Month: July 2024

The Bear‘s ability to maneuver through truly great needle drops remains strong through the third season, although the show needed to make you hate Carmy before later regrouping to follow up on how his destructive ambitions continue to roll out within the group dynamic. Perhaps the collective Chefs will stage an intervention on non-negotiables?

I’m only halfway joking there, but we do know that FX will roll out a fourth season that will stream on Hulu. The fourth season has the task of following up on incredible episodes including “Napkins” and “Ice Chips” filled to the brim with life-affirming conclusions, but overall, the season clearly needs to clean up Carmy’s ways. He needs to make things right with the Chefs before possibly destroying the very soul of The Bear. In other words, plenty of loose ends await the fourth season, so let’s talk out what we can expect to happen.

Plot

To be perfectly frank, we’re still in the aftermath of the third season when viewers are digesting the show. What we do know, objectively, comes from Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who talked about season logistics and admitted that he feels like the show’s story will come to a close soon.

That is to say, The Bear could wind down earlier than viewers might have anticipated. Moss-Bachrach made that revelation to Mr. Porter, where the man who embodies Cousin Richie addressed rumors and reports on whether the third and fourth seasons shot back-to-back. He appeared to suggest that, yes, this did happen, even if it was not intentional:

“We were going to make one season, but that season was getting bigger and bigger and at a certain point it seemed like maybe we should write more, not feel constrained and turn it into two seasons. We shot about 18 episodes. But everything shifts. In the past, what was one episode on the page has been split into two. I just lose myself in the messiness and chaos of it. I like getting taken by a wave that’s bigger than you thought it was, tumbled around and spit out the other end.”

To connect the dots here, the third season’s ten episodes would mean that the fourth season would contain eight. Given what Moss-Bachrach stated about the show probably finishing its story soonish, could the fourth season be the end of The Bear? Hopefully, FX will weigh in on that subject soon.

As for where the show goes, we can only make some guesses.

As fans already know, the season finale ended with Sydney having a panic attack over whether to stay at The Bear or accept her new job offer as Carmy took his first look at the review that could make or break the restaurant. Uncle Jimmy had previously given a half-warning that he would pull the plug on his wallet if the review ended up being bad, and Carmy doesn’t yet know that Jimmy might have to pull the plug (due to his suddenly precarious financial situation) no matter what the review says. So, there will be a reckoning there unless Jimmy turns everything around, fast.

As for Sydney, she must either decide to put up with Carmy doing everything his way (despite their partnership agreement), which could mean that she’s staying with a sinking ship, or she could sign on the dotted line with Chef Adam, although she doesn’t know that he threw a berserker fit over smudges, so perhaps he’s as toxic or worse than Carmy.

On the personal side of the show, we will find out whether Claire (Bear) decides to give Carmy another chance (even though he doesn’t deserve it), which would probably be the only shot he has at achieving a sliver of work-life balance. The show also pointedly stirred up vibes between Luca and Sydney and Richie and Jessica, so perhaps movement will happen there. Hopefully, nobody will decide to date Joel McHale’s Mean Chef now that we know that he truly exists, and now, this romantic discussion is simply being silly.

Cast

Is it too much to ask to see Joel McHale’s Mean Chef again? Perhaps. For sure, we will see Jeremy White, Ayo Edebiri, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, along with Abby Elliott, Liza Colón-Zayas, Lionel Boyce, Matty Matheson, Oliver Platt, and Molly Gordon. No season of The Bear would be complete without a flashback from Jon Bernthal, and we need more Jamie Lee Curtis and Will Poulter, too. Cameos, as always, should be in plentiful supply.

Release Date

Since The Bear is nearly unparalleled in the streaming world in achieving annual releases, summer 2025 will likely be the next time we see Sydney, Carmy, Richie, and fam.

Trailer

Nope. So, here is a clip of the first time that Sydney quit, which will make us wonder even more if she will quit again. That donut sure must have tasted good, though.

John Mulaney and Olivia Munn got married in an “intimate wedding ceremony” in New York over the weekend. But if you were watching ABC on Wednesday night, however, you could have seen the Everybody’s In L.A. comedian with his other other half. Mulaney and Nick Kroll were contestants in the season premiere of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, which has been hosted by Jimmy Kimmel since 2020 (that’s easier to process than Drew Carey dealing with The Price Is Right contestants tripping balls for 17 (!!!) years now, but barely).

After spending nearly 10 minutes on a question about Easter Island (“Which of these statements is true about the giant stone heads that dot the landscape of Chile’s Easter Island?”), which they eventually correctly answered, the Oh, Hello duo reached the $125,000 question. It read, “The stand-out item at a 2024 auction of memorabilia from TV’s Succession was an extra large Burberry tote bag famously described on the show as what?” The options:

A: Hideously expansive
B: Farcically behemoth
C: Ludicrously capacious
D: Grotesquely sprawling

The correct answer, said by Tom Wambsgans, is C. But unfortunately, Mulaney and Kroll guessed A. If only they had Literally Anyone On Twitter listed as their Phone-a-Friend. Then they would have gotten it right. The Big Mouth stars didn’t make it to a million, but they still raised a good chuck of change for charity, The Innocence Project for Mulaney and Comedy vs. Cancer for Kroll.

(Via Cinema Blend)

Travis Scott has become one of the world’s biggest performers, meaning that if you want to see him live, it probably won’t be inexpensive. One fan apparently found a way to get in, and get the best seat in the house, for free, though: Just sneak in.

In a video shared on TikTok earlier this week, a man shows off his journey of getting into Scott’s performance at Rolling Loud Europe in Vienna, Austria on Sunday, July 7. It was pretty simple, really: He just sported an orange vest and some gaffer tape as he confidently integrated himself with event staff, before eventually finding his way to the side of the stage to watch Scott’s performance up close.

After the performance, he even visited Scott’s dressing room and snagged himself a bit of food.

What’s critical to note, though, is that this video comes from Saint Léon, a Paris-based content creator who has over 125,000 followers and millions of views on TikTok. So, given Léon’s influencer status, it’s not impossible that at least some element of what’s going on here was set up or approved by Scott’s team, since it’s ultimately free publicity for the rapper.

Either way, check out the video above.

Welsh electronic music favorite Kelly Lee Owens has been on a strong run lately, making her UK chart debut with the 2020 album Inner Song and following that with 2022’s LP.8. Now, her fourth album is ready: Today (July 11), Owens announced Dreamstate.

The first look at the project is the new single “Love You Got.” It sees Kelly continuing to experiment with texture in a dance-friendly environment, boasting a techno beat that throbs alongside atmospheric synths and Lee’s ethereal vocals.

Owens says of the song, “‘Love You Got’ was born out of the curiosity of discovering my own inner euphoria — balancing the dark & the light within myself to find ultimate bliss in connection with others.”

The album will be Owens’ first release on her new label home at dh2, a new electronic music imprint at Dirty Hit led by The 1975’s George Daniel. Speaking of Daniel, he did some work on the album, too, as did Bicep and The Chemical Brothers’ Tom Rowlands.

Listen to “Love You Got” above and find the Dreamstate art and tracklist below.

Dreamstate Album Cover Artwork

Dreamstate Tracklist

1. “Dark Angel”
2. “Dreamstate”
3. “Love You Got”
4. “Higher”
5. “Rise”
6. “Ballad (In The End)”
7. “Sunshine”
8. “Air”
9. “Time To”
10. “Trust & Desire”

Dreamstate is out 10/18 via dh2. Find more information here.

Travis Kelce has made over $76 million during his 11 seasons (and counting) in the NFL, all with the Kansas City Chiefs, plus millions more in endorsements. That sounds like a lot, because it is. But the money disappears quickly when you’re spending three million bucks on a suite for the Super Bowl.

During an episode of the Netflix series Receiver, Kelce — who, as you might have heard, is dating Taylor Swift — asks San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle if he bought a suite for his friends and family to watch Super Bowl LVIII between the Niners and Chiefs.

“No, I can’t,” Kittle answers, to which the “So High School” inspiration replies, “Because they’re three f*cking million dollars?” Kittle admits he has a good contract, but he’s not making that kind of money (unlike one of his teammates and his supermodel wife).

Hopefully Kelce went halfsies with Swift, who watched Super Bowl LVIII in a suite with actress Blake Lively, rapper Ice Spice, singer Lana Del Rey, stylist and designer Ashley Avignone, her mom Andrea and dad Scott, and Travis’ brother Jason, among others. According to Page Six, “Kelce seemingly snagged the suite at the last minute as his mom, Donna Kelce, revealed a week before the Super Bowl that she was planning to watch from ‘the stands’ because VIP boxes were in the multimillions.” Good thing the Chiefs won.

Post Malone decided that in 2024, he would be a country music star. F-1 Trillion, his first country album, comes out in August. He’s not going about his journey alone, as he’s calling on some of the genre’s most esteemed figures to help him out. Malone collaborated with Blake Shelton on “Pour Me A Drink,” and that was preceded by the No. 1 single “I Had Some Help” alongside Morgan Wallen.

It appears he has another link-up in the chamber, too. Last night (July 10), Luke Combs shared a 55-second snippet of a new song with Malone, seemingly titled “Guy For That,” and tweeted, “We doin’ this or what, @PostMalone?.” Malone shared the post and hinted at the existence of a second collaboration, writing, “Okay, FINE but you like this more than the other one?!?!”

Combs, meanwhile, had a collaborative hit of his own recently, when he dominated the charts with his cover of Tracy Chapman’s classic “Fast Car” last year, which he got to perform with Chapman herself at the 2024 Grammys. He also found himself in the middle of a big-dollar misunderstanding involving a fan who made a few bucks selling bootleg merch on Amazon, but the situation ended up working out.

Even after seven seasons, 9-1-1 remains one of the 25 biggest shows on network television. “It’s been amazing to be reminded of the cultural impact that a show like this can have,” actor Oliver Stark, who plays Evan “Buck” Buckley, told Decider about the show’s popularity. “We have such a good time making it that it almost feels like this little project I go and make with my friends. You forget how many eyes are actually on it at the end of the day… It’s been a really beautiful reminder of the work that we’re doing.”

9-1-1, which follows the first responders who are “thrust into the most frightening, shocking, and heart-stopping situations,” is coming back to ABC in the fall for more bus-launching and some-guy-wearing-a-Santa-hat-getting-sucked-into-a-plane nuttiness from creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Tim Minear. Here’s everything we know about season 8, including plot details.

Plot

9-1-1 season 7 ended on a cliffhanger. After Captain Bobby Nash (played by Six Feet Under‘s Peter Krause) expresses his intention to retire from the 118, he suffers a heart attack soon after. There’s also a house fire, because this show loves drama. Anyway, when Bobby recovers and expects to return to his post like nothing happened, he and the rest of the crew are surprised to see former captain Vincent Gerrard (Brian Thompson), who announces that he’ll be taking over as captain. Will Bobby get his job back from this sexist bully?

“It was a bit of a storytelling leap,” Krause told Decider. “I’m not sure exactly what [showrunner Tim Minear] has planned. But I’m sure it’s not going to be an immediately easy road for Bobby to regain the captainship of the 118. I have faith that he will. But I’m not sure I’m not sure exactly what he’s got got in store.” As for Bobby’s relationship with his wife Athena (Angela Bassett), he teased to Entertainment Weekly, “I certainly really enjoy all the work I get to do with Angela. I did pitch to [Minear] that maybe they’d go for another honeymoon in this time. Maybe it’s an RV trip. What could go wrong?” A lot!

Beyond Bobby’s world (the only 1990s show to not get a reboot… yet), Ryan Guzman gave a hint about what’s in store for his character, Eddie Diaz, after his son caught him sleeping with someone who looked like his dead mom, as one does. “That leaves Eddie in new territory, which can be scary on both spectrums of life,” he told Decider. “Is he going to go back into the craziness of beating his walls and going nuts and losing himself? Or is he going to choose something that we’ve never seen in these past seven seasons? My hope is the latter, obviously. But if the first one comes, that’ll be interesting as an actor.”

Cast

Season 8 of 9-1-1 is expected to feature most of the same cast as season 7, including Peter Krause as Bobby Nash, Angela Bassett as Athena Grant-Nash, Oliver Stark as Evan “Buck” Buckley, Jennifer Love Hewitt as Maddie Buckley, Kenneth Choi as Howard “Chimney” Han, Ryan Guzman as Eddie Díaz, Aisha Hinds as Henrietta “Hen” Wilson, and Corinne Massiah as May Grant. “We all get along, we all work hard, and [we’re] all very appreciative of others and what they bring to the table,” Bassett told People about her co-stars. “So it’s a great, great working environment, and that’s a good thing. It’s long hours, so it helps that we can crack each other up during the downtime.”

Release Date

Every season of 9-1-1 has premiered in January or September, with the exception of season 7 (March). But ABC has wisely slotted season 8 for a fall 2024 return. Specifically, Thursday, September 26, at 8 p.m. EST ahead of Doctor Odyssey (a medical procedural starring Joshua Jackson and Don Johnson set aboard a luxury cruise ship) and season 387 of Grey’s Anatomy.

Trailer

In the immortal words of Gob Bluth: bees?!

Emily In Paris, the show in which people wear gorgeous clothing and treat each other horribly with zero consequence, put Lucas Bravo on the map with U.S. audiences who adore Hot Chef Gabriel. That series will return on August 15, and after the widespread binging reaches a conclusion, Bravo devotees can look forward to seeing him in a movie directed by Inglourious Basterds actress Mélanie Laurent, so let’s not waste time getting to the delicious stuff.

Plot

Bravo will once again be taking up a romantic role, but this Prime Video/Amazon movie will be very unlike his breezy Netflix show. Freedom carries an ambiguous title but is inspired by the real-life story of Bruno Salak, the so-called “gentleman bandit” (and we’re not talking about Lupin, also on Netflix) who very politely held people at gunpoint while committing crimes.

This guy actually pulled off his heist so gracefully that never fired his weapons while carrying out heist. He did, however, sit at the top of Parisian Most Wanted lists, and this film will include law enforcement’s pursuit of this suave dude in script from Laurent and Chris Deslandes. The movie looks like a cat-and-mouse game unlike others onscreen, and it remains to be seen how closely the story will adhere to reality, but a synopsis does exist:

Inspired by the daring exploits of a legendary outlaw in France in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Freedom follows the electrifying story of Bruno Sulak, a suave and daring criminal who stole hearts alongside riches. Known for his charm and finesse, Sulak masterminded daring heists without firing a single shot. But as his infamy grew, so did the relentless pursuit of George Moréas, a tenacious police commissioner with a knack for outsmarting criminals. As Moréas closes in, Sulak’s escapes from prison become legendary, fuelled by a lust for freedom, and a burning desire for his lover Annie. Amidst the chaos of their criminal spree, Sulak and Annie become the ultimate symbols of defiance.

Variety quotes Amazon Studios French Originals chief Thomas Dubois, who calls Bravo’s performance (which is his first leading role) “topnotch.” Surely, American fans will tune in to see Chef Gabriel on a crime spree.

Cast

In addition to Bravo, the film co-stars Léa Luce Busato, Steve Tientcheu, David Murgia, Léo Chalié, Yvan Attal, Rasha Vukvic, and Slimane Dazi.

Release Date

Prime Video/Amazon’s Freedom will stream around the world on November 1.

Trailer

No footage or trailer has officially surfaced, but Amazon did drop these photos:

LAS VEGAS — The United States men’s Olympic basketball team gathered for training camp in Las Vegas this weekend, with a significant showcase on the schedule for Wednesday evening at T-Mobile Arena. Following four days of practice and a roster swap involving Kawhi Leonard and Derrick White, Team USA faced off with one of its top Olympic challengers, Team Canada, in a friendly before heading overseas to continue their exhibition tour ahead of Paris. After a hiccup out of the gate, Team USA assumed control for most of the evening, eventually leading by 15 points at the end of the third quarter and cruising to an 86-72 win.

It was a comfortable win, but one that also comes with plenty of talking points, and here we’ll look at four takeaways from our first official look at this year’s U.S. Olympic squad.

No Worries About A Slow Start

The first few minutes were pretty rough for the home team. Team USA trailed 11-1 to begin the game, even as Canada wasn’t exactly throwing 100 miles per hour on the corners. The Americans missed their first six shots and committed two turnovers before a badly needed three-pointer from Stephen Curry almost five minutes into the game. That wasn’t the end of the uneven play, as Team USA committed eight (!) turnovers in the first quarter, scoring only 14 points.

Alas, it looked to be the product of rust and perhaps the realization that Team USA actually had to ramp things up from an intensity standpoint in this setting. That happened quickly in the second quarter, as the Americans made 12 of their next 17 shots after the 0-for-6 start, and a 14-4 run to begin the second period helped to push Team USA into a solid halftime lead. Steve Kerr did note prior to the game one of the challenges for this team would be stars who are used to feeling their way into games needing to be more aggressive early as they’ll play in shorter bursts, but it seemed that got message got received after the first stint.

Who’s The Fifth Starter?

Intel on the ground in Las Vegas points to most assuming four starters are at least fairly entrenched for Team USA — Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Joel Embiid. While some may attempt to argue against that choice, Durant is perhaps the best player in Team USA history, James is James, and Curry is Curry.

Embiid is a little bit different, of course, but Team USA did woo him a year ago to get him to play, which shouldn’t be forgotten from a context perspective. Embiid also didn’t play very well for most of Wednesday (he fouled out by the mid-third) and he seemed a bit clunky at times with the other starters, which could cause a bit of attention on his placement in the lineup. With that said, the recent MVP probably isn’t coming off the bench. At least that’s the feeling around the team.

All that to say, there is a spot open. Durant was sidelined with what the team has called a minor calf injury on Wednesday, and Steve Kerr elected to start Jrue Holiday and Devin Booker on the wings. While no one would argue Booker and Holiday were the best overall players available in a vacuum, they were both key cogs of the gold medal-winning team in Tokyo, which is something Kerr likely was weighing.

From there, Anthony Edwards would be another logical candidate to start after he was arguably the centerpiece of the 2023 World Cup team, and he looked the part on Wednesday.

Oh, and Team USA also has Jayson Tatum coming off a championship run with a game that fits snugly.

The fifth starter battle will generate plenty of attention. Does it matter? Maybe not. Regardless, Kerr will receive feedback from all corners on this one and the decision may stretch all the way out until the group stage in Paris.

Team USA’s Stars Are Known For Offense, But Defense Is This Team’s Biggest Strength

As with any team comprised of star-level players, Team USA has a few guys who skew toward the offensive end. No one would confuse Stephen Curry with prime Tony Allen, even if he is more than respectable on defense, and Tyrese Haliburton is perhaps a step or two down from Curry’s defensive baseline. Still, most of the roster is (very) capable of ramping things up, and that was on display against Canada.

Admittedly, it wasn’t an “every second of the game” effort from Team USA, but the highs were very high. Canada’s offensive numbers reflected that impressive defensive performance on the whole, especially inside the arc. The Canadians shot just 34 percent from the field, including a dismal 43 percent on two-point attempts. Team USA also generated 11 steals and blocked nine shots, creating general havoc throughout the night.

There is probably a conversation to be had on how Kerr will handle the rotation of Embiid, Anthony Davis, and Bam Adebayo in the frontcourt, as playing two of them together may have offensive drawbacks. Still, Team USA will always have a high-level anchor at the center spot, and the wings are all terrifying. An engaged version of James is tremendous on defense and gets to play short bursts on this team. Tatum has always been quite good. Edwards has the ability to simply overwhelm opponents with physicality and athleticism. Jrue Holiday is fantastic, as is his Celtics backcourt mate Derrick White who arrives soon. Kevin Durant, when he returns, has the wingspan of most centers and the ability to deploy it effectively.

There were moments in this contest in which it seemed like a talented Team Canada had no chance to score. That is worth remembering amid what will almost certainly be extensive discourse about how the American squad looks on the other end of the court. Also, that defensive ceiling is a big part of the transition advantage that Team USA has over anyone on the other side of the floor, and it should also produce fireworks on a regular basis.

LeBron James and Stephen Curry Playing Together Is Extremely Fun

Team USA hasn’t made its way to Paris just yet, but Wednesday provided a glimpse into one unique dynamic. LeBron James is indisputably one of the greatest players of all-time and, while he is seemingly immune to aging, one could assume the 39-year-old will be appearing in his final Olympics. James also hasn’t played for Team USA since 2012 and, if the game against Canada was any indication, James isn’t fooling around — his teammates voted him as the best player in camp over the weekend.

He looked dynamic and burst-y, using his physicality to his advantage and playing with the off-the-charts basketball IQ that basketball observers have come to expect. In addition, James isn’t having to carry a massive workload on a team like this, and in short spurts, he can ramp it up on the biggest stage. It was hard to avoid thinking ahead to the medal round when watching him turn on the jets in an exhibition.

Curry’s journey is different in that he has never played in the Olympics. That alone is a major storyline for the greatest shooter ever, and at age 36, this might be a “one last ride” for Curry, even in his first experience. His translation to the FIBA game is clean in that Curry’s shooting plays anywhere and he can also function off the ball with enough size to get by. Plus, well, it helps to have a guy that no one on the planet wants to leave open for even a millisecond.

Then, there is the pure appeal of James and Curry suiting up together. Obviously, they are not the only superstars in the mix here, but this marks the first time they will play together in any meaningful competition, much less on a stage like this. Durant is the player that mostly closely resembles James or Curry in terms of longevity and impact but, of course, he didn’t play on Wednesday and Durant is also a firm Team USA staple who has earned “American hero” status more than a few times on the court.

Ironically, James and Curry fit perfectly together on a basketball court, but the first time seeing it in this form (i.e., with real intensity and not just in an All-Star Game) was something of a “wow” moment for basketball sickos.

Cinema, indeed.

Vodka is an interesting spirit to say the least. It’s not flavorless… but it is often marketed that way. And while we agree that the filtration process is designed to remove many flavors and aromas in order make the spirit as smooth as possible, the grains or other ingredients it’s made with do impart some flavors.

That being said, this neutral grain spirit gets a bad name because of some of the cheap, harsh, seemingly flavorless bottles on the market. So I picked eight of my favorites and blindly nosed and tasted them to find out which ones are actually worth sipping neat. Each of the eight vodkas is priced at or under $30 — keep scrolling to find the champ.

Here’s today’s vodka lineup:

• Tower Vodka
• Dry Fly Washington Wheat Vodka
• Ketel One Vodka
• American Harvest Vodka
• Prairie Organic Vodka
• Reyka Vodka
• Tito’s Handmade Vodka
• Absolut Vodka

Part 1: Vodkas Under $30 Blind Tasting

Taste 1

Tasting Notes:

The nose is a mix of light tropical fruit sweetness and peppery spice. It’s not such a bad thing as both aromas are intriguing. The palate has more tropical fruit sweetness, some orchard fruit flavor, light spices, corn, and light vanilla. All the flavors were a little muted though.

Taste 2

Tasting Notes:

There’s not a lot going on with this vodka’s nose. There are some light apple, vanilla, and floral scents, but that’s about it. There’s more of the same on the palate with some sweet grain, green apple, and light spices. The finish has a little more heat than I’d prefer.

Taste 3

Tasting Notes:

A complex nose of vanilla beans, cracked black pepper, caramel, and sweet corn greets you before your first sip. There’s a bit of mineral water flavor on the palate as well as white pepper, vanilla beans, light citrus, and caramel corn sweetness. The finish is sweet, warming, and very pleasurable.

Taste 4

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, you’ll find notes of vanilla beans, light spices, and brown sugar. The palate is soft, sweet, and mellow with a ton of vanilla, sugar, and some cracked black pepper and orange peel. It has a lightly spicy, lightly sweet finish. It’s warming and lingering in the best way possible.

Taste 5

Tasting Notes:

There’s a subtle fruity aroma on the nose that really draws you in. There’s also a mineral element and vanilla and pepper. The palate is filled with vanilla beans, lemongrass, fresh flowers, cracked pepper, sweet wheat, and a fruity, sweet, orchard-fruit warming finish. All in all, a really complex, sippable vodka.

Taste 6

Tasting Notes:

While faint, there’s a mineral, spiced, lightly floral aroma on the nose. Sipping it brings a little more flavor with cracked black pepper, vanilla beans, licorice, and orange zest. Overall, it’s smooth, but not overly exciting.

Taste 7

Tasting Notes:

The nose is mineral, peppery, vanilla, lightly fruity, citrus, and grain-forward. There’s more of the same in the palate with a mineral, earthy flavor up front that’s followed by floral flavors as well as lemon zest, orange peels, barley, vanilla, and a nice kick of cracked black pepper at the finish. It has a great balance of citrus, vanilla, and warming spice.

Taste 8

Tasting Notes:

The nose is sweet and sugary with fresh bread, flowers, cracked black pepper, and vanilla beans. It seems simple, but it’s surprisingly fragrant and welcoming. The palate is very soft and sippable. Drinking it brings forth notes of black licorice, cracked black pepper, light citrus, vanilla beans, and a light minerality. It’s warming, sweet, and memorable.

Part 2: The Rankings

8. Prairie Organic Vodka (Taste 2)

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $18.99

The Vodka:

Made with a base of 100% USDA-certified organic corn grown in Minnesota, Prairie Organic Vodka is known for its gluten-free, creamy, sweet palate. Not only can you expect vanilla and orchard fruit aromas and flavor, but you can expect to pay under $30 for a 750ml bottle every time.

Bottom Line:

Prairie Organic Vodka is a lightly fruity, decent spirit. It’s a little too hot and harsh on the backend to be anything but a mixer.

7. Ketel One Vodka (Taste 6)

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $17.99

The Vodka:

Ketel One Vodka has been popular for a long time. Even with its name recognition, it remains a surprisingly inexpensive vodka. This is known for its soft, sippable body thanks to being made from 100% wheat and from being filtered over charcoal.

Bottom Line:

Wheat gives Ketel One a soft mouthfeel. It’s a decent mixer, but not flavorful enough to be an everyday sipper.

6. Tower Vodka (Taste 1)

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $14.99

The Vodka:

Like Tito’s, this award-winning vodka comes from the Lone Star State. Surprisingly inexpensive, it’s a gluten-free, corn-based vodka that is distilled six times to remove any impurities and give it a creamy, mellow mouthfeel.

Bottom Line:

There’s a reason this is an award-winning vodka. It’s smooth and easy to drink. It’s just that all the distillation might have removed some of the aroma and flavor.

5. American Harvest Vodka (Taste 4)

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $24.99

The Vodka:

This vodka is Americana in a bottle. Made from Rocky Mountain red winter wheat sourced from a third generations organic farm. It’s gluten and GMO-free. Not only is it a flavorful vodka, but 1.3 of the power to make it comes to windmills.

Bottom Line:

If you’ve never tried American Harvest, it’s time to try this Idaho-made vodka. It has a great mix of sweetness, spice, and warming heat.

4. Tito’s Handmade Vodka (Taste 3)

ABV: 30%

Average Price: $15.99

The Vodka:

There aren’t many American-made vodkas more well-known than Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Distilled since 1995, this pot-still distilled vodka is made with corn and is gluten-free. It’s known for its sweet, mellow, memorable flavor.

Bottom Line:

Tito’s is a classic, mellow, flavorful vodka that has stood the test of time. There’s a reason it’s one of the most popular vodkas in the US.

3. Absolut Vodka (Taste 8)

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $13.99

The Vodka:

Sweden’s Absolut is one of the most popular vodka brands in the world. Made from red winter wheat and water from the brand’s 140-meter-deep wells. It’s made with continuous distillation to make it as clear, mellow, and smooth as possible.

Bottom Line:

Absolut might be a giant brand, but the product they make it flavorful, balanced, and very soft.

2. Reyka Vodka (Taste 7)

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $17.99

The Vodka:

Iceland is known as the land of “fire and ice” and it’s the home of Reyka Vodka. This award-winning vodka is made with wheat and barley, pure glacial water, distilled in Carter-head stills, and filtered through volcanic rocks. It’s known for its unparalleled, crisp, easy-drinking flavor profile.

Bottom Line:

To say that Reyka Vodka is an earthy, flavorful vodka is a bit of an understatement. In the best way possible, it tastes like the rich earth of the volcanic island.

1. Dry Fly Washington Wheat Vodka (Taste 5)

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $29.95

The Vodka:

This vodka’s name tells you everything you need to know about it. Dry Fly Washington Wheat Vodka is an award-winning spirit made with locally-sourced wheat from Washington State. The result is a soft, sippable, complex vodka.

Bottom Line:

This was my first experience with Dry Fly Washington Wheat Vodka and I was pleasantly surprised by the soft complexity of it.

Part 3: Final Thoughts

Vodka is a tough spirit to judge. While it was clear I preferred vodkas that were more balanced, memorable flavors (even if there weren’t many) seemed to rank well. Also, any overly hot, harsh vodka was immediately thrust into the less desirable category. Great flavor always wins out.