There’s probably no album cover more iconic than The Beatles’ Abbey Road. The photo of the four men striding across the crosswalk is one of the most well-known images in music, and it’s prompted many spoofs.
Paul McCartney’s daughter Mary is sharing a funny story about the crossing. It occurred when she was filming If These Walls Could Sing, a documentary about Abbey Road Studios. They were trying to recreate the stroll when he was almost hit by a car. “The bit where the car nearly ran him over on the zebra crossing, that was so funny,” she told S Magazine. “As we were leaving [the studio], I said, ‘I’ll film you [on the crossing],’ and he went over, and this car totally didn’t stop for him.”
A couple of months ago, McCartney discussed getting emotional at concerts he attends. “Of course, up on stage, I can’t really see people’s reactions, but I love to hear them because I’ve found myself doing that at concerts,” he said. “I went to see James Taylor once and started blubbing because it was just so lovely! I was thinking, ‘Oh, I love this guy’ — I’m getting emotional even now!”
Argentina made history at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, leading to momentous celebrations upon their return to their home fans. Apparently, the only thing missing from this significant sports moment was rap music legend, Eminem. While Nicki Minaj, Maluma, and Myriam teamed up for the official FIFA fan festival anthem, attendees, according to 50 Cent (real name Curtis Jackson), could have been treated to an in-person performance from the Detroit native.
During his visit to REAL 92.3 FM’s show Big Boy’s Neighborhood, the mogul revealed Eminem turned down the opportunity to perform at the FIFA World Cup.
“I got an inquiry about World Cup, and they had a budget of $9 million. I would’ve taken one, and then the other eight would have been for him.” However, it was quickly shot down after sharing the proposal with Eminem’s manager Paul Rosenberg.
“[Paul] like, he’s not gonna do it.” While Jackson has discussed on multiple occasions how he’s walked away from lucrative deals, including a $1.3 million offer from Universal Music Group, he was shocked to hear Eminem’s decision considering he has performed at the Super Bowl with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, and 50 Cent.
Jackson mentioned their Superbowl performance and said, “If you would do a one-off show, maybe you would do the biggest live sporting event in the world,” said Jackson referring to the World Cup.
Although Jackson doesn’t explicitly mention which year his mentor was asked to perform at the sporting competition, the rumor about the league having a hard time booking talent for last year’s series in Qatar may have some truth to it overall.
During the same interview, Jackson shared that he is currently working on a television series honoring Eminem’s life and legacy, “I wanna bring… I’m gonna bring 8 Mile to television,” said Jackson, “We in motion. It’s gonna be big. I’m working. I ain’t got no duds.”
The film version of Grease has been a teen staple for some 45 years, but like most older films, it has elements that wouldn’t fly today. Teenage smoking is among the least of its worries. When Paramount+ drops the prequel series Rise of the Pink Ladies, it sounds like it will be more progressive than the original, despite taking place four years prior.
As per The Wrap, creator and showrunner Annabel Oakes talked about her prequel at a panel discussion at the 2023 Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour. She even addressed critiques of the original film, which has been called out in recent years for misogyny, racism, even glorifying rape culture.
“We love Grease. We refer to it as the mothership, and we always go back to it,” Oakes said. “It was made in a time, and it was commenting on another. So, Grease was the ‘70s commenting on the ‘50s. They were telling really subversive, funny songs and stories about the ‘50s from the ‘70s point of view. Now we’re in the 2020s and we get to comment on what they said in the ‘70s and the ‘50s, which is a cool experience.”
Oakes also admitted that some lyrics are “problematic,” which she and her team will address on their forthcoming show. “You’ll see us start to reference … to try to open up the world of Grease and the lens of Grease through taking a deeper look at those and getting other people’s perspectives,” she said.
Will Rise of the Pink Ladies go as far into progressiveness as Amazon’s recent League of Their Own revival, which included a more diverse cast of characters? You can find out when the show bows on April 6.
Nicolas Cage is one of our most adventurous actors, unafraid to look silly, game to try any accent, willing to do any genre. But he’s drawing the line at one of the most iconic franchises: You won’t be seeing him pop up in the Star Wars-verse any time soon.
Nicolas Cage does not want to be in The Mandalorian or the Star Wars universe (sorry, Pedro Pascal).
“I’m a Trekkie. That’s where I roll… I’m not in the Star Wars family. I’m in the Star Trek family.” pic.twitter.com/958e7picw4
In a chat with Yahoo! Entertainment’s Kevin Polowy, the Oscar-winner and future Count Dracula was asked if he would like to join Pedro Pascal, his Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent co-star, on one of Pascal’s big shows, The Mandalorian. His answer was blunt.
“No is the answer, and I’m… not really down,” Cage replied. “I’m a Trekkie, man. I’m on the Star Trek, I’m on the Enterprise. That’s where I roll.”
It’s true, Cage has spent his long career avoiding Star Wars, despite his uncle, Francis Ford Coppola, being close buds with its creator, George Lucas. But he’s also eluded Star Trek. Perhaps that should be corrected. Make him some flamboyant Klingon baddie, or any of the many other alien races depicted in the franchise. Or, hell, do what he says and put him on the Enterprise as one of the good guys. You know he can do good guys, too.
Speaking of which, Cage also recently pitched a sequel to one of his finest movies, in which he gets to play good and bad: 1997’s action spectacular Face/Off, in which he and John Travolta literally swap faces. Whenever he’s done with that, someone finally get him on the Enterprise.
The most touching moment during Week 18 of the NFL season was after veteran Buffalo Bills wide receiver John Brown made a thrilling 42-yard diving catch for a touchdown. When he returned to the sidelines, he quietly gave the game ball to Bills assistant trainer Denny Kellington.
It was a gesture of thanks for Kellington’s quick thinking during the January 2 Monday night contest versus the Bengals when his actions helped save Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s life. Hamlin collapsed on the field after suffering cardiac arrest and needed immediate resuscitation and defibrillation. Kellington administered CPR on Hamlin before the defibrillator restored his pulse.
Kellington took immediate action administering CPR and it’s a major reason why Hamlin is still alive today. Dr. William Knight IV, who treated Hamlin at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. praised Kellington and the Bills training staff for their heroic actions.
“We cannot credit their team enough,” Knight said, noting that Hamlin needed “immediate bystander CPR, which … rarely ever happens.”
“There are injuries occasionally that happen on sports fields, be it in football or others, but it is incredibly rare to have something be this serious (and) that quickly recognized,” Knight said. “Meeting the standard of what we would expect in that scenario is what has allowed us to be able to discuss these good outcomes today.”
u201cJohn Brown gave his touchdown ball to Denny Kellington, the @BuffaloBills assistant athletic trainer, who administered CPR to Damar Hamlin. #ForDamaru201d
Bills head coach Sean McDermott also praised Kellington at a press conference.
“For an assistant to find himself at that position and needing to take the action that he did and step up and take charge like he did … is nothing short of amazing,” McDermott said. “The courage that took … talk about a real leader, a real hero, in saving Damar’s life, and I just admire his strength.”
u201c.@BuffaloBills HC Sean McDermott praises assistant athletic trainer Denny Kellington who provided immediate care to Damar Hamlin on the field.nn”You talk about a real leader, a real hero, in saving Damar’s life.” u2764ufe0fud83dudc99u201d
One week after his horrifying collapse, Hamlin was discharged from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center on Monday, January 9 to continue his recovery at a hospital in Buffalo, New York.
Some football fans on Twitter believe that Kellington should be given the NFL’s highest honor, an induction into the Hall of Fame for his heroics. The idea makes a lot of sense. It’s one thing to achieve greatness on the field or in the front office, but saving someone’s life puts Kellington on a whole new level of achievement.
Heroes do hero things, in hero moments.
Denny Kellington should go into the Hall Of Fame for his actions during that night.
Bills assistant athletic trainer Denny Kellington is a true hero in the NFL. His training, plus his team were instrumental in saving Mr. Hamlin life. A petition should be made for Mr. Kellington to enter the NFL Hall of Fame for saving his life. #hamlinstrong
Denny Kellington (bills trainer) deserves some big accolades. I do agree that maybe a hall of Fame recognition would be great. He really saved Damar’s life
Currently, there are 362 members of the NFL Hall of Fame which includes former players, coaches and front-office people, but a medical staffer has never been inducted. If the NFL acted fast, there’s still time for Kellington to be inducted in 2023.
Players usually have to wait a minimum of five years after retirement to be inducted into the Hall of Fame but there is no waiting period for those who have contributed to the league off the field.
The NFL should announce the latest list of people who will be enshrined in the coming days, leading up to an induction ceremony at Super Bowl 57. To honor Kellington shortly after his amazing act would be a wonderful display of respect by the NFL at a time when player health is top of mind for players and fans.
Kellington took immediate action to help save a player’s life. The least the NFL can do to repay him is to give him the honor he’s due without hesitation.
(SPOILERS for Invincible‘s first season will be found below.)
Season 2 of Amazon’s Invincible is receiving some teasing, and some of that information is coming from creator Robert Kirkman, whose comic books (as with The Walking Dead) serve as the backbone of the series. Before we discuss the upcoming season, though, let’s briefly refresh on where the series ended.
Omni-Man/Nolan Grayson (J.K. Simmons) is in the wind after beating the hell out of his son, Invincible/Mark Grayson (Stephen Yeun), who refused to help assimilate Earth as part of the Viltrum Empire. This bloody altercation arrived after Omni-Man had pulverized plenty of characters over the course of the season, and Mark was finding out exactly how evil dad is. This fateful scene ended with Omni-Man realizing that couldn’t kill his own son, and no one knows where Omni-Man went.
This includes his wife, Deborah Grayson (Sandra Oh), who realizes that she was a pawn, who was meant only to help him raise Mark to help take over Earth. Mark won’t play into that game, and now, we are left to wonder whether the show will adhere to Kirkman’s source material. In the comics, Omni-Man flees to Thraxa, and he imagines that he can easily take over that planet, but Earth is now in a shambles. If you are expecting to be able to depend on that result, though? Not so fast. Kirkman previously admitted (to ComicBook) that he grew “bored” with The Walking Dead comic while the show progressed, and he yearned for changes from the source material. So perhaps he also feels that way about Invincible. Here’s what Kirkman declared:
“[Invincible] sometimes adapts the comic book very closely, and sometimes it varies wildly… I think that some people think it’s a little bit closer to the comic than it actually is. Then at the same time, after years and years of working on The Walking Dead and being the guy in the room that’s like, ‘No, let’s change it. Let’s kill this character. Let’s do this,’ I was always pushing hard to change things as much as possible because I was bored with the source material because I was there for so long and additionally, The Walking Dead was something I was still actively doing [as a comic]. And so I was like, ‘Oh my God, can we please do something different?’”
That’s vague but perhaps deliciously so. And also via ComicBook, the show has started to drop Season 2 hints on Twitter. This isn’t the most important update (yet), but the social media team meme’d up the Mauler Twins and the show’s chicken pot pie fixation while clarifying that significant news will arrive by January 31.
Over the weekend, after four days of GOP-bred chaos over who should be the new Speaker of the House, George Santos was sworn as one of New York’s new representatives. He did so despite an avalanche of revelations that emerged after his election, which showed that he lied about…well, almost everything. But wait, there’s more: Yet another report alleges that the definitely not a shady character who raised money by hiring someone to impersonate a staffer for new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
As per CNBC, Santos paid $100,000 to one Sam Miele to contact donors posing as Dan Meyer, McCarthy’s chief of staff. Miele allegedly called or even emailed wealthy parties, using Meyer’s name to leverage McCarthy’s influence and therefore attract large donations. Miele is accused of doing this not once but twice, first in 2020, for Santos’ failed campaign, and again in 2022, when the alleged ruse paid off.
It’s yet another troubling allegation against Santos, who is accused of lying about his résumé to attract donations from people, some of whom are none-too-happy to have been deceived.
Despite being sworn in, there’s a chance Santos won’t be there for very long. He currently faces SEC complaints and investigations from both the Nassau County district attorney’s office and New York State federal prosecutors. In the meantime, Santos is doing his job, which is to say repeatedly missing his name when called for votes, which definitely isn’t sketchy either.
Yes, there are good Scotch whiskies that only cost around $30 to $40. Hell, I’ll even go so far as to say that a good $35 Scotch whisky isn’t all that rare. The thing is, there’s a lot of hot garbage on those lower Scotch whisky shelves too. Sometimes you need a primer to separate the wheat from the chaff.
That’s where I come in with my list of 10 great Scotch whiskies that all cost between $30 and $40.
For this list, I pulled in 10 Scotch whiskies — both single malts and blended whiskies — that taste pretty good at this price point. Scotch does tend to lean a lot more expensive than your average American whiskey. That’s especially true if you’re looking for an “experience” with the juice from Scotland. That makes it worth knowing where to reach when it comes to cheaper bottles.
For the ranking, I’m going on taste alone. These are all good in their own way but not all of them are equal. Some have a bit more depth and just hit the palate in a subtler and deeper way than others. It should be noted, however, that we’re still 100% talking about mixing whiskies below. Yes, you can drink these on the rocks if you want (I’ll mention which below), but these whiskies really shine best when mixed. That’s a reality of the price point.
Let’s dive in!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Scotch Whisky Posts of The Last Six Months
Grangestone is an offshoot of William Grant & Sons and is primarily a blender/bottler. That means this whisky comes from an undisclosed Highland distillery (or distilleries really) within the William Grant & Sons stable. The whisky is aged 12 years. But beyond that, there’s not much more information.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Milled oats mix with a lightly spiced malt (think clove, cinnamon, and orange zest) next to a touch of prunes, dark chocolate powder, and a hint of vanilla extract on the nose.
Palate: The palate builds on the orange and vanilla towards what feels like a banana cream pie with a cup of sweet black tea on the side and a hint of toffee in the background.
Finish: The finish holds onto the bitterness of the tea and marries to the dark chocolate as a light walnut shell arrives and dries out the short end with a light sweet woodiness.
Bottom Line:
This is fine a perfectly suitable highball whisky for either nice mineral water with a citrus twist or some ginger ale.
Buchanan’s is making a big comeback. Part of that is due to this expression snagging a Double Gold from San Francisco World Spirit Competiton in 2020; another part is the quality Diageo whiskies in the blend.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The whiskey opens with a real sense of dark chocolate married to bright orange zest.
Palate: The palate builds on that adding hints of vanilla pudding and dark spices next to a cedar woodiness and a little bit of spicy/ chewy tobacco.
Finish: A whisper of peat arrives late and far in the background as the chocolate orange throughline lasts the longest on the fade.
Bottom Line:
This whisky has a long history as a classic “on the rocks” whisky. I don’t think it quite hits that mark. It does, however, perfectly suit cocktail or highball mixing with good resonance.
Johnnie Walker is the best-selling whisk(e)y in the world. That means that there’s no getting away from this brand. The classic Black Label is a blend of over 40 whiskies from three dozen distilleries in the Diageo stable, including powerhouses like Talisker and Lagavulin.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Citrus meets spicy Christmas cake and a bit of powdery white pepper on the nose.
Palate: Those wintery spices carry on through the taste as creamy maltiness, caramel sweetness, and dry herbs bounce on your tongue.
Finish: The oak comes in late with a dose of peaty smoke that’s cut by an orange zest flourish on the quick end.
Bottom Line:
This is the first step up the Johnnie Walker ladder from Red Label. This is built as their entry-point “sipping” whisky. I still think this works better in highballs and cocktails than on the rocks, but I’m certainly not going to stop you from drinking it that way. It is a classic after all.
This old-school blend is built around Cragganmore and Glendullan single malts. The whiskies mellow for 12 years before they’re vatted and proofed for this bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There are cinnamon apple cookies on the nose with a touch of honey, nuts, and dry malt.
Palate: The taste is very malty with a touch of cedar, tobacco spice, and more honey/apple/cinnamon.
Finish: The end is warm, malty, and slightly sweet thanks to the honey.
Bottom Line:
This is just nice and easygoing scotch. It definitely benefits best from fizzy water or cocktail applications though.
This Speyside blend is crafted as a workhorse whisky. The juice is drawn from the William Grant & Sons distilleries, focusing on Kininvie, Glenfiddich, and The Balvenie. The juice is then rested for up to six months after blending to let it mellow even more before proofing and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a nice welcoming note of creamy vanilla that almost becomes cream soda, next to hints of zesty orange marmalade, malts, and dark spices.
Palate: The taste delivers on those notes by amping the spices up to Christmas cake territory with a slight tart berry edge next to that cream soda sweetness.
Finish: The end is short and sweet with a nice lightness that really makes this very drinkable.
Bottom Line:
This is the best mixing whisky on the list. It’s built as a mixer, so use it that way.
This expression from Chivas is all about single-barrel aging. The hot juice goes into Oloroso sherry casks for 13 long years. Once those barrels hit the right flavor profile, they’re batched, proofed, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a nice mix of vanilla, caramel, and fresh pear with a thin line of dried apricot and maybe some old vanilla pods.
Palate: The palate stews those pears in very sweet syrup while the malts lean into sharp cinnamon with a hint of roasted almond and maybe even some toasted coconut.
Finish: The end amps up the pear vibes as vanilla and cinnamon combine on a pretty short end.
Bottom Line:
Chivas is the quintessential “on the rocks” whisky and a good place to start that level of the ranking. Still, this has a sweeter edge that speaks to subtle cocktail mixing a bit more than sipping. But again, no one is going to stop you from enjoying this over a glass full of ice cubes.
The lion’s share of this blend — 45% — comes from a single grain whisky aged in ex-bourbon from Cameronbridge Distillery. 22% is a single malt aged in ex-bourbon that comes from Linkwood Distillery. The rest is a mix of French oak and ex-bourbon single malts and blended malts from the Highlands, Clyneilish, Linkwood, and Balmenach. Those whiskies are vatted and then proofed down before bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with a very clear and concise note of apple candy with a hint of salted caramel ice cream cut with a touch of eggnog spices.
Palate: There’s a nice maltiness that leans into a creamy vanilla, soft holiday spice mix, butter toffee, and a hint of milk chocolate near the end.
Finish: The finish is warming with a whisper of tobacco next to a woody apple, spice candies (maybe ginger), and a final hint of cocoa and caramel.
Bottom Line:
This is a great cocktail base, especially for a citrus-forward cocktail. It also works really well on the rocks as an every day, table scotch.
Old Pulteney is all about sea vibes. Their entry-point spirit is aged for 12 years in second-fill bourbon casks before it’s batched, proofed, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a clear sense of creamed honey with a touch of sea spray on the nose.
Palate: The taste really holds onto that creamy honey while notes of wildflowers and oaky spice mingle with malts.
Finish: The end is fairly short and leaves you with a sense of that creamed honey and a touch of spicy warmth.
Bottom Line:
This is a pretty solid and unique single malt that blended sweet honey with seaside vibes, which feels very Scotland. It’s perfectly fine on the rocks but really shines in cocktails more.
This Highland malt is the cornerstone of the much-beloved Dewar’s Blended Scotch. This whisky is a very accessible single malt that spends 12 years resting in various casks before it’s married and proofed down and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The heart of the nose is in the mingling of pear and honey with a hint of Christmas spice, especially nutmeg.
Palate: The palate expands on that with a lush maltiness, creamy vanilla, mild spice, and more of that honey and orchard fruit.
Finish: The end gets slightly nutty and bitter with a little water as the honey, fruit, and spice linger on the senses.
Bottom Line:
If you’re making a penicillin, use this. If not, pour this over some rocks and enjoy an easy sipping experience.
The Glenmorangie is a classic Highlands single malt. The juice is created on the tallest stills in Scotland, which allows more spirit creation along the way as it’s boiled. The whisky then spends ten years mellowing in ex-bourbon barrels. Finally, the whiskey is vatted, proofed, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with soft grains next to a rush of dried fruits and supple leather with a floral hint that leans toward dry hibiscus and fresh woodruff.
Palate: The palate is gentle with hints of wet malts next to powdered dark spices, fresh honeycombs, and a thin line of vanilla oils just touched with orange zest and maybe a twinge of grapefruit.
Finish: The end arrives with a soft honeyed sweetness that feels like it’s drizzled over an orange cake with a hint of malted cracker graininess next to an echo of old apple chips.
Bottom Line:
This is a solid single malt that really does shine on its own. Yes, you can mix a mean cocktail with it, but you can also 100% enjoy this over a rock or two and feel like you’re drinking a really good Scotch whisky.
HBO Max is home to so many of the best shows on streaming, yet sadly, a lot of the streaming service’s shows are being pulled as the Warner Bros. Discovery merger continues to take shape. The outcome is almost as bizarre as trashing the completed Batgirl movie (and depriving the world of a Brendan Fraser performance), but the list of cancelled and/or removed shows includes some rather surprising titles. For one thing, the homicidal robots of Westworldwill no longer visit (or leave) their theme park, and Amazon’s The Boys is not missing a chance to swing at their rival.
This sounds like a total Homelander move, all while fans are still worried over what to expect for the future of, say, Doom Patrol. However, not all tortured Supes are on the line. The Boys seems to be increasingly solid as the show progresses, and their Compound V maker, Vought International, is here with some trolling. In a tweet, Vought announced that they’re slicing services while not slicing prices. In fact, that price might be going up, which could be a swing at Hulu, which recently hiked package prices, albeit without massive content removal.
“To begin 2023, we’re proud to unveil the most effective restructuring in entertainment history. Vought++ is now Vought+ again!” reads the satiric tweet. “We’ve unbundled your favorite apps like VTV+ and VSPN+, and eliminated 35% of our films. All for the new low price of $119/month, plus!”
To begin 2023, we’re proud to unveil the most effective restructuring in entertainment history. Vought++ is now Vought+ again! We’ve unbundled your favorite apps like VTV+ and VSPN+, and eliminated 35% of our films. All for the new low price of $119/month, plus! pic.twitter.com/UhzWWQQgV8
Bourbon whiskey hits a true sweet spot in the $20 to $30 range. There are bottles of bourbon at this price point that are not only mixable but perfectly suitable as everyday sippers. That’s why I’m ranking my 15 favorite bourbons that all clock in under $30.
Look, this isn’t about transcendence or insane depth of flavor in bourbon. This is simply about what’s drinkable and actually tasty at this price point. No, you’re not going to confuse one of these whiskeys with a Pappy 15 or Michter’s 10. They’re built from different components that deliver different results. That doesn’t mean these whiskeys are bad or worse, it just means that they’re a different and cheaper breed of bourbon. There’s plenty to enjoy at this price point, is what I’m getting at.
For the ranking, I’m going on taste alone. Some of these land with a little more “wow” on the palate than others. Moreover, some of these whiskeys really do work as slow sippers over some rocks or mixed into a killer cocktail while still cocking in under $30 per bottle. As always, that price point depends on your local taxes, retail situation, and allocations — these prices are based on Kentucky price tags. Let’s dive in!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
This is Elijah Craig’s entry-point bottle. The mash is corn-focused, with more malted barley than rye. The whiskey is then rendered from “small batches” of barrels to create this proofed-down version of the iconic brand.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a light sense of rickhouse wood beams next to that mild taco seasoning on the nose with caramel apples, vanilla ice cream scoops, and a hint of fresh mint with a sweet/spicy edge.
Palate: The palate opens with a seriously smooth vanilla base with some winter spice (especially cinnamon and allspice) next to a hint of grain and apple pie filling.
Finish: The end leans towards the woodiness with a hint of broom bristle and minty tobacco lead undercut by that smooth vanilla.
Bottom Line:
This is an essential bottle to have on hand for mixing cocktails. It has a classic Kentucky bourbon profile that’s meant to be built upon with bitters, sugar, water, and maybe a little citrus.
Hailing from the Jim Beam stills and warehouses, this “Old” whiskey is a fan favorite. The whiskey is from Jim Beam’s high rye mash bill. The hot juice is then matured until it’s just right. The barrels are blended, the whiskey is just touched with water to bring the proof down, and it’s bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Vanilla tobacco meets hints of rye spiciness with a dose of caramel and old oak on the nose.
Palate: The palate holds onto that rye spice as notes of cherry and oak dominate the vanilla and toffee sweetness.
Finish: The end returns to the spice with a chewy tobacco edge that lingers for a short time but leaves you wanting more.
Bottom Line:
This has a nice warmth to it that’s lightly spicy, which makes it a fun “beer and a shot” whiskey. It also works really well in a highball application with some bitters, ginger ale, and orange.
This whiskey hails from one of Sazerac’s many other distilleries. In this case, Clear Spring Distilling Co. is behind the brand. This whiskey is a pretty straightforward bourbon that’s aged around two years before blending, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a clear sense of vanilla, caramel, and oak that’s neither bold nor muted alongside a hint of sourdough crust and maybe mint.
Palate: The sip has a moment of orchard fruit next to the caramel that then leads back toward the vanilla.
Finish: The end is short, a bit hot, and sweetish with a cherry edge tied back to the vanilla.
Bottom Line:
This is another solid mixing whiskey. The youngness with that hint of sourdough and warmth on the finish precludes it from being a true sipper. But if you’re pouring this over rocks and adding something fizzy, you’ll be set.
This whiskey, distilled at Lux Row Distillers in Bardstown, is kind of like a Tennessee whiskey made in Kentucky. The whiskey has a pretty standard mash bill of corn, rye, and barley. The juice is then aged but before it goes into the bottles it is charcoal filtered. That whiskey is then batched, proofed down with limestone water, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This also leans very classic bourbon with hints of corn on the cob with melty salted butter next to hints of soft leather pouches filled with roasted peanut shells, a touch of caramel, and a vanilla/chocolate ice cream vibe.
Palate: The palate keeps things super easy as that rich vanilla ice cream leads towards holiday spices, tart green apples, and a freshly baked cornbread bespeckled with dried chili flakes and black pepper.
Finish: The finish is soft and fast with that spice leading back towards a leather tobacco chew.
Bottom Line:
This is a solid cocktail bourbon with a nice proof that shines through the mixing process. It’s complex enough to stand up to a whiskey sour but subtle enough to make a decent Manhattan too.
This is Maker’s signature expression made with Red winter wheat and aged seasoned Ozark oak for six to seven years. This expression’s whiskey is then sourced from only 150 barrels (making this a “small batch”). Those barrels are then blended and proofed with Kentucky limestone water before bottling and dipping in their iconic red wax.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is full of those heavily charred oak barrel notes next to classic hints of caramel and vanilla with a grassy underbelly.
Palate: That grassiness becomes vaguely floral as slightly spiced caramel apples arrive, along with a chewy mouthfeel that leads towards a soft mineral vibe — kind of like wet granite.
Finish: The end holds onto the fruit and sweetness as the oak and dried grass stays in your senses.
Bottom Line:
This is an excellent mixing bourbon. I tend to use it for easy, everyday Manhattans when I don’t want to think about it too hard.
This is a standard bourbon from Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, otherwise known as Willett. This blended batch of bourbon is all about the small level of proofing to bring it down to bonded level (100 proof). That lack of an overabundance of water lets those barrels shine a touch more.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with a nice mix of woody vanilla next to cherry hard candies that mellow towards cherry cotton candy lace with echoes of oak and toffee in the background.
Palate: The palate leans into the cherry but layers in wintry spices with vanilla sugar cookies and caramel apples straight from the fairgrounds.
Finish: The finish isn’t long but doesn’t disappear either, as that cherry and spice merge into cherry cough drops.
Bottom Line:
This is just quintessential Kentucky bourbon. There are no bells or whistles here but it doesn’t need them. Plus, this stuff makes for a great mixing bourbon to have on hand.
This is a sourced bourbon from around Kentucky. The age, mash, and vital details are undisclosed. What we do know is that the team at Jefferson’s spends a lot of time tinkering with their barrels to create accessible and affordable bourbons.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens pretty thin with hints of caramel, vanilla pods, and maybe a touch of leather and oak with a mild berry vibe.
Palate: The palate is subtle. There are notes of classic bourbon caramel and vanilla countered by a hint of stewed apple, buttery toffee, and maybe a hint of nutmeg.
Finish: The end stays pretty mild but does build to a nice finish full of classic bourbon notes.
Bottom Line:
This is another classic bourbon but with a lower ABV, which makes it a pretty good “starter” bourbon for pure newbies.
Early Times spent decades as the best-selling bourbon in the world. Their Bottled-in-Bond is a throwback to that heady era in the early to mid-1900s when bourbon was king of the booze scene. Then this whiskey nearly died in the 1970s and 80s when bourbon took a massive hit in sales. This particular expression was reintroduced in 2017 as a limited release. It was such a huge hit that it turned into a standard release.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Orange oils, pancake syrup, pecan waffles, and holiday spices mingle on the soft nose.
Palate: The palate luxuriates in this rich and creamy vanilla next to a mildly spicy tobacco leaf and another hit of those orange oils.
Finish: The end adds in a slight allspice pepperiness with more of that creamy vanilla, tobacco, and a final hint of buttery brown sugar syrup.
Bottom Line:
This is another great entry-point bourbon with no bells or whistles. It’s just standard good stuff that gets the job done either as a shooter, on a ton of rocks, or in a cocktail/highball.
This is a classic wheated bourbon from Buffalo Trace, which doesn’t publish any of its mash bills. Educated guesses put the wheat percentage of these mash bills at around 16 to 18%, which is pretty average. The age of the barrels on this blend is also unknown. Overall, we know this is a classic wheated bourbon, and … that’s about it.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a tannic sense of old oak next to sweet cherries, vanilla cookies, and that Buffalo Trace leathery vibe with a hint of spiced tobacco lurking underneath.
Palate: The palate has a creamy texture kind of like malted vanilla ice cream over a hot apple pie cut with brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and walnuts next to Frosted Raisin Bran with a hint of candied cherry root beer.
Finish: The end takes that sweet cherry and apple and layers it into a light tobacco leaf with a mild sense of old musty barrel warehouses.
Bottom Line:
This is where we get into the better stuff. This really is built as a cocktail or highball base, but you can drink it over some rocks in a pinch. Still, this feels and tasted like a $25 bourbon.
Don’t expect it to taste like Pappy because the brands are closely related. It doesn’t.
This whiskey from Barton 1792 Distillery is a no-age-statement release made in “small batches.” The mash is unknown, but Sazerac mentions that it’s a “high rye” mash bill, which could mean anything. The whiskey is batched from select barrels and then proofed down and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a woody cherry bark next to sour apple pies, distiller’s beer, and caramel candies next to vanilla cream with a counterpoint of cumin and dry chili lurking in the deeper reaches of the nose.
Palate: The palate opens with a Cherry Coke feel next to rich and buttery toffee, vanilla malts, and sharp Hot Tamales cinnamon candy with a nod toward allspice and root beer.
Finish: The end is soft and lush with vanilla smoothness leading to black cherry tobacco braided with cedar bark and wicker.
Bottom Line:
This works really well over the rocks thanks to that Cherry Coke vibe. That said, you may want to focus more on solid cocktails with this one as it’s already nice and sweet, allowing you to dial back the added sugar in cocktails a tad.
Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon is a blend of four whiskeys. The blend is split evenly between the high and mid-ryes with a focus on “slight spice” and “rich fruit” yeasts. The whiskey is then blended, cut with soft Kentucky water, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Soft and sweet apple and cherry woods greet with a good dose of sour red berries dusted with brown winter spices, especially clove and nutmeg.
Palate: The palate leans into soft and salted caramel with a hint of those berries underneath while the spices get woodier and a thin line of green sweetgrass sneaks in.
Finish: The finish is silky and boils down to blackberry jam with a good dose of winter spice, old wood, and a hint of vanilla tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This is where things get way better. This is a good sipper with a rock or two that also makes a killer cocktail base.
Also, this like the Weller above will likely cost a bit more in your neck of the woods. That doesn’t take away from how good/affordable this whiskey is.
This expression is from the single barrels that actually hit that prime spot/flavor profile to be bottled one at a time. This is the best of the best of the barrels earmarked for Benchmark in the Buffalo Trace warehouses. Those barrels are watered down slightly before bottling at a healthy 95-proof.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: That orange and caramel really come through on the nose with a thin line of creamy dark chocolate and some nutmeg and cinnamon.
Palate: The palate largely adheres to that flavor profile while adding in layers of dark fruit, old leather, mild oak, and orange cookies.
Finish: The finish arrives with a sense of winter spices and dark chocolate oranges next to a twinge of cherry-kissed spicy tobacco chew and a final note of old porch wicker.
Bottom Line:
This is one of those whiskeys that has no business tasting as good as it does and costing this much. You can easily drink this on the rocks and be 100% satisfied. It’s not a “wow” whiskey by any stretch. Think of it more as the whiskey you share with your old friend on the back porch on any given day that… just works.
This whiskey was sourced for Costco’s Kirkland Signature brand from the famed Barton 1792 warehouses by Sazerac. The juice is made from a base of 74% corn, 18% rye, and 8% barley. The barrels were aged for at least four years per “bottled in bond” regulations before they were blended and proofed down for this special release.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a clear sense of old leather gloves next to brandy-soaked cherries covered in dark chocolate, creamy honey, and eggnog spices with a hint of sour mulled wine next to pecan waffles, brown butter, and maple syrup.
Palate: The palate has a big cherry moment that fades into fresh pears and winter spices — cinnamon, allspice, star anise, black licorice — before hitting a soft woody wicker note with a hint of wild sage.
Finish: The end lets the cherry and pear shine as old musty cellar beams and old red bricks with a hint of pear tobacco rolled with cedar bark.
Bottom Line:
This punches way above its price point. It’s great. While it makes a killer cocktail, you can easily sip this on the rocks and be perfectly happy.
Each of these Jim Beam bottlings is pulled from single barrels that hit just the right spot of taste, texture, and drinkability, according to the master distillers at Beam. That means this whiskey is pulled from less than 1% of all barrels in Beam’s warehouses, making this a very special bottle at a bafflingly affordable price.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Vanilla pound cake and salted caramel are countered by spicy cherry tobacco, mulled wine vibes, and dark chocolate cut with orange zest and a hint of corn husk.
Palate: The palate brings in some floral honey sweetness and more orange oils with a sticky toffee pudding feel next to more spicy cherry tobacco and a hint of coconut cream pie.
Finish: The end amps up the cherry with a little more sweetness than spice before salted dark chocolate tobacco folds into dry sweetgrass and cedar bark before a hint of fountain Cherry Coke pops on the very back end with a sense of sitting in an old wicker rocking chair.
Bottom Line:
This might well be the best value bottle from Jim Beam’s whole line. It’s cheap but doesn’t taste cheap for a single moment. It’s classic Beam — cherry, spice, vanilla — that works wonders over a few rocks or built into a subtle, whiskey-forward cocktail.
1. Russell’s Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 10 Years Old
Jimmy and Eddie Russell go barrel hunting in their Wild Turkey rickhouses to find this expression. The whiskey is a marrying of bourbons Jimmy and Eddie Russell handpicked with a minimum age of ten years old. They then cut it down to a very accessible 90-proof for bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is just a straight-up classic with depth on the nose leading to rich vanilla, salted caramel, sour cherry, wintry spices, and a touch of old oak.
Palate: The palate opens with orange-oil-infused marzipan covered in dark chocolate next to bolder holiday spices, moist spiced cake, and a very distant whisper of barrel smoke.
Finish: The end is a lush mix of orange, vanilla, chocolate, and spice leading to an old leather pouch full of sticky maple syrup tobacco.
Bottom Line:
I’ve seen these on sale for $24.99 a bottle. I bought a case. This is great bourbon that’s crazily low-priced. Shot it, mix with it, or just sip it — it’s all good, folks.
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