When Rocket League unveiled its cinematic trailer for Season 5, it featured some really cool imagery involving space and galactic battles with the song “Player Of Games” by Grimes blasting in the background. It’s a really cool trailer and features a fun crossover between music and gaming.
That crossover must have been successful because we’re going to get to see it again with Rocket League‘s upcoming Neon Nights event. On Thursday, Rocket League, in collaboration with Grimes, announced the event will begin on January 26 on all platforms and run through to February 8.
Neon Nights is Rocket League’s first in-game event themed around a musical artist and will include new event challenges with Grimes-themed items, the return of a limited time mode, and golden moons. Those themed items include “Shinigami Eyes” player anthems, Grimes-themed Gravitator, Grimes Decal, Grimes Wheels, and a Grimes Player Banner. The “Shinigami Eyes,” items are in reference to GRIMES new song which will be released on January 26.
While this is the first in-game event surrounding a musical artist for Rocket League, it’s the latest in a trend that is starting to get more popular across video games. We’re seeing more musical artists embrace video games with special events like this and we’re not expecting it to stop any time soon.
While the passage of time seemingly has no meaning in these pandemic times, Thursday marks the one-year anniversary of the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, which arrived just two weeks after Donald Trump attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential with the failed January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building. Fortunately, democracy prevailed, and the Biden-Harris administration immediately got to work pushing out COVID vaccines whose distribution had floundered under Trump as he obsessed over his electoral loss.
To commemorate Biden and Harris’ first successful year in office, the inaugural committee has released a video narrated by “America’s Dad,” Tom Hanks, that will play on airwaves across the country during primetime. Via Axios:
The committee said in a statement to Axios: “In recognition of the President’s first year in office, the Biden-Harris Presidential Inaugural Committee believed it was important to celebrate the strength and perseverance of the American people in the face of extraordinary adversity, just as we did a year ago today.”
“Through the voices of those Americans — including some who participated in last year’s celebration — the video also highlights the progress that’s been made over the last year.”
Of course, like almost every historical event in the past decade, The Simpsons predicted this day would come. Okay, maybe not so much that Biden would be president, but that one day, the American government would call upon Tom Hanks to give it a little boost. Some of that ol’ Hanks pep.
The twice-impeached former president announced plans to launch his social media platform — one he billed as a free-speech competitor to Twitter, Instagram, and all the other mainstream social media sites he’s since been banned from — late last year. Called Truth Social, Trump’s platform seemed like a good way for him to ditch the archaic press releases he’s been using to communicate with his followers, but his new company has been plagued by problems with investors and the S.E.C., which is currently investigating Trump Media’s planned merger with venture capital company, Digital World Acquisition.
Now, a New York Times report is painting an even bleaker picture of the situation at Trump Media. According to insiders, Trump seriously struggled to get investors to buy in on his latest scheme. Bankers for Trump’s tech group approached dozens of high-powered Wall Street execs, scrambling to find anyone willing to partner with Trump, and consistently came up short.
“Despite the opportunity to invest in a deal whose terms were structured to make a profit for investors,” the Times wrote, “many of Wall Street’s big names passed.”
The situation reportedly got so desperate that Trump started trying to sell himself in order to land the deal. After over a dozen hedge funds passed on the investment opportunity, Trump’s team started dangling personal phone calls from the former president as an incentive for anyone willing to contribute $100 million to his venture. Later, after few investors took the bait, the offer was scaled to just $50 million in exchange for a personal call from Trump. Apparently, many of the reputable hedge funds Trump first approached were hesitant to do business with him because of his reputation for bankruptcies, his polarizing political platform, all of the lawsuits he’s fielding with past vendors, and because no one really knows the true value of the company. As of now, Trump Media has yet to disclose any potential revenue or products.
But in case you’ve got a few million to spare and a weird desire to hear an aging real estate tycoon rant about toilets and water pressure, the offer probably still stands.
Dave Chappelle’s The Closer controversy (which sourced from his re-upped trans jokes and how he declared himself “Team TERF”) faded away without real resolution other than Dave saying that people should vote with their dollars or be quiet regarding his alma mater’s planned naming of a theater after him. He’s continued touring and stayed very busy, but he’s expressing regrets for being too “busy” (yep, that’s the word he used, and that’s heartbreaking because a lot of us do the same) to return a text from Bob Saget before the Full House star suddenly passed away (at age 65) ten days ago.
TMZ posted video footage of Dave performing at West Hollywood’s Peppermint Club last Friday. In the process, Dave declared, “Tomorrow I’m going to go lay my comrade to rest.” The 48-year-old comedian added. “Listen, I’m getting old, so a lot of people I know die… I started doing this comedy young. All of my peers are older than me.”
Dave phrased this as his fellow comedians “dying like hotcakes” while still expressing shock over Saget’s death. Then came the regrets: “Man, he just text me and I saw the text yesterday and never texted him back because I was just busy. Yeah, it happens. I’m just saying this to remind you: these moments are precious.”
TMZ summed up how close Dave and Bob were throughout their lives:
Chappelle was not only a friend of Bob’s, he was always there for him when Bob was holding fundraising events for Scleroderma. As you know, Bob’s sister died of the disease when she was 47. It tore Bob apart, and he vowed to be a champion in finding a cure … and that he was.
Brb, gonna go return some texts before it’s too late.
A recent fire in the Bronx, New York resulted in tragedy when flames engulfed a 19-story building, killing 17 people in one of the city’s deadliest fires in nearly three decades. After hearing the news, Cardi B vowed to donate to the victim’s families to help cover their expenses. Cardi has apparently already made good on her promise, as one relative of five victims of the fire heard from NYC Mayor Eric Adams‘ office that the rapper is paying for his family’s funeral costs.
TMZ checked in with Haji Dukuray, a family member of several victims of the Bronx fire, after Cardi committed to offering financial assistance. Dukuray lost five of his family members in the tragic fire, including his niece, her husband, and his niece’s three children. Thanks to Cardi, Dukuray says he doesn’t have to worry about finding the money to give his family members a funeral. “Cardi B, you are an angel,” he said. “I cannot thank you enough, my family cannot thank you enough for what you’ve done. I don’t know you, I’m sure you’ve never heard of my family. For you to step up and do what you did for us at this time, all I can do is pray to Allah for you.”
Cardi wasn’t the only musician to jump into action. Fat Joe recently started a relief fund for the residents of the building, which got donations from the likes of Jay-Z and DJ Khaled. “I’m donating and I’m asking everyone that has a Heart to donate,” Fat Joe said. “these people are mostly immigrants that have nowhere to go they lost everything. It’s 10 degrees in the Bronx today!”
Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm-and-blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B songs that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.
This week, Ant Clemons leads the way with his new EP, 4Play, a love-focused release with four new songs from the New Jersey native. Amber Mark continues to promote her upcoming debut album Three Dimensions Deep with a remix of “Softly” with Popcaan. And speaking of upcoming projects, Cautious Clay prepares to release a deluxe reissue of Deadpan Love with his latest track, “Rapture In Blue.”
Ant Clemons — 4Play
To start 2020, Ant Clemons released his debut project Happy 2 Be Here, which later received a nomination at the 2021 Grammy Awards. Now, to begin 2022, Clemons returns with his second project 4Play. It’s a love-driven release dropped just in time for Valentine’s season next month. A brief project with just four songs, it’s still an enjoyable effort.
Amber Mark & Popcaan — “Softly (Remix)”
In less than two weeks, Amber Mark will step into the spotlight with her debut album, Three Dimensions Deep. She continues to promote the upcoming project with a remix of “Softly” featuring Popcaan. The new update joins previously released singles “What It Is,” “Foreign Things,” “Competition,” “Most Men,” and “Worth It.”
Cautious Clay — “Rapture In Blue”
Last summer, after years of singles and EPs, Cautious Clay released his debut album, Deadpan Love. The New York-based singer provided 14 songs that stood as a warm official welcome towards his artist. Seven months removed from the project’s release, Clay plans to add to the album’s experience with an upcoming deluxe reissue. Arriving on February 11, he’s begun promoting it with “Rapture In Blue,” a spirited track that captures Clay’s joyous appreciation towards the beauty in his life.
Chris Brown — “Iffy”
Later this year, Chris Brown will release his tenth album, Breezy. It will be his first project since 2020’s Slime & B, his joint release with Young Thug, and his first solo drop since 2019’s Indigo. Chris begins the rollout with “Iffy” and its accompanying visual, a cinematic effort filled with the singer’s trademark dance moves.
Keedron Bryant — Keedron
Keedron Bryant, a 14-year-old singer born in Italy and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, first rose to notoriety back in 2020 with his protest song “I Just Wanna Live,” which earned him a new audience following the murder of George Floyd. Later that year, he released his debut EP, I Just Wanna Live and now he’s back with his second project, Keedron. It bears six songs and finds the young singer flaunting his confidence and improving his artistry.
Johan Lenox — “No One Gets Me” Feat. RMR
Back in November, Johan Lenox, who previously delivered work as a producer for Travis Scott, Big Sean, Ty Dolla Sign, Snoh Aalegra, and more, began the journey towards his debut album, WDYWTBWYGU (What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up). He began with “You Up?” featuring Ant Clemons and returned this week with “No One Gets Me” alongside RMR. The song looks at the “various trappings of traditional American adulthood and questioning if these are things I want to participate in at all,” he says.
Elujay — “Pandemia”
Later this week, Oakland singer Elujay will release his debut album Circmvnt. After sharing three singles for it, “1080p,” “Frequency,” and “Luvaroq,” Elujay returns with a fourth and final single in”Pandemia.” A rhythmic and smooth release, “Pandemida” will certainly contribute to the overall experience Circmvnt provides. “It’s about finding alternative routes to an ever transitioning/deteriorating world,” Elujay said of his debut’s title. “Striving to find peace and solace and new techniques to approaching life.”
Terrence Leon — “Etch A Sketch”
Hailing from Austin, Texas, Terrence Leon begins his 2022 campaign with the new single, “Etch A Sketch.” He describes the song as “a record I wrote about being in love with someone so much that if you could, you’d tattoo their name across your heart; even if it’s momentary.” He adds, “It’s all to appreciate the magic in the very moment.” The track follows last summer’s EP, Loading… The Mixtape.
Kenyon Dixon & Tiffany Gouche — “Love On Replay”
Last year, Kenyon Dixon began the year with his Expectations project, which held 18 songs and features from V. Bozeman, Alex Isley, Jade Novah, Aaron Cole, Avery Wilson, and Re Lxuise. Now, he begins the year with his new single “Love On Replay.” The new record features an appearance from singer Tiffany Gouche and overflows with romance and passion.
Traetwothree — “Done Done”
After concluding his 2021 year with “Worth It” featuring DDG, South Central’s Traetwothree gets the ball rolling in 2022 with “Done Done.” The dancehall-influenced record sees him questioning his past lover’s decision to move on from their relationship. Before closing that chapter of love, Traetwothree gives himself one more chance to consider a second try.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, has a torn meniscus in his left knee and is in the process of deciding whether or not to have arthroscopic surgery. Per the report, Ball will make a decision sometime this week.
If Ball elects to have surgery, Wojnarowski reports that he will miss approximately 4-6 weeks in an effort to fix what is described as a “slight” tear. Ball’s injury was initially thought to be a bone bruise and he had missed Chicago’s previous three games with the injury. As a member of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018, Ball had surgery to repair the same meniscus. Prior to the Bulls’ win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night, Bulls coach Billy Donovan said the team hadn’t “gotten to that point” with regards to considering surgery to repair the ailment.
If Ball does have surgery, a 4-6 recovery period will keep him out until after the All-Star Break. Assuming there are no hiccups in his recovery, that’s plenty of time before the playoffs begin and, in theory, enough time to for him to get reintegrated back into the team.
For Chicago, this continues a rough run of injuries. Alex Caruso just returned from being in the league health & safety protocols and dealing with other injuries, while Zach LaVine is currently dealing with his own knee injury.
Although bourbon is inextricably tied to Kentucky and the greater Ohio Valley, it can be made anywhere in the U.S.A. by law. That being said, the vast majority is made in Kentucky, which means those bottles tend to dominate liquor store shelves, home-delivery websites, and the discourse around bourbon, in general.
That said, given the explosion of craft distilling across America, you can now get bourbon from nearly every state in the nation. And many of those bottles are worthy of mainstream love.
Today, we’re highlighting 20 bottles of bourbon whiskey that aren’t from Kentucky. These are bottles I’ve tasted and vouch for. I’ve gone ahead and ranked them by flavor alone — though I did try to keep the MGP of Indiana entries to a minimum — to give you a better idea of which ones might be worth your hard-earned cash.
Iowa’s first distillery planted itself right in the middle of America’s grain belt. They’re making a product that requires corn, rye, and barley, so there’s really no better place to set up a distillery. Cedar Ridge’s Reserve Iowa Bourbon wins awards pretty much everywhere it drops a new expression. The corn-fueled bourbon spends five years aging, adding a deep complexity that’ll help you fall in love with bourbon in general.
Tasting Notes:
This is a big whiskey with a lot to ponder. It opens with a flourish of freshly cracked black pepper, warm honeycombs, and fields of blooming jasmine. There’s a dry nature to the sip with fresh herbs — dill and fennel, predominately — hitting first. Then the corn arrives. You can almost taste the fresh green husks in the whiskey. This is a spring farm in full bloom, distilled into a glass.
Bottom Line:
This is a great place to start a non-Kentucky bourbon whiskey journey. I really dig this whiskey for mixing, but the lower ABV does shave some of the bigger notes off while also creating a soft and approachable experience.
19. Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey (Wyoming)
This small-town craft distillery is making some of the finest grain-to-glass whiskey on the market. Their signature bourbon is a wheated bourbon that utilizes grains grown within 100 miles of the Wyoming distillery. The juice is aged for at least four years before it’s small-batched, proofed with local water, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
The vanilla and caramel on the nose are creamy to the point of feeling like a stiff pudding with a hint of wildflowers. The palate holds onto those flowers and pudding while adding cinnamon sticks warming in browned butter with a note of cedar. That spice broadens out to a Christmas spice vibe as a buttery toffee sweetness and mouthfeel lead you toward a finish that’s just the right length.
Bottom Line:
This feels very classic while packing a little bit more “punch” than your average macro bourbon at the same ABV. Still, I’d highly recommend this for mixing over sipping neat. Or sip it neat if you dig it! We’re not here to judge.
18. Hudson Whiskey Bright Lights, Big Bourbon (New York)
This redesigned New York whiskey starts off a super rare mash bill of 95 percent corn and five percent malted barley. That juice is aged for three short years before batching, proofing, and bottling along the Hudson Valley.
Tasting Notes:
The nose draws you in with hints of dry corn kernels, vanilla extract, salted caramel, a slight hint of rum-raisin, and a touch of raw sourdough pancake batter. That sourdough batter draws a line into the palate with an echo of wet oak next to a vanilla cake with dark chocolate frosting next to damp cornmeal. The end is all about that damp cornmeal and more sourdough pancake batter as salted caramel and vanilla make a sweet and fleeting return.
Bottom Line:
This is a very young whiskey that is specifically built to highlight those green flavor notes. If you dig that sourdough, cornmeal, and caramel vibe, you’ll love it. If you’re looking for deep and dark spices, sugars, and fruits, this isn’t for you.
Either way, it knows what it is and shines therein.
17. Bib & Tucker 10-Year-Old Small Batch Bourbon (Tennessee)
Bib & Tucker is another classic example of what great blending can do with sourced juice. The Tennessee whiskey is a marriage of ten-year-old whiskeys aged in the lowest char barrels available, allowing more direct contact with dried wood rather than black char. Those barrels are blended and then proofed down with soft limestone water from Tennessee.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a sense of vanilla bean (pod, seeds, essence) up top with hints of spicy chewy tobacco, dry oak (almost pine), and a distant note of fresh corn husks. The palate really holds onto that velvety vanilla as the corn husks dry out and notes of orange-infused dark chocolate mingle with that spicy tobacco, which starts buzzing on your tongue. The end is long-ish, has touches of that dry pine, and holds onto both the vanilla and dried corn husks.
Bottom Line:
This is my favorite expression from Bib & Tucker. I’d argue this is the sweet spot of the line (it’s expertly built) and this particular pour really shines neat or on a rock or two.
This grain-to-glass craft whiskey from outside of Chicago is quickly becoming a craft classic. The grains in the high-rye mash bill are all sourced within 100 miles of the distillery. The juice is then aged for just under four years in small format Minnesota oak before it’s small-batched, proofed, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a richness that’s welcoming with oily vanilla, rich caramel, Christmas spices, and a hint of cherry. Those spices really amp up and get chewy on the palate, as buttery toffee with a hint of almond arrives with oak. The end is medium-length and brings more oak and spice with a hint of those local grains popping in.
Bottom Line:
This grew on me over the last year. While I still contend it’s a solid mixer first and foremost, I can see pouring it over some rocks as a good “everyday” pour.
This Michigan whiskey is made to highlight a true grain-to-glass experience. The juice is made from a mash of 71 percent corn, 25 percent rye, and four percent barley. It’s aged for four years in the extreme weather of the Great Lakes. Barrels are then hand-picked and bottled with no fussing.
Tasting Notes:
The milled corn comes through with a touch of orange zest, vanilla, toffee, and lemon jam. The taste amps up the toffee with a caramel kettle corn vibe next to hints of cedar and orchard fruit. The end is long and very clearly all about the velvety vanilla and toffee sweetness with a slight alcohol warmth, thanks to a touch of spice and citrus.
Bottom Line:
This is another young bourbon that lets the corn shine through early but then goes much deeper than many others at this age. This makes for a great cocktail bourbon thanks to those powerful ABVs.
Frey Ranch is all about the farm behind the whiskey. In this case, that’s a 165+-year-old farm in the Sierra Nevada basin near Lake Tahoe. The grains (corn, wheat, rye, and barley), fermentation, distilling, aging, and bottling all happen on-site at Frey Ranch.
Tasting Notes:
The sip draws you in with hints of burnt orange rings next to fresh honey, apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks, cherry tobacco, and vanilla pods. The palate leans dry with cornmeal, bales of straw, woody eggnog spices, cherry stems, and a touch of dried mint next to cedar boxes full of vanilla tobacco. The mid-palate turns with a note of pancake syrup that leads back towards the dry woods and tobacco.
Bottom Line:
Frey Ranch is doing great work, even with their entry-level bottle. This works wonders in a cocktail but I like it over some rocks just the same.
13. Leopold Bros. Bottled-In-Bond Bourbon (Colorado)
This Colorado crafty gets a lot of attention from bourbon drinkers in the know. The mash is made from 64 percent corn, 21 percent malted barley, and 15 percent Abruzzi Heritage Rye that Master Distiller Todd Leopold malted at his malting house at the distillery in Denver. That mash ran through a classic pot still before it was barreled and left to rest for five years.
Tasting Notes:
The floral and spicy nature of that Abruzzi rye really comes out on the nose with a touch of candied apples, Quick powder, and the faintest hint of sourdough rye with a light smear of salted butter. The taste leans into stewed pears with nutmeg and clove spices leading the way as Almond Roca and green peppercorns jostle for space on your palate. The end mellows out as that spice fades towards an eggnog vibe with a creamy vanilla underbelly and a final touch of that floral rye and hint of pear.
Bottom Line:
There’s a young, crafty note to this that works thanks to everything else that’s going on in the nose, taste, and finish. There’s a great depth at play here that works wonders as a sipper or high-end cocktail mixer.
12. Smooth Ambler Contradiction (West Virginia/Indiana)
Smooth Ambler is a great example of how smaller craft operations get up and running. This expression is a blend of sourced high-rye bourbon that’s aged for nine years with their own-make, a wheated bourbon that’s aged for two years. The sourced bourbon is MGP of Indiana, giving the blenders a quality foundation to build their bourbon off of.
Tasting Notes:
Classic notes of bourbon vanilla and oak mingle with spicy stewed cherries buried in a sourdough pancake on the nose. The palate holds onto that sweet fruit and spice, as notes of worn leather and soft cedar arrive with a hint of grain. The end is short-ish with the spice, oak, and cherry lasting the longest until a nice and velvety vanilla mouthfeel arrives.
Bottom Line:
This is kind of like a magic trick. The nose is young but the palate is old. It’s a nice balance and helps this work as a nice sipper, especially on a rock or two.
This craft whiskey from Colorado takes the idea of wheated bourbon to the very edge of its limits. The mash bill carries a whopping 45 percent wheat, pushing this very close to being a wheated whiskey. The juice is then aged for an undisclosed amount of years before it’s batched and cut down to proof with that soft Rocky Mountain spring water Colorado is known for.
Tasting Notes:
You’re drawn in by a big bowl of vanilla ice cream drizzled with salted caramel sauce next to a very faint hint of dried florals. The palate builds on that ice cream, creating a sundae with crushed almonds, creamy toffee brittle, and a hint of eggnog spice. The end is medium-length with a touch of that buttery sweetness carrying the sip to a warm end.
Bottom Line:
This just works. It’s easy drinking, mixable, sippable, and all-around enjoyable.
This is the most unique bottle on the list and worth the search (and money). The mash bill is 100 percent blue corn. The juice is aged in the Balcone’s Waco rickhouse under the hot Texas sun, allowing the sugars from the wood to really imbue themselves into the bourbon more quickly than in cooler Kentucky. The results are vatted and bottled at cask-proof, letting every detail of the barrel shine through.
Tasting Notes:
Salted butter melting on freshly baked cornbread mingles with fresh tobacco, dried mint sprigs, and powdery white pepper. The sip then takes a left turn into Red Hots, orange marmalade, and fire-roasted marshmallow territory with black tea bitterness cutting through. The pepper and corn return on the finish as this one takes its time to say goodbye.
Bottom Line:
This whisky is aged for just over two years and it barely registers as “young.” It’s a bold and deeply hewn sipper that pushed the limits of what a “bourbon” profile is while being extremely drinkable, mixable, and enjoyable.
This is a very old whiskey, all things considered. The juice is from single barrels, aged 15 years or more, and the proof varies accordingly (sometimes it’s cut with water, too). The whiskey showcases Dickel’s vast warehouses and the gems they have hidden deep on those ricks.
Tasting Notes:
This is all about the cherry pie with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream next to a slight apple-tobacco vibe on the nose. The palate is full of red berries leading towards bourbon-soaked oak and a rush of dry sweet grass before a cherry-choco soda pop and more vanilla cream pop on the mid-palate. That sweetness gives way to a musty corner of a cellar as a soft cherry tobacco finish leaves you with a velvet and almost powdery (think vanilla pudding powder) mouthfeel.
Bottom Line:
This is an unsung hero of Tennessee whiskey and, thereby, bourbon. Dickel 15 grows on you if you give it time. It’s pretty damn good neat but really blooms with a touch of water. Plus, we’re talking about a 15-year-old whiskey for around $70 — that’s wild.
Smoke Wagon is everywhere these days. That’s thanks, in part, to co-founder Aaron Chepenik killing it on IG. The other part of the brand’s meteoric rise is that Smoke Wagon’s crew is masterfully blending some of the best barrels from MGP of Indiana that were made available. Case in point, the latest batch from the company was a high-rye bourbon (60 percent corn, 36 percent rye, and four percent malted barley) that was an instant hit.
Tasting Notes:
Based on Batch 29, expect a nose full of classic bourbon notes of orange oils, cinnamon stewed apples, caramel with a touch of salt, and peachy wood chips. The palate really embraces the fruit and moves from that peach vibe towards a blackberry crumble that’s just kissed with nutmeg and clove that leads towards a hint of old leather, singed cedar planks, and a late hint of cherry-touched tobacco. That leather, berry tobacco, and cedar drive the finish towards a dry end.
Bottom Line:
These releases do not disappoint. I resisted these for a long time (mostly due to interest hype). I finally gave in last year and haven’t looked back. This is great juice from MGP that’s damn near inexplicably tasty.
This new age statement release from Jack Daniel’s feels like a throwback to a bygone era in Tennessee whiskey. During the expression’s ten years of aging, the barrels spend time in the “Buzzard’s Roost” at the top of the rickhouse. Once they hit the right flavor profile, those barrels are moved to the bottom floors of other warehouses to slow the aging down. Finally, the whiskey is vatted, proofed, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a rich matrix of cherry syrup, apple cores, sticky toffee, vanilla ice cream, and a thin line of wet and sweet wood. The palate opens up towards the dark fruit but dries it out and married it to a sticky and spicy tobacco leaf while toasted cedar soaked in salted caramel vibes with dry corn husks that are just singed. The finish really takes its time as the cherry attaches to an old cinnamon stick and the tobacco takes on a sticky chewiness with a mild savory fruit edge.
Bottom Line:
Jack Daniel’s is woefully maligned for being the biggest seller in the world. This release proves they’re hitting in the highest weight class of great bourbon whiskey and deserve your attention.
6. 291 Small Batch Colorado Bourbon Whiskey (Colorado)
291 Colorado Whiskey’s Small Batch is a great entry point into the wider world of the crafty brand. The juice isn’t a “straight” bourbon since it’s only aged for one year. That very young whiskey is amped up thanks to Aspen wood staves which are added into the barrels to create a deeper sense of maturation without taking half a decade to achieve it.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a push towards cornbread dripping with butter next to hints of berry bushes plus a touch of caramel apples. The taste adds a good dose of cinnamon to the mix as the caramel leans away from apple and towards kettle corn with hints of nougat and maple syrup arriving late. The end holds onto the warmth of the cinnamon and the sweeter edges while a pine-y resinous note sneaks on the short finish, adding a nice nuance to the sip.
Bottom Line:
While the corn is still very present on this very young whiskey, there’s real depth at play in this bottle. It’s sort of the best of both worlds — young and old whiskey-wise — while feeling unique but, well, familiar.
5. Remus Repeal Reserve Series V Straight Bourbon (Indiana)
Last year’s Remus Repeal Reserve V is a hell of a whiskey. The MGP of Indiana (now Ross & Squibb) signature bourbon is comprised of nine percent 2005 bourbon with a 21 percent high-rye mash, five percent 2006 bourbon with a very high-rye mash of 36 percent of the sticky grain, 19 percent 2006 bourbon with the same 21 percent high-rye mash, 13 percent 2008 bourbon with that 21 percent rye mash, and 54 percent 2008 bourbon with the 36 percent high-rye mash.
Tasting Notes:
The nose on this is brilliantly fruity with touches of fresh raspberries, strawberries resting in dry straw, candied cherries, freshly peeled mandarins, apple cores and stems, and a touch of caramel malts. That caramel sweetness merges into a fresh honeycomb next to Dr. Brown’s Cream Soda vanilla flavor and pep while the fruit dries out, leaving you with meaty dried figs, dates, and prunes driving the midpalate toward the finish. A touch of candied ginger spices things up as a fruity but dry tobacco leaf rounds out the end with the faintest touch of walnut shells.
Bottom Line:
This is just goddamn delightful. Pour a glass and enjoy every last drop.
4. High West A Midwinter Night’s Dram (Utah/Indiana)
Each year, this limited drop varies slightly. Last year’s release was a mix of MGP rye (95 percent rye) and High West rye (100 percent rye) finished in French oak barrels that held port. The barrels were between four and seven years old before mingling and proofing.
Tasting Notes:
This bursts forth with bright red berries covered in rich and bitter dark chocolate with sultanas, burnt orange peels, and nutmeg-heavy French toast custard. The palate really holds onto the berries while savory rhubarb cobbler mingles with dates, old leather tobacco pouches, and vanilla pudding with a salted caramel drizzle. The end leans into eggnog spices with a touch of bitter black tea, more leathery tobacco, and a whisper of fresh mint.
Bottom Line:
As you can read from above, we’re in “wow, that’s f*cking good” territory. Make sure to add a few drops of water in your Glencairn to really open this up.
This whiskey takes Woodinville’s signature (and much-lauded) five-year-old straight bourbon and gives it a new finishing touch. The juice is finished in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. Those barrels are then vatted and the whiskey is proofed and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is a bouquet of dark spices next to dried orange rinds, soft Christmas cake, and a slight floral underpinning that’s more “damp” than “dried out.” The taste embraces the holiday spice matrix with a creamy veneer of dark chocolate oranges, eggnog spice, and a velvety mouthfeel with a hint of orchard fruit and toffee drizzle. The finish is long but doesn’t overstay its welcome. There’s a sense of the woody spices that’s more akin to cinnamon sticks dipped in hot apple cider, leaving you with a dry note of spicy tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This is subtle winter in a glass of great bourbon. There are really no faults here.
This much-lauded Texas bourbon is the highwater mark of what great whiskey from Texas can be. The juice is aged in Ozark white oak for four years and then finished in oak from Minnesota for another year, all under that blazing West Texas sunshine. The bourbon is then small-batched, proofed with Texas spring water, and bottled at a healthy 115 proof.
Tasting Notes:
You’re greeted with a real sense of a corn-syrup-laced pecan pie next to hazelnut bespeckled cinnamon rolls and creamy milk chocolate. That chocolate drives the taste towards a mint-chocolate ice cream vibe (heavy on the chocolate part) with small dashes of holiday spices, hard toffee candies, worn leather, and a flourish of cedar boxes full of dried tobacco leaves. The end circles back around to all that sweet and chocolatey creaminess with a final slice of pecan pie on a slow fade.
Bottom Line:
This is pretty much my favorite sip at the moment. It’s so bold yet subtle. It’s easy drinking while also having a slight edge of “challenge” to it. It’s just great.
This Alabama whiskey is all about that grain-to-glass experience. What really stands out, though, is that this whiskey aged for four years. The whiskey takes on a dark hew thanks to it being stored at the top of the rickhouse and in hot and balmy Alabama. The results are bottled from a single one of those barrels without any cutting or fussing.
Tasting Notes:
The nose on this one starts with cornbread that’s been baked in lard in a cast-iron skillet with an almost burnt crust, plenty of salted butter, and a dollop of honey that’s been cut with orange oils. The palate takes that cornbread, crumbles it up, and mixes in fresh cracked Tellicherry black peppercorns, dried roses, a touch of cedar, and a mild echo of orange-laced tobacco leaves. Finally, the sip layers in a wintry spice combo that leans towards cinnamon sticks soaked in mulled wine and apple cider that leads towards a soft finish with a dried mint that’s… almost menthol tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This has that “young” corn note but it feels like it’s aged to damn near perfection with the wood, tobacco, and spices. This is new, feels unique, and promises a bright future of releases from this distillery. Just make sure to drop some water in to let it fully bloom in your glass.
Ever since blowing up in late 2020 with her breakout single “No More Parties,” New Jersey rapper and XXL Freshman Coi Leray has put up with a frankly ridiculous amount of scrutiny. While she brings some of it on herself — while her XXL Freshman freestylewas fun, she could have guessed that it’d draw as much backlash as it did — a lot of it stems from the double standards surrounding women in the music industry, as well as unfair comparisons fans have drawn between her and other female rappers… especially Dej Loaf, who many say she sounds like.
And while there are some similarities in the singsong flow she uses on “No More Parties” and the usual cadence of Dej’s hits like “Body” and “Me U & Hennessey,” a deeper look at Coi’s catalog reveals more variety than the first glance assumption many have made about her. In a recent tweet, she addressed one fan’s accusation that she “bit” Dej Loaf’s style, pointing out how many other songs of hers don’t sound like the Detroit rapper’s at all, and offered her own explanation for why fans can’t help comparing them.
Maybe it’s the tomboy stud vibe we have in common.., but we do not sound alike.. From no more parties to big Prrdd and twinnem nigga you cannot tell me we sound alike https://t.co/AeDlDYe23F
“Maybe it’s the tomboy stud vibe we have in common,” she mused, “but we do not sound alike. From “No More Parties” to “Big Purr” and “Twinnem,” n**** you cannot tell me we sound alike.” That’s leaving aside earlier tracks like “Huddy,” in which she employs a more clipped, straightforward flow, or new ones such as “Medicine,” which honestly sounds more like something Playboi Carti would make. Meanwhile, for her part, Dej Loaf seems to have taken the newer rapper’s rise in stride, preferring to focus on promoting her own works, like the 2020 sequel to her own star-making mixtape, Sell Sole.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
What happens when an iconoclastic recording artist, so fully committed to contradicting convention, goes the other way around and embraces the mainstream sound? We don’t know yet, but we get an inkling with Earl Sweatshirt’s new album Sick!, which doesn’t so much embrace convention as it does co-opt it, wrangling it into new shapes and forms to suit Earl’s contrarian ways.
For years, Earl has been nothing short of a masterful technician, weaving words together like Arachne at her loom. He’s also been, for lack of a better term, hip-hop’s consummate curmudgeon, grousing that I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside over beats that could wrack the listener’s nerves and obfuscate his impressive wordplay.
This wasn’t always the case. When Earl first showed up on the DIY scene alongside Odd Future, his was the exciting voice that proved complex, intricate raps could coexist alongside other styles like Tyler The Creator’s horrorcore and Domo Genesis’ updated G-funk. His debut Doris offered forward-facing production from The Neptunes and features from a who’s-who of other highly gifted lyrical technicians who’ve since gone on to bask in varying degrees of stardom; think Tyler, Vince Staples, and Mac Miller.
Then, after releasing the above-mentioned I Don’t Like Shit, Earl became disillusioned with the rap game. His next two projects, Some Rap Songs and Feet Of Clay, have an unfinished quality to them. The mixing is all over the place. The stream-of-consciousness rhymes are only occasionally lucid enough to be decipherable. The beats are muddy, disconnected, and obdurate, clashing spectacularly with each other and with Earl’s admittedly still very expert raps. Both projects were still highly regarded by critics and fans, but less and less inviting for less-hardcore followers.
But he’s since mellowed out, telling Entertainment Weekly’s Marcus J. Moore, “I’m ready to embrace all of this. I believe I’m ready to feel it. I feel fuller. I’m less confused. Like, ‘Yeah, let’s go to the studio. Let’s go on tour.’ I wasn’t developed enough to fit the mold all those years ago. I’m ready to be in the league now.” It’s possible that fatherhood has granted him perspective (his son was born at some point within the last three years), or that going through the pandemic with the rest of us made him feel more connected. Certainly, cutting down on his drinking helped, as he told Moore. But whatever it is, his output has benefitted from it — at least, from the perspective of someone who always kind of side-eyed Earl as being unnecessarily standoffish and pretentious.
That newly relaxed stance is evident in the relative accessibility of Sick!, from the beat choices to the raps. I’d never have called him “nostalgic,” although his rhymes have always been ruminative and autobiographical. But there was never the sense of warmth that would have suggested he looked back on his life with any degree of fondness. However, on tracks like “2010,” he takes stock of all he’s seen and accomplished since his explosive debut with his upstart skater posse, Odd Future.
Earl imposes his will over contemporary cadences on “Vision” and “Lobby,” which pair his propensity for stripped-down instrumentals and quirky samples with booming 808s — the sort of production that you could almost hear modern-day trap artists on. When he does indulge his jazzier inclinations on “God Laughs” and “Tabula Rasa” with Armand Hammer, the results are smoother than on his previous iterations of the sound, with looped lounge pianos and contemplative rhyme sequences that highlight his newfound sense of security.
Even though he’s grown up, though, there remains an element of inscrutability in his music, a chip on his shoulder that has been reduced in size but is no less embedded in the fabric of his being. His rhymes still require “hard hat and ax pick” levels of exegesis, the title track nearly washes out his vocals in favor of an admittedly hard-hitting drum pattern, and you won’t be hearing many requests for Earl’s new music at any clubs or parties anytime soon (none you’d want to go to, anyway). But what feels more important is that Earl is in a good place, mentally and emotionally, and that’s translated to art that is proportionately more enjoyable.
Sick! is out now via Tan Cressida and Warner Records. Stream it here.
Earl Sweatshirt is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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