team bus to return home. It was during the route home that the bus got into a car accident and went off a cliff where it was partially hanging for some time. In an attempt to save Jabari, Coach Baker was unable to save himself as he was still on the bus when it plummeted to the bottom.
Why Did Taye Diggs Leave All American?
Coach Baker’s death of course means that Taye Diggs, the actor who played Baker, will no longer be on the show. During an interview with Variety, the All American showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll spoke about the decision that led to Baker’s exit.
I had a pretty good idea at the end of last season that that was where the season was going. We were so incredibly lucky to have Taye Diggs be part of this production from day one, so one of the things that we’d always talked about was, we have no idea of how long we would be able to hold on to him. I mean, he’s Taye Diggs. So we were like, let’s always make sure we’re communicating with each other, and when it feels like it’s the right time, if we’re both feeling that way, we’ll have the conversation and figure out a really dope way to have him exit the show.
It became a mutual thing of, we have an opportunity to do something that no one is going to expect. Does this feel like the right time to do it? We both felt like it was. Even though it was so far in advance, I already knew that whenever it would happen, that this was how I was going to do it. I pitched it to him like I was pitching an episode, beat by beat, even though it was still easily a year away. He was like, ‘It feels like the right time and it feels like the right way to do it.’ It just felt right for both of us.
Despite Diggs’ exit appearing to be permanent, the actor didn’t shut the door on a potential return. In a May interview with TVLine, Diggs said that he would be open to returning as a ghost or spirit of some sort “in the context of the boys are struggling, and they kind of envision me giving sage advice.”
Animals can be far cleverer than we give them credit for, especially creatures we don’t think of as having distinct personalities. Most of us expect cats and dogs to do show us their unique quirks, but what about a flying squirrel?
A video is making its way around the internet that has people giggling over the dramatic antics of a large pet flying squirrel. It includes no narration explaining what’s happening and no context—it just shows a flying squirrel repeatedly faking its own death by broom.
That’s right. Death by broom. And from the way it looks, the little bugger came up with the idea on its own and made multiple attempts to create a convincing crime scene.
This is one you just have to see.
Twitter user @Birrellebee wrote that the squirrel “faked his own death, and created a whole crime scene…for attention. I think I’m in love.”
Whether the squirrel really did this just for attention or for some other reason isn’t clear, but no one seems to offering a more plausible explanation for it.
Watch:
u201cThis flying squirrel faked his own death, and created a whole crime sceneu2026for attention. I think Iu2019m in love. u201d
— Sarah Beeud83dudc1d (@Sarah Beeud83dudc1d) 1685808791
While some people have expressed understandable concern over flying squirrels living indoors as pets, we don’t know what the living situation here really is. Maybe the squirrel was injured and rescued. Maybe it can’t survive in the wild. We simply don’t know.
What we do know is that this adorable rodent deserves an Oscar for its performance. The way it gracefully somersaults right into position. The placing of the broomstick on its neck and splaying itself out flat on its back. The checking to see if anyone is looking. The repositioning of the murder weapon multiple times to figure out which one seems more believable.
Was that really what it was doing? Who knows. But it was a genuinely incredible performance nonetheless.
And of course, the people of the internet didn’t disappoint in the comments.
u201c@pimlius @nycsouthpaw Well, maybe he shouldu2019ve thought of that, befor being such a wee drama queen. Nobody likes an attention whore.u201d
— Sarah Beeud83dudc1d (@Sarah Beeud83dudc1d) 1685808791
u201c@RIDICULO_pathy @BirrelleBee I love this squirrel ud83dude02ud83eudd70u201d
— Sarah Beeud83dudc1d (@Sarah Beeud83dudc1d) 1685808791
“@GreigBeck @BirrelleBee @MAllanScott It’s an insurance scam.”
u201c@GreigBeck @BirrelleBee @MAllanScott Itu2019s an insurance scam.u201d
— Sarah Beeud83dudc1d (@Sarah Beeud83dudc1d) 1685808791
u201c@Marx_Bros_Thing @BirrelleBee Sameu201d
— Sarah Beeud83dudc1d (@Sarah Beeud83dudc1d) 1685808791
Since the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 2022, abortion-rights advocates have made key victories in multiple ballot initiatives.
Another victory for reproductive rights activists happened Tuesday night in Ohio, where abortion rights were enshrined into the state’s constitution by an overwhelming vote of nearly 60% in favor
.
The ballot measure’s language guarantees every person in Ohio the right “to one’s own reproductive medical treatment, including but not limited to abortion,” and prohibits the state from “burdening, penalizing or prohibiting” those rights.
And last and number three, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear won re-election in red state Kentucky after supporting abortion rights as a core message of his re-election campaign.
Abortion rights advocates marked Tuesday’s success as a sign that by and large, Americans desire for women to have freedom of choice.
President Biden wrote that it “makes clear what we know: the majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion and should have the right to make their own health care decisions.”
Meanwhile, NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju said in a statement: “Reproductive freedom is a winning issue, now and in November. Anti-choice lawmakers take note: The voters have spoken, and they will turn out at the ballot box to oppose efforts to restrict reproductive freedom.”
Scroll down to see more reactions:
We won today because of the volunteers and organizers who continue to show up for Ohio. Thank you for your activism. pic.twitter.com/ejnKLr6dGy
With the upcoming presidential election in 2024, abortion rights seem destined to be a key issue. And while that might mean more narratives around it are construed to create political divides throughout our country, so far that hasn’t appeared to be the reality for most Americans—who, even in more conservative leaning states, actively support a woman’s right to choose.
Whiskey just tastes better and fuller with a little water and cooling. It’s science.
With a lot of warm whiskeys dropping this time of year, we felt like it was the perfect time to blindly taste some bold AF barrel-proof bourbons with a single rock in them to find the very best and highlight how much these bourbons change with a single rock. So for this blind tasting, I purposefully grabbed 10 very bold and very hot barrel-proof bourbons. My wife was kind enough to pour them and then I added a single medium-sized, deeply-frozen ice cube.
Before we dive in, let’s get technical. What happens when you add an ice cube to a glass of bourbon is that as the cube starts to melt, it begins to slowly dilute the whiskey. This allows the fatty acids to detach from the esters (chemical compounds that hold flavors). Since the fatty acids are free, the whiskey gets super creamy and maybe even nutty. At the same time, the esters (chemical flavor notes) change, thanks to being free of those same fatty acids.
The whole profile of the whiskey shifts. This is often called “the bloom” in tasting circles.
Since we’re talking about ice and not dropping in drops of water, the whiskey also cools — but only slightly. If you put whiskey in the freezer, it’ll dull the profile massively thanks to the chemicals binding together, creating a viscous texture. With a single ice cube that adds dilution, this doesn’t really happen. Instead, some chemical compounds (esters) — think sharp hot spice notes — are lowered in volume while others are raised — think fruitiness and earthy notes. Again, you’re simply highlighting more of what’s actually in the distillate while, yes, making it easier to drink.
Here’s a cold hard fact in case you’re still incredulous. Every whiskey blender at every bottler or distillery proofs/dilutes their whiskey down to 20% ABV or 40-proof to taste it. Why? That’s the proof where the whiskey is most flavorful with the best texture (and cannot hide its faults). That is true of all whiskey in all regions. What does that tell you? Even barrel-proof or high-proof whiskey is best when it’s diluted with some water. That’s because far more of the flavor profile is muted by over-proof heat from the ethanol than water. That high proof not only hides flavor notes but also turns off the taste receptors on your palate (it’ll feel like a burn to you physically). That’s a double fail if you’re trying to get the full brunt of what the distiller/blender/bottler did with their whiskey — so add some ice!
Make sense? Now it’s time for us to dive in!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
Part 1 — The Barrel-Proof Bourbon On Ice Blind Tasting
Zach Johnston
Taste 1
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a rush of sharp cinnamon bark wrapped up with old saddle leather, freshly fried apple fritters, walnuts, old cedar bark braids twisted up with dried wild sage, and a hint of dried yellow mustard flowers with an underlying sense of maple syrup over pecan waffles.
Palate: The palate leans into the spice with a hint of allspice and ginger next to apple pie filling with walnuts, brandy-soaked raisins, and plenty of grainy porridge next to spiced Christmas cake dipped in dark chocolate sauce.
Finish: The end takes its time and meanders through salted caramel, stewed plums with star anise and sharp cinnamon, a hint of vanilla Dr. Pepper, and a mild sense of chocolate-cinnamon-spiced chewing tobacco buzziness with a warming Texas hug that’s part Hot Tamales and part chili-spiced green tea.
With Ice:
The nose on this changes to a rich and creamy vanilla malt with cherry on top. Think of a real vanilla malt made with really good malt powder where you still get that light note of the sweet barley grain. The palate gets super grassy and loses almost all of that graininess while the mid-palate hits a dark chocolate mocha latter vibe with plenty of dark fruits and mild winter spice barks.
This is a dream to sip over a rock.
Taste 2
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is beautifully deep with salted butter, old soft leather gloves touched with menthol, soft vanilla beans, and toffee candies dipped in walnuts and dusted with dark chocolate powder.
Palate: The palate hits on deep yet soft woody spices — allspice berries, star anise, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods — while dark cherry tobacco in an old pine box mingles with salted caramel, black tea leaves, and more of that soft leather.
Finish: The end mixes dark berries and spiced honey with old porch wood and a moist vanilla white cake with a hint of spiced mint lurking in the background.
With Ice:
This takes on a heavy cream nose (almost a fresh whipped cream) that turns toward vanilla custard that’s almost a flan with homemade caramel sauce. The palate weaves rich eggnog with mild woody spices and luxurious vanilla cake at the end.
This is a creamy delight with a good layer of spice to remind you of its depth and wood finishing.
Taste 3
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is rich on the nose with deep senses of dark chocolate brownies just kissed with stewed black cherry and old vanilla pods before a soft sense of red chili tobacco and wet brown sugar tobacco lead to a whisper of smoldering fall leaves.
Palate: That dark chocolate and chili-laced tobacco drives the taste toward a Christmas cake brimming with candied cherry, orange rind, rum raisin, clove, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and creamy vanilla icing with a dash of salt, marzipan, and brandy-soaked apple and pear orchards.
Finish: The rich and boozy holiday cake fades on the finish as deep earthiness — think firewood bark and smudging sage — drives the end toward a big Kentucky hug of warmth that’s just right.
With Ice:
The nose on this turns into the chocolate ganache instead of a chocolate candy like a Lindt Ball. The palate is like an iced Mexican hot chocolate with dried chili melding with almost umami dark chocolate next to a whisper of mildly spiced horchata.
I really dig this.
Taste 4
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Big notes of stewed apples lead to apple cider spiked with dried red chili, allspice, and anise on the nose before dark chocolate oranges and salted caramels give way to old oak staves with a hint of vanilla-mint tobacco.
Palate: That vanilla creates a silky palate with tons of butterscotch and caramel popcorn with a good flake of salt as cinnamon and chili-heavy cider leads to Christmas nut breads and old leather tobacco pouches with a hint of dark cherry.
Finish: The end amps up the ABVs dramatically as chili, black pepper, and anise drive the end toward an almost cool mint tobacco vibe with a vanilla buttercream underbelly.
With Ice:
The nose melds cedar bark, birch tea, and root beer pudding to create a creamy yet woody vibe. The palate balances those woody spices with dark fruits and a dry sweetgrass end that’s bold and warming but not overly hot.
This feels like it nails its barrel-proof vibes with long aging and beautiful base distillate. It’s really freaking good is my point.
Taste 5
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: You get a sense of dry cornmeal on the nose next to apple crumble, plenty of wintry spice, a hint of mulled wine, wet brown sugar, and a thin layer of wet yet sweet cedar.
Palate: A hint of brandy-soaked cherries arrives on the palate with a dusting of dark chocolate powder next to more apple pie filling, spice, and buttery crust alongside a sweet, toffee-heavy mid-palate.
Finish: The end arrives with a dry wicker vibe, cherry tobacco chewiness, and a hint of that dark chocolate.
With Ice:
The nose gives you a light vanilla cream feel before the palate pops with deep winter spice barks. The mid-palate highlights dark cherry with a woody orchard bark feel. This is nice but doesn’t quite pop like the others.
Taste 6
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rich winter spices draw you in on the nose as deep and sweet oak staves lead to red fruit leather, dark chocolate-dipped cherries, and a layer of vanilla sheet cake.
Palate: Cinnamon cake and peppery citrus drive the palate toward salted caramel over that vanilla sheet cake before more of those chocolate cherries arrive to tie everything into a rich and moist Black Forest cake spiked with allspice and clove.
Finish: The end circles around the chocolate cherry cake as the spices mount on the finish with a warming sense of cinnamon sharpness and red chili heat that’s just tempered by oak wrapped in cherry tobacco.
With Ice:
The nose feels like a scone smeared with rich buttercream next to dark but very creamy chocolate. The cherry really brightens on the palate as red berries stewed with clove, allspice, and cinnamon reach toward soft nuttiness.
This is a really nice pour of whiskey.
Taste 7
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rummy spice and fruit open the nose with a sense of nutty winter cakes, caramel sauce, and soft kindling with a light whisper of tobacco just kissed with chili chocolate.
Palate: The palate leans into the chili-chocolate vibes with plenty of winter spice barks, rich marzipan, soft vanilla lusciousness, and a good dose of mincemeat pie.
Finish: Stewed plums and dates drive the finish toward sharp spice barks, more tobacco, and a whisper of walnut bread.
With Ice:
The nose takes on this soft spiced dark berry gelée vibe (the kind you get inside a German Christmas cookie). The palate is super creamy with a nutty sense of spiced winter cakes cut with rich vanilla and chocolate sauces.
This is a very good whiskey.
Taste 8
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Toasted almonds and walnuts lead the way on the nose with a deep and rich vanilla cake lightly dusted with cacao, dry cherry, and cinnamon with a touch of old oak cellars and black-mold-encrusted old deck furniture.
Palate: The soft caramel and vanilla open the palate before a rush of woody and sharp spices — clove, anise, allspice, red chili pepper — arrive with a sense of old wood chips on a workshop floor leads to salted toffee dipped in roasted almonds and dark salted chocolate with a whisper of cherry cordial backing it all up.
Finish: That soft sweetness counters the hot spices for a while on the slow finish as the spices take on an orange/cherry/vanilla Christmas cake vibe with plenty of nuts and ABV heat.
With Ice:
The nose on this one feels like quintessential Kentucky bourbon with deep and dark cherry swimming in reach vanilla buttercream with a good dose of mild winter spices adding sharpness and depth. The palate is super creamy with a chocolate malt vibe next to spiced vanilla pudding over a sticky toffee pudding dripping with salted caramel sauce cut with fresh orange zest.
This is a pretty freaking excellent whiskey, too.
Taste 9
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Honey Graham Crackers and almond cookies present on the nose with a sense of clove-studded oranges and old cinnamon sticks with a note of caramel and apple.
Palate: The apple merges with the cinnamon and caramel on the palate next to leathery prunes, piney honey, and more clove-orange before a dark potting soil arrives with a deep earthiness.
Finish: That earthiness turns into dry sweetgrass on the finish with a sense of cinnamon-heavy stewed apples and old oak.
With Ice:
The nose holds onto that Graham Cracker dipped in honey vibe. The palate gets super grassy with a dark winter spice berry feel.
This is a good whiskey but doesn’t quite have the same edge as some of the others.
Taste 10
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is peppery with a sense of white chocolate and vanilla pudding cups next to sweet cola cut with cherry and maybe some brown sugar.
Palate: Peaches and mulled wine lead on the palate with a sense of fresh oak lurking in the background, mild notes of orange zest, and hints of nuttiness.
Finish: Mulled wine cut with fresh orange lead to lemon pepper and more oak with a final note of cherry tobacco with a very sweet edge.
With Ice:
The nose stays pretty peppery as the overall palate hits classic bourbon notes. This was fine.
This MGP whiskey is made with a unique bourbon mash bill of 60% corn, 25% wheat, 10% rye, and 5% malted barley. The whiskey is batched from barrels that are two, three, and four years old before re-barrelling into French Bordeaux Cabernet Sauvignon casks for another three months of resting.
Bottom Line:
This is a perfectly fine bourbon but nothing to write home about.
9. Watershed Distillery Fall Finishing Series Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Apple Brandy Barrels Aged 6 Years Barrel Strength — Taste 9
This Ohio whiskey is all about batching and finishing. The bourbon was re-filled into American oak that held apple brandy for years. After six total years of aging, the whiskey was batched and then bottled 100% as-is at cask strength.
Bottom Line:
This is a nice enough bourbon. Even with ice, it feels more suited for whiskey cocktails than sipping.
8. Penelope Barrel Strength Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys Aged 9 Years — Taste 5
This blended bourbon is a masterful lesson in the power of blending. The three bourbons in the blend create a four-grain bourbon via their mash bills. The final blend is comprised of 44% 10-year-old Indiana bourbon, 46% nine-year-old Indiana bourbon, and 10% nine-year-old Kentucky bourbon. Once batched, the whiskey is bottled 100% as-is at cask strength.
Bottom Line:
This was a nice everyday sipper. Again even with ice, it felt like it’d make a better cocktail. But … I’d still sip this on a weekday and not be mad about it.
This whiskey from Kentucky Peerless is around five to six years old and comes from one barrel that lets the grains shine through before it goes into another barrel that lets the oak shine through. That final barrel is bottled at cask strength, as-is, allowing all that beautiful bourbon and oak aging to shine brightly.
Bottom Line:
This is a nice sipper over ice that lets the oak shine through all the way to the end.
This single-barrel pick from ReserveBar is a very unique bourbon. The whiskey in the bottle is made from 99% corn and 1% rye Indiana bourbon. The team at ReserveBar picked one special eight-year-old barrel of that whiskey and bottled it 100% as-is at cask strength.
Bottom Line:
I like this over ice but it didn’t quite pop like the next five pours on the tasting panel. Like the two pours above, this is a nice mid-week easy-going sipper.
5. Frank August Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Cask Strength Barrel No. 0015 — Taste 6
The latest single-barrel release from Frank August is from a small collection of only 15 barrels. One barrel was chosen for bottling and then bottled 100% as-is to highlight the beauty of the whiskey in that barrel. That means this whiskey ended up being 6.1 years old.
Bottom Line:
This is a nice sipper with a good depth. It’s classic.
This first Booker’s Small Batch of 2023 has arrived! This release is an hommage to Charlie Hutchens — the woodworker who makes Booker’s boxes the whiskey comes in and a long-time family friend to the Noe family who makes Beam whiskeys. The whiskey is a blend of mid to high-floor barrels from five warehouses. Those whiskeys were batched and bottled 100% as-is at cask strength after just north of seven years of aging.
Bottom Line:
Okay, this is where we get into the “wow” pours. This is excellent bourbon over a single rock. If you’re looking for a quintessential Kentucky bourbon sipping experience, this is the play.
Stagg is Buffalo Trace’s Mash Bill no. 1 (a low-rye mash) turned all the way up to MAX volume. The whiskey spends about a decade resting in the old Buffalo Trace warehouses before it’s batched and bottled (in this case in Spring 2023) 100% as-is.
Bottom Line:
The shift here is pretty drastic and all for the better. This is essential Kentucky bourbon with that little extra somethin’ somethin’ that draws you back for more. The hype is real as this is so drinkable with a rock.
This year’s Cowboy Bourbon from Garrison Brothers is a blend of only 118 barrels of six-year-old Texas bourbon. 1,000 bottles of the crafty Texas whiskey will be available in mid-September at the distillery with an additional 8,600 bottles going out nationwide the first week of October.
Bottom Line:
This changes from a crafty grain-forward ABV boom to a svelte and sexy bourbon with insane depth and zero burn. This was … exciting.
The last drop from Elijah Craig Barrel Proof of 2023 is a big one. The whiskey in the bottle is a 13-year and 7-month-old bourbon that was bottled 100% as-is at cask strength.
Bottom Line:
This is another one that changed massively for the better with a touch of water and ice. It truly bloomed in the glass into this foundational Kentucky bourbon that then just kept going and going on the palate with new and fun flavor notes. This is a great sipper.
Part 3 — Final Thoughts on the Barrel-Proof Bourbon On Ice
Zach Johnston
Overall, there wasn’t a bad bourbon on this list. If I were to skip any bottles, it’d be the tenth bottle only. The rest all have something unique to offer.
Now, don’t get me wrong. The top four are mind-blowingly great pours of bourbon over a single rock. And they’re all iconic expressions. With that hint of dilution and a touch of cooling, it is easy to see why those top four bourbons get so much hype. They’re truly that good. Get all four if you’re able.
Whiskey just tastes better and fuller with a little water and cooling. It’s science.
With a lot of warm whiskeys dropping this time of year, we felt like it was the perfect time to blindly taste some bold AF barrel-proof bourbons with a single rock in them to find the very best and highlight how much these bourbons change with a single rock. So for this blind tasting, I purposefully grabbed 10 very bold and very hot barrel-proof bourbons. My wife was kind enough to pour them and then I added a single medium-sized, deeply-frozen ice cube.
Before we dive in, let’s get technical. What happens when you add an ice cube to a glass of bourbon is that as the cube starts to melt, it begins to slowly dilute the whiskey. This allows the fatty acids to detach from the esters (chemical compounds that hold flavors). Since the fatty acids are free, the whiskey gets super creamy and maybe even nutty. At the same time, the esters (chemical flavor notes) change, thanks to being free of those same fatty acids.
The whole profile of the whiskey shifts. This is often called “the bloom” in tasting circles.
Since we’re talking about ice and not dropping in drops of water, the whiskey also cools — but only slightly. If you put whiskey in the freezer, it’ll dull the profile massively thanks to the chemicals binding together, creating a viscous texture. With a single ice cube that adds dilution, this doesn’t really happen. Instead, some chemical compounds (esters) — think sharp hot spice notes — are lowered in volume while others are raised — think fruitiness and earthy notes. Again, you’re simply highlighting more of what’s actually in the distillate while, yes, making it easier to drink.
Here’s a cold hard fact in case you’re still incredulous. Every whiskey blender at every bottler or distillery proofs/dilutes their whiskey down to 20% ABV or 40-proof to taste it. Why? That’s the proof where the whiskey is most flavorful with the best texture (and cannot hide its faults). That is true of all whiskey in all regions. What does that tell you? Even barrel-proof or high-proof whiskey is best when it’s diluted with some water. That’s because far more of the flavor profile is muted by over-proof heat from the ethanol than water. That high proof not only hides flavor notes but also turns off the taste receptors on your palate (it’ll feel like a burn to you physically). That’s a double fail if you’re trying to get the full brunt of what the distiller/blender/bottler did with their whiskey — so add some ice!
Make sense? Now it’s time for us to dive in!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
Part 1 — The Barrel-Proof Bourbon On Ice Blind Tasting
Zach Johnston
Taste 1
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a rush of sharp cinnamon bark wrapped up with old saddle leather, freshly fried apple fritters, walnuts, old cedar bark braids twisted up with dried wild sage, and a hint of dried yellow mustard flowers with an underlying sense of maple syrup over pecan waffles.
Palate: The palate leans into the spice with a hint of allspice and ginger next to apple pie filling with walnuts, brandy-soaked raisins, and plenty of grainy porridge next to spiced Christmas cake dipped in dark chocolate sauce.
Finish: The end takes its time and meanders through salted caramel, stewed plums with star anise and sharp cinnamon, a hint of vanilla Dr. Pepper, and a mild sense of chocolate-cinnamon-spiced chewing tobacco buzziness with a warming Texas hug that’s part Hot Tamales and part chili-spiced green tea.
With Ice:
The nose on this changes to a rich and creamy vanilla malt with cherry on top. Think of a real vanilla malt made with really good malt powder where you still get that light note of the sweet barley grain. The palate gets super grassy and loses almost all of that graininess while the mid-palate hits a dark chocolate mocha latter vibe with plenty of dark fruits and mild winter spice barks.
This is a dream to sip over a rock.
Taste 2
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is beautifully deep with salted butter, old soft leather gloves touched with menthol, soft vanilla beans, and toffee candies dipped in walnuts and dusted with dark chocolate powder.
Palate: The palate hits on deep yet soft woody spices — allspice berries, star anise, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods — while dark cherry tobacco in an old pine box mingles with salted caramel, black tea leaves, and more of that soft leather.
Finish: The end mixes dark berries and spiced honey with old porch wood and a moist vanilla white cake with a hint of spiced mint lurking in the background.
With Ice:
This takes on a heavy cream nose (almost a fresh whipped cream) that turns toward vanilla custard that’s almost a flan with homemade caramel sauce. The palate weaves rich eggnog with mild woody spices and luxurious vanilla cake at the end.
This is a creamy delight with a good layer of spice to remind you of its depth and wood finishing.
Taste 3
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is rich on the nose with deep senses of dark chocolate brownies just kissed with stewed black cherry and old vanilla pods before a soft sense of red chili tobacco and wet brown sugar tobacco lead to a whisper of smoldering fall leaves.
Palate: That dark chocolate and chili-laced tobacco drives the taste toward a Christmas cake brimming with candied cherry, orange rind, rum raisin, clove, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and creamy vanilla icing with a dash of salt, marzipan, and brandy-soaked apple and pear orchards.
Finish: The rich and boozy holiday cake fades on the finish as deep earthiness — think firewood bark and smudging sage — drives the end toward a big Kentucky hug of warmth that’s just right.
With Ice:
The nose on this turns into the chocolate ganache instead of a chocolate candy like a Lindt Ball. The palate is like an iced Mexican hot chocolate with dried chili melding with almost umami dark chocolate next to a whisper of mildly spiced horchata.
I really dig this.
Taste 4
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Big notes of stewed apples lead to apple cider spiked with dried red chili, allspice, and anise on the nose before dark chocolate oranges and salted caramels give way to old oak staves with a hint of vanilla-mint tobacco.
Palate: That vanilla creates a silky palate with tons of butterscotch and caramel popcorn with a good flake of salt as cinnamon and chili-heavy cider leads to Christmas nut breads and old leather tobacco pouches with a hint of dark cherry.
Finish: The end amps up the ABVs dramatically as chili, black pepper, and anise drive the end toward an almost cool mint tobacco vibe with a vanilla buttercream underbelly.
With Ice:
The nose melds cedar bark, birch tea, and root beer pudding to create a creamy yet woody vibe. The palate balances those woody spices with dark fruits and a dry sweetgrass end that’s bold and warming but not overly hot.
This feels like it nails its barrel-proof vibes with long aging and beautiful base distillate. It’s really freaking good is my point.
Taste 5
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: You get a sense of dry cornmeal on the nose next to apple crumble, plenty of wintry spice, a hint of mulled wine, wet brown sugar, and a thin layer of wet yet sweet cedar.
Palate: A hint of brandy-soaked cherries arrives on the palate with a dusting of dark chocolate powder next to more apple pie filling, spice, and buttery crust alongside a sweet, toffee-heavy mid-palate.
Finish: The end arrives with a dry wicker vibe, cherry tobacco chewiness, and a hint of that dark chocolate.
With Ice:
The nose gives you a light vanilla cream feel before the palate pops with deep winter spice barks. The mid-palate highlights dark cherry with a woody orchard bark feel. This is nice but doesn’t quite pop like the others.
Taste 6
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rich winter spices draw you in on the nose as deep and sweet oak staves lead to red fruit leather, dark chocolate-dipped cherries, and a layer of vanilla sheet cake.
Palate: Cinnamon cake and peppery citrus drive the palate toward salted caramel over that vanilla sheet cake before more of those chocolate cherries arrive to tie everything into a rich and moist Black Forest cake spiked with allspice and clove.
Finish: The end circles around the chocolate cherry cake as the spices mount on the finish with a warming sense of cinnamon sharpness and red chili heat that’s just tempered by oak wrapped in cherry tobacco.
With Ice:
The nose feels like a scone smeared with rich buttercream next to dark but very creamy chocolate. The cherry really brightens on the palate as red berries stewed with clove, allspice, and cinnamon reach toward soft nuttiness.
This is a really nice pour of whiskey.
Taste 7
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rummy spice and fruit open the nose with a sense of nutty winter cakes, caramel sauce, and soft kindling with a light whisper of tobacco just kissed with chili chocolate.
Palate: The palate leans into the chili-chocolate vibes with plenty of winter spice barks, rich marzipan, soft vanilla lusciousness, and a good dose of mincemeat pie.
Finish: Stewed plums and dates drive the finish toward sharp spice barks, more tobacco, and a whisper of walnut bread.
With Ice:
The nose takes on this soft spiced dark berry gelée vibe (the kind you get inside a German Christmas cookie). The palate is super creamy with a nutty sense of spiced winter cakes cut with rich vanilla and chocolate sauces.
This is a very good whiskey.
Taste 8
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Toasted almonds and walnuts lead the way on the nose with a deep and rich vanilla cake lightly dusted with cacao, dry cherry, and cinnamon with a touch of old oak cellars and black-mold-encrusted old deck furniture.
Palate: The soft caramel and vanilla open the palate before a rush of woody and sharp spices — clove, anise, allspice, red chili pepper — arrive with a sense of old wood chips on a workshop floor leads to salted toffee dipped in roasted almonds and dark salted chocolate with a whisper of cherry cordial backing it all up.
Finish: That soft sweetness counters the hot spices for a while on the slow finish as the spices take on an orange/cherry/vanilla Christmas cake vibe with plenty of nuts and ABV heat.
With Ice:
The nose on this one feels like quintessential Kentucky bourbon with deep and dark cherry swimming in reach vanilla buttercream with a good dose of mild winter spices adding sharpness and depth. The palate is super creamy with a chocolate malt vibe next to spiced vanilla pudding over a sticky toffee pudding dripping with salted caramel sauce cut with fresh orange zest.
This is a pretty freaking excellent whiskey, too.
Taste 9
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Honey Graham Crackers and almond cookies present on the nose with a sense of clove-studded oranges and old cinnamon sticks with a note of caramel and apple.
Palate: The apple merges with the cinnamon and caramel on the palate next to leathery prunes, piney honey, and more clove-orange before a dark potting soil arrives with a deep earthiness.
Finish: That earthiness turns into dry sweetgrass on the finish with a sense of cinnamon-heavy stewed apples and old oak.
With Ice:
The nose holds onto that Graham Cracker dipped in honey vibe. The palate gets super grassy with a dark winter spice berry feel.
This is a good whiskey but doesn’t quite have the same edge as some of the others.
Taste 10
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is peppery with a sense of white chocolate and vanilla pudding cups next to sweet cola cut with cherry and maybe some brown sugar.
Palate: Peaches and mulled wine lead on the palate with a sense of fresh oak lurking in the background, mild notes of orange zest, and hints of nuttiness.
Finish: Mulled wine cut with fresh orange lead to lemon pepper and more oak with a final note of cherry tobacco with a very sweet edge.
With Ice:
The nose stays pretty peppery as the overall palate hits classic bourbon notes. This was fine.
This MGP whiskey is made with a unique bourbon mash bill of 60% corn, 25% wheat, 10% rye, and 5% malted barley. The whiskey is batched from barrels that are two, three, and four years old before re-barrelling into French Bordeaux Cabernet Sauvignon casks for another three months of resting.
Bottom Line:
This is a perfectly fine bourbon but nothing to write home about.
9. Watershed Distillery Fall Finishing Series Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Apple Brandy Barrels Aged 6 Years Barrel Strength — Taste 9
This Ohio whiskey is all about batching and finishing. The bourbon was re-filled into American oak that held apple brandy for years. After six total years of aging, the whiskey was batched and then bottled 100% as-is at cask strength.
Bottom Line:
This is a nice enough bourbon. Even with ice, it feels more suited for whiskey cocktails than sipping.
8. Penelope Barrel Strength Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys Aged 9 Years — Taste 5
This blended bourbon is a masterful lesson in the power of blending. The three bourbons in the blend create a four-grain bourbon via their mash bills. The final blend is comprised of 44% 10-year-old Indiana bourbon, 46% nine-year-old Indiana bourbon, and 10% nine-year-old Kentucky bourbon. Once batched, the whiskey is bottled 100% as-is at cask strength.
Bottom Line:
This was a nice everyday sipper. Again even with ice, it felt like it’d make a better cocktail. But … I’d still sip this on a weekday and not be mad about it.
This whiskey from Kentucky Peerless is around five to six years old and comes from one barrel that lets the grains shine through before it goes into another barrel that lets the oak shine through. That final barrel is bottled at cask strength, as-is, allowing all that beautiful bourbon and oak aging to shine brightly.
Bottom Line:
This is a nice sipper over ice that lets the oak shine through all the way to the end.
This single-barrel pick from ReserveBar is a very unique bourbon. The whiskey in the bottle is made from 99% corn and 1% rye Indiana bourbon. The team at ReserveBar picked one special eight-year-old barrel of that whiskey and bottled it 100% as-is at cask strength.
Bottom Line:
I like this over ice but it didn’t quite pop like the next five pours on the tasting panel. Like the two pours above, this is a nice mid-week easy-going sipper.
5. Frank August Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Cask Strength Barrel No. 0015 — Taste 6
The latest single-barrel release from Frank August is from a small collection of only 15 barrels. One barrel was chosen for bottling and then bottled 100% as-is to highlight the beauty of the whiskey in that barrel. That means this whiskey ended up being 6.1 years old.
Bottom Line:
This is a nice sipper with a good depth. It’s classic.
This first Booker’s Small Batch of 2023 has arrived! This release is an hommage to Charlie Hutchens — the woodworker who makes Booker’s boxes the whiskey comes in and a long-time family friend to the Noe family who makes Beam whiskeys. The whiskey is a blend of mid to high-floor barrels from five warehouses. Those whiskeys were batched and bottled 100% as-is at cask strength after just north of seven years of aging.
Bottom Line:
Okay, this is where we get into the “wow” pours. This is excellent bourbon over a single rock. If you’re looking for a quintessential Kentucky bourbon sipping experience, this is the play.
Stagg is Buffalo Trace’s Mash Bill no. 1 (a low-rye mash) turned all the way up to MAX volume. The whiskey spends about a decade resting in the old Buffalo Trace warehouses before it’s batched and bottled (in this case in Spring 2023) 100% as-is.
Bottom Line:
The shift here is pretty drastic and all for the better. This is essential Kentucky bourbon with that little extra somethin’ somethin’ that draws you back for more. The hype is real as this is so drinkable with a rock.
This year’s Cowboy Bourbon from Garrison Brothers is a blend of only 118 barrels of six-year-old Texas bourbon. 1,000 bottles of the crafty Texas whiskey will be available in mid-September at the distillery with an additional 8,600 bottles going out nationwide the first week of October.
Bottom Line:
This changes from a crafty grain-forward ABV boom to a svelte and sexy bourbon with insane depth and zero burn. This was … exciting.
The last drop from Elijah Craig Barrel Proof of 2023 is a big one. The whiskey in the bottle is a 13-year and 7-month-old bourbon that was bottled 100% as-is at cask strength.
Bottom Line:
This is another one that changed massively for the better with a touch of water and ice. It truly bloomed in the glass into this foundational Kentucky bourbon that then just kept going and going on the palate with new and fun flavor notes. This is a great sipper.
Part 3 — Final Thoughts on the Barrel-Proof Bourbon On Ice
Zach Johnston
Overall, there wasn’t a bad bourbon on this list. If I were to skip any bottles, it’d be the tenth bottle only. The rest all have something unique to offer.
Now, don’t get me wrong. The top four are mind-blowingly great pours of bourbon over a single rock. And they’re all iconic expressions. With that hint of dilution and a touch of cooling, it is easy to see why those top four bourbons get so much hype. They’re truly that good. Get all four if you’re able.
Afrobeats is one of the fastest-growing genres in the country. There are big names who have seen global success, but there are even more talented up-and-coming artists looking to achieve the same type of success. Finding those artists can be tough, but we’ve got you covered. Every week, we’ll share an update on the best new afrobeats songs you need to hear and hopefully, you can find someone new to add to your rotation.
Here are some more releases on the new music front that you should check out:
Mannywellz & Pink Sweat$ — “Attention” & “Better With You”
Almost six months after his Don’t Tell Anyone EP, Mannywellz returns with a pair of songs alongside Pink Sweat$. The two tracks, “Attention” and “Better With You,” are cut from a cloth closest to alté, a sound perfect for Mannywellz afrobeats and Pink Sweat$’s R&B backgrounds.
KCee — “I Pray” Feat. Oxlade
Weeks after releasing “Tuesday,” KCee checks in with “I Pray” alongside Oxlade. Together, the two singers strike up an energetic amapiano-inspired record that speaks to a higher power to thank them for their success and to protect them from the enemies that may lurk around them.
Teni — “Malaika”
Teni’s second album Tears Of The Sun arrives on November 19, and ahead of its release, she returns with “Malaika.” The third single on the project, joining “Lanke” and “No Days Off,” is built on the groove of afrobeats as Teni takes time to thank God for helping her through the ups and downs in her life.
Joeboy — “Only God Can Save Me”
In less than two weeks, Nigerian singer Joeboy will release his Body, Soul & Spirit EP. It appears to be a companion project to his second album Body & Soul, which he released back in May. He begins the EP’s rollout with the vulnerable “Only God Can Save Me” which Joeboy uses to discuss the lack of control we have over our destiny.
Victony — “No Joke”
During an interview with Uproxx back in May, Victony hinted at “really unique” records he had on the way. His latest single “No Joke” is seemingly the first, and it’s a groovy single that is both assertive and confident.
Minz — “Blessings”
We’re due for a project from Minz, but for now, we’ll take the singles the singer continues to deliver. “Blessings” joins “Sokoto” and a remix of “Wo Wo” as his drops in 2023, and on it, Minz takes a moment to celebrate the blessings and success that have rained on him in his life.
Morravey — Ravi
Much of the world was introduced to Nigerian singer Morravey thanks to her feature on Davido’s “In The Garden” from his Timeless album. She now steps out on her own with her debut EP Ravi. Through its five songs, Morravey shows her versatility through dance, reggae, highlife, and afro-pop records.
Tega Boi Dc — “Child’s Play” Feat. Shallipopi
If you love amapiano, Tega Boi Dc’s new record “Child’s Play” with Shallipopi is just the track for you. It comes after Tega Boi Dc’s summer record “Come For You” and after Shallipopi’s October release “Things On Things.”
Mellissa — “Henny Talk”
Ghana singer Mellissa is a name you’ve seen beside artists like Amaarae and BOJ, and now, she’s gearing up to stand out on her own with an upcoming EP. Ahead of that project, she drops “Henny Talk” which is a fun and steamy single that combines romance and a bit of liquor to show how feelings can run wild once both are combined.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
(@imamandajo) 
