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Nestled neatly between standard bourbons (40 to 49% ABV) and high-proof bourbons (51 to 69% ABV) are bottled-in-bond bourbons, at exactly 50% ABV. These whiskeys are considered the “good stuff” by old school bourbon fans, thanks to that slightly elevated proof, and the four years minimum these whiskeys need to spend in the barrel before blending, proofing, and bottling.

Of course, there’s more to bottled-in-bond than just proof and age. The main distinction/rule for the style is that each release is from one distillation season at one distillery that’s made by one distiller. The main reason that those rules elevate this class of whiskey — in some folks’ estimation — is that the barrels blended into the final whiskey are from the same distillation season and year. Very broadly, that means the blender and/or distiller can’t take barrels from various different years to hide flaws or fill in gaps in the flavor profile. In theory, there’s a little more fidelity to a bottled-in-bond expression than your standard, everyday bourbon.

And while all of this sounds like it’d make bottled-in-bond bourbon way more expensive, there are plenty of bottled-in-bond masterpieces out there that won’t break the bank. To that end, I decided to name eight of my favorite, bargain bottled-in-bond bourbons, which all clock in under $30. Check them out below and maybe you’ll find your next great mixing bourbon!

8) McAffee’s Benchmark Bonded

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $20

The Bourbon:

Named after some of the first Europeans to reach Kentucky, this bottle is an entry-level Buffalo Trace expression. The juice is from BT’s famed Mash Bill No. 1, which has a little rye and barley in it alongside plenty of corn. The mash is the recipe for heavy-hitting BT brands like E.H. Taylor, Stagg, and Eagle Rare, making this a lower-rent version of those bangers.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is caramel apples, vanilla, and a nice kick of spicy rye, but not much else and that’s not surprising for a value bottle. The flavor is decent but fairly generic. There’s vanilla, caramel, and some oaky wood, but that’s about the extent of the flavor profile. The finish is long, warming, and has a spicy kick of pepper.

Bottom Line:

For a bargain bonded bourbon, this isn’t terrible. It’s just not all that exciting either. The flavors are fairly muted and bland and that’s why we’re starting here. This is a bourbon-and-Coke bottle at best.

7) J.W. Dant

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $14

The Bourbon:

As the legend goes, this historical whiskey was first distilled out of a hollow log back in 1836 by a man named Joseph Dant. Since 1993, it’s been produced by Heaven Hill, which kept the old-school logo and design. The juice in the bottle is made from HH’s 78% corn, 12% malted barley, and 10% rye mash bill — just like Evan Williams below, Elijah Craig, and Henry McKenna.

Tasting Notes:

Apples, caramel, and oak are prevalent on the nose. Otherwise, it’s fairly muted and boring. Sipping it highlights notes of dried fruits, caramel candy, vanilla, and slightly cracked black pepper. You can taste that this is high proof, but the flavors are still fairly light with oak and pepper taking up most of the palate.

Bottom Line:

You can do much worse for less than $15. But if you were to stack this up against most $25 bottles, you’d be pretty sad about the results, and so it’s going to stay pretty low on this list.

6) Jim Beam Bonded

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $27

The Bourbon:

Jim Beam makes a pretty decent bonded whiskey from their classic 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley mash. Beyond that, this 100-proof, award-winning bourbon was aged for a minimum of four years in a bonded warehouse.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a ton of sweetness coming out in the nose with aromas of dried cherries, brown sugar, vanilla, and heavy oak. The palate is very robust and filled with heat as well as flavors like vanilla, caramel, dark chocolate, and warming, spicy pepper at the very end. It’s flavorful but has a little too much burn for some drinkers.

Bottom Line:

If you’re a fan of Jim Beam White Label and you want to turn it up to 11, this is the whiskey for you. It’s a heightened, bolder version of the classic bourbon. It does have a little more burn than necessary for an everyday sipper, making this a cocktail bourbon more than anything else.

5) Early Times Bottled-In-Bond

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $23 for a liter

The Bourbon:

Early Times was founded by John Henry Beam (Jim Beam’s uncle) in 1860. Its Bottled-In-Bond expression was discontinued in 1983 before being relaunched in 2017. This expression pays tribute to the original recipe of 79% corn, 11% rye, and 10% malted barley. Like all bonded whiskeys, it’s aged a minimum of four years in bonded warehouses.

Tasting Notes:

Vanilla, cherries, raisins, and honey are prevalent on the nose. The palate is fairly sweet, yet complex with notes of dried cherries, candied orange peels, pipe tobacco, vanilla beans, caramel, and oaky wood. The finish is dry, warming, and memorable.

Bottom Line:

If you’re looking for a spicy and bold bonded bourbon, look elsewhere. Early Times is surprisingly sweet with vanilla and dried fruits taking center stage, making a perfectly fine mixing bourbon.

4) Old Bardstown Bottled-In-Bond

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $20

The Bourbon:

Named for an iconic thoroughbred horse, Old Bardstown Bottled-In-Bond from Willett has a mash bill of 72% corn, 15% malted barley, and 13% rye. Unlike some bonded bourbons, it’s rumored that Old Bardstown’s barrels spend up to 10 years aging in new, charred American oak barrels.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a lot of spice on this whiskey’s nose, highlighted by aromas of cinnamon candy, vanilla, caramel, and light, peppery spice. The palate is more than just spice with gentle, dried fruits, cinnamon sugar, maple candy, butterscotch, vanilla, oak, and a nice hint of pepper to tie everything together nicely.

Bottom Line:

There’s definitely a great mix of spice and sweetness at play here. This one earns bonus points for being pretty good for this price, though we’re still squarely in “I’d use this as a mixer” territory.

3) Old Tub Bottled-In-Bond

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $22

The Bourbon:

This non-chill filtered, bottled-in-bond bourbon comes from Jim Beam. Originally, it was only available at the distillery’s gift shop. In 2020, it became a limited-release offering available in stores. Distilled with Beam’s signature mash bill of 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley, it’s aged for a minimum of four years in new, charred American oak barrels in bonded warehouses and bottled at 100-proof.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a lot going on with this whiskey’s nose. There are aromas of candied pecans, caramel, slight peppery rye, and cinnamon. On the palate, you’ll find hints of caramel corn, nutty sweetness, dried fruits, butterscotch, and rich oak. The finish is sweet, and fruity with just a hint of baking spices.

Bottom Line:

This is a surprisingly cheap whiskey for its quality. It’s complex, flavorful, and well-balanced with warming spices and gentle nutty, fruity flavors. This beats out Beam Bonded above for that lack of filtration, adding a little more character to this one.

2) Evan Williams Bottled-In-Bond

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $19

The Bourbon:

Heaven Hill’s award-winning 100-proof, bottled-in-bond bourbon has the same mash bill as J.W. Dant above but a little more nuance. Still, this is aged for a minimum of four years and bottled in the same place.

Tasting Notes:

Classic aromas of vanilla, rich oak, butterscotch, and dried fruits are heavy on the nose. It’s very inviting and leads to a palate of vanilla cream, orange peels, cinnamon sugar, raisins, dried cherries, and a nice kick of spicy cracked black pepper. It all ends in a warming, dry, slightly spicy finish.

Bottom Line:

There are few bargain-priced, bottled-in-bond bourbons better than Evan Williams. It’s complex, slightly spicy, and loaded with caramel and vanilla flavors. It’s a great, potent sipper on the rocks or a killer cocktail base.

1) Old Grand-Dad Bonded

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $20

The Bourbon:

The jewel in Jim Beam’s “Olds” crown, the Old Grand-Dad on this classic bottle is none other than Basil Hayden (who also has a whiskey named for him). This spicy, high-rye whiskey — 63% corn, 27% rye, and 10% malted barley — is aged for a minimum of four years in bonded warehouses.

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, you’ll find scents of caramel corn, toasted vanilla beans, candied orange peels, brown sugar, and a nice kick of peppery spice. The palate is a nice mix of sweetness and spice with orange zest, buttery caramel, toasted oak, vanilla, cinnamon, and cracked black pepper all making an appearance. It all ends with a warming mix of sweet citrus, creamy vanilla, and peppery spice.

Bottom Line:

There’s a reason Old Grand-Dad Bonded is beloved by bartenders and drinkers alike. It’s bold, and spicy, but has enough sweetness to counteract the heat. It’s a great sipping whiskey as well as a terrific base for your favorite bourbon cocktails. It wins today because it’s always cheap, flavorful, and available.

Last week, former The O.C. star Olivia Wilde was served legal documents while on stage presenting at CinemaCon. The move left fans confused about who exactly was to blame for the ordeal: was it ex’s Jason Sudeikis’ idea? Or did his legal team do this without his knowledge? And where was the CinemaCom security?!

While many answers are still up in the air, we finally have some footage of what went on. TMZ shared a new clip of Wilde being approached with the papers, saying “this is very mysterious.” She quietly opened the envelope, which turned out to be legal papers from Sudeikis. She handled the situation by quickly saying “got it” and moving on with her presentation. You can watch the moment below.

The situation is all a bit unclear: Sudeikis’ team insists the Ted Lasso actor had no knowledge of when and where the papers would be served, which can be at the discretion of the legal team that was hired.

A source told Page Six that the whole ordeal sent Wilde reeling. “Olivia was confused when she was handed the envelope, and she was even more confused when she opened it,” the source shared. Despite the confusion, she handled it like a champ, before showing the bonkers trailer for Don’t Worry Darling.

Remember how fun Wii Sports was? The motion based sports game that was packaged with every Nintendo Wii took the world by storm as everyone fell in love with their little Mii avatars playing Tennis, Golf, Bowling, Boxing, and Baseball. With such wide range appeal it quickly became a game that everyone from the most hardcore gamers to grandparents who had never played a video game before were all gathering around to play Wii Sports together. Unfortunately, some people would take these light hearted games and try a little too hard.

When playing Wii Sports, there are constant reminders that the player doesn’t need to use full force while copying movements and to always wear the wrist strap. Some players though would ignore these and the results would involve their controller, the Wii Mote, flying out of their hands and straight into their TV. Viral images and videos of people smashing their flat screen TVs with Wii controllers were everywhere from mid-2000s message boards to local news stations.

So surely, with everyone fully aware of how silly it was that people kept smashing their TVs with Wii Remotes, now that Nintendo Switch Sports has been released everyone is going to be way more careful right? Nintendo has spent much of the lead up to Switch Sports reminding everyone to wear their straps so when they play these games they don’t once again accidentally smash their TV.

Well dear reader, as you definitely already know, at least one person has smashed their TV while playing Switch Sports and they even managed to do it on Stream for everyone to see.

What’s truly incredible about this clip is that, when you imagine someone destroying a TV, you picture them aggressively swinging their controller around, but no this is someone just casually flicking their wrist and sending their controller flying into their TV. His face in the moment tells the entire story.

Reviews so far about Nintendo Switch Sports have been very positive. It doesn’t have quite the same mass appeal that Wii Sports had, but most people not smashing their TVs are having a really fun time with it. If you do decide to go out and buy it though then please wear your straps. If not, you’re gonna be like this poor guy.

Harry Styles season is rapidly approaching, as Harry’s House is set for release on May 20. Actually, you could say Styles season has been ongoing for a little while now as “As It Was” dominates the music world. It’s had a couple different stints on top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart and now it adds another week at No. 1: On the new Hot 100 dated May 7, “As It Was” is No. 1 for a second consecutive week and third total.

Its top spot has a lot to do with the 52.7 million radio airplay audience impressions it tallied over the tracking week (from April 22 to 28), which is up 23 percent from the previous week. It dipped a bit in streams with 28.2 million (down 6 percent) but saw an uptick in downloads sold at 9,200 (up 9 percent).

Meanwhile, Jack Harlow’s “First Class” is still doing well, spending a second week at No. 2 after debuting in the top spot, dethroning “As It Was.” Styles returned to the top, though, demoting Harlow to his current position. Another former No. 1, Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves,” is also still hanging around the top at No. 3.

Harry’s House is out 5/20 via Columbia/Erskine. Pre-order it here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Once celebrated attorney and former “America’s Mayor,” Rudy Giuliani is being absolutely roasted on social media thanks to a new video promoting his Cameo account. The cash-strapped Giuliani has taken to the video platform after hitching his star to Donald Trump’s wagon, which has reportedly left him broke after a combination of multi-billionaire lawsuits and the former president allegedly stiffing Giuliani on his legal fees.

In the latest video posted to his various social media accounts, Giuliani awkwardly stands on a golf course in a pair of silly, huge shorts while he awkwardly swings a club from side-to-side in an effort to entice someone, anyone to pay him for a Cameo video.

“I’m Rudy Giuliani,” the giant shorted menace says. “If you want to have a really nice conversation, or a birthday greeting, or just talk golf, go to the link below.”

Much like his disastrous appearance on The Masked Singer in late April, the jokes started flying in as people went to town on Giuliani’s outfit. Specifically, his shorts, which again, are stupid huge. As one Twitter user expertly notes below, they’re a size only Kevin Smith could dream of.

You can see reactions to Giuliani’s mammoth shorts below:

To the surprise of no one, Giuliani’s time on Cameo has been a non-stop thrill ride of embarrassment. Shortly after joining the platform, he got duped into making a video that essentially trashed his own client. It’s the type of bonehead legal move that only Giuliani could make in his desperate attempt to stave off the poor house after working for Trump. Then again, he could easily sublet his shorts. There’s plenty of room in them.

(Via Andrew Kaczynski on Twitter)

Once upon a time, back before we all had supercomputers in our pockets but after video killed the radio star, the place to go to learn more about the then-nascent music and culture of hip-hop was Yo! MTV Raps (at least for those of us outside the New York tri-state area). Airing in the US from 1988 to 1995, the two-hour video block was the first of its kind on the network, airing rap videos, interviews with rappers, and in-studio performances. It was the first time many folks outside of urban America got to see the exciting new art form as it gained in popularity and power.

With the exception of a few anniversary shows, the block has been off the air for over 25 years. However, that’s soon to change thanks to the new streaming service Paramount+, which is relaunching the show with battle rapper/MTV fixture Conceited as the host alongside DJ Diamond Kuts. Like its predecessor, the show revival is set to feature interviews, performances, and, perhaps inspired by the original show’s legendary final episode, live ciphers from some of hip-hop’s hottest rising stars.

The show will premiere on May 24 with Freddie Gibbs and will air weekly, with future takeovers from Latto, Saba, JID, Shenseea, Tee Grizzley, IDK, and Trina. According to Complex, more stars including Baby Tate, Just Blaze, and Maino will appear throughout the season. In addition, Paramount+ will feature archived episodes from the show’s original run alongside past episodes of VH1’s Behind The Music and another pivotal MTV staple, Unplugged.

Check out the trailer for the return of Yo! MTV Raps above.

With Cinco de Mayo nearly here, it’s time to get ready for a rush of tequila, burritos as big as your forearm, as many birria tacos as you can eat, and plenty of Mexican beer. While we’ve been helping you handle the food and the tequila, I’m going to turn my attention here exclusively to the beer.

Before we dive in, a little background. Frequently confused for Mexico’s Independence Day, which takes place September 16th, Cinco de Mayo commemorates Mexico’s underdog victory over the French empire at the Battle of Puebla, on May 5th, 1862. Remembered in Puebla ever since, Mexican-American civil rights activists began promoting the day as a source of cultural pride in the 1960s. By the 1980s, drinks importers were creating entire advertising campaigns based around the holiday, and as of 2013, Americans were buying more beer on Cinco De Mayo than for the Super Bowl or St. Patrick’s Day.

In honor of the biggest beer buying day of the year, I thought it was time for a tried-and-true blind taste test. For these latest rankings, I hand-selected 10 well-known Mexican beers from my local grocery store for this test, attempting to choose only pilsners and light-colored lagers so they were as similar in style as possible.

Today’s Lineup:

• Dos Equis Lager Especial
• Tecate Lager
• Modelo Especial
• Sol Cerveza
• Corona Extra
• Carta Blanca Original
• Estrella Jalisco
• Victoria
• Pacífico Clara
• Bohemia Pilsner

How will your beloved Tecate fare? Or Pacifco? Will a lesser-known brand take the top spot? Let’s find out!

Part 1: The Taste

Taste #1

Tasting Notes:

There isn’t much going on with this beer’s nose. It took a lot of sniffing to find anything. If you put this in front of me and told me it wasn’t a beer, I might believe you. There are some floral hops and maybe some corn sweetness, but really nothing else. The palate is really sweet and almost sugary with little to no other flavors noticeable. This is the epitome of fizzy, watery beer. Bland to the max.

Taste #2

Tasting Notes:

Wet grass, bread, caramel malts, and light sweet corn are abundant on this beer’s nose. The aromas are subtle, but they definitely draw you in. The palate doesn’t disappoint with more freshly cut grass, freshly baked bread, sweet grains, caramel malts, light corn, and floral, slightly bitter hops at the finish. It’s not overly exciting, but surprisingly well-rounded.

Taste #3

Tasting Notes:

The nose is slightly herbal with honey, sweet cereal, wet grass, and caramel malts. It’s sweet, refreshing, and has notes of fresh corn, grains, pilsner malts, caramel, clover honey, and just a hint of bitter, floral hops at the very end. By far the most refreshing, easy to drink, well-balanced beer in this blind taste test so far.

Taste #4

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, I found biscuit-like malts, sweet corn, slight ripe fruit, and caramel. Sipping it brought forth notes of sweet corn, floral hops, cracker malts, toffee, fresh hay, light grain, and a gentle, bitter hops presence to bring everything together nicely.

Taste #5

Tasting Notes:

Nosing this beer reveals aromas of sweet corn, some light floral hops, and bread-like malts. That’s really it. The palate is extremely sweet with corn notes as well as more floral hops, bread, and a slight caramel malts. Overall, this is a crushable, light beer that doesn’t have much substance at all besides corn sweetness.

Taste #6

Tasting Notes:

A nose of caramel malts, sweet corn, bread, and light floral hops greeted me before my first sip. The palate has notable flavors like freshly baked bread, floral hops, sweet grains, slight fruit flavors, corn, and a gentle bitterness that ties everything together nicely.

Taste #7

Tasting Notes:

There’s a ton of corn on this beer’s nose and that’s not necessarily a terrible thing. On top of the sweet corn aroma, there are also notes of sweet grains, fresh-cut grass, bread-like malts, and some slight floral hop aroma. On the palate, I found more sweet corn, grains, and caramel malts, with a slightly acidic, mildly bitter finish.

Taste #8

Tasting Notes:

A fairly muted nose of sugary corn, caramel malts, and faintly floral hops met nostrils. It didn’t really get me excited to sip it. Luckily, there was a little more going on with the palate. There were notes of freshly-baked bread, wet grass, more sweet corn, and caramel malts. While definitely not exciting to any degree, it was definitely easy to drink.

Taste #9

Tasting Notes:

Bread, corn, wet grass, malts, and light floral notes are prevalent on the nose. Taking a drink, I found more sweet corn, bread-like malts, caramel, and light, slightly bitter, floral hops. Still kind of watery, it goes down easy. All in all, it’s an easy-to-drink beer with little to no frills.

Taste #10

Tasting Notes:

This beer had a real “adjunct” smell to it. There were notes of corn, bread, and maybe some citrus. But it all smelled very generic. Sipping it didn’t reveal much more. It’s fairly muted with some corn sweetness, bready malts, and a more generic flavor. While fizzy and crisp, it tastes mass-produced and watery.

Part 2: The Rankings

10) Corona Extra (Taste 1)

ABV: 4.5%

Average Price: $8.50 for a six-pack

The Beer:

When many beer drinkers think of Mexican beer, one name stands out above the rest: Corona. Likely because of its advertising, there’s no Mexican beer more famous. Does that mean it’s the best? Probably not. The top-selling imported beer in the U.S., this pale lager is known for its refreshing, highly crushable flavor.

Blind Notes:

There isn’t much going on with this beer’s nose. It took a lot of sniffing to find anything. If you put this in front of me and told me it wasn’t a beer, I might believe you. There are some floral hops and maybe some corn sweetness, but really nothing else. The palate is really sweet and almost sugary with little to no other flavors noticeable. This is the epitome of fizzy, watery beer. Bland to the max.

Bottom Line:

Honestly, I couldn’t have been less surprised to see Corona Extra ranked as the worst of the bunch. I’ve very infrequently imbibed this beer without a slice of lime. Without that added citrus, it’s as flavorless as seltzer water.

9) Sol Cerveza (Taste 10)

ABV: 4.5%

Average Price: $8.50 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Created in 1899, Sol Cerveza is a light, refreshing lager that’s pretty much designed to be enjoyed on a hot day. Available in over 70 countries, it’s always cheap, light, refreshing, and easy to drink. It’s the kind of beer you crave on a humid summer day.

Blind Notes:

This beer had a real “adjunct” smell to it. There were notes of corn, bread, and maybe some citrus. But it all smelled very generic. Sipping it didn’t reveal much more. It’s fairly muted with some corn sweetness, bready malts, and a more generic flavor. While fizzy and crisp, it tastes mass-produced and watery.

Bottom Line:

I haven’t had many Sols in my life, so I didn’t know what to expect with this beer. It is a beer available almost anywhere and is super cheap. It’s still a fairly bad beer sans lime wedge.

8) Pacífico Clara (Taste 5)

ABV: 4.4%

Average Price: $9 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Owned by Grupo Modelo, Pacífico is a pilsner-style Mexican beer that gets its name because the brewery it’s produced at is in the Pacific Ocean port city of Mazatlán in Sinaloa, Mexico. Like many beers in this style, it’s known for its crisp, light, easy drinking flavor and little to no frills.

Blind Notes:

Nosing this beer reveals aromas of sweet corn, some light floral hops, and bread-like malts. That’s really it. The palate is extremely sweet with corn notes as well as more floral hops, bread, and a slight caramel malts. Overall, this is a crushable, light beer that doesn’t have much substance at all besides corn sweetness.

Bottom Line:

Pacífico is also not a beer I’ve had a ton of experience with so I didn’t have any expectations with this beer. While not an abrasively bad beer, it has very few redeeming qualities besides being easy to drink, making this beer is a snooze fest.

7) Estrella Jalisco (Taste 8)

ABV: 4.5%

Average Price: $9 for a six-pack

The Beer:

If you’re a fan of tequila, you know all about Jalisco. This Mexican state is where the town of Tequila and the heart of the spirit is. It’s also the state where Estrella Jalisco was created and gets its name. Because of that, this 4.5% ABV Czech-style pilsner just might be the best beer to pair with tequila.

Blind Notes:

A fairly muted nose of sugary corn, caramel malts, and faintly floral hops met nostrils. It didn’t really get me excited to sip it. Luckily, there was a little more going on with the palate. There were notes of freshly-baked bread, wet grass, more sweet corn, and caramel malts. While definitely not exciting to any degree, it was definitely easy to drink.

Bottom Line:

Estrella Jalisco isn’t a bad beer. It’s not a good beer either. It’s a fairly “meh” beer that’s sweet, light, and crushable. That’s about it.

6) Carta Blanca Original (Taste 9)

ABV: 4.5%

Average Price: $8 for a six-pack

The Beer:

First brewed in 1890, Carta Blanca is known as the beer that made Monterrey, Mexico famous. Brewed by Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma, like many Mexican-style lagers it’s known for its light, crisp, easy-to-drink flavor profile.

Blind Notes:

Bread, corn, wet grass, malts, and light floral notes are prevalent on the nose. Taking a drink, I found more sweet corn, bread-like malts, caramel, and light, slightly bitter, floral hops. Still kind of watery, it goes down easy. All in all, it’s an easy-to-drink beer with little to no frills.

Bottom Line:

Carta Blanca is a decent take on the Mexican lager style. It’s not very complex, but it has enough going on in the flavor department to make it a better choice over some of its more well-known rivals listed below it in this ranking.

5) Dos Equis Lager Especial (Taste 7)

ABV: 4.2%

Average Price: $8 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Unlike many of the other well-known Mexican lagers, Dos Equis actually lists the ingredients. They are water, malted barley, corn starch, corn syrup, hops, and ascorbic acid. A little more scientific sounding than most beers we’re used to, at least they’re being honest.

Blind Notes:

There’s a ton of corn on this beer’s nose and that’s not necessarily a terrible thing. On top of the sweet corn aroma, there are also notes of sweet grains, fresh-cut grass, bread-like malts, and some slight floral hop aroma. On the palate, I found more sweet corn, grains, and caramel malts, with a slightly acidic, mildly bitter finish.

Bottom Line:

While very sweet and corny, there’s something more drinkable about Dos Equis as compared to its counterparts. Maybe it’s because it’s slightly more complex than some of the others. Still, fairly muted though but just with just enough profile to make the middle of the list.

4) Victoria (Taste 6)

ABV: 4%

Average Price: $8.50 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Victory is one of the lowest alcohol content Mexican beers you’ll find at your local grocery store. This Vienna-style lager has been brewed for more than 100 years and, even with its low alcohol content, is known for its surprisingly complex flavor profile.

Blind Notes:

A nose of caramel malts, sweet corn, bread, and light floral hops greeted me before my first sip. The palate has notable flavors like freshly baked bread, floral hops, sweet grains, slight fruit flavors, corn, and a gentle bitterness that ties everything together nicely.

Bottom Line:

The only time I had Victoria before this blind taste test was in Mexico and I remember enjoying it then. It tasted just as good this time with a nice combination of sweet and bitter flavors. Still, there were a couple of beers that stood out that little bit more.

3) Bohemia Pilsner (Taste 2)

ABV: 4.9%

Average Price: $8 for a six-pack

The Beer:

The flagship of the Bohemia beer line, this pilsner gets its name because of its use of hops sourced from the Czech Republic. It’s well known for its complex, crisp flavor profile with nice herbal, floral, and slightly bitter hops.

Blind Notes:

Wet grass, bread, caramel malts, and light sweet corn are abundant on this beer’s nose. The aromas are subtle, but they definitely draw you in. The palate doesn’t disappoint with more freshly cut grass, freshly baked bread, sweet grains, caramel malts, light corn, and floral, slightly bitter hops at the finish. It’s not overly exciting, but surprisingly well rounded.

Bottom Line:

We’re getting into the better beers now. Bohemia Pilsner is the flagship beer from this brand for a reason. It’s a great take on the Czech style with a solid balance of sweet malts and floral, slightly bitter hops.

2) Tecate Lager (Taste 4)

ABV: 4.5%

Average Price: $8 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Also known as Tecate Cerveza Original, this classic, easy-drinking Mexican lager lists only three, simple ingredients: water, barley, and hops. Regardless of any other ingredients that might be present, this beer is known for its malt-forward, refreshing, highly crushable taste.

Blind Notes:

On the nose, I found biscuit-like malts, sweet corn, slight ripe fruit, and caramel. Sipping it brought forth notes of sweet corn, floral hops, cracker malts, toffee, fresh hay, light grain, and a gentle, bitter hops presence to bring everything together nicely.

Bottom Line:

Tecate is a surprisingly well-balanced and easy-drinking beer. If you prefer your Mexican lagers to be more malt-forward, this is the beer for you. And I do, so it’s ranked almost at the top.

1) Modelo Especial (Taste 3)

ABV: 4.4%
Average Price: $6 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

Brewed since 1925, this classic, pilsner-style lager is brewed simply with water, barley malt, non-malted cereals, and hops. Made using the same traditional brewing techniques popularized in Europe, it’s crisp, delicious, and known for its light, easy-drinking, highly refreshing nature.

Blind Notes:

The nose is slightly herbal with honey, sweet cereal, wet grass, and caramel malts. It’s sweet, refreshing, and has notes of fresh corn, grains, pilsner malts, caramel, clover honey, and just a hint of bitter, floral hops at the very end. By far the most refreshing, easy-to-drink, well-balanced beer in this blind taste test so far.

Bottom Line:

I’m usually surprised when I see which beer takes the top spot. But, in this case, I wasn’t. Modelo Especial is surprisingly well-balanced, crisp, and effortlessly crushable. The best beer on this whole list by far.

This month’s slate of Artists To Watch is especially eclectic and positively fire. Follow along as we jump from dynamic British afrobeats and the next rapper about to take over, to an indie band on repeat, real Brazilian sh*t, and more. These are the artists to watch for in May. And this is On The Up.

Obongjayar

The Nigerian-born, London rapper came firmly into focus last year on Little Simz’s track “Point And Kill.” But it was on the first single from his upcoming album, “Message In A Hammer,” (with one of the best videos of last year) where we get to witness the menacing, raspy-tongued rapper establishing his piercing singular vision. A dynamic MC, he fuses British rap and afrobeats with a silky vocal delivery that touches newfound forms of R&B. On “Try,” the whole range of his voice — from a fine-grain sandpaper flow to his sweet coo over atmospheric production — is on full display. His debut, Some Nights I Dream of Doors, is due out on May 13th.

Momma

While Momma’s third LP (and first since signing with Polyvinyl Records), Household Name, isn’t out until July 1st, the singles that the Brooklyn alt-indie band has released leading up to it oughta be living on repeat in your speakers. Led by Etta Friedman and Allegra Weingarten, Momma has heavy vibes of The Breeders, with the vocalist pair complementing each other a la Kim and Kelley Deal. They supported Wet Leg on their sold-out tour earlier this year and will be joining Snail Mail for theirs in August. But we can’t say enough about how sticky Momma’s first three singles are. They channel ’90s nostalgia in a decidedly of-the-moment package, like on “Speeding 72” when they sing, “You can catch us around, Listening to “Gold Soundz”. Keep me in your car,” before a harmonic guitar riff takes the melody into space.

Domi & JD Beck

The future is here. Domi & JD Beck are two jazz prodigies signed to Anderson .Paak’s Apeshit label, who are starting to build some serious buzz. They backed Thundercat and Ariana Grande’s version of “Them Changes” at the 2020 Adult Swim Festival, sat in with the legendary Herbie Hancock at the Hollywood Bowl last year, co-wrote Silk Sonic’s “Skate,” and their debut album is due out later this year on Apeshit and Blue Note Records. The 21-year-old Domi plays keys, is French, and sports blonde pigtails that flap in unison with her hypnotic fingers tickling the ivories. At 18, the shaggy-haired JD Beck plays drums like he’s possessed by Gregory Coleman, and puts down some of the most dizzying snare work you’ve ever heard. They just dropped their debut single, “Smile,” which features .Paak, Thundercat, and Mac DeMarco in the hilarious video. The visual is a prime example of how they infuse child-like fun into complete and utter mastery of their instruments and it’s them who will surely continue to spread the gospel of real next-level jazz music to future generations.

Sessa

In 2019, Brazilian singer and multi-instrumentalist emerged as a unique talent in the shape of the bossanova and tropicalia greats like Caetano Veloso, João Gilberto, and Antonio Carlos Jobim. His debut album, Grandeza, presented gorgeously-woven poetic expressions of love that only Brazilians are capable of articulating. Now he’s signed to Mexican Summer for the June 24th release of Estrela Acessa and the lead single, ”Gostar Do Mundo,” is a globally-minded declaration of otherworldly desire. Alongside a gentle guitar, Brazilian percussion, and female backing singers, he swoons, “Chega mais pra cá, moço lindo desse lugar. Vem me namorar, sabe o mundo vai acabar”. (translation: “Come closer, good looking man from this place. Come nestle up against me, because the world is ending you know.”) This is the stuff right here.

Doechii

Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) has been notoriously insular in thrusting forward the career of artists from Kendrick Lamar to SZA. But when the venerable hip-hop label announced a new partnership with Capitol Records last month, Doechii was at the center of it. The Tampa rapper is here to usher in the next movement of the TDE roster and she’s come out with a serious bang. The absolutely bonkers (and NSFW) video for “Crazy” feels like it’s floating fiercely over an OG Timbaland beat (it’s actually produced by Kal Banx.) On “Persuasive,” she flashes a silkier side of herself, one that’s indulgent and coyly extravagant. No word yet on an album release, but don’t be sleeping on Doechii.

Doechii is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music.

Pusha T took to Instagram this past Sunday evening to celebrate as his latest album, It’s Almost Dry, earned the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart. Over audio of the track “Let The Smokers Shine The Coupes,” the 44-year-old posted a moving graphic displaying the album’s accomplishments with various photos of himself in the background. In the caption, he started, “We all can’t be number 1 at the same time, this week it’s mine… [sunglasses emoji].”

He also thanked and tagged executive producers Pharrell and Kanye West; manager Steven Victor and his staff; Tunji Balogun and the entire Def Jam label; featured artists such as Jay-Z, Kid Cudi, Lil Uzi Vert, and many more who played a part in his fourth solo album. Pusha also shouted out his wife Virginia Thornton, son Nigel Brixx Thornton, and paid homage to his late parents.

This marks the Virginia rapper’s first No. 1 album after over twenty years in the game, starting as one half of the duo Clipse alongside Malice (formerly known as No Malice, also featured on It’s Almost Dry) before going solo. It’s Almost Dry debuted with 55,000 album units sold, 45,500 of which are streaming equivalent album units in addition to 9,000 pure sales.

Prior to It’s Almost Dry, his 2018 LP Daytona earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album, and Pusha was also featured on West’s “Mercy,” nominated for Best Rap Song in 2013.

Lil Uzi Vert is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Throughout the first-round matchup between the Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans, All-Stars Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and Brandon Ingram each enjoyed their moments. All of them, for one reason or another, though, experienced various games of silence. From injuries to shooting struggles to poor decision-making, their typical star impact evaporated on multiple nights.

The most consistent star of this series was fourth-year center Deandre Ayton, who never scored fewer than 10 points or shot worse than 61.5 percent from the field across the six games. Five times, he scored 19 or more. His series-long averages of 20.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 blocks were exactly that of a star, reinforced by the film and punctuated by defensive artistry.

His 72.1 percent true shooting leads all eligible playoff players. Set for a new contract this summer, he’s dialed up his performance for the second straight postseason.

With Booker sidelined for Games 3-5, Phoenix required Ayton to shoulder an increased scoring load and he delivered, averaging 23.3 points and 15.7 shots in his teammate’s absence. Led by Paul, the Suns employ a pick-and-roll-heavy scheme designed to produce finishes for Ayton, kickouts for open triples, or inevitable midrange jumpers from the Point God.

Ayton’s long benefited from this attack, but displayed substantial signs of growth as a scorer throughout his fourth season. That shined brightly in round one, when he was decisive and aggressive off the catch, quickly let jumpers fly, and wielded ball skills not often seen before this year.

Whether it’s hook shots, floaters, or delicate finishes, his touch is immaculate from virtually anywhere within striking distance of the key. He proved too spry and light off the ground for Jonas Valanciunas to contain him on the catch, bemusing the veteran center for many of his tantalizing buckets inside.

Ayton’s looks weren’t confined to close range either. He buried deep, tough face-up and turnaround jumpers, drove from the perimeter to score through contact and even canned two of his four three-point attempts. His touch is truly special. The confidence he’s now operating with as a shooter and scorer is unprecedented in his NBA career.

According to NBA.com, during the regular season, 13.9 percent of his shots came after 2-6 dribbles. Against the Pelicans, that number sprung to 26.3 percent. He’s a premier release valve and has considerably expanded the way he effectively concludes possessions. Those traits are amplified by his knack for flipping the angle of screens or re-screening to carve space against defenses. Connecting with Ayton likely precedes prosperous offensive results.

Through expanding his scoring repertoire, ball-handlers can feed him in an array of spots and trust that he’ll execute. Setting him up for success demands much less specific situations than it did, say, a year and a half ago. That development greatly eases the responsibility of Phoenix’s initiators, especially when he’s cooking like this. New Orleans deployed an assortment of pick-and-roll coverages to try and frustrate Paul. Ayton was ready to thrive as an outlet regardless of the defensive approach.

Ayton’s shot chart from the first round is a highlighter come to life. Per Cleaning The Glass, he shot 86 percent at the rim (89th percentile among bigs), 70 percent from short midrange (4-14 feet, 96th percentile), 56 percent from long midrange (14 feet to the 3-point line, 79th percentile) and 65 percent overall from midrange (100th percentile).

The man was en fuego, evidenced by the fact that his worst region on the floor produced a sterling 1.12 points per possession.

Ayton’s high-volume, uber-efficient scoring might’ve overshadowed his spectacular defensive series. Both as a helper and pick-and-roll custodian, he consistently quelled the Pelicans’ endeavors.

In ball-screens, his mobility, active hands and recognition of proper angles complemented Phoenix’s point-of-attack stoppers. He and Mikal Bridges are one of the NBA’s foremost pick-and-roll defensive duos, functioning with synergy and a rare ability to impede or extinguish space for opposing teams. When New Orleans involved him in actions, he posed problems and was adept playing against 1-on-2 scenarios.

As a help defender, Ayton etched a similar footprint. His awareness, lively limbs, and mobility enabled him to influence a bevy of possessions, primarily in the paint. According to NBA.com, he’s contested a playoff-high 56 shots within 6 feet of the hoop, where players are shooting 19.9 percent worse than their average.

His verticality and timing were essential, while his 7-foot-6 wingspan deterred numerous other field goals. Confronting him near the rim rarely panned out for the Pelicans.

With Phoenix now set to face the Dallas Mavericks in round two, Ayton will, as he always does during the playoffs, loom large. Luka Doncic is a vastly better pick-and-roll conductor than Brandon Ingram or CJ McCollum. He’s also a more devastating driver and downhill scorer. All of those qualities will challenge Ayton.

On the other end, Dallas’ small-ball 5 rotation of Dwight Powell, Maxi Kleber, Davis Bertans and Dorian Finney-Smith are an ideal matchup for Ayton. Whereas the Mavericks often neutralized Rudy Gobert as a roller by switching or sitting back to defend the lob, Ayton will torch switches and Paul’s intermediate game is more equipped to seize that available space than Donovan Mitchell’s or Mike Conley’s.

Dallas’ cast of rangy, well-connected perimeter defenders will have to overwhelm Paul’s maneuvering as it did Conley to really stymie Phoenix’s pick-and-roll game. But Ayton is a much more malleable and skilled scorer than Gobert, just as he emphasized against New Orleans.

Nobody was more reliable than him. He’s further solidifying himself as a star, one who’s ready to receive the massive payday that’s long overdue.