Category: News

Manny, Diego, Sid, Buckminster, and the rest of the Ice Age gang are back in the series’ sixth installment, The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild. Announced last year, the film takes place after the events of 2016’s Ice Age: Collision Course and primarily follows the weasely Buckminster (Simon Pegg) and possum brothers Crash and Eddie (Seann William Scott and Josh Peck) as they collapse through an iceberg and find themselves sent back to the prehistoric “lost world.”

In the lost world, Buck finds himself at home among the various dinosaurs and reptiles he was introduced alongside in 2009’s Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Using his expertise, he acts as a mentor for the highly erratic possum brothers, guiding the team through the perils of the the wild world with ease.

While new Ice Age movies have been a staple in children’s entertainment for quite some time (after all, this is the series sixth major installment), The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild could very well be the last entry in the series we get. Shortly after Disney purchased 21st Century Fox back in 2017, the company shut down Blue Sky Studios, the animation studio behind the original 2002 movie. As of right now, Disney has not made it clear whether or not they intend to continue working on the franchise.

In addition to Pegg, Scott, and Peck, Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Lopez, and Jessie J are all returning to the Ice Age franchise in Adventures of Buck Wild. John C. Donkin (Nimona, Surviving Sid) is on board to direct the film written by Ray DeLaurentis and William Schifrin. The movie is slated to hit Disney+ January 28.

Marjorie Taylor Greene has been a repeat guest on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, which has yielded a side-eye during particularly egregious MTG lies, but for the most part, he appears to be co-signing her. In fact, these two vibe a little two well, given that Bannon’s prone to exaggerations as well, like wanting to bring “fire and brimstone” to the 2024 election. These days, Bannon’s still refusing to comply with a subpoena for the House Jan. 6 committee, and he’s still here for chaos. As for Marj, though? She’s claiming to be over it.

As Greene told Bannon (via Raw Story), she’s grown disillusioned by recently observing some members of her own party helping to pass Biden’s Build Back Better bill. She says that she’s realized, “It’s not the Democrats that are screwing you, it’s our own party.” She complained about being disappointed after the Tea Party didn’t take the world by storm, and “things… were supposed to be better,” but she believes that the GOP “failed” its voters. After saying that this failure was her inspiration for seeking office, she then made another declaration:

“I don’t want to have anything to do with politics. I don’t like it one bit, and I can’t stand what I see happening.”

Well then. Naturally, she can’t be serious about wanting out of politics, and she’s probably still miffed about being stripped of all her committee assignments. Yet if Greene decides that she’s out, will anyone argue with her? She hasn’t accomplished anything besides whittling away much of her paycheck to pay for fines because she refuses to wear a mask as required on the House floor. (You can watch Greene’s “over it” comments around the 3:00 minute mark in the above video.)

(Via Raw Story)

According to a report from Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Portland Trail Blazers President, Chris McGowan “has informed the franchise that he’s resigning.” In a statement released by the team, McGowan, who’s served as team president since 2012, said the move is effective Nov. 26. Dewayne Hankins, the franchise’s Chief Commercial Officer and Executive Vice President, will succeed McGowan as President of Business Operations.

“After careful consideration over the summer, I have decided to resign from my position as President and CEO of the Portland Trail Blazers Organization,” McGowan said in the statement. “I want to thank Paul Allen, Jody Allen and Bert Kolde for giving me the opportunity to lead this great organization over the past nine years.”

This news comes just one week after Haynes reported that the Blazers launched an investigation into employees alleging that general manager Neil Olshey fostered a “toxic, hostile work environment where staff members have been subjected to intimidation and profanity-laced tirades, among other bullying tactics.”

On Thursday, Dwight Jaynes tweeted that “the Blazers may have some Neil Olshey news tomorrow. The old late-Friday news dump thing perhaps.” There is no update regarding Olshey at this point.

The 5-7 Blazers will look to snap their two-game losing streak when they face the Houston Rockets on Friday evening.

After spending what feels like forever teasing it, Charli XCX finally announced her new album, Crash, last week. Alongside that news, she also unveiled her long-rumored collaboration with Caroline Polachek and Christine And The Queens, “New Shapes.” Now she has given the song a proper visual, which is presented like an appearance on a late-night show called TV Heaven.

In a press release, Charli wrote of the video, “Today I, the iconic global pop star Charli XCX, am releasing a visual for ‘New Shapes,’ my track featuring my demonically talented friends Caroline Polachek and Christine And The Queens. The ‘New Shapes’ visual is the first performance from my new talk show, TV Heaven, which will only be available to stream in full once you cross over to the afterlife.”

Members of this trio are used to working with each other, as they’ve done it a bunch in recent years. Polachek was featured on Charli’s 2017 song “Tears” (which they’ve performed live together on multiple occasions) and she provided background vocals on Charli’s “Delicious.” Meanwhile, Christine And The Queens featured on Charli’s “Gone” and co-starred in the track’s video. Also, Polachek featured on Christine And The Queens’ 2020 single “La Vita Nuova” and appeared in its video.

Watch the “New Shapes” video above.

Crash is out 3/18/2022 via Asylum Records UK/Warner Records UK. Pre-order it here.

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

Break out the martini shakers — Carrie Bradshaw is back to her blog in the trailer for the Sex and the City spinoff series And Just Like That. According to the HBO Max trailer description, the upcoming series will follow Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda (Samantha Nixon), and Charlotte(Kristin Davis) as they “navigate the journey from the complicated reality of life and friendship in their 30s to the even more complicated reality of life and friendship in their 50s.” And Just Like That will span ten episodes, with the first two premiering on December 9 and the following eight releasing weekly on Thursdays thereafter.

In addition to Parker, Davis, and Nixon, the trailer shows off the return of several fan-favorite characters as well as some new additions. Naturally, the series will feature Carrie’s long-time love interest and partner Mr. Big (Chris North), as well as Stanford (Willie Garson), Anthony (Mario Cantone), Harry Goldenblatt (Evan Handler), and Steve Brady (David Eigenberg). And Just Like That will also mark the debut of some new Sex and the City characters, such as Sara Ramírez’s Che Diaz and actors Sarita Choudhury, Nicole Ari Parker, and Karen Pittman.

However, notably missing from the trailer is Kim Cattrall’s Samantha Jones, the fourth and most vivacious of the Sex and the City women. While Cattrall’s absence might not come as too much of a shock to fans who have kept up with Parker and Cattrall’s vicious feud, that hasn’t led to any shortage of outrage about her refusal to reprise the role. Cattrall addressed the scathing comments she’s been getting in an interview with Entertainment Tonight late last year, telling the outlet:

“It was astonishing some of the things people wrote to me — ‘I work in a bank and I don’t like this person and I don’t like the hours, but I do it. So you just do it!’” Cattrall shared. “Give me what I want. I do it. I’m miserable, you be miserable too.”

However, you know who won’t be miserable? All the Sex and the City fans being treated to this brand new series. And Just Like That hits HBO Max on December 9.

As Disney+ continued its morning-long event on Friday, the streaming service blew WandaVision fans by confirming the recently reported spinoff series centered on Kathryn Hahn‘s breakout character, Agatha Harkness. As part of its mammoth rollout on Twitter, Disney+ revealed the show’s official title, Agatha: House of Harkness, as well its logo.

Despite being revealed as WandaVision‘s big bad, Hahn’s performance was a fan-favorite, and following the series finale, the show sparked intense debate over who was the real villain: Agatha or Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda. (Hey, one of them imprisoned and psychologically tortured an entire town, and it wasn’t Hahn’s centuries-old witch.) What isn’t up for debate is the perfect pairing of the two actresses who were dubbed the “Most Iconic Duo” at the MTV Movie Awards. And it’s for that reason that fans are absolutely loving the confirmation that more Agatha is coming their way.

Like all things Marvel, details about the Agatha spinoff series are being kept tightly under wraps. However, WandaVision writer Jac Schaeffer will return to write the spinoff, which is already a good sign. Judging by the title, it’d be safe to assume that fans will learn more of Agatha’s past and possibly what led to her destroying her whole coven, including her own mother.

Or there will just be more Kathryn Hahn ‘hamboning,’ which we’re all for. Sign us up.

(Via Marvel Studios on Twitter)

This past weekend streetwear mecca ComplexCon returned to the gentle shores of Long Beach, California after taking a pause last year due to Covid-19. The two-day event featured hundreds of booths to shop at, an installation highlighting a new chicken project from Sean Evans, and musical performances from a wide variety of guests, from ASAP Rocky to Mac DeMarco and Kero Kero Bonito.

Considering the pandemic is very much not over, the festival wasn’t without its enhanced safety measures which included a mandatory health check that greeted festival-goers before they could enter the convention floor. As someone who walked the grounds in both 2019 and this year, I can tell you that the enhanced safety measures didn’t dampen the crowd’s enthusiasm for all of the limited sneaker and apparel drops the festival is known for. This year’s festival felt even bigger than two years ago as people packed into the convention halls rocking their best fits complete with matching face masks and walked from booth to booth nabbing exclusives and their first tastes of new streetwear brands.

Of the many brands that filled the halls of the Long Beach Convention Center, these are the ten that stood out from the pack and caught our eye. These are the brands that you need on your radar to help level up your style game as we head into 2022. Here are the best streetwear brands from this year’s ComplexCon. Let’s dive in.

Advisry

The only thing I don’t love about Advisry — who showed up to ComplexCon with a dope laundromat-inspired booth — is the fact that my computer is constantly changing the brand’s name to “Advisory.” That’s not really the brand’s issue, it’s mine. So if you’re willing to look past that, you’ll find a streetwear label that specializes in an eye-catching set of apparel and accessories.

From sunflower-adorned hats to vintage-inspired graphic shirts, Advisry is a brand that has captured the vibe of the perfect thrift store haul. Each piece out of the brand looks like the sort of vintage gem you’d stumble on after hours of searching through thrift store racks, only without having to deal with that grueling search.

Curves By Sean Brown

One of ComplexCon’s designated “Brands To Watch,” Curves by Sean Brown isn’t your typical streetwear brand, because well, they’re not a streetwear brand in the first place. The brand specializes in contemporary homeware from three-piece bedding sets to rugs, throws, shower curtains, and grocery bags.

Having said all that, Curves isn’t exactly your typical homeware brand either. There’s something very young and modern about the brand and they seem to be envisioning your home more than your grandmother’s as they also sell bubble hard drive sleeves, incense holders, and Daft Punk branded CD-rugs. If you’re looking to add some hipness to your living space, Curves is the brand to watch.

Everything We Do Is Limited

Looking for your future favorite five-panel hat? Everything We Do Is Limited is your brand. Each cap that comes from the brand drops in, you guessed it, highly limited quantities that take on average one to two weeks to ship. That means if you want to pick up a drop from the brand you have to move fast and then be patient.

It’s a frustrating rhythm, but I mean look at these hats. The embroidery, the attention to detail, everything is so well planned and thought out that it’ll surely be worth the wait. Few hat brands can blow us away, but Everything We Do Is Limited is truly operating on another level.

Juliet Johnstone

Juliet Johnstone is an artist and denim jeans are her canvas. The L.A.-based artist and brand specialize in wild psychedelic designs. Think flowers, butterflies, and the word “love” all rendered with psychedelic movement that almost makes the designs feel like they’re moving as you stare at them.

Not everyone can rock art on their jeans, but if you’re wearing Juliet Johnstone you’re pretty much guaranteed to pull it off and turn heads when you walk into any room. Jeans aren’t the only thing you’ll find from the brand though. Shirts, trucker hats, and more have also served as canvases for Johnstone, and she kills it every time.

Kids of Immigrants

This isn’t the first time we’ve covered Kids of Immigrants and it certainly won’t be the last. What can we say about this brand that we haven’t already said? Kids of Immigrants is one of the few streetwear brands that puts community first. It factors into every decision the brand makes and that’s part of the reason why over five years in, they still feel like they’re breaking new ground.

At this year’s ComplexCon the brand, in its usual general fashion, opted to use its booth to create a marketplace for younger brands from their community that are just getting their start. We love to see a streetwear brand that supports its friends, and that’s an ethos Kids of Immigrants has built on since its inception.

KNC Beauty

When I said ComplexCon felt bigger this year, that wasn’t just a year spent in quarantine playing tricks on my eyes. I meant it. In addition to your usual streetwear brands, the convention also hosted a handful of beauty brands as well, and none made their presence known more than Kristen Noel Crawley’s KNC Beauty.

The brand didn’t just come baring their usual lip masks, they also linked up with streetwear staple Champion for a capsule collection of basics like sweatshirts, t-shirts, shorts, sweatpants, and leggings. If this collaboration is any indication of things to come, it’s looking like KNC Beauty is expanding itself into more than just a beauty brand, and we’re excited to see what’s in-store.

Lazy Cake

Being lazy is great, but a brand that actively encourages us to embrace that state of being is even better. Lazy Cake is a loungewear brand that specializes in comfortable clothes that’ll have you living your best life while still looking great.

If you love rocking big sweaters and matching sweats, Lazy Cake is your brand. But with their embrace of loud colors and flattering cuts, you’ll be able to be comfortable without feeling like you’re actually being lazy since you remain adorably presentable. That’s a recipe for success in our book, so pass the cake.

Sweats By Sam

As we mentioned before, we’re big fans of clothes that prioritize comfort and with Sweats By Sam you’re not only going to get a comfortable fit, you’re also investing in a piece of your wardrobe that should last you for years.

The brand describes itself as a handmade slow-fashion brand that specializes in custom clothes designed to last. You can definitely feel that quality in the fabrics and the brand delivers everything from sweat pants to skirts, quart zips, and jackets all bearing customizable name tags that allow you to put a personal stamp on your fit.

The aesthetic captures a look like what you’d imagine out of a Wes Anderson-directed streetwear campaign. We love it.

Vandy The Pink

We’ve been big Vandy fans for a minute now, and we were psyched to see the brand with their very own booth at this year’s event. Vandy started out as one of the best sneaker customizers on the streetwear scene. The custom work out of this label always felt bespoke, contained a strong visual identity, and served as radical departures from the source material. So it’s only fitting to see it all evolve into its own streetwear brand.

At ComplexCon Vandy the Pink went for a full ’50s diner-inspired aesthetic, decorating their booth like your favorite burger joint and dropping a pair of sneakers inspired by the classic cheeseburger. With a playful aesthetic and dope designs, it’s easy to fall in love with Vandy the Pink the second you lay eyes on the brand, and they were definitely feeling the love from the ComplexCon attendees who were already rocking the shoes on the ground floor.

Vixx Studios

Athletic wear isn’t sexy, it’s practical. Vixx Studios asks the question “what if it was?” Featuring handmade pieces that are sustainably made in the United States, Vixx Studios comes from designer and engineer Victoria Cummings who took a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and used those skills to start a fashion brand.

If that doesn’t smack of vision, we don’t know what does. More scientist fashion designers, please! The fits out of Vixx Studios are the sexiest clothes you’ll ever wear on a tennis court, offering bright pastel colors that will look great both on and off the court.

Of the three main console giants — Nintendo, Xbox, and PlayStation — Nintendo has the largest library of IPs. There are obvious names like Mario, Zelda, and Pokémon, but there’s an even larger library beyond them, like Fire Emblem, Kirby, and Metroid. Of all the IPs mentioned, most of them receive a pretty consistent release of new games for fans to enjoy except for Metroid.

The Metroid franchise and Nintendo have an awkward history. Metroid‘s influence on gaming as a whole is obvious — an entire genre, Metroidvania, was named partially after it. Some of the most beloved Nintendo games ever, Metroid Prime and Super Metroid, are part of that franchise. However, multiple times fans have seen Metroid get ignored in favor of other Nintendo IPs when it comes to new games. The reasoning for this has never been clear, but a history of inconsistent sales numbers appears to be the culprit.

When a brand new Metroid game, Metroid Dread, was released on Nintendo Switch back in October, fans made it very clear to Nintendo that they want to see the IP get a little more love. More than 850,000 copies sold in October, which earned praise from Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser in an interview with the Washington Post.

There’s some good news for Metroid fans, too: “Metroid Dread” sold 854,000 copies in October, which Bowser said is the best launch in series history. That Nintendo is proud enough to announce these numbers bodes well for the franchise, which has had a shaky sales history.

When Metroid Dread was announced back at E3 it was honestly shocking, not only because it was a Metroid game, but it was the first 2D Metroid release since Metroid Fusion back in 2002. Until Dread was announced, all Metroid fans really had to get excited about was a remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus for the 3DS and the news that Metroid Prime 4 will come at some point. Dread is the first new Metroid game since Metroid: Other M in 2010.

Now that Dread has done incredibly well, fans of the series may finally be able to breathe a little easier. As long as games continue to sell, there shouldn’t be a reason for the IP to go into hiatus like it has done multiple times in the past.

As part of Friday’s Disney+ event, the streaming service has unveiled the new trailer for Chris Hemsworth‘s upcoming National Geographic series Limitless. The six-part series will send the super jacked Marvel star across the globe where he will learn to literally fight the effects of aging. Sure, Hemsworth plays an immortal lightning god on the big screen, but it’s an entirely different pursuit to brave the elements in pursuit of a longer life. Judging by the trailer, Hemsworth is up to the challenge, and if his body wasn’t already in peak physical shape before, it will be now.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Chris Hemsworth embarks on an epic mission to transform himself by training for six extraordinary challenges, showing how to fight aging at every stage of life – and in doing so discovers how we can all live healthier, smarter and longer lives. Each episode will tackle a different way we can live better for longer: regenerating damage, maximizing strength, building resilience, shocking the body, supercharging memory and confronting mortality. Hemsworth will meet leading longevity scientists who believe that the key to staying young lies in rooting out and reversing the ravages of time before they take hold, and learn secrets from superhumans who demonstrate the mind-blowing extent of human potential.

Limitless with Chris Hemsworth will start streaming on Disney+ in 2022.

Maturation is a crucial step in the process of making whiskey. Time spent resting in oak allows the transfer of sugars from the wood into the spirit that helps create many of the flavors in whiskey. It is a lot more complicated and scientific than that but that’s the gist. While yeast, grains, and water are all crucial components to making a great whiskey, the color and sometimes the most dominant flavors can come from the judicious use of toasted and charred oak.

The help us better understand how barrel-aging and finishing works, we reached out to Andrea Wilson, the Master of Maturation for Michter’s. Wilson’s job is vast but very specific. She manages barrel specifications, barrel procurement, heat cycling and temperature monitoring during aging, tracks maturation of barrels, oversees whiskey filtration in preparation for bottling, and innovation in aging. Naturally, you don’t just walk onto a job like that without some serious credentials. After getting a master’s in Chemical Engineering, Wilson spent years at Diageo working as their Director of Distillation and Maturation for all of North America and also worked as their Director of Whiskey Strategy for North American operations.

All of that is to say that Wilson knows the craft of whiskey deeper than 99.99 percent of people on this planet. We jumped on a call with Wilson last week to talk about the release of the much-sought-after 20-Year Michter’s Bourbon that just dropped. The conversation ended up being about maturation, finishing, and how the company actually gets their whiskey from the barrel into the bottle. Hopefully, it’ll illuminate how whiskey is aged and how Michter’s gets such beautiful whiskey into the bottle.

What does it mean to be a Master of Maturation? What’s your day-to-day like?

I actually look after wood selection and wood preparations such as the natural seasoning and air-drying protocols that we have for toasting and charring levels with our specific temperatures. I validate the quality with our toasting and charring temperatures and make sure that they meet our quality standards. I’m responsible for looking after the barrels and deciding — with our Master Distiller — when they are ready to be pulled for whatever products we’re working on that day. I also work on the storage program in terms of the design and construction of our warehouses. I work with great architects and engineers in our community to help us with those designs and that covers everything from air movement, temperature, and humidity to the actual materials for construction.

I also host people and provide great hospitality and educate them on the brand.

That’s a lot. Something that’s become very popular again is the toast barrel finish. Can you walk us through what that process is like?

Yeah, the Toasted Barrel series has been very popular for Michters. It’s a very fun project for us to do. So we have the Toasted Bourbon, Toasted Barrel Strength Rye, and the Toasted Sour Mash. But let’s look at the bourbon.

So what we do is we take our Kentucky straight bourbon after it’s been aged from five to seven years. We take it out of the barrel and then we take that liquid and we put it back into a toasted-only barrel for a period of time.

Now, the first time that we did this, it was aged in that second barrel for only 28 days. We had all agreed that we weren’t going to tell anyone and then Willie Pratt — who was our Master Distiller at the time — went out and told everybody. We thought it would be something that we would have some ability to adjust in the future, either with how long we leave it in the barrel or otherwise. Since then, we’ve stopped disclosing how long it spends in the second barrel. But I can tell you that it’s only in that second barrel for a short period of time still.

What the finish really does is that it helps people get an understanding of the power of the toasting process, and how it can really influence the flavor profile of the product. It’s a beautiful expression. And even though the bourbon expressions are the same five to seven-year whiskeys, once you put them in those toasted barrels, you’re going to clearly see a difference in a short amount of time. Plus, the toast profiles may change due to the natural air drying time, and then that might change the time that the bourbon sits in that second toasted barrel.

Let’s take a step back and look at how your choose barrels for releases. How much of an idea do you have of which barrels might go into this year’s 20-year release or the next Sour Mash? How does that selection process work?

Well, different products have different processes that go along with them. So the 20-year is a beautiful product where we’ve aged barrels for over 20 years. We tasted through them. We bring those casks forward and we say, “These are actually really brilliant. They’re really beautiful, and we are ready to use them for a release.”

What are you looking for when you’re tasting through them?

We are rating them on everything from the aromatics to the complexity of the product, the texture of the product, the color, the finish, the overall dynamic experience across your palate. Those are the kinds of things that we’re looking at. We are a very quality-focused company.

So we want people to have a really exceptional experience when they experience our products whether it’s our bourbon, our ryes, anything out of our toasted series, or any of the special release expressions like the 20-year. We want people to have a “wow!” moment. We want them to know that this is something really special that took years to develop.

All of our barrels are like children. We’re looking after all of them. We’re giving them the freedom to do their magic and have their beautiful reactions, but we want to create the conditions for them to have the highest rate of success possible. We don’t just stick barrels in a warehouse and leave them there, and then come back over 20 years later, and hope for the best. We’re actually searching through them over time to ensure we have the highest probability of success.

And if we do have something that reaches a point where maybe it’s starting to take on some characters that we know and if we leave it there it’s not going to be great, then we’ll go ahead and take it out of wood. We’ll stop the aging on it by putting it in stainless steel drums. We’re going to hold it so we can use it for something later versus leaving it in wood and it taking on too much tannin or wood character where it becomes unusable for us.

What are red flags in a barrel that tell you something’s off?

There are several different components. One of them will be like a tannic component, which is going to resonate as either woody or astringent. And while tannin is great for wine because it provides beautiful structure, it doesn’t have the same role to play in whisky. So we’re going to watch for those kinds of compounds.

We’re going to look for things that are deviances from our profile. So for example, glycol is a compound in wood that provides beautiful smoky qualities. But too much smoke may not be consistent with the profile of Michters. And if there’s too much glycol, that could mean that something might have been slightly off in the toasting process.

So we need to watch for those kinds of things. Wood is a living species. We work with our cooperages very closely to monitor the toasting accuracy and the quality of the barrels when they come in. We have to check to make sure we’re getting the right toasting data, the right char data that matches what we requested to our specifications. We’re can do all of that work but sometimes a barrel is just a barrel … and it comes from an original tree. And while we’re all human beings, we’re all different, right? And so there can be little nuances of flavor where we’re like, “Wow, what is going on here?” And it can be beautiful.

But our batches are really small and because we do such a lot of single barrel products, it makes it difficult to project those kinds of things. So we have to watch for them. And if we do find is something that’s really beautiful, then we can figure out what to do with it and how to harness that beauty.

But then if it’s something that is too far out, that’s astringent or bitter, or off, or just something that’s not consistent with our character, then we may have to send that a different route. Which, unfortunately, might be sending it for repurposing as something like fuel ethanol.

Yeah. You can’t win every single one, right? So, let’s look at how the whiskey gets from the barrels that actually make it through selection and into the bottle.

First, we’re going to evaluate the cask before they ever get to the dump floor. We’re looking at them and making sure that they meet readiness to go to the dump floor. The barrels will get pulled and they’ll go to the processing department. Processing then will begin dumping the liquid. They will evaluate the liquid while dumping to make sure that it is consistent with what they’ve been told they’re receiving and that it matches the quality standards that we’ve shared with them.

They test taste and smell everything. It’s a bit like our processing department is like a bunch of chefs in there. They’re going to make sure that we’re not just relying on chemistry or the science of it. They actually want to taste it and make sure that it meets what they believe are the Michter standards before it goes to the bottling line.

They’re also going to be checking the color. They check solids content. They’re going to be checking proof. Once they’ve identified it’s good, then they’re going to send it through custom chill filtration.

Walk us through that process because it gets slagged off a lot.

Essentially, there are a lot of people who may or may not believe in chill filtration, but it is a fundamental part of what we do here at Michters. So there are a lot of changes in the whiskey in the barrel that is directly related to storage in wood. Such as the development of various esters, or acids, that drive tremendous complexity into the product. We’ve developed a custom chill filtration process for each different type and different age of whiskey we bottle. We use this process to really highlight what that whiskey has to offer, and that helps us avoid the dominance of certain characteristics that we don’t want to dominate that flavor profile.

I usually try to say to people that it’s not about adding or taking away from the whiskey. It’s about striving to create an exciting and dynamic experience for the consumer, that has a defined beginning, middle, and end. Anytime you filter anything, you can impact color, flavor, aroma, texture. So it’s important to understand the whiskey that took years to develop in the barrel and that’s why we don’t want to leave it to chance. We want to skillfully determine how to best showcase certain characteristics in the whiskey instead of just allowing it to be overwhelmed by dominant characteristics.

Right.

For me, it’s like having a room of ten people. If nine of them are speaking loud and one person is speaking softly, you may not hear what that one person has to say. But what they have to say might be really important. So if you adjust the noise level, then you get to hear what everybody is saying. That’s my analogy for custom chill filtration. We don’t filter our whiskeys or bourbons or ryes all the same way because we want to respect them. But we want to highlight what took years to develop in that barrel.

As someone who’s got such a deep knowledge of wood and maturation, what surprises you still?

I think what surprises me and continues to surprise me is that even though you work with wood for such a long time, it continues to evolve. I’m so happy that there’s so much respect for oak. You know there are over 400 species of oak actually? And the spirits industry is really only accessing about 16 of them.

Interesting.

I’m excited to see what happens as people continue to work with different oak species. What they can impart to the whiskey can be quite amazing. I mean, obviously, there’s so much discussion about yeast. Everybody’s always talking about yeast…

I’m guilty of that for sure!

But I think that barrel extractives have as much of a significance in the influence of your final product. And I think that in a lot of ways we’re only just touching the surface of how to really leverage oak. You know and it brings so much joy to work with the wood because it’s almost like the wood is begging you to pull these extractives out of it so that you can really showcase what that beautiful tree is able to impart to the whiskey.