What do you do after you win an award? You usually go to a party. They probably have fancy hors-d’oevres there. But perhaps you’re not hungry for canapés or roasted lamb on a stick or a chocolate fountain. Maybe you want a greasy-ass burger. A decade ago, after winning his second Best Director Oscar for Life of Pi, Ang Lee was seen housing an In-N-Out burger, sparkly new trophy in his other hand. After his win at Sunday night’s Golden Globes, Paul Giamatti had much the same idea.
Per The Wrap, after Sunday night’s show, after winning Best Actor in a Comedy for The Holdovers, the beloved actor (who definitely needs to play a shouty Bond villain) was spotted in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, inside one of the southwest fast food chain’s locations. Still clad in his tuxedo, he could be seen staring at his phone at a random seat, just like anybody else. It’s not clear what he’s eating. Did he get his burger animal style? We may never know.
It was Giammati’s third Golden Globe, following the HBO miniseries John Addams and the 2010 comedy Barney’s Version. Somehow he’s only received an Oscar nomination once, for the 2005 boxing saga Cinderella Man. Perhaps his work in The Holdovers — in which he reunites with Sideways director Alexander Payne, playing a grumpy, alcoholic private school history teacher prone to calling his students “philistines” and “snarling Visigoths” — will be his first. If he wins that one, maybe he can switch things up and hit Fatburger instead.
But anyway, yes, everyone loved it. As they should.
In addition to being the star of Marvel franchise “Thor,” actor Chris Hemsworth is also a father-of-three? And it turns out, he’s pretty much the coolest dad ever.
In a clip from a 2015 interview on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” Hemsworth shared an interesting conversation he had with his 4-year-old daughter India.
“My daughter’s kind of envious of my boys,” Hemsworth told Ellen. “She came to me the other day, and she’s like ‘You know, Papa, I want one of those things that Sasha and Tristan have.’ And I’m like, ‘What do you mean?’ She said, ‘You know the things in between their legs that you have.'”
Hemsworth said he tried to explain the differences between male and female bodies, but his daughter wasn’t having it.
“She goes, ‘I really want one!’ Hemsworth said. “I’m like, ‘A penis?’ And she’s like, ‘I want a penis!’
And then, Hemsworth had the best possible response. He recalls:
She’s four and I’m like, ‘You know what, you can be whatever you want to be.’ And she goes, ‘Thanks, Dad.’ Runs off into the playground and that was it.
And then, I cannot confirm, but I’m pretty sure the Ellen audience did this:
Major kudos to Hemsworth for taking a potentially awkward parenting situation and turning it into a lesson about love and acceptance.
When Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi both landed their high jumps at 2.37 meters, they were in the battle for Olympic gold. But when both jumpers missed the next mark—the Olympic record of 2.39 meters—three times each, they were officially tied for first place.
In such a tie, the athletes would usually do a “jump-off” to determine who wins gold and who wins silver. But as the official began to explain the options to Barshim and Tamberi, Barshim asked, “Can we have two golds?”
“It’s possible,” the official responded. “It depends, if you both decide…” And before he’d even told them how sharing the gold would work, the two jumpers looked at each other, nodded, and then launched into a wholesome and joyful celebration guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.
Just watch:
None
— (@)
(If you are unable to view the video above, check it out on NBC’s YouTube channel here.)
The two jumpers have been competing against one another for more than a decade and are friends on and off the field, so getting to share the gold is a win-win—literally—for both of them. It’s also a historic choice. According to the BBC, the last time competing track and field Olympians shared the gold medal podium was in 1912.
The friendship and camaraderie between the two athletes are palpable and their immediate decision to share the gold truly embodies the Olympic spirit.
“I look at him, he looks at me, and we know it,” Barshim said, according to the CBC. “We just look at each other and we know, that is it, it is done. There is no need.”
“He is one of my best friends,” he added, “not only on the track, but outside the track. We work together. This is a dream come true. It is the true spirit, the sportsman spirit, and we are here delivering this message.”
Barshim was the silver medalist in the event in the Rio 2016 Olympics, and Tamberi suffered a career-threatening injury prior to those games, which took him out of medal contention.
“After my injuries, I just wanted to come back,” Tamberi told CNN. “But now I have this gold, it’s incredible. I dreamed of this so many times. I was told in 2016 just before Rio, there was a risk I wouldn’t be able to compete anymore. It’s been a long journey.”
What a beautiful display of sportsmanship, excellence, and genuine human connection. This is what the Olympics are all about. Love to see it.
A father-daughter snowboarding session takes the cuteness up a notch, thanks to dad’s brilliant idea to attach a mic to his 4-year-old. Sweetness ensued.
Sporting an adorable dinosaur onesie, the “powder-saurus” glides through their “secret path,” warning dad of intruders. Cause clearly, it’s THEIR secret path.
As she does, she sings her song of resilience and courage.
“I won’t fall … maybe I will … that’s okay … cause we all fall.”
One person astutely wrote in the comments, “this is the mantra we all need in 2022.” I mean … it’s accurate.
Another added, “this child gave a TED Talk about the power of positive self-talk.”
Indeed, “Shredder Dad” shares footage of our loveable snowboarding dinosaur making a few face plants, but she quickly bounces back. Nothing can stop her from her “weewhoos.” Nothing.
That is, until she becomes a “stuck-asaurus.” A truly relatable moment for all ages. Aren’t “indiscernible verbal struggles” part of the soundtrack of life? Still, she takes it all in hilarious stride, laughing all the way, and the positivity is heartwarming.
This video quickly put a smile on more than 6 million faces, and even got a comment from Walmart, which agreed that “we all fall sometimes.”
Turns out that there’s even more wholesome adventure content on the family’s TikTok. They even have a very thorough guide for teaching a toddler to snowboard here.
And by the way, yes, that dinosaur outfit does come in an adult size.
Next time you’re feeling down, just think of the powder-saurus song, and you’ll be back to “weewhoo” in no time.
But sometimes optical illusions happen by accident. Those ones are even more fun because we know they aren’t a result of someone trying to trick our brains. Our brains do the tricking all by themselves.
The popular Massimo account on X shared a photo that appears to be a person and two dogs in the snow. The more you look at it, the more you see just that—two dogs and someone who is presumably their owner.
But there are not two dogs in this picture:
This is how optical illusions mess with your mind. nnFirst you see two dogs and their owner, and then…
— (@)
There are three dogs in this picture. Can you see the third?
Full confession time: I didn’t see it at first. Not even when someone explained that the “human” is actually a dog. My brain couldn’t see anything but a person with two legs, dressed all in black, with a furry hat and some kind of furry stole or jacket. My brain definitely did not see a black poodle, which is what the person actually is.
Are you looking at the photo and trying to see it, totally frustrated?
The big hint is that the poodle is looking toward the camera. The “hat” on the “person” is the poodle’s poofy tail, and the “scarf/stole” is the poodle’s head.
Once you see it, it fairly clear, but for many of us, our brains did not process it until it was explicitly drawn out.
@Rainmaker1973 That one took me AGES to see. nOwner is is a 3rd dog closer to the camera. The black fur hides the contours.
— (@)
As one person explained, the black fur hides the contours and shadows, so all our brains take in is the outline, which looks very much like a person facing away from us.
People’s reactions to the optical illusion were hilarious.
One person wrote, “10 years later: I still see two dogs and a man.”
Another person wrote, “I agree with ChatGPT :)” and shared a screenshot of the infamous AI chatbot describing the photo as having a person in the foreground. Even when asked, “Could the ‘person’ be another dog?” ChatGPT said it’s possible, but not likely. Ha.
Being a tween or young teen can be difficult. You’re stuck between feeling more grown up than you are and being a child too young to do many things older teens are doing. It can be a confusing place to reside for a few years and if you’ve been on social media in the past few weeks, you’ve noticed an influx of women talking about “Sephora kids.”
But there are a group of moms that have a theory on why these tweens and young teens are finding themselves in adult beauty stores–tween stores are extinct.
How many of you remember waiting for the mail to run so you could get the latest Delia’s or Justice catalog to circle all the things you wanted? In the 90s we had stores like 5-7-9, Limited Too and Delia’s. Then Justice popped up and eventually 600 Limited Too stores decided to covert to the Justice brand which was a lower priced competitor for the retail store. Those stores were a tween girl’s haven where the models in the pictures looked their age and dressed like 9-14 year olds.
The stores were brightly colored with lots of sheer, glossy and lightly colored lip glosses, eye shadows, blushes and perfumes surrounded the cash registers. There was also toys mixed in with the tween/young teen selection, giving kids a chance to fully embrace the in between of being a child and an adult. There was even the boy equivalent to Justice, named Brothers, that offered boys much of the same experience as the girls, minus the light make up options.
It seems the only store still around that could double as a tween oasis is Claire’s, which is an accessory store. Samantha Sophia argues that there was once a whole tween market that’s simply gone outside of stores like Rave and Baker Shoes. This spills over into nearly all areas of tween culture because that group grew up with the last generation. Hannah Montana is now just Miley Cyrus. The Jonas Brothers are no longer singing about puppy love.
is the next generation growing up too fast? #grwm #generationz
One mom explains, “We had all of the things for teens and tweens…they have nothing! I think it’s both. They’re going from “Baby Alive–>ULTA” there’s no coming of age era.”
Another commenter says, “Interesting. Childless in my 40s, I didn’t see this hole in the “market,” but wow, it’s so clear. There is something deeper here to unravel. I’m very nostalgic over Delia’s, Limited Too and Claire’s. Those were OURS. What do tweens have now they can own?”
Replying to @ash mccormack we are failing our tweens. #sephorakids #parentingtweens
It doesn’t seem like there’s a comfortable place for tweens to stretch their legs to get a lay of the land on their way into adulthood. So while other people may think it’s a lack of supervision, parents spoiling their children or worse, parents only having children for accessories, it could simply be that tweens don’t have their own space.
“Like y’all don’t understand. The kids are alright. The Gen Alphas, they have boundaries. They don’t want to be adults, or they are so in this twilight zone of TikTok and social media consumption that they don’t even realize that they are being adultified by the way we formed our society, Samantha says closing out her video. “And I’m so sad for them because even though it doesn’t feel like it, it’s such a beautiful time in their lives in their age. And every day I’m fighting for my kids to feel that, and experience that and enjoy that.”
Did you, a reasonable and mature adult, turn into a child around the holidays? You’re not alone and there are ways to feel better and potentially repair any damage caused by the sudden regression.
Perhaps you were at the grocery store with your sibling, going in on the bill for a holiday meal together. One minute, you’re tallying items and the next, you’re arguing about who got more assistance from your parents growing up, and by that, you mean love. If you could stomp across the hall and slam a door in their face, you would, but instead, you have to ride back to your childhood home together in a sensible minivan and return to your spouses and children. Hypothetically, of course.
Or maybe your mom asked you a simple question about her iPhone again, one that you’ve answered a million times, which is easily Google-able, but jeez, why doesn’t she ever listen when you explain? You aren’t her personal Apple Genius.
And if she tells you one more time, there are more cookies in the pantry when you said no thank you and plus, she’s not exactly not the reason you have body image issues to begin with. What is she trying to do? Doesn’t she see how this affects you?
This is normal, apparently. It’s a psychological phenomenon dubbed Holiday Regression.
Around the holidays, the idea is all the sensory cues, from the people you’re around to the smells of home to the feeling of sleeping in your old childhood bedroom, create an environment where it’s incredibly easy to slip back into a younger version of yourself.
“We may have shifted in our adult life because we have new relationships and a new sense of ourselves,” clinical psychologist Lisa Firestone told CNN.com, “but going back for the holidays, being with your parents and sleeping in your old room, that’s what’s going to trigger you and bring back all those old feelings. Not on a conscious level, but it can put you in that frame of mind, and it can put your parents in that frame of mind, too.”
See, it is your parents’ fault!
So, let’s say you lost your cool, and you feel atrocious. Or still angry. What now?
First off, you want to figure out why you reacted the way you did. Is it just holiday stress or more likely, is it old anger or resentment that got triggered?
“We tend to fight with our loved one about the same few things over and over in different forms—content might change, but context rarely does,” clinical psychologist Dr. Jessica L. Dubron told Upworthy.
“I frequently tell patients that people generally stick to their brand and we set ourselves up for disappointment and frustration by thinking that something we say or do will magically change them,” she continued.
Okay, fair, but what about those hurt feelings you might be left with? Or maybe a feeling of guilt from overreacting?
“For hurt feelings, simply identifying what happened is important. If this is holiday regression, there is power in recognizing that, honoring that, and sharing what happened with someone supportive. If you feel hurt, let yourself feel exactly that. It’s a physical sensation that will subside if you allow yourself to experience it,” Dubron said.
“Guilt is different in that you may benefit from doing something to make amends. You can’t control how the other person will react, so just think of what you need to do to feel like you’ve taken accountability while at the same time being considerate to the person you feel you’ve hurt,” Dubron told Upworthy.
Dubron explains this could look like having an in-person conversation, which she generally feels offers the best chance for communication and repair, or sending a short message in your chosen form of communication if the intensity is still hot. “Keep the message short, sincere, and unequivocal in the accountability you are taking,” she said.
If you’re feeling stuck, says Dubron, the key is to “ask yourself, in a year from now, what would you have wanted you now to do? Most of the time, we ultimately don’t want ourselves to die on the hill of any holiday conflict. Letting go is not usually done in an instant. Like forgiveness, it can take time,” Dubron added.
Have you ever picked up your kid from school and asked them, “How was your day?” and they responded with a one-word answer such as “Good,” “Fine,” or “OK”? This all-too-common interaction can be disheartening because, as a parent, you want to know what your child did during the 6 hours you were apart.
Let’s be honest: not every day can be “fine.” There are probably some days that weren’t so great that got glossed over. Or, some beautiful days, but your child didn’t feel like doing the emotional or mental labor of recalling everything.
Yamel Belen, a mother of 5 kids ages 7 to 25, who lives in Tampa, Florida, was tired of hearing the same old responses from her kids, so she started asking open-ended questions to get the ball rolling. She shared her conversation starters on TikTok, and the view has really resonated with parents, earning 740,000 views.
“I really hated getting the ‘It was good’ response to my after-school questioning,” Belen, a registered nurse originally from Brooklyn, told The New York Post. “I wanted to know everything about their lives at school and felt like I was doing something wrong [as a mother].”
“So, I started asking questions that would give me better responses,” she added.
I really hated getting the “it was good” reaponse to my after school questionining! I wanted to know more, all of it….so I started digging for questions that would give me better responses. Try these and let me know how it goes! . . . . . #afterschoolroutine #schoolpickupfun #schoolpickipline #motherhoodseries #motherhoodkit #motherhoodlife #motherhoodunplugged #bondingwithkids #openendedquestions #motherdaughterrelationships
Here are 5 questions that Belen says will open up some conversation with your kids:
“What made you smile today?”
“Who did you sit next to at lunch?”
“Did you see any acts of kindness today? If so, what were they?”
“Did you see any acts of people being unkind, and if so, what did that look like?”
“What part of the day made you super happy?”
“Remember, these are conversation starters, so they’re meant to have open-ended responses, Which leads you to better conversations with your kids,” Belen added.
Belen says that the conversations opened up the lines of conversation with her elementary school daughters, ages 7 and 9, and her 17-year-old son. “Now I’m getting all the tea,” Belen joked.
Dana Basu, PsyD, a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice at everGROW therapy, agrees with Belen in that asking “How was your day?” will probably cause your kids to draw a blank.
“I love asking my kids specific questions about their school day, which helps point their attention to specific moments,” Dr. Basu tells Verywell Family. “I find that this allows them to be better able to recall stories and moments from their day with me.”
Elizabeth Manly, who currently runs the website Discovery Play With Littles, adds that parents should set an example by sharing about their days, too. Parents don’t have to go on about the adult world of work, either. They can talk about what made them happy or moments of kindness they noticed.
“The more you tell them, the more they will understand how to talk about their day,” Manly said. “Oftentimes, younger kids don’t know how to talk about their day. We forget this is also a skill that has to be taught.”
Even though America has come a long way in gender relations over the past few decades men are still far behind women when accepting domestic responsibilities.
A recent study from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Time Use Survey found that women aged 15 and over spend 5.7 hours daily on domestic tasks, whereas men spend 3.6 hours, a 37 percent difference. Women with a 35-hour week devote 4.9 hours daily to home chores and child care, compared to men’s 3.8 hours.
In a world where men still trail behind women when it comes to work on the homefront, a Texas UPS driver is going viral for a TikTok video where he urges men to reconsider how they think about domestic responsibilities.
In a video with over 6 million views, J.R. Minton proudly says he doesn’t “help” his wife with jobs around the house. “I don’t help my wife cook. I don’t help her clean, do laundry, take care of the kids — none of that,” Minton, 32, began his clip.
“Because I do what I am supposed to do as a father and a husband. I cook. I clean. I do the laundry. I take care of the kids. I can’t help my wife do those things because they are my job, too,” he reveals.
He then urged men to change their perspectives on how they view their relationship to domestic responsibilities and their wives. “Change the way you speak, change the way you think, and grow the f*** up and be a man,” he added.
The video received raves from women in the comments. Sadly, many used the video to share that their husbands have fallen short of Minton’s level of understanding. “My husband sometimes doesn’t even flush the toilet,” Human Robot wrote. “I am sending this straight to my man he needs to see this,” JJsMom added.
“Yep! My husband and I recognize it’s BOTH our kids and BOTH our house, therefore BOTH our responsibility,” Sweetheart wrote.
Minton is an equal partner to his wife because he was raised much differently and wants to right the wrongs of his past. “Pretty much everything about my parenting style is in spite of what I saw when I was growing up,” he told Today.com
Minton knew that his philosophy on marriage was necessary when a woman at Target praised him for doing the “bare minimum.” “I was wearing the baby, and I had two kids in the cart, and this lady comes up to Brittany, and she’s like, ‘Oh my God. Is this your husband!? Look at him. You should take a picture of him,’” Minton said. “I get so much credit for doing nothing. How low is the bar?”
Minton responded to his viral video with a heartfelt follow-up to everyone who loved how he cared for his wife and family. “I’m truly humbled at how far my message has gone,” he said. “However, I’d like to take a second to say: I am not special. I am no ‘unicorn.’ I am normal.”
“Nothing about my parenting style or my commitment to my wife is unique. Although it may seem out of the ordinary, it is far from extraordinary,” he continued. “Every father and husband we know (that seems to come up short) is fully-capable — yet unwilling.” He added that there was one thing that separates dads who do their part and dads who don’t: “Effort.”
Cheap scotch doesn’t always mean “bad” scotch. There are some bangers on the shelf that won’t cost you a fortune when it comes to dabbling in the tipple from Scotland. Sure, you’re not going to be wowed by good cheap Scotch whisky (let’s be realistic), but you might be… pleasantly surprised. Sometimes that’s enough!
Below, I’m calling out 10 bottles of Scotch whisky that won’t break the bank. Each bottle offers something truly tasty, is generally available nationwide, and costs less than $40. To be clear, these prices are based on Total Wine and ReserveBar set to deliver in Kentucky. So local prices may vary slightly.
The best part is that there’s something for everyone below — even though these are ranked. Some of these whiskies are blends, some are young single malts (relatively), and some are peated, some not. The point is to go through and find the tasting notes that speak to you and then hit those price links to snag your own bottle. Let’s dive in!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Scotch Whisky Posts of The Last Six Months
Scotch isn’t only single malts. David Beckham’s signature whisky with Diageo is a single grain whisky made with a mix of mainly wheat with a touch of malted barley (“single grain” can feel like a bit of a misnomer, but it means that it’s a “grain” whisky made with various grains from a “single” source/distiller). This grain whisky hails from Cameronbridge Distillery. The whisky aged over seven years before vatting, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This has a very fruity nose with stewed apples mingling with banana bread, orange, and lemon with a touch of oak spice.
Palate: The palate adds an eggnog spice vibe to the mix with a nice vanilla depth and a touch of cedar before the citrus and stewed fruits take back over.
Finish: The spiciness peaks with a bit more banana bread and walnut at the end.
Bottom Line:
This is a nice and very easy pour of whisky. It’s fruity and a tad buttery with a touch of bourbon edge. Overall, you can pour this into a glass with some good mineral water, ice, and a citrus garnish and it’ll shine.
9. Buchanan’s DeLuxe Blended Scotch Whisky Aged 12 Years
Buchanan’s is making a big comeback. Part of that is due to this expression snagging a Double Gold from the San Francisco World Spirit Competition in 2020. Another part is the quality of Diageo whiskies in the blend.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The whiskey opens with a real sense of dark chocolate married to bright orange zest on the nose.
Palate: The palate builds on that adding hints of vanilla pudding and dark spices next to a cedar woodiness and a little bit of spicy/ chewy tobacco.
Finish: A whisper of peat arrives late and far in the background as the chocolate orange throughline lasts the longest on the fade.
Bottom Line:
This is a nice and very easy introduction to peat in whisky. It’s so subtle but still there. The whisky feels fruity and spicy with a soft minerality. Overall, mix this into cocktails or highballs.
This old-school blend is built around Cragganmore and Glendullan single malts. The whiskies mellow for 12 years before they’re vatted and proofed for this bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There are cinnamon apple cookies on the nose with a touch of honey, nuts, and dry malt.
Palate: The taste is very malty with a touch of cedar, tobacco spice, and more honey/apple/cinnamon.
Finish: The end is warm, malty, and slightly sweet thanks to the honey.
Bottom Line:
This is a classic highball whisky through and through. Pour this over some rice with good mineral water and then add a dried apple or pear slice as garnish (with maybe a whisper of mint). It’ll sing.
7. Johnnie Walker Black Label Blended Scotch Whisky Aged 12 Years
The classic Black Label is a blend of over 40 grain and single malt whiskies from three dozen distilleries in the Diageo stable, including powerhouses like Talisker and Lagavulin. The throughline is that all of the whiskies are at least 12 years old when married into this blend.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Citrus meets spicy Christmas cake and a bit of powdery white pepper that’s just kissed with soft orchard wood smoke on the nose.
Palate: Those wintery spices carry on through the taste as creamy maltiness, caramel sweetness, and dry herbs bounce on your tongue.
Finish: The oak comes in late with a dose of peaty smoke that’s cut by an orange zest flourish on the quick end.
Bottom Line:
This is a gateway Scotch whisky. The peat is there but very dialed back. Overall, this is meant for making a killer but simple highball with good mineral water and a floral or botanical garnish.
Dewar’s White Label and 12 get a lot of attention, and rightfully so. They’re fine bottles. But for the price, their 15-year-old expression is a winner. The extra three years this blend gets in the barrel adds a nice depth that speaks to how good blended scotch can be while still being affordable.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Apples covered in caramel and walnuts mix with a bit of sherry jamminess on the nose.
Palate: That nuttiness leads the way on the taste as a malty cracker mixes with toffee, vanilla, and dried fruits.
Finish: The end holds onto the sweetness of those fruits then fades quickly towards an earthy yet honeyed final note.
Bottom Line:
This is a good bridge between the highball whiskies above and the cocktail mixers below. This is just complex enough to hold up in a nice citrus-forward cocktail. That all said, you can also drink this over ice for an easy everyday sipper.
5. Aberfeldy Single Malt Scotch Whisky 12 Years Old
This Highland malt is the cornerstone of the much-beloved Dewar’s Blended Scotch. This whisky is a very accessible single malt that spends 12 years resting in various casks before it’s married, proofed down, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The heart of the nose is in the mingling of pear and honey with a hint of Christmas spice, especially nutmeg.
Palate: The palate expands on that with a lush maltiness, creamy vanilla, mild spice, and more of that honey and orchard fruit.
Finish: The end gets slightly nutty and bitter with a little water as the honey, fruit, and spice linger on the senses.
Bottom Line:
This is where we get into the good cocktail whiskies. This adds a nice depth to your favorite whiskey-forward cocktails, works wonders in a simple highball any time of year, and works as a table whisky for on-the-rocks sipping. That’s versatility.
The lion’s share of this blend — 45% — comes from a single-grain whisky aged in ex-bourbon from Cameronbridge Distillery. 22% is a single malt aged in ex-bourbon that comes from Linkwood Distillery. The rest is a mix of French oak and ex-bourbon single malts and blended malts from the Highlands, Clyneilish, Linkwood, and Balmenach. Those whiskies are vatted and then proofed down before bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with a very clear and concise note of apple candy with a hint of salted caramel ice cream cut with a touch of eggnog spices.
Palate: There’s a nice maltiness that leans into a creamy vanilla, soft holiday spice mix, butter toffee, and a hint of milk chocolate near the end.
Finish: The finish is warming with a whisper of tobacco next to a woody apple, spice candies (maybe ginger), and a final hint of cocoa and caramel.
Bottom Line:
This is a great choice if you’re looking to whip up some killer cocktails. It’s dynamic and has a twinge of bourbon that’ll feel familiar.
3. Chivas Regal Blended Scotch Whisky Aged 12 Years
The Strathisla Distillery in the Scottish Highlands is where Chivas comes together. The whisky is well-rounded and designed to be a workhorse that’s an easy sipper but also works wonders in a cocktail.
The Taste:
Nose: The nose opens with a deep sense of dried apples and pears dipped in fresh honey and then rolled in roasted almonds and walnuts with a whisper of barrel spice sneaking in late.
Palate: The palate hints at dried florals before touching a buttery toffee, soft spiced tobacco leaf, and almost musty oak.
Finish: The end is a little chewy thanks to that spiced tobacco leaf with a nice hint of apple/pear cider cut with winter spices and honeycomb.
Bottom Line:
This is the quintessential on the rocks whisky. Add a dash of Angostura Bitters to the glass and you’ll have a great sipper in your hand.
2. Loch Lomond The Original Single Malt Scotch Whisky
This lightly peated single malt from the Highlands is a classic. The juice is a no-age-statement whisky that’s meant as an entry point to the wider brand. The malt is just kissed with peat while malting. The single malt blend is a mix of those barrels with an eye on highlighting the subtler aspects of the whisky. Once vatted, the whisky is proofed and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a nice dose of honey wafer biscuits wrapped in an old leather sheet with a hint of dried grass, soft raisins, and mildly spicy malts.
Palate: The palate leans into those malts with a hint of malted vanilla next to oatmeal cookies with cinnamon, raisins, and walnuts next to a glass of heavy cream for dipping.
Finish: The end kicks in with a sharp orange/cinnamon before descending toward soft oak and more of that leather and honey wafer.
Bottom Line:
This is just a nice pour of whisky. You can use it however you like to drink everyday whisky and you won’t be disappointed.
1. Glenmorangie The Original Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 10 Years
The Glenmorangie is a classic Highlands single malt. The juice is created on the tallest stills in Scotland, which allows more spirit creation along the way as it’s boiled. The whisky then spends ten years mellowing in ex-bourbon barrels. Finally, the whiskey is vatted, proofed, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with soft grains next to a rush of dried fruits and supple leather with a floral hint that leans toward dry hibiscus and fresh woodruff.
Palate: The palate is gentle with hints of wet malts next to powdered dark spices, fresh honeycombs, and a thin line of vanilla oils just touched with orange zest and maybe a twinge of grapefruit.
Finish: The end arrives with a soft honeyed sweetness that feels like it’s drizzled over an orange cake with a hint of malted cracker graininess next to an echo of old apple chips.
Bottom Line:
This is the most nuanced and deeply hewn single malt on the list. It works really well as an on-the-rocks sipper and it’ll make a cocktail shine. It’s just good stuff and amazingly approachable.
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