During Thursday’s episode of The Tonight Show, Berry discussed the photoshoot with a flustered Jimmy Fallon. “Let me explain. Just in time for our 20th anniversary, these four little black cats showed up in my yard. Like, these are rescue kitties that showed up in my bushes,” the Oscar winner said. When Fallon jokingly wondered if this what happens when you show up at her house, Berry replied, “That’s why I did that! The kitties made me do it.”
You can watch The Tonight Show clip above.
In the Instagram post, Berry wrote, “And STILL… meow! It’s been 20 years today since I had the honor of bringing this iconic character to life. She will always be close to my heart and I will forever be Patience Phillips aka CATWOMAN! Thank you @missjee79! When these black beauties showed up in my yard searching for their mother, Jee helped us through the rescue process. Forever grateful!” Check it out here.
Chance The Rapper seems to being teetering on his plans to withhold his project Star Line. After threatening to shelve the highly anticipated mixtape, a new single from the body of work has been released.
Today (August 16), Chance The Rapper dropped his official self-directed video for single, “Bad Boys 2.” On the track, Chance reconnected with his SaveMoney collaborator, Joey Purp.
As the duo boards the Star Line yacht, they sail around the open seas to flex the high life. The boasting continues as they cruise through the city in luxury cars. Chance drives home the cult classic film reference when he raps: “N****s they be cappin’ like they captain, I’m the capo / And I steer the ship, this shit go anywhere that I go / And I got the city on my shoulder like Lago / We in Miami like Martin and Will / She tryna get her a part in the film / Love it in Florida, but want California.”
Although the official release date for Star Line has yet to be determined, at least Chance The Rapper fans have another track to enjoy as they standby.
In an interview with BET, Chance The Rapper addressed the extended wait for Star Line. “I don’t have to rush to put anything and that gives me the confidence and security knowing that it’s cool to wait until I have everything packaged,” he said. “Then, I’ve fallen in love with it over and over again before I release it.”
Football season is right around the corner. Right now, NFL teams are in camp and going through the preseason, and we’re just a few weeks away from teams taking the field for the regular season. It’s hard not to get excited, and today, we wanted to look at the players in both conferences that we’re especially fired up to watch.
Here, we will do just that, starting with the NFC, which about as wide open as a conference can be heading into the season. We have no clue who is going to win it, but we can say that these players are going to be fascinating to watch as the year goes on. Then, in the AFC, it’s all about chasing Patrick Mahomes and the champion Kansas City Chiefs, but there are plenty of threats looking to knock them off their throne in 2024.
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys: Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons
All three of these guys are among the best in the league at their respective positions, and yet all three are heading into this year with uncertainty about their futures — they are all set to become free agents after this year. With how drama follows the Cowboys around, watching these guys play through their contract situations will be fascinating to watch.
New York Giants: Daniel Jones
Getty Image
It is unclear if Jones is any good, but the Giants invested a ton of money in him. The team traded out one ultra-dynamic weapon (Saquon Barkley) for another (Malik Nabers), and Jones is going to have to show that he can be the guy in New York. Will he? Who knows! But it should be fun to watch.
Philadelphia Eagles: Saquon Barkley
Barkley’s departure from the Giants would have been a big deal even if he did not end up with a division rival. The funny thing is that the Eagles might be the best spot for him in the league, as he’ll be part of a dynamic backfield alongside Jalen Hurts and his ability in the passing game is as good as any back in the league. He’ll do some special things in Philly.
Washington Commanders: Jayden Daniels
The reigning Heisman Trophy winner came from out of nowhere to become the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Daniels is the exact sort of threat as a runner and a thrower that teams are looking for in their signal caller, and while he is going to have some bumps in the road during his first year, he’s such a dynamic player that he is going to have some incredible high points.
NFC North
Chicago Bears: Caleb Williams
It has to be Williams, right? We haven’t had a No. 1 overall pick come into the league with as much hype as the former USC standout in a few years, and the Bears have done a good job putting pieces around him to help him succeed. It’s unclear if Matt Eberflus will be their head coach beyond this year and Williams has the weight of the Bears’ QB history on his shoulders, but he could do some really special things right away.
Detroit Lions: Their entire offensive line
You can go with a number of different players here — Jared Goff! Jahmyr Gibbs! Amon-Ra St. Brown! Sam LaPorta! Aidan Hutchinson! Brian Branch! Others guys who I surely could mention! But everything in Detroit is built around having the meanest offensive line in football. Watching them grind opponents to dust is unlike anything else in the sport, and they’re never afraid of finding unique ways to use them, even if that means giving one of them the ball.
Green Bay Packers: Jordan Love
Getty Image
What a couple of months Jordan Love has had. He was good last season, his first as the starter in Green Bay, then tore up the Cowboys in the playoffs before losing to the Niners in the Divisional Round. And then, he got a record-tying contract. Not bad! With another year of experience under his belt and some really good pass catchers around him, we do not think he’s going to be a flash in the pan.
Minnesota Vikings: Dallas Turner
Justin Jefferson is the obvious pick here, but Turner was our favorite player in the 2024 NFL Draft, and he fell all the way to 17th. We think he’s going to be awesome early on in his NFL career, and with Danielle Hunter now in Houston, someone has to get to the quarterback in Minnesota. Turner has a chance to be that guy.
NFC South
Atlanta Falcons: Bijan Robinson
Getty Image
It was insane watching how Robinson was used last season. But 2024 will see a new coaching staff in Atlanta, and if Robinson is used as the all-around standout running back that he is, he’ll put up gigantic numbers, both as a runner behind a stout offensive line and as a safety blanket in the passing game for Kirk Cousins.
Carolina Panthers: Derrick Brown
I still think the Panthers offense is such a work in progress that it’ll be hard to judge Bryce Young. As such, let’s go to the other side of the ball, where Brown is coming off of his best season in the league — 103 tackles, 15 QB hits — and just received a lucrative contract extension. He’s a stud, and while Carolina isn’t great, he’s a major building block.
New Orleans Saints: Chris Olave
The Saints roster has a long way to go to get back to the point where they’re a competitor in the NFC. For now, they can take a lot of solace in knowing they have a star at receiver in Olave, who has cleared the 1,000-yard mark in each of his first two seasons. Derek Carr has loved throwing him the football, and that will not change this year.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Antoine Winfield Jr.
What a stud. Winfield has established himself as the best safety in the NFL, and trying to throw the ball down the field against the Bucs is almost impossible because he is there. He’s also willing to mix it up with anyone. He’s not my favorite player to watch in the NFL, but boy, is he up there.
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals: Marvin Harrison Jr.
Kyler Murray is 1A here, because I want to see what he looks like now that he’s back to 100 percent. But man, Harrison is the best receiver prospect I have ever seen. I cannot wait to see what he does from the very beginning in his NFL career, especially for a QB in Murray who hasn’t had a no-doubt No. 1 receiver in a while.
Los Angeles Rams: Cooper Kupp
I almost put down Tre’Davious White, who might have a monster bounce back year in his first season on a team other than the Bills if he can stay healthy. But if Kupp is healthy, and the Puka Nacua and Kyren Williams duo means that teams can’t totally focus on slowing him down, he’s going to put up gigantic numbers this year.
San Francisco 49ers: George Kittle
Getty Image
There are, like, eight different directions you can go in with the Niners. I am putting Kittle down for the simple reason that I absolutely adore watching George Kittle play football. He exudes joy when he plays, which is ironic because he is one of the most violent tight ends you’ll ever see. He rocks, I hope he does this forever.
Seattle Seahawks: Devon Witherspoon
Witherspoon is very mean and was really impressive as a rookie, and it’s safe to assume he’ll only get better as Seattle tries to find the spiritual successor to the Legion of Boom. Don’t be surprised if he gains a reputation for being one of the best corners in the game this year, in large part because going up against the pass catchers in this division will be quite the tall task. He’s up for it, though.
AFC East
Buffalo Bills: Keon Coleman
The Bills got rid of Josh Allen’s top two wide receivers this offseason, letting Gabe Davis walk to Jacksonville in free agency and trading Stefon Diggs to Houston. For a team with Super Bowl aspirations, that was a bold move and it’s clear they have a lot of faith in their first round pick out of Florida State, Keon Coleman, to fill the void. Coleman is a big, physical receiver who has the traits (and personality) of a star, but struggled with consistently producing at a high level at college. The flashes were spectacular, and how quickly he can make a consistent impact will determine how well the Bills offense can operate.
Miami Dolphins: Jaelan Phillips and Chop Robinson
The Dolphins offense will be the Dolphins offense, which is to say, highly explosive and capable of putting up record-setting numbers when they get rolling. The defense, meanwhile, features some new faces, especially up front after they lost Christian Wilkins and Andrew Van Ginkel in free agency. Those two accounted for 15 sacks and 42 hits on opposing quarterbacks last year, while Bradley Chubb (11 sacks, 22 QB hits) is currently rehabbing from a torn ACL suffered in Week 17 and may not be ready for the start of the season. That is a lot of productivity that needs to be replaced up front for Miami, and puts serious pressure on guys to step up. Jaelan Phillips is at the top of that list, and the Dolphins will need him to stay healthy after playing just 8 games last season, while first round pick Chop Robinson will need to have be an impact rookie if Miami’s defense is going to be able to apply pressure to opposing QBs.
New York Jets: Garrett Wilson
Getty Image
Aaron Rodgers is back and, as such, the Jets are supposed to be a threat in the AFC East this year. A year ago, everyone was very excited to see Garrett Wilson, coming off a ROY season with Zach Wilson throwing to him, get to play with a legitimate NFL quarterback. Instead, Rodgers suffered a season-ending injury four plays into the season and Wilson was back to dealing with subpar QB play. Now the expectations are back for the Jets offense and Wilson should have an opportunity to prove he is among the NFL’s elite at the receiver position with Rodgers throwing him the ball.
New England Patriots: Christian Gonzalez and Kyle Dugger
Look, the Pats are gonna be bad. The plan is to start Jacoby Brissett at QB until Drake Maye is ready, which takes away the chance to even be excited to see a young QB at the helm. I do think that’s the right decision for Maye to be successful long-term, but the offense in New England doesn’t figure to offer much to right home about. That said, they do have some big time players on defense, especially in the secondary. Dugger flies around from his safety position and does a bit of everything, while Gonzalez has a chance to be one of the best young corners in the league — his rookie year only saw him play four games before suffering a season ending labrum tear. Gonzalez is back healthy and earning high praise from opposing receivers in the preseason, and Dugger will look to build off a terrific 2023. This year figures to be similar to last year, in that the defense should be better than the offense in New England (even after trading Matthew Judon to Atlanta), and Dugger and Gonzalez figure to be the bright spots for Pats fans in what could be an otherwise tough year.
AFC North
Baltimore Ravens: Derrick Henry
What if we gave the NFL’s most dynamic rushing attack the most dominant running back in the league? Well, we will get the answer to that question this year in Baltimore, as Derrick Henry joins Lamar Jackson to create a truly terrifying rushing tandem. Yes, Henry is 30, but he’s not a typical running back and still rushed for over 1,100 yards a year ago in Tennessee despite defenses not respecting the Titans passing attack at all. Now he goes to a Ravens team that has a perennial MVP candidate in Jackson at quarterback and won’t need him to tote the rock 300 times. As such, Henry might not put up the same raw numbers he did in his Titans prime when they rode him like Secretariat, but the stress his presence will put on opposing defenses is going to be incredible to watch.
Cincinnati Bengals: Joe Burrow
Getty Image
Joe Burrow is going to be back playing football, and I’m excited to see that, because, boy, the Bengals were not very fun to watch in his absence. With Burrow, this is a contender, and without him, well, they’re a very mediocre football team. This also might be the last ride for Burrow with both Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins as his top receivers, so time is of the essence for the Bengals to make the most of their star-studded offense.
Cleveland Browns: Nick Chubb
Speaking of welcome returns from injury, Nick Chubb is going to be back toting the rock for the Browns and that brings me great joy. The soft-spoken squat king has a legitimate claim to being the NFL’s best running back when healthy, and the Browns offense needs his presence desperately to be a threat in the AFC. He demands the attention of opposing defenses and brings those safeties and linebackers a little closer to the line of scrimmage, helping to open up opportunities in the passing game.
Pittsburgh Steelers: George Pickens
The Steelers three QBs (Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, and Mason Rudolph) threw for 3,421 yards and 13 touchdowns last year, which is a hysterically low number in this era of football. George Pickens had 1,140 of those receiving yards and five of those receiving touchdowns, and he deserves some kind of medal for putting up those numbers in that offense with those quarterbacks. This year, Pickens gets to catch passes from Russell Wilson, and while Wilson might not be the guy he was in his prime, he is still an upgrade over what was there and also throws one of the prettiest deep balls in football. I think Pickens could be in for a big time season, just by having a semi-competent quarterback throwing him the ball. If Wilson can recapture some magic from yesteryear (a major, major if)? It could be really fun.
AFC South
Houston Texans: C.J. Stroud
Getty Image
After winning Rookie of the Year, the Texans went out and got C.J. Stroud some new toys. Joe Mixon arrives to provide some more rushing support, and while he’s not as dynamic as he once was, I do think he’s an upgrade in the backfield. Even more importantly, Stefon Diggs arrives via trade and Tank Dell is back from injury. Those two, plus Nico Collins, make up a dynamic receiving corps and Stroud proved last year he is among the best in the league at throwing the ball at all three levels. All three are capable of going over the top, which will put a lot of stress on secondaries, but Diggs is so efficient working the intermediate areas that the Texans should be even more dangerous and dynamic this season. This could be a contender if Stroud takes another stride forward, which is truly incredible to think about given where they were two years ago.
Indianapolis Colts: Anthony Richardson
The Colts do have some questions in the secondary to answer, but this is a playoff contender for sure. Anthony Richardson showed flashes of brilliance before having his season ended with a shoulder injury last year, and if he can get back to that level and build off a strong start to his NFL career, the Colts could be a fun team to watch. He is dynamic both as a passer and a runner, and it’ll be interesting to see how the Colts handle him given he got popped a few too many times last year in the running game and it cost him the season.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Brian Thomas Jr.
The Jaguars will, once again, be hanging around that playoff level, and so much of their success comes down to whether Trevor Lawrence finally can put it all together. The talent has never been a question with Lawrence, but what we’ve never quite known is how much of his ups and downs are on him or on the situation he’s in. This year, the Jags went out and revamped their receiving corps, as Calvin Ridley left for Tennessee. Gabe Davis comes in from Buffalo, but more intriguing to me is rookie Brian Thomas Jr. from LSU. Thomas was a big play waiting to happen in Baton Rouge, and the Jaguars need that kind of downfield threat. Lawrence threw for just 21 touchdowns a season ago, while Thomas caught 17 himself at LSU (in 13 games). Having a big receiver who can stretch the field vertically and be a red zone target could be big for the Jags, and shifts pressure on Lawrence to take advantage of what looks on paper to be one of the best receiving corps he’s had.
Tennessee Titans: Will Levis
The Titans will spend this year figuring out if Will Levis is the guy for them long-term. He has the weapons on the outside with DeAndre Hopkins and Calvin Ridley, and they’ve invested in the offensive line with top picks in each of the last two drafts. There were flashes last year once he took over the starting job and with a full offseason, the expectation is to take a step forward. However, with Henry gone and a very different kind of backfield with Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears, the Titans will shift more responsibility on Levis’ shoulders to run the show.
AFC West
Denver Broncos: Bo Nix
The Broncos jettisoned Russell Wilson and ate a historic amount of dead money to do so, but they were determined to hit the reset button and used their first round pick to bring in Bo Nix. There were a number of comps of Nix to Drew Brees in terms of accuracy and production during his time at Oregon, as he went from a turnover prone wild card at Auburn to a highly efficient distributor of the football with the Ducks. Now he gets to play for Sean Payton, who unlocked the best of Brees on his way to a Hall of Fame career with the Saints. Setting Brees as the expectation for Nix would be wildly unfair, but I do want to see how the young QB fares under Payton on a Broncos team that is certainly looking towards the future in 2024.
Kansas City Chiefs: Xavier Worthy
Getty Image
If you’ve seen a highlight out of Chiefs camp this summer, it’s likely been a deep ball from Patrick Mahomes to first round pick Xavier Worthy. The Chiefs have been desperately trying to find an explosive receiver since Tyreek Hill’s departure, and it sure looks like Worthy might be the guy to do it. Mahomes was unbelievable a year ago, picking apart defenses underneath and just out-executing other teams on the way to another Super Bowl win. His ability to beat you with efficiency now makes it even more terrifying to think about the Chiefs offense with a legit explosive play threat, and if Worthy can make plays down the field consistently, good luck with KC.
Las Vegas Raiders: Christian Wilkins and Maxx Crosby
The Raiders have a ton of question marks on offense, but their defense is terrifying. Maxx Crosby is one of the all around defensive ends in football, up there with the Bosas and Watts and Garretts of the world in his ability to just wreck shop in the pass game and run game. Now you add Christian Wilkins, who is one of the best pass rushing defensive tackles in football, and this Raiders pass rush can absolutely go. That’s the formula you want in a division with Patrick Mahomes, and while I don’t think they’ve got the firepower this year on offense to make a real push in the AFC, opposing offenses will not enjoy dealing with those two up front.
Los Angeles Chargers: Ladd McConkey
The Chargers are going to Run The Damn Ball this year. That’s just what the identity of a team coached by Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman is going to be. That said, Justin Herbert is a dynamic passer and they just lost their two top receivers this offseason, with veteran Kenean Allen now in Chicago and Mike Williams in New York. That shifts some pressure on last year’s first round pick Quentin Johnston to clean up his drop issues, and while a lot of attention is on him, I’m keeping an eye on their new rookie receiver, Ladd McConkey from Georgia. Look, we can be honest here, a white receiver named Ladd McConkey is not immediately driving fear into the hearts of defenders, but NFL DBs will soon learn that McConkey has some real juice. He is an elite route runner, has sub-4.4 speed, and used to turn around the SEC’s best corners regularly. I think he can be an instant impact guy, and Herbert is going to need a reliable threat to play off of that run game.
After canceling her The Eras Tour shows in Austria due to a planned terror attack, some wondered if Taylor Swift would still play her run of Wembley Stadium shows scheduled for shortly after. Well, she did, as the first of them went down yesterday (August 15).
The good news is that they happened seemingly without incident, and there was even a big surprise: Longtime Swift pal Ed Sheeran popped up and joined her on stage to perform a medley of “Everything Has Changed,” “End Game” (both Swift and Sheeran collaborations), and “Thinking Out Loud.”
Sheeran reflected on his friendship with swift in 2022, writing of their collaboration “The Joker And The Queen,” “Me and Taylor first met and wrote + recorded our first song together in 2012, ten years ago now, I’m so so honoured to have her on this song. Not only is she the best singer/songwriter in the world but she’s also a very close friend, I’m very lucky to have her in my life.” He also said in 2023, “I have long, long, long conversations with Taylor about stuff just because I feel like she’s one of the only people that actually truly understands where I’m at.”
Every movie has its own distinct press rollout which can make or break the success of the film. Glen Powell promoted Twisters by doing silly little dances, which may or may not have helped the film rack up over $200 million at the domestic box office. But it only takes one small rift or even a TikTok trend to take what could be a typical release and push it into a potential PR mess, which seems to be happening more and more lately. That’s what makes It Ends With Us‘ press cycle so puzzling.
It Ends With Us is the popular romance novel from Gen Z whisperer Colleen Hoover. The book was released in 2016 and Hoover, who had already been the first self-published author to top the New York Times bestseller list, saw a massive uptick in sales during the pandemic, making It Ends With Us her most-popular book amongst a powerful demographic on the internet: young women.
The novel touches on heavy themes like death, domestic abuse, and generational trauma, but the novel became a hot topic amongst young adults on “BookTok” who dubbed themselves “CoHorts” and devoured her books, despite the serious subject matter. “This story was inspired by events in my life, but mostly from events in my mother’s life. It was very important to me, for that reason, to do her story justice,” Hoover told NY Daily News in 2016. “And I’ll probably never do it again, because my life now is honestly not dramatic enough to make a good book. So unless something huge changes in my life, I’ll probably stick to using my imagination to inspire the books,” she said at the time.
In 2019, actor Justin Baldoni announced that he would be starring and directing in a big-screen adaptation of the novel, and posted a photo of himself alongside Hoover. Soon enough, Blake Lively had signed on as Lily, sending TikTok into a frenzy. Lively also revealed she would produce the film.
Finally, the movie was given an August 2024 release date and the cast and crew began to do press. This is where things started falling apart.
Sony
Fans noticed that while promoting the film, Lively and Baldoni, who star as the central couple Lily and Ryle, had not taken any pictures together. This isn’t entirely unheard of, but people picked up on it. Then, some internet sleuths also realized that Lively, Hoover, and most of the cast had unfollowed Baldoni on Instagram, which is a major red flag in the year 2024. Baldoni was also seemingly doing his own press, appearing alone at events.
It should be noted that on-screen, Baldoni and Lively portray the somewhat loving couple (at first) Lily and Ryle, before Ryle starts becoming aggressive and abusive. But the abuse element of the story is largely absent from any promotion material — instead, when asked about how the story might connect with victims of abuse, Lively responded to questions with jokes. Lively has also been criticized for using It Ends With Us to promote her new haircare line, in addition to her drink line, Betty Buzz. Lively even got involved with a flower/booze pop-up in conjunction with the press tour about the movie, which is, again, a serious story about violent abuse. The pop-up served cocktails inspired by the movie, featuring none other than Ryan Reynolds’ Avaiation gin. It’s almost like this movie became a family business instead of a realistic cautionary tale.
Yet Baldoni has seemingly been working to bring awareness about domestic abuse. “I wanted to make sure this film always had a female gaze and I was never putting myself into it,” the actor/director told CBS. Baldoni didn’t even seem to care about the film’s success as long as it helped at least one person. “If it’s just a big commercial success, that’s on one side of it. The other side of it, for both [production company] Wayfarer Studios and myself is… it’s about that one person who’s in a similar situation to Lily,” he told PEOPLE.
Then, while at the premiere, Baldoni seemingly took himself out of the running to direct the sequel, if it even should come to fruition.
When asked by ET if he would return for a sequel, Baldoni said, “I think that there are better people for that one. I think Blake Lively’s ready to direct,” he said. “That’s what I think.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, the two might have disagreed about the final cut of the film. Lively reportedly commissioned a cut of the movie from editor Shane Reid, who was an editor on Deadpool & Wolverine, when she was unsatisfied with the direction, but it’s unclear if that contributed to the final cut. Lively did confirm that Reynolds, who is not credited as a producer, contributed to the script, something that screenwriter Christy Hall was unaware of.
Meanwhile, other stars of the film seem to be avoiding questions on the subject. Jenny Slate, who stars as Lily’s friend Allysa, dodged questions about Baldoni while at the premiere, as did Hoover. “I think he did a great job. They all did a great job,” she said, before moving into the next question.
The internet got loud enough to warrant a response from an unnamed source who told Page Six that Baldoni created an “extremely difficult” set for the cast, and made Lively “uncomfortable.” The source added, “It’s not just Blake. None of the cast enjoyed working with Justin…They certainly didn’t talk to him at the premiere.” Then PEOPLE jumped on the bandwagon: “All is not what it seems,” a set source told the magazine. “There is much more to this story. The principal cast and [author] Colleen Hoover will have nothing to do with him.”
A source then told TMZ that an on-set encounter made Lively feel “fat-shamed” by Baldoni, which caused more tension between the two. Reportedly, for a scene in which Baldoni would have to lift his co-star, he went to the on-set trainer and asked how much Lively weighed in order to protect his back from injury. Lively had given birth in February 2023 and this allegedly made her feel uncomfortable.
Somehow, it gets even weirder. Baldoni recently hired Melissa Nathan of The Agency Group as a crisis PR manager to handle the backlash. Nathan specializes in “media cleanup and brand management.” She is known for representing Johnny Depp during the Amber Heard trial.
This also isn’t the first report of Lively possibly “feuding” with her costars. Rumors have been swirling for years that Lively and her A Simple Favor costar Anna Kendrick couldn’t stand each other during filming, though we now know that a sequel is on the way, so it’s unclear what really went down there.
Meanwhile, Baldoni has a history of advocating for men to be more emotionally vulnerable, even going to far as to write an entire self-help book titled Man Enough, which was met with some backlash from the internet.
So, what is the end game here? It seems probable that Baldoni and Lively do not like each other, and they are hashing it out in public… even though the movie did just fine. There were some theories that the buzzy drama was just a marketing ploy for the film, but who knows.
After the initial backlash, Lively posted an Instagram story (which is already gone) where she shared resources for women who are experiencing abuse. Aside from the cringe interview moments and general lack of awareness, domestic abuse shouldn’t be repackaged as a romantic comedy, which seems to be how some moviegoers felt after watching the movie. Her hair products are still safe on the Grid, though.
These two actors seem to have been promoting two different agendas. Where Baldoni brought on nonprofit organization No More, a foundation for survivors of domestic and sexual violence, on board to help promote the film, Lively was showcasing her new line of haircair products while praising her husband’s (minor) work on the film. The juxtoposition itself has already shifted the focus from the actual real topics the movie covers, like escaping abuse, to whatever mess is going on between the two leads behind the scenes. We may never know what truly went down.
There might be some lessons to be learned here, it’s just unfortunate that it had to happen to the groups of young women who flocked to the movie theater possibly expecting a sunny romantic comedy, only to be served with a puzzling portrayal of a violent relationship, painted in a flowery haze.
Despite the marketing confusion, It Ends With Us managed to secure a strong opening weekend at the box office, raking in $100M in its first week, pushing past Deadpool and Wolverine‘s latest tallies. Maybe Sony is the real winner after all.
For more information and resources on domestic violence, visit No More.
Future Red Eye star Cillian Murphy’s future in cinema already seemed pretty clear after 28 Days Later put him on the household map, and then the movie put him in front Christopher Nolan’s eyeballs. Their subsequent pairings culminated, of course, with Oppenheimer as well as post-Oscar glow, but Cillian isn’t shying away from returning to his earlier eras in filmmaking. He maintains such fondness for Danny Boyle and their mutual 28 Days Later experience that he immediately hopped onboard as a producer.
Updates grew more positive from there with word that, even though his character didn’t appear in the 28 Weeks Later sequel, Cillian’s character will still appear in the upcoming 28 Years Later movie, the first in a planned trilogy of movies coming from members of the original gang, including not only Boyle directing an initial film but original screenwriter Alex Garland (who is moving away from directing but cannot seem to quit those apocalyptic vibes) doing the scribe honors here again. Let’s talk about what to expect from this crew going back to basics:
Plot
First, it’s worth noting that this film’s announcement frenzy only went into overdrive this past May, and the film is scheduled to arrive next summer, which should underscore the seriousness and drive with which the filmmaking team is operating. Unconfirmed reports even suggest that filming recently wrapped (with a $60 million budget as opposed to $8 million for 2003’s original film), although that tidbit must be taken with a grain of salt.
For his part, Cillian was very excited when the new trilogy was announced. His character, Jim, has survived since after the Rage Virus first hit humanity. The infected aren’t exactly slow-moving lumps like The Walking Dead, either, so you can imagine what the endless flight-flight cycle has done to those people who have survived. Additionally, incoming star Jodie Comer is 31, meaning that her character was likely only a few years old when the outbreak began. She and other cast and crew were confirmed to be filming in Newcastle but mainly in an English Forest and upon a tidal island.
The precise plot details of this first movie are, unsurprisingly, top secret other than confirming that the world certainly has not healed over the decades. Various photos found around the internet have shown Jodie Comer running in distress, and the Killing Eve and The Bikeridersstar believes that “people are going to be pleased,” and she’s enjoying the “distinct and unique” feel of making this film. Comer also revealed to Elle that her gift for seamless accent work (our words, not hers) will be put to good use here, and she will adopt a Geordie accent after studying “clips of Cheryl on The X Factor.” Beyond the technicalities, Comer added, “The original was so loved, so I’m trying not to think of that too hard. I’m not putting too much expectation on myself.”
Additionally, Boyle will hand over the director’s chair to Nia DaCosta (Candyman reboot) for the second film, which may or may not have Bone Temple in the title, although at this point, that feels like Avatar: The Seed Bearer levels of speculation.
Cast
Jodie Comer and Aaron Taylor-Johnson will be front and center with Ralph Fiennes on hand and Jack O’Connell in a minor role that will mainly consist of his character laying groundwork for the second movie, in which he will move into a leading role. Erin Kellyman (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, The Green Knight) has also been revealed by Collider as a cast member.
Release Date
28 Years Later will arrive in theaters on June 20, 2025.
Trailer
Don’t be surprised if we see a teaser trailer sooner rather than later with this movie’s relatively quick turnaround after announcement. In the meantime, it’s worth revisiting — and wondering whether Boyle can capture this sense of bleakness in the same way — the part of the movie where realization has not set in amid a hauntingly deserted London.
Routinely on The Late Show, Stephen Colbert has his guest take The Colbert Questionert, answering a set of general questions that promises to reveal more about the person. The segments are typically filmed with a guest and then shared weeks after their initial interview appearance on the show. Now, it’s Billie Eilish’s turn, and one question led to an… interesting moment.
One of the questions was, “What was the first concert you attended?” Eilish’s mind was clearly racing as she sharply inhaled, gave a smile that she quickly stifled, cleared her throat, and stated matter-of-factly, “Uh, The Neighbourhood.” She then had a knowing, restrained, closed-mouth smile as she turned to the audience, who offered some light cheers but generally didn’t seem to quite know how to react.
Of course, those who have a basic awareness of Eilish’s dating history know the undercurrent of the situation: Eilish dated The Neighbourhood singer Jesse Rutherford in 2022 and 2023 before breaking up.
While confirming the relationship in a 2022 interview, Eilish spoke about her history of admiring Rutherford, saying, “I managed to get my way to a point in my life where I not only was known by a person that I thought was the hottest f*ckin’ f*cker alive, but pulled his ass. Are we kidding me? Can we just [claps]… round of applause for me. Thank you. Jesse Rutherford, everyone. I pulled his ass, all me. I did that sh*t. I locked that motherf*cker down.”
Following the death of Kurt Cobain, Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl wanted to “disappear” so he went on a “soul-searching” solo trip to Ring Of Kerry in Ireland. “It’s so beautiful there. You really feel like you’re at the end of the Earth,” he once said in an interview. “I was driving around in my rental car, and on a country road, I saw this hitchhiker kid. And I thought, ‘Well, maybe I’ll pick him up’. And as I got closer to him, I saw that he had a Kurt Cobain t-shirt on.” Grohl was struck by the image of “Kurt’s face looking back at me in the middle of nowhere.” That’s when he realized “I can’t outrun this.”
Grohl formed Foo Fighters (which was initially a one-man project) soon after, and 30 years later, they’re still one of the biggest names in rock. But what became of the hitchhiker? He’s only recently become aware that he was the kid with the Kurt Cobain shirt in Grohl’s story.
“So my legend of a cousin Lorcan just realised he was kind of important to the creation of @foofighters @FooFightersUK,” his relative, Eoin, wrote on X. “He saw a video by Dave Grohl talking about why he got back to work after a visit to Ireland. Lorcan was out hitchhiking wearing his nirvana top when Dave stopped.” He also shared a video of Lorcan telling his side of the Foo Fighters origin story (“Nobody believed me!”), which you can watch here.
Steven and Ian begin today’s episode with a review of Phoenix’s performance at the Olympics last weekend, and the maddening idea that every band from the aughts is now being lumped into the made-up phenomenon known as “indie sleaze.” From there, they move on to the news that the proggy British post-punk band Black Midi has apparently broken up. The guys discuss their brief career and the surprisingly wide influence they have had on other acts.
Then they talk about Wishy, the Indiana-based shoegaze outfit that has emerged as one of 2024’s most hyped young bands. Their debut full-length, Triple Seven, is out today, and Steven loves it while Ian is more reserved in his judgement. After that, they move on to discussion about Ween, who Steven wrote about this week. He wonders whether Ian has a “yay or nay” assessment of the cult duo. In the mailbag, a listener asks about the strangest place the guys have either seen a show, and Steven talks about seeing the ’90s rap group Onyx and Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham at two different high schools.
In Recommendation Corner, Ian talks up the playful pop of Porter Robinson while Steven stumps for the Georgia rock band Futurebirds.
New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 202 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.
Yes, it’s an impossible question, and yes, I preface my answer with all sorts of caveats, hemming and hawing. That’s part of the game! Your favorite bourbon can change based on mood, time of day, what you ate beforehand, or simply due to tasting new bourbons that recalibrate your palate. To that end, one of the best ways to level the playing field, cut through the fluff, and truly crown a “favorite” is through blind tasting.
Even with a palate honed to identify flavors, it’s astonishing how often your preference in a moment can be swayed by the factors above. For instance, I’ve observed that warmer days tend to enhance my palate’s inclination towards citrus and fruit-forward notes, a revelation that took me by surprise. It’s a subtle shift, but after numerous tastings, I’ve realized this, and perhaps only subconsciously, I find myself reaching for bourbons that cater to this preference when the mercury rises.
One also can’t ignore the implicit biases we develop just from seeing the label on a bottle before tasting. You’ll hear chefs often hammer home the idea that “we eat with our eyes first,” and that same sentiment rings true regarding bourbon tasting. If you have positive memories associated with a certain label or brand, then you’re more likely to enter the tasting with a positive disposition. Basically, your brain feeds you positive reinforcement and trains your conscious mind to associate that brand with good whiskey before you even have a chance to drink it and make that decision with your tastebuds.
That’s precisely why blind tasting is such a revelatory and, for professional whiskey tasters, indispensable exercise. By shedding your biases, bringing plenty of water and water crackers, and creating a blank slate in your mind, you’re often left amazed at how your “favorite” bourbon at that moment might not be any better than the $30 bourbon you always overlook at your local liquor store. It’s a practice I recommend to every bourbon enthusiast out there; the results are sure to enlighten you.
In this blind tasting, we’ll try the best bourbon from Buffalo Trace, Maker’s Mark, Wild Turkey, Heaven Hill, Old Forester, and others to effectively determine the best premium bourbon available today.
Here are the 24 contenders:
• Buffalo Trace: William Larue Weller
• Maker’s Mark: Wood Finishing Series, The Heart Release
• Wild Turkey: Russell’s Reserve 15-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
• Heaven Hill: Old Fitzgerald 13-Year Decanter Series VVS Bottled in Bond Bourbon
• Old Forester: President’s Choice Single Barrel Bourbon
• Brown-Forman: King of Kentucky
• Jim Beam: Hardin’s Creek Boston
• Jack Daniel’s: Jack Daniel’s 12-Year-Old
• Four Roses: Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 135th Anniversary
• Ben Holladay: Bourbon Lore 18-Barrel Blend
• Kings County Blender’s Reserve Barrel Strength Bourbon
• Rare Character: Obliteration
• Michter’s 10-Year Single Barrel Bourbon
• 2XO: Gem of Kentucky
• Old Carter Straight Bourbon Whiskey Batch 14
• Nashville Barrel Company: 10-Year-Old Single Barrel Bourbon
• Widow Jane: The Vaults 15-Year Bourbon
• Binder’s Stash Bourbon
• 13th Colony Distillery: Cask Strength Double Oaked Bourbon
• Garrison Bros. Distillery: Cowboy Bourbon
• Lux Row: Double Barrel 12-Year Bourbon
• Barrell Craft Spirits: Cask Strength Bourbon Batch 36
• Bardstown Bourbon Company: Discovery Series 11
24. Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series, The Heart Release
For 2024’s Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series, the brand is pivoting away from the confusing alphabet soup names of the past and embracing a new chapter. For this release, the brand inserted two different French Oak staves in their standard bourbon barrels, letting one set marinate for 5 weeks while the other sat in the barrel for 9 weeks.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rosewater and sandalwood greet the nose at first, joined by celery root, black pepper, orange pith, and cantaloupe.
Palate: Cantaloupe comes through on the palate, with black pepper and heavy oak tones following closely behind. There’s a slight citrus tartness and semi-bitter dark chocolate at midpalate just before the transition into the finish.
Finish: The finish is brief, and the texture is peculiarly chalky, with oak and citrus tartness punching through until the last pop.
Bottom Line:
Maker’s Mark’s Wood Finishing Series was formerly used as a place to highlight their unique stave combinations, but while they continue to experiment with those here, this “second chapter” in the series is all about shining a light on the people behind the whiskey. While this inaugural entry in the Wood Finishing Series’ second chapter won’t capture the hearts of everyone, it has many of the mellow, approachable characteristics that make Maker’s Mark so beloved in the first place.
Widow Jane Distillery is based in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and is one of New York’s biggest whiskey brands. Their premium expression, The Vaults, is more under the radar than it should be. Made with a blend of bourbon from Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee, the latest edition of this annual expression is aged for a minimum of 15 years.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Citrus, the aroma of bright red cherry, and chocolate are most evident at first here. The aroma of vanilla pods and toasted coconut comes through with an ample dose of charred green pepper and almonds. This nose is balanced and lovely.
Palate: Once in the mouth, this whiskey is immediately evocative of Mexican hot chocolate with red grape skin, cinnamon, charred green peppers, and almond milk leading the charge just before the finish. The mouthfeel isn’t remarkable but it’s substantial enough to carry all of those layered flavors.
Finish: The finish here is medium-length but notable for its evolution of flavors from the palate, with almond milk, dark chocolate, and grape skin featuring prominently alongside barrel char and black pepper.
Bottom Line:
Widow Jane’s The Vaults is an exemplary case of the art of blending. While pretty much every brand has an expression that utilizes blended whiskey, to do so with liquid from different sources and states is less common, and in the case of The Vaults, it’s even rarer for such blends to be this damn good.
Interestingly, Lux Row’s most premium expression isn’t cask strength. Instead, they combine two 12-year-old single barrels and proof it at 118.5%, which is a subtle nod to the date the distillery opened its doors in April 2018.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens up with a litany of expected aromas like cherry cola, hazelnut, and dilute caramel. The oak presence is pretty strong and there’s a healthy helping of vanilla extract as well.
Palate: On the palate, the whiskey comes across as full-bodied, with the cherry cola notes leading the way before the flavor of chocolate-covered espresso beans kicks in. The heavy oak presence curbs that sweetness and keeps it in check, adding a layer of depth that’s welcome here.
Finish: The medium-length finish returns to the syrupy cherry note before taking an austere turn with clove, oak, and black pepper blending with a touch of balsamic vinegar — the lone unharmonious note in the bunch.
Bottom Line:
This delicious double barrel carries all of the hallmarks of well-aged bourbon, with great layers of mature flavor and rich color that entices the eyes before you take the first sip. You have to travel all the way to Kentucky to score this bottle but you definitely won’t be disappointed if you leave with it.
2XO is the brand founded by rockstar blender Dixon Dedman just two short years ago, but he waited until 2023 to release the brand’s best work to date: The Gem Of Kentucky. Billed as “the only double-barreled single barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey on the market,” the brand released roughly 70 of those unique single barrels to market.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This bottle begins expressly fruity with red berries and orange zest leading the way to polished leather, an abundance of vanilla, and some surprising sandalwood.
Palate: Once on the palate, this pour opens with more fruit as the flavor of cherries and clementines burrow deep into your tongue while mature oak and leather notes find the edges of the tongue and the cheek. There’s a gently pulsing influence of baking spice throughout, with black pepper, allspice, and sage becoming most expressive as this pour transitions to the finish.
Finish: The finish welcomes more allspice and sage, and it’s surprisingly lengthy, allowing the fruit-forward notes to reemerge as well as the satisfying taste of vanilla ice cream.
Bottom Line:
Dixon Dedman is no stranger to mingling delicious barrels of sourced whiskey, and the experience he’s accrued from blending previous projects has him in peak form here. 2XO’s more affordable options are well worth your attention as an entry point into the nascent brand. Still, once you try their premium offering, you’ll fully appreciate just how stellar this new category of double-barreled single barrels can be.
Garrison Brothers’ premium Cowboy Bourbon is one of the whiskeys that put Texas Bourbon on the map. Uncut and unfiltered, Cowboy Bourbon features the best barrels from Garrison Brother’s stock, hand-picked by Master Distiller Donnis Todd.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with cinnamon bark, strong barrel char with oak undertones, and smoked honey. After a few swirls, the honey is joined in the sweetness department by some sticky toffee and candied walnuts with caraway and nutmeg, closing things out.
Palate: On the palate, the heat that was indicated on the nose comes through as ethanol lights up the tip of your tongue and careens down the middle of it like a lit fuse. On the periphery of that heat, you’ll find more of the smoked honey and caramel notes, along with a touch of tobacco leaf, black pepper, and chocolate fudge, which does well to keep the overwhelming oak presence in check.
Finish: The lengthy finish features more heat, but again, black pepper, rich oak tones, and molasses are there to keep the ethanol burn from becoming distracting.
Bottom Line:
Cowboy Bourbon lives up to its billing as a bold, rugged representation of a Hye, Texas-style bourbon whiskey. This is truly a whiskey with broad shoulders, and thanks to its full-bodied flavor profile, this bourbon is capable of going toe-to-toe with some of the best in the country.
19. Bardstown Bourbon Company: Discovery Series 11
For their Discovery Series, Bardstown Bourbon Company pairs outstanding whiskey that they’ve sourced — this time a 10-year-old and 13-year-old Kentucky bourbon — with some of their self-distilled whiskey at 6 years old.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Cherries, pears, and Manuka honey are most evident on the nose at first. Soon, there’s more brown sugar and brioche, which turns the bouquet of aromas a bit darker, a welcome development.
Palate: Once on the palate, this whiskey contains Rainier cherries, organic honey, toffee, nutmeg, and cinnamon. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied, and that restraint works well, allowing the well-defined cherry note to spread its wings unencumbered, leading to an overall refreshing effect.
Finish: The medium-length finish is where this whiskey again takes a turn to the dark side, as brown sugar, barrel char, and brioche bun notes close out each sip along with a gentle sprinkle of freshly cracked black pepper.
Bottom Line:
Bardstown Bourbon Company’s Discovery Series has been housing some of the best whiskey they’ve ever released for a few years now (with the exception of the occasional excellent Collaborative Series release), but without a doubt, Discovery Series #11 is the highwater mark for the lineup.
Barrell Bourbon has been hitting home runs with its barrel-proof bourbon series, and with this fresh label redesign gracing its latest release, it’s looking to use that fresh look to usher in an even more impressive new chapter. This cask-strength blend of straight bourbon whiskey features 9-year bourbon from Kentucky, 7.5, 8, and 10-year bourbon from Indiana, plus some 8 and 15-year bourbon from Tennessee.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Red apples, salted caramel, and an intriguing radicchio note come through on the nose. Given some time to rest, this bourbon also develops some juicy plum with a touch of leather and clove. This is remarkably well balanced with the aroma of orange rind coming through as well.
Palate: The juicy orange flavor comes through on the palate along with some chocolate truffle dust and a steely midpalate, reminiscent of touching your tongue on silver glassware. A bit of bright cherry also bursts at midpalate with some sweet doughiness similar to the sweet gooeyness of a kouign-amann pastry.
Finish: The finish is flush with orange citrus notes that come across as sweet without the slight tartness that can, at times, be off-putting. Throughout the lengthy send-off, there’s plenty of caramel with a touch of thyme, and it all comes across as rather defined, rewarding, extended savoring.
Bottom Line:
Barrell’s Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch 36 recently placed in the top three of our “best new bourbons to buy this summer” list and after facing off against some of these other heavy hitters it’s easy to see why. This is one of the best batches of barrel-proof bourbon that the brand has ever released. Take advantage of the fact that it’s sitting on shelves at a reasonable price right now.
17. Very Olde St. Nick Believe 19-Year-Old Bourbon
Preservation Distillery has been a champion among non-distilling producers for decades now, releasing more legendary liquid to the export market than most distilleries release domestically. This new 19-year-old whiskey under their Very Olde St. Nick brand, named “Believe”, contains sourced Kentucky straight bourbon.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this bourbon is full of sticky salted caramel with nougat and molasses. Suddenly, cinnamon bark and vanilla extract can be found with a few swirls of the glass.
Palate: The sweet confectionary taste of glacé raspberries greets the tip of the tongue with that flavor of cinnamon bark and pie crust, easing each sip further down your palate. There’s a ton of white pepper and dense oak at midpalate, which offers balance as it transitions to the finish. The mouthfeel is quotidian, but the rest of the experience is rather impressive.
Finish: The finish is medium-length with some almond, orange pith, oak, and Rainier cherries, bringing added nuance to every sip.
Bottom Line:
Preservation Distillery is well-known in hardcore enthusiast circles, but the small outfit is quickly catching on with a wider audience as well, thanks to general releases like Old Man Winter and their well-received Rare Perfection series. Of course, they’re still releasing some absolutely stellar sourced bourbon under the Very Olde St. Nick banner, and for our money, that stuff is the best of the bunch.
Ben Holladay Distillery has existed since 1856, but it has only been since its major renovations in 2016 that it has been laying the foundation for the newest chapter in its storied history. For the first major collaboration in the brand’s modern era, they teamed up with the Bourbon Lore team to create this unique, first-of-its-kind, 18-barrel bourbon blend, which sold out in mere minutes both online and during the distillery’s release event.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Tons of butterscotch and orange rind fill the air when this whiskey is poured, with whipped cream and some vegetal notes joining the fray, along with gentle baking spices like nutmeg and clove.
em> Palate:/em> The flavor of orange rind and buttercream is delicious; my goodness, this is easy to drink. The first word that comes to mind after the first sip is “crushable,” meaning it’s incredibly crowd-pleasing and has a creamy, approachable mouthfeel that makes the simple act of drinking fun.
Finish: The medium-length finish turns over some black cherry and rich oak flavors, along with more clove and some candied walnuts.
Bottom Line:
We’ve previously ranked Ben Holladay’s Bourbon Lore blend among the 10 best non-Kentucky bourbons, and its placement on this list further proves its deliciousness. The future is bright for Ben Holladay and this Bourbon Lore collaboration is surely only a sign of things to come.
Old Carter is a bespoke whiskey brand out of Louisville that utilizes sourced liquid, artful blending, and a double-oak technique to create some of the best bourbon, rye, and American whiskey on the market. For Batch 14 of their well-regarded bourbon lineup, only 3,046 bottles were produced.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The aroma of raspberries, sage, and mint accent the air at first. With further exploration, there are further notes of Honey Nut Cheerios, chocolate, and thyme.
Palate: The palate on this one is oozing with salted caramel and white pepper up front, providing a spicy/sweet balance that calls for extended consideration. Once this reaches the midpalate there are flavors like dried raspberries and powdered sugar waiting to greet you. The back end is almost syrupy in terms of texture, and there’s a heavy dose of dark chocolate flavor there as well.
Finish: The finish on Old Carter Bourbon Batch 14 is lengthy, with some mellow spice and full of sweetness.
Bottom Line:
Wow! Old Carter has developed a reputation for full-bodied, sumptuous bourbons, and Batch 14 carries that mantle incredibly well. With lush layers of fruit and brown sugar bubbling over a sturdy foundation of mature oak, this is a bottle capable of converting any casual into a full-fledged cask-strength bourbon fanatic.
When you think of Jim Beam’s premium offerings, Booker’s most immediately comes to mind. However, in 2022, the brand launched the Hardin’s Creek lineup, which is slowly but surely gaining steam. 2023 saw the lineup introduce the “Kentucky Series” with three 17-year-old bourbons from the same mash bill, aged in different locations and released throughout the year. Of the three, the Boston Edition, so-named because it was aged at Beam’s Boston, KY location, was the standout.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The aroma notes are highlighted by rich leather tones and the sweetness of brown butter pastries with a little bit of oregano and black pepper thrown in the mix.
Palate: The palate on this bourbon is darkly sweet with vanilla ice cream, rich leather, and some tepid tobacco notes tumbling forth. Those well-developed flavors hang on through the finish, with dark chocolate and oak ushering in the transition to the end.
Finish: The finish brings more dense oak and caramel-topped vanilla ice cream as this pour slowly sizzles out of existence.
Bottom Line:
Hardin’s Creek Boston proves that the distillery can produce excellent hyper-aged bourbon. The brand stretched that reality even further by releasing a super-limited 20-year-old expression earlier this year as part of the Bardstown Collection, but when it comes to brands under their own banner, Hardin’s Creek Boston outpaces the rest of Jim Beam’s stellar portfolio.
Buffalo Trace’s vaunted Antique Collection features some of the most coveted bourbons in the world, and with all due respect to the more limited Eagle Rare 17 and the fan-favorite George T. Stagg, William Larue Weller comes second to none of them. This 12-and-a-half-year-old wheated bourbon was the crown jewel in the Weller lineup until 2023 when Daniel Weller was released, and 2024’s Weller Millennium subsequently trumped them both. Even with those high-priced alternatives now out in the wild, make no mistake, William Larue Weller is still the lineup’s ne plus ultra.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Cherries, leather, and vanilla ice cream flood the air BIG time, with some milk chocolate, sage, and a faint touch of allspice to be found as well.
Palate: Vanilla ice cream and sage hit the palate at first, with white pepper, cedar wood, and Rainier cherries joining the party at midpalate. It’s surprisingly full-bodied, though the proof causes it to become leaner as it transitions toward the finish, and the heat dries out some of those initially rich flavors.
Finish: The moderate finish leans a bit more heavily into the baking spices as cedar, allspice, and sage pair with vanilla extract and gentle oak.
Bottom Line:
Like most of the other annual LTO expressions on this list, William Larue Weller ranges from great to “get me a case of this so I can drink it until my dying day” from year to year. The 2023 version is in the former camp, but in previous years, in all likelihood, it would have placed much higher on this list. Indeed, the 2024 William Larue Weller is a preemptive threat to top this list once it’s released this upcoming October.
Brown-Forman’s King of Kentucky is a brand with a noble name and humble beginnings. What was once a lowly blended whiskey in the 1940s and discontinued in 1968 was recently revived in 2018 as a premium, single-barrel bourbon. The 2023 version of this expression is 16 years old.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The aroma immediately floods the room with the scent of cinnamon bark and fresh, crisp apples, joined by accents of almond extract, caramel, white pepper, and leather. Over time, there’s a bit of dark chocolate, port wine, clove, fresh coconut, and Aleppo pepper as well.
Palate: On the palate, the flavors of Aleppo pepper and coconut gently roll over the tongue before the liquid fans out to the edges of the tongue, introducing further notes of leather, Sugar Daddy milk caramel, and toasted almond. Cinnamon dashes up the mid-palate to the roof of the mouth, and before the transition to the finish begins, there are notes of nutmeg and clove as well.
Finish: The lengthy finish has a resemblance to rice pudding, with almond milk, dark chocolate, and washed-out caramel notes putting a cap on the affair.
Bottom Line:
The 2023 King of Kentucky was admittedly not my favorite bourbon of 2023, falling outside of my personal top 10 for the year. That said, its placement on this blind taste test reveals that even in a less-than-exemplary year, the King of Kentucky deserves a place among bourbon royalty.
11. Nashville Barrel Company 10-Year Barrel Proof Bourbon
Nashville Barrel Company, founded in 2018 by buddies Mike Hinds and James Davenport, got in early on the trend of buying up incredible whiskey and turning it into a killer non-distilling brand. But branding isn’t what these guys do best; that would be finding, blending, and releasing some of the best bourbon in the country. The brand recently won a Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, but this 10-year-old bourbon, nicknamed “Nashville Nights”, fits in the wheelhouse of what they’re most known for — great single-barrel offerings.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This whiskey has a rich cherry cordial nose with faint orange rind and sweet mint accents. The proof isn’t initially evident, allowing you to really get your nose in the class where there’s some peanut brittle as well.
Palate: Each of those well-developed nosing notes comes through the palate with a buttery mouthfeel, sending them to the back of your molars and coating your teeth. There is a bit of rising heat, which sends additional flavors like clove and hazelnut across the tongue. Overall, it’s incredibly dense and delicious.
Finish: The finish on this bourbon is long, and it hugs your chest with chocolate and hazelnut, along with a faint bit of barrel char and fresh dates.
Bottom Line:
Nashville Barrel Company has been flying under the radar for far too long. Now that 2024 has seen the brand starting to pile up some award-show victories, the secret is trickling out that these folks are sitting on some outstanding whiskey. This 10-year bourbon should put to rest any doubts. They fully belong on this list, and the fact they beat out several better-established brands is all the proof you need.
11. Old Forester: President’s Choice Single Barrel Bourbon
Unbeknownst to many, Old Forester President’s Choice was America’s first single-barrel bourbon. The expression, which can be traced back to 1962, originally got its name because the barrels that went into it were hand-selected by Old Forester’s President. Today, Old Forester President’s Choice single barrels are always bottled at full cask strength, although when it was introduced, there was also a 90.3-proof small batch version.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this whiskey is chock-full of layers with maple candy, deep caramel, and milk chocolate brownies representing the sweeter contingent as a fruity black cherry aroma pairs with sandalwood, clove, and vanilla on the other end of the spectrum.
Palate: Brownie and black cherry are most evident initially, enveloping your palate in a dark, rich sweetness. Initially, it has some heat on it, but it’s just enough to prod you and let you know it’s there. The liquid is full-bodied and silky, hanging out on the back palate with a touch of leather and mesquite barbeque sauce flavor.
Finish: The finish contains a bit of smoked black cherry to go along with the familiar taste of corner brownies and lovely oak tones.
Bottom Line:
Old Forester President’s Choice recently claimed the top spot in our “best of Old Forester” ranking, so it’s unsurprising to see it faring well here. This single-barrel expression is reliably delicious and difficult though it may be to find, he who seeks them out will be met with quite the bounty.
Jack Daniel’s is one of the most well-known whiskeys the world over, but many people don’t know that it’s been roughly 100 years since they last released a whiskey at 10-years-old or better. That all changed in 2022 with the introduction of their 10-Year Jack Daniel’s, and they followed that up in 2023 with their inaugural release of Jack Daniel’s 12-Year. This whiskey uses a mashbill of 80% Corn, 12% Malted Barley, and 8% Rye.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Boozy banana bread emerges straight out of the glass with this one, complete with walnuts, maple syrup, and some rich oak tones.
Palate: Once this whiskey passes the lips, the boozy banana bread is notable for being well-refined, as accenting notes of chocolate chunks, walnuts, and maple candies add to the pleasure. At midpalate, the whiskey picks up a bit of black pepper and barrel char, and its slick texture more fully reveals itself. What a treat.
Finish: Jack Daniel’s 12 has a velvety, creamy finish, aided by the presence of almond extract and some chewy butterscotch.
Bottom Line:
While it’s technically labeled as a Tennessee Whiskey, it also technically meets the requirements to be called bourbon, and there’s no denying that this 12-year-old version of Jack Daniel’s is one of the best bourbons on the planet. Thanks to its remarkably nuanced flavor profile that strikes a fine balance of maple candy sweetness and earthy nuttiness, Jack Daniel’s 12-Year-Old deserves every bourbon enthusiast’s respect.
Kings County Blender’s Reserve Bourbon is the brand’s most sought-after cask-strength offering. Released intermittently and featuring the most premium barrels in Kings County’s barrel warehouse, this expression is meant to showcase the prowess of their blenders and the quality of the self-distilled juice.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Pralines, caramel, dense oak, cinnamon, honey, figs. It’s really nuanced and rich, and it skews on the sweet side despite its ample proof. This is a delicious nose.
Palate: Dark chocolate and leather surprisingly lead the way before fig newtons and pralines make their way into the mix. There’s a slight alcohol punch that enhances the experience, and it has a heavy mouthfeel that veers on being syrupy.
Finish: Walnuts and powdered chocolate with nutmeg and barrel char on the lengthy finish
Bottom Line:
Kings County Bourbon has been getting a lot of love from us this year, and rightfully so. New York City’s oldest distillery is slowly leaving behind its reputation as a giant slayer, and thanks to an extended streak of producing superb whiskey, it might be time to start considering them a giant in their own right. From here on out, pretty much every bourbon on this list is a 10/10.
Binder’s Stash isn’t sitting at your local big box chain store yet, but if the hype around the brand continues to grow, that may not be far off. Binder’s Stash is currently built on the idea that people want excellent, curated single-barrel whiskey, and time and again, they’ve answered the call. This 15-year-old single-barrel bourbon sourced from Indiana nicknamed “Maiden Voyage” was part of their inaugural release and yielded less than 70 bottles.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Toasted coconut, melted dark chocolate, and gooey caramel comes rushing out of the glass at first pass, followed by dense oak, leather, a touch of mint, and sugar cane.
Palate: Binder’s Stash bourbon is full-bodied with bitter dark chocolate and rich, chewy caramel hitting the palate at first before barrel char, tobacco leaf, and roasted plantain kick in. The toasted coconut fuses with some maple syrup and hazelnut at midpalate and stays there for quite a while before a touch of black pepper leads the transition toward the finish.
Finish: The finish becomes increasingly chocolatey, with some walnuts and nutmeg appearing through its lengthy conclusion.
Bottom Line:
As part of the original batch of Binder’s Stash single-barrel bourbons to hit the market, the folks behind this brand must’ve known they had to come out swinging. This early release is an absolute home run and should quiet any of the naysayers who think non-distilling producers can’t hang with the big boys of the bourbon world. This stuff is fantastic.
Michter’s 10-Year Single Barrel Bourbon is one of the more highly anticipated annual releases, and that’s because of its reliably high-quality flavor profile and alluring age statement. Sure, there are other 10-year single-barrel bourbons out there, but this one consistently takes the cake thanks, in part, to Michter’s proprietary filtration process and the fact that they regularly include much older bourbon in these blends.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Deep, delicious leather notes fuse with fresh black cherries on the nose of this rich bourbon on the nose. This is a classic, well-aged bourbon profile, and one that I could sit with and nose all night long. There’s also sage, vanilla extract, dried cranberries, and dark chocolate hiding underneath the surface.
Palate: On the palate, there’s a surprising pop of cedar and cinnamon at first before the black cherries and leather seize the reigns. From there, it transitions into dense oak and dark chocolate toward the midpalate, with vanilla ice cream fanning out from the center of the tongue and climbing the roof of the mouth. The mouthfeel here is medium-bodied, which is surprising given the proof but welcome considering the depth of the flavors here.
Finish: The finish has a medium length, with caramel, almonds, milk chocolate, and black cherries standing out most prominently.
Bottom Line:
With its low proof, Michter’s 10-Year Single Barrel Bourbon perfectly encapsulates the dog in the fight/fight in the dog paradox. This is one whiskey that doesn’t need a heavy dose of ethanol to tightly layer a ton of flavor and stand toe-to-toe with the best bourbon on the planet. Michter’s puts its high-quality craftsmanship on display with every bottle in its portfolio, but when it comes to accessible bourbon released at regular intervals, this is the one you need to put a premium on finding.
13th Colony Distillery, out of Americus, GA, was quietly producing high-quality bourbon when — seemingly out of nowhere, this Cask Strength Double Oaked expression put them on the map. Finished in toasted maple wood, the resultant whiskey is bottled at full cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Applewood bacon notes inform the nose at first before fudge brownies and dense oak fills the air. This is a decadent, brooding nose that contains a healthy helping of ethanol and plenty of sweetness to keep you intrigued.
Palate: The flavor of remarkably rich caramel, barrel char, and Fuji apples splash across the palate on the first sip — I cannot believe how sweet this whiskey is. From there, you’ll pick up a light touch of smoke, which picks up steam at midpalate. This bourbon has an oily mouthfeel and significant heat at midpalate that refuses to quit and continues on through the transition to the finish.
Finish: For this cask-strength bourbon’s finish, it’s packed a ton of leather, butterscotch, and red apples which continue on for an incredibly long time.
Bottom Line:
13th Colony’s Cask Strength Double Oaked Bourbon is easily the best whiskey the brand is producing, and, going a step further, it might be the best whiskey coming out of the state of Georgia. While the rest of their lineup is worth your attention, this remarkably dark, flavorful bourbon is undoubtedly the main attraction.
Four Roses’ highly anticipated Limited Edition Small Batch for 2024 has finally been announced, and we were able to get a first taste of it. For this year’s release, Master Distiller Brent Elliott opted to blend three of Four Roses’ ten bourbon recipes with a 12-year-old OBSV, 15-year-old OESK, 16-year-old OESF, and more OBSV, this time at 20 years old, to create the final product.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is initially floral with ripe apples, butterscotch, and butter pecan ice cream. Faint bits of dark chocolate, star anise, and tobacco leaf help to round out the beautiful bouquet of aromas.
Palate: The butterscotch and apple note really pops on the palate off the bat. The whiskey is well-rounded with a mellow black pepper baking spice tone to go with a more pronounced helping of cinnamon bark, pecans, and brown sugar. The range of flavors reminds me a lot of fried apple pie with a splash of citrus zest. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied and enhances the depth of the flavors without becoming an attraction unto itself.
Finish: The finish has a mature oak backbone with the additional flavor of caramel chews and Fuji apple skin. It’s medium-length, but that brevity really works, urging your focus on the next sip rather than your last.
Bottom Line:
Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch is annually considered one of the stars of the fall-release schedule and its consistently high quality is indicative of why. While last year’s release soared to incredible heights, this year’s expression seems equally eager to touch the sky, claiming the number 4 spot on our list.
Heaven Hill’s Old Fitzgerald Decanter Series comes in one of the most beautiful bottles in the bourbon world, but don’t sleep on the liquid inside. These expressions, which are typically released twice a year, also occasionally feature distillery-exclusive versions sporting a red label. One such expression is this year’s 13-Year VVS edition, which is comprised of bourbon that was distilled in 1999, tanked in 2012, and then held until bottling earlier this year.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The aroma of milk chocolate, bright red cherries, and melted vanilla ice cream exit the bottle and hit the glass in full force. Juicy orange notes, sweet oak, and cinnamon bark emerge after a few waves of the hand, and yet the aromas still aren’t done revealing themselves. Sit back and marvel as this is a multilayered and incredibly rich nosing experience to be appreciated at length.
Palate: A whisper of ripe orange, bright red cherries, and vanilla ice cream welcome your palate to the party. Courtesy of this whiskey’s impressive depth of flavor and silky texture, it quickly finds every crevice in the mouth to coat. Milk chocolate and well-aged oak pool at the roof of the mouth, allowing the more expressive notes of honey and red berries to claim the tongue and live long, healthy lives.
Finish: The finish is medium to long and remarkably rich, with the heaviness of the whiskey gently relieving itself from your palate while a touch of leather and black pepper adds one final layer to this whiskey’s impressive depth.
Bottom Line:
It wasn’t that long ago that we crowned Old Fitzgerald 13-Year VVS the best bourbon in Heaven Hill’s entire portfolio, so it comes as no surprise that it places this highly in our best-of-the-best list. Sure, it checks every box, and it truly does have an exceptional flavor profile, but what’s most impressive about Old Fitzgerald 13-Year is how well-rounded it is. No matter what your favorite aspect of bourbon is, this is one that forces you to tip your hat.
While Rare Character has made a name for itself for bottling some of the preeminent single-barrel bourbons on the market today, none of them stand on par with their singularly elusive Obliteration. For what was at the time the brand’s oldest and highest-proof whiskey, this 14-year-old hazmat unicorn was released via an online lottery from a barrel that only yielded 36 bottles.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Get ready for the proofiest Proustian moment ever, as cherry fruit leather smacks you in the face before the aroma of dates, brown sugar, and orange rind rip you back into the present. There’s well-aged leather accenting the air as well, and surprisingly, the heat isn’t readily evident from the nose. That probably has something to do with the lush caramel, mature oak, and restrained black pepper spice, keeping flavor at the fore and the ethanol at bay.
Palate: Vanilla ice cream coats the tongue before cherry fruit leather, mature leather, and caramel tones come marching with gusto across the palate. The flavors of black pepper and savory pie crust take root toward the back of the tongue as the heat begins to creep up the roof of the mouth. There’s a gently pulsing heat left behind after the first sip that’s eminently enjoyable. This bourbon is unbelievably full of flavor, and the ethanol flash-burn serves to deepen the richness.
Finish: The flavor of charred green pepper and grilled pineapple begins the transition into the finish, which is incredibly long-lasting, with black cherry, barrel char, peanut brittle, and gooey caramel closing the show.
Bottom Line:
Rare Character Obliteration was immediately heralded among the few who have tried it as an exceptional bourbon, and after tasting it in this lineup alongside some of the best bourbons in the world, I’m pleased to report that it definitely lives up to that billing.
Russell’s Reserve 15 is Wild Turkey’s latest age-stated release, and boy, has it been met with enthusiasm. The brand’s digital launch caused its website to crash both days it made the expression available online. This expression is non-chill filtered, and given their track record, one can safely assume there’s bourbon even older than 15 years in this blend.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Syrupy fig, mature oak tones, and rich leather fill the room once you pour this whiskey, and they’re joined by medicinal cherry notes and milk chocolate. There’s no mistaking the fact that this is a bourbon of a certain age. With further investigation, your nose will bump up against clove and cinnamon as the aroma of vanilla pod takes root. Finally, a faintly floral note reminiscent of rosewater can be found.
Palate: Black cherries covered in chocolate truffle dust hit the palate at first; this is distinctly different than, say, cherry cordials as there’s a ripeness to the fruit and an almost chalky textural component to the chocolate. On the second sip, observe nougat, caramel, vanilla, and rich oak. While the nose gave the impression that this would be over-oaked, the palate greatly alleviates those concerns as each of the hallmarks of hyper-aging has its say without muddling any of the others.
Finish: Lengthy, balanced, and delicious, the finish is marked by black cherries, clove, and cacao nibs as it grips your palate for dear life, refusing to dissipate until minutes after the last sip.
Bottom Line:
Russell’s 15-Year Bourbon is truly a world beater. When it was initially released, expectations for this bottle were sky-high, and our impression of it has remained there throughout the year. Sure, Russell’s Reserve 15-Year is one of the best bourbons available today, but taking the superlatives a step higher, this might go down in the pantheon as one of the best bourbons in the Wild Turkey brand’s 81entire history.
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.
