Fortnite goes hard when it comes to getting the music world involved in their goings-on. This year, they’ve teamed up with stars like Sabrina Carpenter, Bruno Mars, and Gorillaz. Now, we can add Daft Punk to the list.
It was announced today (September 22) that the defunct electronic duo will be honored with the “Daft Punk Experience” in Fortnite A press release calls it “the biggest musical experience in Fortnite‘s history.”
The experience is set to have a grand opening on September 27 at 2 p.m. ET, preceded by the pre-event lobby opening at 1:30 p.m. ET. It’s described as “a fully interactive playground that includes multiple rooms with different ways to experience Daft Punk’s music,” including 31 songs from the group’s discography. The festivities kick off with a supercut from Daft Punk’s Alive tour and the Alive 2007 album.
It’s further described:
“Remix Daft Punk’s previously released music and create mashups of Daft Punk’s songs within Fortnite at Dream Chamber Studios, blast hordes of robots with a soundwave laser in the Robot Rock Arena, make a LEGO® music video at Around the World, or hit the Daft Club to dance ’til dawn. You’ll also find furniture from longtime Daft Punk collaborators Hervet Manufacturier throughout the experience.”
The Fortnite Shop will also have a new Daft Punk bundle available starting September 25 at 8 p.m. ET. Accessories include “the signature GM08 helmet, outfit, and accessories (both in Fortnite and LEGO styles); TB3 helmet, outfit, and accessories (both in Fortnite and LEGO styles); along with instruments and a “Get Lucky (feat. Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers)” Jam Track.”
On top of all that, there will also be an afterparty and details about that will be revealed later.
Check out images of the virtual venue and what will be available in the Shop below.
As an Amazon Music spokesperson tells Uproxx, the September 20 livestream was the most-watched single-artist performance on Amazon Music to date.
The performance was the finale of Bunny’s residency at Puerto Rico’s José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum. The show, which included 43 songs, featured a number of surprise guests, including Miky Woodz, Tommy Torres, Jowell & Randy, Ñengo Flow, De La Ghetto, Rainao, Arcángel, and Marc Anthony.
Check out the setlist (via setlist.fm) below, along with some photos from the event.
Bad Bunny’s No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí: Una Más Setlist
1. “ALAMBRE PúA”
2. “KETU TeCRÉ”
3. “EL CLúB”
4. “La Santa” (Bomba version)
5. “PIToRRO DE COCO”
6. “El Apagón”
7. “WELTiTA” (with Chuwi)
8. “KLOuFRENS”
9. “BOKeTE”
10. “Si Estuviésemos Juntos”
11. “Solo de mí”
12. “Ni bien ni mal”
13. “Vete”
14. “TURiSTA”
15. “NUEVAYoL”
16. “Tití me preguntó”
17. “PERFuMITO NUEVO” (with RaiNao)
18. “Neverita”
19. “Si veo a tu mamá” (House version)
20. “La romana” (House version)
21. “VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR”
22. “Me porto bonito”
23. “No me conoce” (Jhayco cover)
24. “Bichiyal”
25. “Yo Perreo Sola”
26. “Efecto”
27. “VeLDÁ” (with Dei V)
28. “Safaera” (with Bad Bunny, Jowell & Randy & Ñengo Flow)
29. “El funeral de la canoa” (Jowell & Randy cover, with Jowell & Randy)
30. “Hey Mister” (Jowell & Randy cover, with Jowell & Randy)
31. “Guayeteo” (Jowell & Randy cover, with Jowell & Randy)
32. “Salgo Pa’ la Calle” (Daddy Yankee Feat. Randy cover, with Jowell & Randy)
33. “Siente el boom” (Tito “El Bambino” Feat. Randy cover, with Jowell & Randy)
34. “EoO”
35. “ACHO PR” (with Bad Bunny, Arcángel, De La Ghetto & Ñengo Flow)
36. “CAFé CON RON” (with Los Pleneros de la Cresta)
37. “Ábreme paso” (Los Pleneros de la Cresta cover)
38. “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii”
39. “Callaíta” (Salsa version)
40. “BAILE INoLVIDABLE”
41. “Preciosa” (Rafael Hernández Marín cover, with Marc Anthony)
42. “DtMF”
43. “LA MuDANZA”
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When you’ve held onto the follow-up to a beloved debut album like Invasion Of Privacy as long as Cardi B has, the pressure to deliver can not only be overwhelming, it can be debilitating — understandably so. The hype train has no brakes: It simply picks up speed until it hits terminal velocity, but if you ride it out too long, it loses momentum and stalls out permanently.
So, your options become one of three: Either you deliver, which is often the most difficult outcome to achieve, roughly akin to throwing a dart at a bullseye from 30,000 feet at 500 MPH. In this metaphor, the jetliner you’re throwing from also somehow doesn’t depressurize and throw you screaming into the void. Then, there’s failure. I don’t think we have to explain the dreaded “sophomore slump.”
The third option, and the one that’s seemed to become the most popular in recent years, is the swerve. You know your long-awaited assumed opus can never live up to its predecessor, so you juke expectations and drop a left-field project no one could possibly expect. This is what Kendrick Lamar did with his 2015 jazz-rap classic To Pimp A Butterfly, which is well-regarded now, but left fans desperate for Good Kid part deux scratching their heads. That same year, Kendrick’s mentor, Dr. Dre, finally abandoned the insanely anticipated Detox for Compton, a decidedly less ambitious project that nonetheless fed fans’ hunger for high-concept gangsta rap (and made Anderson .Paak a star in the process).
Of course, Cardi B, being Cardi B, went ahead and invented another option: On Am I The Drama?, her sophomore album six-plus years in the making, she over-delivers, for better or worse, in more ways than one.
Starting on the surface level, Am I The Drama? contains 21 all-new songs, in addition to megahits “Up” and “WAP,” bringing in a tracklist of 23 songs — an increase of a full LP’s worth of tracks over Invasion Of Privacy. No one can say she hasn’t been busy in the seven years since 2018. Those 20-plus songs run the full gamut of what we’ve come to expect from Cardi since: boisterous club songs, vulnerable love songs, antagonistic battle rap, and nods to New York’s vibrant Hispanic subculture.
She also holds nothing back; She dedicates no fewer than three tracks to addressing her extremely public and fraught breakup with ex-husband, Offset. In “Man Of Your Word,” Cardi leaves little doubt, snarling, “I held back for you, was really biting my tongue / Should’ve fell back from you, instead, I gave you a son.” The regrets continue on “What’s Goin’ On?,” where Cardi autopsies the relationship for its cause of death: “You wrote down some beautiful vows / Gave my first beautiful child / Told me you was quiet for all of these hoes / Come to find out you the one loud.”
“Shower Tears” details the aftermath, as Cardi negotiates with herself through the “getting over it” phase of the breakup. “I’m on the edge, this the last straw, you got me fed,” she muses. “I have to question this again, then this sh*t is dead.” This is the raw, unflinching honesty that has so endeared her to the listening public. It’s also overkill; Invasion Of Privacy hit similar notes more efficiently. Yes, relationship drama is messy, and clearly, this was the biggest thing on Cardi’s mind as she finished up this album, but the sprawl takes away some of the urgency of her confessional, and we really didn’t need Lizzo’s 4 Non Blondes impression. 33 years later, “What’ Up” still grates.
Fortunately, from there, Cardi gets back on her bullsh*t, and shows she’s willing to try new things. While “Outside” is a fairly standard Cardi trap track, “Pretty & Petty” steps out of Cardi’s comfort zone for what is ostensibly a BIA diss track, but is secretly the result of so much of the New Yorker’s recent time spent in LA. That Cardi’s first-ever West Coast club anthem doubles as a scathing dressing-down of one of her dwindling number of semi-worthy foes (at least until you-know-who decides to step back in the ring instead of sending proxies) is a testament to Cardi’s growing prowess as a songwriter and sound scout. I would love to see her continue to branch out.
I would also love, as I wrote in my review of Invasion Of Privacy, to see her excavate Latin American sounds and standards, because that’s where her best material resides. In 2018, it was the boogaloo-sampling “I Like It”; Here, it’s the bachata banger “Bodega Baddie,” which blasts through like a clarion call for any Spanish speakers in earshot to sashay their way to the nearest dance floor and hit those steps. It’s also all too short: We need a ten-minute remix with Romeo Santos and Luis Vargas, stat.
Cardi hits another half-dozen stops on her rap subgenre world tour, including airy soul-sampling trunk thump on “Better Than You” (think Curren$y and Wiz Khalifa’s “The Check Point” from How Fly), Memphis goth trap on “Errtime” (anything Three 6 Mafia), even classic New York boom-bap on “Imaginary Playerz.” But there’s the sense here that despite showing off so many facets, she could have maybe held some of these tracks back, as plenty of them end up saying the same things as the others, just in a different font. We love a versatile queen, but the back half drags in an effort to prove facts no serious music listener ever doubted.
These are minor quibbles, though. If the album’s a hair overlong, it’s only because Cardi is making up for the wait and indulging the impulse to show off as much of the work as possible. This is far more forgivable than it would be for someone like, say, Drake, who refuses to let 12 months pass without inflicting his presence on the pop music world, or the fleet of SoundCloud rappers who never really had anything to say in the first place. Cardi is not only the drama, she’s a one-of-a-kind, once-in-a-generation artist who can get away with a lot. She’s not only paid off fans’ patience but earned herself a lot of leeway for the next one.
Am I The Drama? is out now via Atlantic Records. Find more information here.
The 2026 Coachella headliners were revealed last week: Sabrina Carpenter, Karol G, and Justin Bieber. The festival, of course, is only next year, but Bieber is scoping the place out early in his new “Speed Demon” video.
The black-and-white clip was shared today (September 22) and it’s a lo-fi production, much like other Swag and Swag II visuals Bieber has shared. In this one, he roams around the empty festival grounds (the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California) as he dances and sings along with the song. The video was shot and edited by Rory Kramer, known for his work with artists like Chainsmokers and Shawn Mendes.
Watch the “Speed Demon” video above and find the Swag II cover art and tracklist below.
Justin Bieber’s Swag II Album Cover Artwork
Def Jam/ILH
Justin Bieber’s Swag II Tracklist
1. “Speed Demon”
2. “Better Man”
3. “Love Song”
4. “I Do”
5. “I Think You’re Special” with Tems
6. “Mother In You”
7. “Witchya”
8. “Eye Candy”
9. “Don’t Wanna” with Bakar
10. “Bad Honey”
11. “Need It”
12. “Oh Man”
13. “Poppin’ My Shit” with Hurricane Chris
14. “All The Way”
15. “Petting Zoo”
16. “Moving Fast”
17. “Safe Space” with Lil B
18. “Lyin’”
19. “Dotted Line”
20. “Open Up Your Heart” with Eddie Benjamin
21. “When It’s Over”
22. “Everything Hallelujah”
23. “Story Of God
Swag II is out now via Def Jam/ILH. Find more information here.
The shows will hit multiple continents from January to October. The US stretch of the tour runs from August to October, stopping in New York, Nashville, DC, Detroit, Minneapolis, Denver, San Diego, Phoenix, San Antonio, and three nights at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The US shows will have support from Franz Ferdinand, Pierce The Veil, Modest Mouse, Iggy Pop, Sleater-Kinney, The Breeders, Babymetal, Jimmy Eat World, and The Mars Volta.
Tickets for all new dates (the US and European shows) go on sale on September 26 at noon local time. More information can be found on the band’s website.
Check out the tour dates below.
My Chemical Romance’s 2026 Tour Dates: The Black Parade 2026
01/22/2026 — Bogotá, Colombia @ Vive Claro
01/25/2026 — Lima, Peru @ Estadio Nacional
01/28/2026 — Santiago, Chile @ Estadio Bicentenario
01/29/2026 — Santiago, Chile @ Estadio Bicentenario
02/01/2026 — Buenos Aires, Argentina @ Estadio Huracán
02/05/2026 — São Paulo, Brazil @ Allianz Parque
02/06/2026 — São Paulo, Brazil @ Allianz Parque
02/13/2026 — Mexico City, Mexico @ Estadio GNP Seguros
02/14/2026 — Mexico City, Mexico @ Estadio GNP Seguros
04/18/2026 — Incheon, South Korea @ Paradise City Culture Park
04/22/2026 — Bangkok, Thailand @ Impact Challenger Hall
04/25/2026 — Bulacan, Philippines @ Philippine Arena
04/28/2026 — Singapore, Singapore @ Indoor Stadium
04/30/2026 — Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia @ National Stadium Bukit Jalil
05/03/2026 — Jakarta, Indonesia @ Hammersonic Festival
05/10/2026 — Daytona Beach, FL @ Welcome to Rockville
05/14/2026 — Columbus, OH @ Sonic Temple
06/30/2026 — Liverpool, UK @ Anfield Stadium
07/04/2026 — Glasgow, UK @ Bellahouston Park
07/08/2026 — London, UK @ Wembley Stadium
07/10/2026 — London, UK @ Wembley Stadium*
07/11/2026 — London, UK @ Wembley Stadium*
07/15/2026 — Florence, IT @ Visarno Arena
07/18/2026 — Madrid, ES @ Iberdrola Music
08/09/2026 — New York, NY @ Citi Field (with Franz Ferdinand)
08/13/2026 — Nashville, TN @ Nissan Stadium (with Pierce The Veil)
08/18/2026 — Washington, DC @ Nationals Park (with Modest Mouse)
08/21/2026 — Detroit, MI @ Comerica Park (with Iggy Pop)
08/24/2026 — Minneapolis, MN @ Target Field (with Sleater-Kinney)
08/27/2026 — Denver, CO @ Coors Field (with The Breeders)
08/30/2026 — San Diego, CA @ Petco Park (with Babymetal)
09/06/2026 — Phoenix, AZ @ Chase Field (with Jimmy Eat World)
09/12/2026 — San Antonio, TX @ Alamodome (with The Mars Volta)
09/18/2026 — Louisville, KY @ Louder Than Life
10/21/2026 — Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl
10/23/2026 — Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl
10/24/2026 — Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl
The latest Styles sighting was also at a marathon: This past weekend, he was in Germany to run the Berlin Marathon. As Billboard notes, he reportedly used the pseudonym Sted Sarandos and wore a headband and sunglasses. Styles’ presence was confirmed by Richard Whitehead, a two-time gold medal winner at the Paralympic Games, who shared a photo of himself with Styles.
As for Styles’ time, he had a big improvement over his Tokyo run. In Japan, he finished in three hours and 24 minutes, while in Germany, his time was two hours, 59 minutes, and 13 seconds, crossing the coveted three-hours barrier. That put his pace at about 6 minutes and 50 seconds per mile. For reference, according to Runner’s World, the average marathon time for a man as of this year is about 4 hours and 22 minutes. Styles’ Berlin time would have put him in roughly the top 15 percent of finishers at this year’s Boston Marathon.
Welcome to SNX DLX, your weekly roundup of the best sneakers to hit the internet. After two super-sized weeks, it’s nice to take a bit of a break with a short and sweet drop. The big brands must be giving our wallets a break — or they fear the rumored Travis Scott Jordan 1 drop absorbing all the attention from sneakerheads. Yup, we feel like that’s a lot more likely.
Outside of Travis Scott, we have some solid releases out of Adidas for you Spezial silhouette fans out there, and on Nike’s end, we have a Supreme link-up and a luchador-inspired Jordan drop. And that’s about it. But hey, if you’re a fan of the four different silhouettes dropping this week, this is looking like a pretty solid week. Let’s dive into the best sneakers you can buy right now.
What we love about the Adidas Role Special F.C. is how much it looks like the classic design we’ve come to expect from the brand, filtered through a more urban edge. If Adidas’ sneakers are for the pitch and tennis court, this iteration of the sneaker is built for traversing through the streets. It’s like an Adidas sneaker combined with a Timberland boot.
The sneaker features a leather upper with synthetic textile lining and a semi translucent outsole in a steely grey color with gold foil Adidas branding.
The Adidas Roelee SPZL F.C. is out now for a retail price of $130. Pick up a pair at Adidas.
If our last pick gave you pause because you’re an Adidas purist, let us direct you toward this Made in Germany rendition of the Handball Spezial. This sneaker sees the ‘70s classic getting the luxury treatment with a premium leather upper, a plush leather lining, and classic design details over a gum sole. It’s simply an elevated take on the Spezial — every super fan of this shoe would be well served by a pair.
The Adidas Handball Special Made in Germany is out now for a retail price of $200. Pick up a pair via the Adidas CONFIRMED app.
Supreme is playing things incredibly safe with its latest Nike link-up, but you know what? We’re not mad at it! This is simply a dope looking AF-1 available in two classic colorways (white and black or black and white) with Supreme box logo branding. The sneaker sports a full-grain leather upper, embroidered details, and debossed branding.
The Supreme/Nike Air Force 1 Low White/Black is out now for a retail price of $124. Pick up a pair at Supreme.
All signs point to a “surprise” release of this sneaker on Saturday morning. This sneaker is the second collaboration between Travis Scott, Fragment and Air Jordan and sports a tumbled leather upper in sail, the classic TS backwards Swoosh, and Fragments custom blue tones.
Expect to take the L on this one unless you’re a bot. But a general SNKRS release is rumored to follow, so fingers crossed you don’t have to spend a fortune to cop a pair of these.
The Fragment x Travis Scott x Air Jordan 1 Low is set to drop on September 20th for a retail price of $155. Pick up a pair at Travis Scott’s official website.
Air Jordan 3 Retro El Vuelo Summit White and Pine Green
Nike
Price: $230
A version of the Jordan 3 that honors Mexican lucha libre wrestlers? Sure, why not! It’s hard to complain when the sneaker looks this dope. Draped in the colors of the Mexican flag, this sneaker features a leather upper with textured overlays inspired by lucha libre design details and gold hardware for a slight luxury look.
The Air Jordan 3 Retro El Vuelo Summit White and Pine Green is set to drop on September 20th at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $230. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.
Doja Cat’s fourth studio album, Vie, is now just a week away from release. Doja’s gone all-in on the ’80s motif during the , with the multi-talented star sharing its release date with a French-speaking video clip, dropping an ’80s pop-inspired single, “Jealous Type,” and doubling down on the ’80s nostalgia with her MTV Video Music Awards performance. Even the deluxe edition announcement saw Doja nod to pop culture of the era, donning a Max Headroom-inspired persona.
Today, she shared the album’s tracklist, along with a snippet of “Gorgeous,” which will presumably be the next single. She posted the clip — which leaned even more into the New Wave aesthetic, referencing artwork specific to the time period — to Instagram. The clip even has a little VHS/CRT filter, giving it some authenticity in that respect.
Back in July, Doja tipped fans to the sound of the new album in an interview with V Magazine, saying, “I do want to be self-aware enough to admit the fact that this is a pop-driven project. I know that I can make pop music, and pop is just that it’s popular. It starts to become a bit of a thing that’s viewed as a sport by people who are just bystanders to it, who enjoy it, but maybe also don’t respect it or what it is, which is just music … They see it as if this is some kind of football for girls and gays.”
She’s not interested in competing, just in being herself, and judging from the stuff she’s put out so far, there won’t be much like her latest this year — and that’s just how she likes it. You can check out Vie the tracklist below.
Outside of The Who, Pete Townshend’s biggest musical success is the 1980 single “Let My Love Open The Door,” which was his sole top-10 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. (That actually matches The Who’s career total of top-ten songs with one, as 1967’s “I Can See For Miles” was the band’s high point with its No. 9 peak.)
Now, Mitski has brought the song to present day: The soundtrack of the movie A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is out today (September 19) and it features Mitski’s cover of the song. In contrast to the upbeat original, Mitski’s recording is just her voice and piano, stripping the song back and slowing it down.
Shortly after the song’s release, Townshend told Rolling Stone it was “just a ditty” but later said in 1996, “It’s supposed to be about the power of God’s love. That when you’re in difficulty, whether it’s major or minor, God’s love is always there for you.” That was the year Townshend released the slower “E. Cola Mix” version of the song, which was used in many movies.
As for A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, the logline reads, “Some doors bring you to your past. Some doors lead you to your future. And some doors change everything. Sarah (Margot Robbie) and David (Colin Farrell) are single strangers who meet at a mutual friend’s wedding and soon, through a surprising twist of fate, find themselves on A Big Bold Beautiful Journey — a funny, fantastical, sweeping adventure together where they get to re-live important moments from their respective pasts, illuminating how they got to where they are in the present…and possibly getting a chance to alter their futures.”
Listen to Mitski’s cover of “Let My Love Open The Door” above.
The Kentucky Bourbon Festival just wrapped for 2025, and for those that don’t know, it’s basically the Super Bowl of bourbon.
Each year in Bardstown, Kentucky, thousands of people descend on the festival grounds to enjoy expert panel discussions, plenty of fun games, and, of course, the absolute best bourbons. As UPROXX’s head whiskey writer, I’ve been attending the festival for years and have previously had the pleasure of speaking on the main stage, but this year I wanted to be among the people and experience the festivities like all of the other festival-goers (although I did retreat to the air conditioning in the media tent a time or two).
After having that on-the-ground experience, I’m ready to share with you the best booths at this year’s festival, as well as some of the standout pours that I enjoyed along the way.
So, let’s dive right in. These were the best booths (and pours) at this year’s Kentucky Bourbon Festival!
The Best Non-Distilling Producer Booth: Dark Arts Whiskey House
The Booth:
Dark Arts Whiskey House, located in Lexington, Kentucky, was holding down a mini but mighty booth tucked in the back corner of the festival’s craft village. Its out-of-the-way location was perfect, because for seemingly the entire festival, there was an extensive line of people waiting to try its products. The brand had one of its founders, Macaulay Minton, on hand to greet patrons along with a fleet of team members like Kymi Douglas and Sara Ahlgrim, formerly of the popular YouTube channel It’s Bourbon Night, who now serves as a “Spirit Guide” for the brand.
The Best Whiskey: Dark Arts 16-Year “K.B.F. Buff-Turkey Cuvée Blend” Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
This 16-Year “KBF Buff-Turkey Cuvée Blend” from Dark Arts wasn’t just the best whiskey at the booth, but it was easily the talk of the craft village, and the bottle most responsible for the brand’s long lines. Crafted from 7 barrels of “Buff-Turkey” juice, this expression was explicitly created for the thirsty attendees of Kentucky Bourbon Festival 2025.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a lovely dose of crème brûlée, brown butter, and stewed plums before deferring to the more classic bourbon notes of vanilla pods, oak, and the standard caramel aroma. As it sits in the glass, this one becomes a bit fuller, with notes of figgy pudding, cinnamon bark, and faint black peppercorn accents.
Palate: The palate on this whiskey is somehow richer than its decadent nose, with an oily and mouth-coating texture that slips over your tongue like a velour suit. The nosing notes spring to life, with brown butter, rich vanilla, and decadent caramel flavors forming the base as faint whisps of mocha and mature oak undulate gently in the background, giving each sip a ton of depth.
Finish: The finish on this whiskey is sweet and lengthy, with the creme brulee notes making the most extensive impression, while a bit of sandalwood, black pepper, caramel, and even some stewed red apple notes can be found after lip-smacking a bit.
Bottom Line:
Anyone familiar with KBF will note that there are typically extensive lines at legacy booths as attendees are often rewarded with the opportunity to buy some of their most limited offerings. Well, this year’s Dark Arts booth rivaled them all with equally extensive lines and a bottle that arguably outperforms some of the most notable allocated releases of the year. This one was definitely a can’t-miss.
The Best Craft Whiskey Brand Booth: Potter Jane Distilling Company
The Booth
The Potter Jane Distilling Company booth was loaded with representatives from the brand. Both of its namesakes, Denny Potter and Jane Bowie, were present to greet attendees and talk about their fledgling distillery. While they’ve only been up and running for a little over a year, they brought with them some new make as well as some newly aged distillate, part of a batch of barrels that the brand intends to set aside for future KBFs to show festival-goers in real-time how their whiskey is progressing.
The Best Whiskey: Potter Jane High-Rye “Western Facing” New Make
Frank Dobbins III
ABV: Cask strength Average Price: Not for sale
The Whiskey:
While this isn’t a “finished product” that will see store shelves, it was a fascinating look into the future of Potter Jane Distilling Company. The brand was born from the minds of two industry legends, who worked alongside one another at Maker’s Mark before deciding to leave a mark of their own by making whiskey entirely in their own image. As veterans of wheated bourbon production, what I found most fascinating was the impressive quality of their bourbon, which featured rye as a secondary grain. Notably, it had a fruit-forward and complex aroma base, resulting in a bounty of both qualities on the palate.
It may not be ready for the main stage just yet, but for those who had the pleasure of tasting its liquid this year and are looking to attend the festival in 2026, seeing the progress a year can make at the Potter Jane booth will surely prove to be insightful.
The Best Established Whiskey Brand Booth: Bardstown Bourbon Company
The Booth:
The Bardstown Bourbon Company booth had one distinct advantage over most others: the number of brands on offer. Despite having an incredible lineup of its own whiskey, Bardstown Bourbon Company is also a highly regarded producer of other upstart brands via its contract distilling and sourced whiskey business. Not only was the distillery rolling out several new expressions for attendees to try, including its Hokkaido Mizunara Oak Barrel Finish, Discovery Series 13 bourbon, and latest Collaborative Series release with Maison Ferrand, but BBCo. clients like Blue Run and Forbidden Bourbon were also prominently featured, making it a can’t-miss destination throughout the weekend.
The Best Whiskey: Bardstown Bourbon Company Discovery Series 13
Bardstown Bourbon Company
I had the opportunity to sit down with Bardstown Bourbon Company’s Master Blender and VP of Product Development, Dan Calloway, in the media tent during the festival. He was kind enough to share the latest Discovery Series bourbon with me while discussing his thoughts behind the product. In short, he’s been waiting patiently to try his hand at double-barreling, and with this project now out in the world, he anticipates that future iterations of the Discovery Series will also feature the technique.
This 100% Kentucky bourbon was a perfect fit for the festival and features bourbon aged up to 15 years that was double-barreled in American and Hungarian oak casks before being bottled at 110.8 proof.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Layers of caramel, vanilla, dried strawberries, and faint mocha notes are blended well with the aroma of torched orange peels, hazelnut spread, white pepper, and clove on the nose. It has a slightly darker and nuttier spiced aroma than recent editions in the lineup, which is definitely intriguing and likely due to its double barreling process.
Palate: On the palate, the influence of Hungarian oak is evident but delightfully restrained, as those hazelnut spread and clove notes form the base of the flavor profile. Meanwhile, classic bourbon notes of caramel, vanilla, and black pepper are well-represented along the edges of the tongue.
Finish: The medium-length finish is where the finishing cask leaves its final impression as notes of coconut flakes, cloves, and hazelnut spread brush up against a slightly drying oaky, lactone flavor.
Bottom Line:
The Bardstown Bourbon Company tent was loaded with hits, with single barrels from Forbidden Bourbon and Blue Run’s latest whiskey releases standing out. That said, it was the assortment from Bardstown Bourbon Company’s prestige Discovery and Collaborative Series lineups that took the cake, with the newest Discovery Series expression edging out the rest to claim my top spot under the tent.
The Best Legacy Distillery Booth: The James B. Beam Distillery
The Booth:
The Jim Beam booth had just as many dazzling new releases to show off as any other booth, with a new Hardin’s Creek, the return of its celebrated “Bowling Pin” bottle, and the crown jewel: Knob Creek 21 on offer. While the bottles of Knob Creek 21 sold quickly and resulted in one of the longest lines at the festival, the brand had a much deeper stock of the “Beam Bowling Pin” bourbon, which kept fans of the brand circling its tent for all three days.
The Best Whiskey: Knob Creek 21-Year Bourbon
Jim Beam
Is this really a surprise? I was part of a small group of journalists who got to try this product when it was still in the development stage a few months ago, and it’s only gotten richer and more robust since then. Surprisingly, this product clears the bell curve of maturation and tastes significantly less oaky than its 18-year counterpart, with a juicier flavor profile and more lively texture to match.
Knob Creek 21 follows the same trajectory as other hyper-aged products in the lineup in that it’s proofed down to 50% ABV, but this one comes housed in a cool wooden case that holds the iconic Knob Creek bottle. Aged for 21 years, this is Kentucky Straight Bourbon pushed to its limits.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nosing notes of this mature bourbon open with Dates, brown sugar, and hazelnut spread. Fainter elements like light menthol and dill then begin to billow over the rim of the glass before a closing note of sweet oak sweeps through the air. In short, this is a lovely, self-assured aroma profile that keeps the unpleasant oaky notes at bay while reaping the benefits of its maturity in the form of dates, faint leather, and rich brown sugar.
Palate: Once in the mouth, the flavors of sweet leather and raisins wash over the tongue at first. There’s still some slight menthol found on the palate to go with a lot of vanilla extract, cinnamon bark, and cream soda. It’s surprisingly more vibrant and juicy than the 18-year Knob Creek, which has been on the market for several years.
Finish: The finish is impressively lengthy, with a hint of honeyed black tea, faintly floral notes, and crackles of black pepper and star anise to close things out.
Bottom Line:
Jim Beam is always a popular booth at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, but this year’s triptych of new releases ensured that fans kept coming back to taste (and re-taste) the latest from their favorite brand. Those who were lucky enough to try and/or buy the Knob Creek 21 were the real winners, but with a consolation prize as beautiful as the revived Bowling Pin bottle, there are certainly no losers to speak of.
The Best Rye Whiskey Booth: Angel’s Envy
The Booth
The Angel’s Envy booth was yet another one that was inundated with long lines, albeit with relatively short wait times, as fans queued to taste the brand’s new expressions. Those included two new Distillery Series releases: a peated cask-finished rye and a two-grain bourbon, along with a new batch of its cask-strength bottled-in-bond bourbon, which is now headed to national distribution channels, meaning fans across the country will be able to taste what was formerly a distillery-only release. The brand also rolled out other cask-strength goodies, and of course, its latest Cellar Collection release, an extra añejo tequila finished rye whiskey.
The Best Whiskey: Angel’s Envy Cellar Collection Vol. 5 Straight Rye Whiskey Finished In French Oak Extra-Añejo Tequila Barrels
Angel’s Envy’s latest release in its Cellar Collection really leans into a unique finishing cask for bourbon: Extra añejo tequila. The process begins with Angel’s Envy rye whiskey, which is aged for up to seven years before being finished for 12 months in French oak barrels that previously held Patron tequila. For what the brand calls “the final touch”, they blend that with an 11-year-old rye.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this whiskey is front-loaded with floral notes that aren’t immediately discernible as agave-adjacent, with white flowers and lilacs leading the bunch. Accents of vanilla, clove, butterscotch, and spearmint also make up the lovely bouquet of aromas.
Palate: In the mouth, the tequila influence is a bit more pronounced as herbal tea with a drop of honey, allspice, and agave syrup notes blend well with butterscotch, brown sugar, cedar, tobacco leaves, and green apples. The texture is fairly dense and juicy, and that helps as it transitions to the finish.
Finish: The finish is lingering and full of orange blossom honey, touches of spearmint, black pepper, and vanilla. Green apple skin and cereal notes help draw the entire affair to a close. Bottom Line:
Not only was the Angel’s Envy booth loaded with excellent ryes, but they also brought a wide selection of exceptional bourbon to satisfy the festival’s attendees and appeal to a diverse crowd in a way that few booths did. As a result, Angel’s Envy undoubtedly had the best and most interesting rye offerings at the festival, rewarding curious attendees with a pair of releases that are almost without precedent in the American whiskey world.
The Best Overall Booth: Preservation Distillery
The Booth
Preservation Distillery’s booth was devoid of fair games, loudspeakers, or any other bells and whistles. What it did have, however, was the best bourbon at the entire festival. Not only were VIPs treated to pours of the brand’s new Very Olde St. Nick 20-Year Bourbon, which is already in the hunt as one of our bourbons of the year, but additionally, they debuted another three releases that really knocked my socks off: Very Olde St. Nick 18-Year Bourbon, Very Olde St. Nick Super Freak Bourbon, and the pièce de résistance: Very Olde St. Nick 17-Year “True Religion” Bourbon.
The Best Bourbon At The Kentucky Bourbon Festival: Preservation Distillery Very Olde St. Nick 17-Year True Religion Bourbon
Very Olde St. Nick 17-Year “True Religion” Bourbon came as a bit of a surprise (Preservation Distillery typically eschews typical marketing for a more direct-to-consumer, grassroots feel) when it was initially announced on the brand’s social media channels. Still, given its packaging, folks quickly realized this was the spiritual successor to its previous triplet of 17-year releases: Unicorn Cask, The OG, and Lost Barrel. Those releases are purported, but not confirmed, to be from the shuttered Stitzel-Weller distillery and had been resting in steel tanks until their release. My palate would agree with that assertion, and I’d say the same of this newest release, True Religion.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this whiskey is remarkably dense and multi-layered with salted toffee, candied walnuts, black cherry, and brown sugar all folded into the aroma of mature oak, sweet leather, cinnamon bark, and baked apples. It’s an aroma profile that plays all the hits of classic bourbon with a richness that elevates it into rare air.
Palate: On the palate, this whiskey rumbles to life with all of the aforementioned nosing notes. Salted toffee and candied walnuts lead the way, but that then morphs into flavors like peanut brittle, caramel corn, stewed peaches, and sweet leather. It has a silky mouthfeel that helps each tightly-wound layer of flavor to coat your tongue, which is a huge win.
Finish: Thanks to that oily texture, this whiskey has an impressively long finish that seems to go on for minutes as the flavors of vanilla ice cream, gooey caramel, white pepper, and stewed peaches linger on the tongue long after the final sip.
Bottom Line:
Full disclosure: I didn’t taste every single bourbon at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival (it’s a bit of a tall order), but after spending 3 days at the festival grounds, fielding suggestions from attendees far and wide, and doing a ton of my own research, I feel confident in crowning Very Olde St. Nick 17-Year True Religion Bourbon as the best bourbon at KBF this year.
That is, perhaps, with one exception. Having previously tried the brand’s 20-Year Very Olde St. Nick, I opted not to taste it at the festival so that more people could try it and to maintain suspense for our “Best Bourbon Of 2025” list. That may yet prove to be the best bourbon of the year, but having opted out of that one, I’m happy to call Preservation Distillery’s True Religion the best bourbon at the 2025 Kentucky Bourbon Festival.
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