Following the death of Kurt Cobain, Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl wanted to “disappear” so he went on a “soul-searching” solo trip to Ring Of Kerry in Ireland. “It’s so beautiful there. You really feel like you’re at the end of the Earth,” he once said in an interview. “I was driving around in my rental car, and on a country road, I saw this hitchhiker kid. And I thought, ‘Well, maybe I’ll pick him up’. And as I got closer to him, I saw that he had a Kurt Cobain t-shirt on.” Grohl was struck by the image of “Kurt’s face looking back at me in the middle of nowhere.” That’s when he realized “I can’t outrun this.”
Grohl formed Foo Fighters (which was initially a one-man project) soon after, and 30 years later, they’re still one of the biggest names in rock. But what became of the hitchhiker? He’s only recently become aware that he was the kid with the Kurt Cobain shirt in Grohl’s story.
“So my legend of a cousin Lorcan just realised he was kind of important to the creation of @foofighters @FooFightersUK,” his relative, Eoin, wrote on X. “He saw a video by Dave Grohl talking about why he got back to work after a visit to Ireland. Lorcan was out hitchhiking wearing his nirvana top when Dave stopped.” He also shared a video of Lorcan telling his side of the Foo Fighters origin story (“Nobody believed me!”), which you can watch here.
Steven and Ian begin today’s episode with a review of Phoenix’s performance at the Olympics last weekend, and the maddening idea that every band from the aughts is now being lumped into the made-up phenomenon known as “indie sleaze.” From there, they move on to the news that the proggy British post-punk band Black Midi has apparently broken up. The guys discuss their brief career and the surprisingly wide influence they have had on other acts.
Then they talk about Wishy, the Indiana-based shoegaze outfit that has emerged as one of 2024’s most hyped young bands. Their debut full-length, Triple Seven, is out today, and Steven loves it while Ian is more reserved in his judgement. After that, they move on to discussion about Ween, who Steven wrote about this week. He wonders whether Ian has a “yay or nay” assessment of the cult duo. In the mailbag, a listener asks about the strangest place the guys have either seen a show, and Steven talks about seeing the ’90s rap group Onyx and Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham at two different high schools.
In Recommendation Corner, Ian talks up the playful pop of Porter Robinson while Steven stumps for the Georgia rock band Futurebirds.
New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 202 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.
Yes, it’s an impossible question, and yes, I preface my answer with all sorts of caveats, hemming and hawing. That’s part of the game! Your favorite bourbon can change based on mood, time of day, what you ate beforehand, or simply due to tasting new bourbons that recalibrate your palate. To that end, one of the best ways to level the playing field, cut through the fluff, and truly crown a “favorite” is through blind tasting.
Even with a palate honed to identify flavors, it’s astonishing how often your preference in a moment can be swayed by the factors above. For instance, I’ve observed that warmer days tend to enhance my palate’s inclination towards citrus and fruit-forward notes, a revelation that took me by surprise. It’s a subtle shift, but after numerous tastings, I’ve realized this, and perhaps only subconsciously, I find myself reaching for bourbons that cater to this preference when the mercury rises.
One also can’t ignore the implicit biases we develop just from seeing the label on a bottle before tasting. You’ll hear chefs often hammer home the idea that “we eat with our eyes first,” and that same sentiment rings true regarding bourbon tasting. If you have positive memories associated with a certain label or brand, then you’re more likely to enter the tasting with a positive disposition. Basically, your brain feeds you positive reinforcement and trains your conscious mind to associate that brand with good whiskey before you even have a chance to drink it and make that decision with your tastebuds.
That’s precisely why blind tasting is such a revelatory and, for professional whiskey tasters, indispensable exercise. By shedding your biases, bringing plenty of water and water crackers, and creating a blank slate in your mind, you’re often left amazed at how your “favorite” bourbon at that moment might not be any better than the $30 bourbon you always overlook at your local liquor store. It’s a practice I recommend to every bourbon enthusiast out there; the results are sure to enlighten you.
In this blind tasting, we’ll try the best bourbon from Buffalo Trace, Maker’s Mark, Wild Turkey, Heaven Hill, Old Forester, and others to effectively determine the best premium bourbon available today.
Here are the 24 contenders:
• Buffalo Trace: William Larue Weller
• Maker’s Mark: Wood Finishing Series, The Heart Release
• Wild Turkey: Russell’s Reserve 15-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
• Heaven Hill: Old Fitzgerald 13-Year Decanter Series VVS Bottled in Bond Bourbon
• Old Forester: President’s Choice Single Barrel Bourbon
• Brown-Forman: King of Kentucky
• Jim Beam: Hardin’s Creek Boston
• Jack Daniel’s: Jack Daniel’s 12-Year-Old
• Four Roses: Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 135th Anniversary
• Ben Holladay: Bourbon Lore 18-Barrel Blend
• Kings County Blender’s Reserve Barrel Strength Bourbon
• Rare Character: Obliteration
• Michter’s 10-Year Single Barrel Bourbon
• 2XO: Gem of Kentucky
• Old Carter Straight Bourbon Whiskey Batch 14
• Nashville Barrel Company: 10-Year-Old Single Barrel Bourbon
• Widow Jane: The Vaults 15-Year Bourbon
• Binder’s Stash Bourbon
• 13th Colony Distillery: Cask Strength Double Oaked Bourbon
• Garrison Bros. Distillery: Cowboy Bourbon
• Lux Row: Double Barrel 12-Year Bourbon
• Barrell Craft Spirits: Cask Strength Bourbon Batch 36
• Bardstown Bourbon Company: Discovery Series 11
24. Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series, The Heart Release
For 2024’s Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series, the brand is pivoting away from the confusing alphabet soup names of the past and embracing a new chapter. For this release, the brand inserted two different French Oak staves in their standard bourbon barrels, letting one set marinate for 5 weeks while the other sat in the barrel for 9 weeks.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rosewater and sandalwood greet the nose at first, joined by celery root, black pepper, orange pith, and cantaloupe.
Palate: Cantaloupe comes through on the palate, with black pepper and heavy oak tones following closely behind. There’s a slight citrus tartness and semi-bitter dark chocolate at midpalate just before the transition into the finish.
Finish: The finish is brief, and the texture is peculiarly chalky, with oak and citrus tartness punching through until the last pop.
Bottom Line:
Maker’s Mark’s Wood Finishing Series was formerly used as a place to highlight their unique stave combinations, but while they continue to experiment with those here, this “second chapter” in the series is all about shining a light on the people behind the whiskey. While this inaugural entry in the Wood Finishing Series’ second chapter won’t capture the hearts of everyone, it has many of the mellow, approachable characteristics that make Maker’s Mark so beloved in the first place.
Widow Jane Distillery is based in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and is one of New York’s biggest whiskey brands. Their premium expression, The Vaults, is more under the radar than it should be. Made with a blend of bourbon from Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee, the latest edition of this annual expression is aged for a minimum of 15 years.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Citrus, the aroma of bright red cherry, and chocolate are most evident at first here. The aroma of vanilla pods and toasted coconut comes through with an ample dose of charred green pepper and almonds. This nose is balanced and lovely.
Palate: Once in the mouth, this whiskey is immediately evocative of Mexican hot chocolate with red grape skin, cinnamon, charred green peppers, and almond milk leading the charge just before the finish. The mouthfeel isn’t remarkable but it’s substantial enough to carry all of those layered flavors.
Finish: The finish here is medium-length but notable for its evolution of flavors from the palate, with almond milk, dark chocolate, and grape skin featuring prominently alongside barrel char and black pepper.
Bottom Line:
Widow Jane’s The Vaults is an exemplary case of the art of blending. While pretty much every brand has an expression that utilizes blended whiskey, to do so with liquid from different sources and states is less common, and in the case of The Vaults, it’s even rarer for such blends to be this damn good.
Interestingly, Lux Row’s most premium expression isn’t cask strength. Instead, they combine two 12-year-old single barrels and proof it at 118.5%, which is a subtle nod to the date the distillery opened its doors in April 2018.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens up with a litany of expected aromas like cherry cola, hazelnut, and dilute caramel. The oak presence is pretty strong and there’s a healthy helping of vanilla extract as well.
Palate: On the palate, the whiskey comes across as full-bodied, with the cherry cola notes leading the way before the flavor of chocolate-covered espresso beans kicks in. The heavy oak presence curbs that sweetness and keeps it in check, adding a layer of depth that’s welcome here.
Finish: The medium-length finish returns to the syrupy cherry note before taking an austere turn with clove, oak, and black pepper blending with a touch of balsamic vinegar — the lone unharmonious note in the bunch.
Bottom Line:
This delicious double barrel carries all of the hallmarks of well-aged bourbon, with great layers of mature flavor and rich color that entices the eyes before you take the first sip. You have to travel all the way to Kentucky to score this bottle but you definitely won’t be disappointed if you leave with it.
2XO is the brand founded by rockstar blender Dixon Dedman just two short years ago, but he waited until 2023 to release the brand’s best work to date: The Gem Of Kentucky. Billed as “the only double-barreled single barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey on the market,” the brand released roughly 70 of those unique single barrels to market.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This bottle begins expressly fruity with red berries and orange zest leading the way to polished leather, an abundance of vanilla, and some surprising sandalwood.
Palate: Once on the palate, this pour opens with more fruit as the flavor of cherries and clementines burrow deep into your tongue while mature oak and leather notes find the edges of the tongue and the cheek. There’s a gently pulsing influence of baking spice throughout, with black pepper, allspice, and sage becoming most expressive as this pour transitions to the finish.
Finish: The finish welcomes more allspice and sage, and it’s surprisingly lengthy, allowing the fruit-forward notes to reemerge as well as the satisfying taste of vanilla ice cream.
Bottom Line:
Dixon Dedman is no stranger to mingling delicious barrels of sourced whiskey, and the experience he’s accrued from blending previous projects has him in peak form here. 2XO’s more affordable options are well worth your attention as an entry point into the nascent brand. Still, once you try their premium offering, you’ll fully appreciate just how stellar this new category of double-barreled single barrels can be.
Garrison Brothers’ premium Cowboy Bourbon is one of the whiskeys that put Texas Bourbon on the map. Uncut and unfiltered, Cowboy Bourbon features the best barrels from Garrison Brother’s stock, hand-picked by Master Distiller Donnis Todd.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with cinnamon bark, strong barrel char with oak undertones, and smoked honey. After a few swirls, the honey is joined in the sweetness department by some sticky toffee and candied walnuts with caraway and nutmeg, closing things out.
Palate: On the palate, the heat that was indicated on the nose comes through as ethanol lights up the tip of your tongue and careens down the middle of it like a lit fuse. On the periphery of that heat, you’ll find more of the smoked honey and caramel notes, along with a touch of tobacco leaf, black pepper, and chocolate fudge, which does well to keep the overwhelming oak presence in check.
Finish: The lengthy finish features more heat, but again, black pepper, rich oak tones, and molasses are there to keep the ethanol burn from becoming distracting.
Bottom Line:
Cowboy Bourbon lives up to its billing as a bold, rugged representation of a Hye, Texas-style bourbon whiskey. This is truly a whiskey with broad shoulders, and thanks to its full-bodied flavor profile, this bourbon is capable of going toe-to-toe with some of the best in the country.
19. Bardstown Bourbon Company: Discovery Series 11
For their Discovery Series, Bardstown Bourbon Company pairs outstanding whiskey that they’ve sourced — this time a 10-year-old and 13-year-old Kentucky bourbon — with some of their self-distilled whiskey at 6 years old.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Cherries, pears, and Manuka honey are most evident on the nose at first. Soon, there’s more brown sugar and brioche, which turns the bouquet of aromas a bit darker, a welcome development.
Palate: Once on the palate, this whiskey contains Rainier cherries, organic honey, toffee, nutmeg, and cinnamon. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied, and that restraint works well, allowing the well-defined cherry note to spread its wings unencumbered, leading to an overall refreshing effect.
Finish: The medium-length finish is where this whiskey again takes a turn to the dark side, as brown sugar, barrel char, and brioche bun notes close out each sip along with a gentle sprinkle of freshly cracked black pepper.
Bottom Line:
Bardstown Bourbon Company’s Discovery Series has been housing some of the best whiskey they’ve ever released for a few years now (with the exception of the occasional excellent Collaborative Series release), but without a doubt, Discovery Series #11 is the highwater mark for the lineup.
Barrell Bourbon has been hitting home runs with its barrel-proof bourbon series, and with this fresh label redesign gracing its latest release, it’s looking to use that fresh look to usher in an even more impressive new chapter. This cask-strength blend of straight bourbon whiskey features 9-year bourbon from Kentucky, 7.5, 8, and 10-year bourbon from Indiana, plus some 8 and 15-year bourbon from Tennessee.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Red apples, salted caramel, and an intriguing radicchio note come through on the nose. Given some time to rest, this bourbon also develops some juicy plum with a touch of leather and clove. This is remarkably well balanced with the aroma of orange rind coming through as well.
Palate: The juicy orange flavor comes through on the palate along with some chocolate truffle dust and a steely midpalate, reminiscent of touching your tongue on silver glassware. A bit of bright cherry also bursts at midpalate with some sweet doughiness similar to the sweet gooeyness of a kouign-amann pastry.
Finish: The finish is flush with orange citrus notes that come across as sweet without the slight tartness that can, at times, be off-putting. Throughout the lengthy send-off, there’s plenty of caramel with a touch of thyme, and it all comes across as rather defined, rewarding, extended savoring.
Bottom Line:
Barrell’s Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch 36 recently placed in the top three of our “best new bourbons to buy this summer” list and after facing off against some of these other heavy hitters it’s easy to see why. This is one of the best batches of barrel-proof bourbon that the brand has ever released. Take advantage of the fact that it’s sitting on shelves at a reasonable price right now.
17. Very Olde St. Nick Believe 19-Year-Old Bourbon
Preservation Distillery has been a champion among non-distilling producers for decades now, releasing more legendary liquid to the export market than most distilleries release domestically. This new 19-year-old whiskey under their Very Olde St. Nick brand, named “Believe”, contains sourced Kentucky straight bourbon.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this bourbon is full of sticky salted caramel with nougat and molasses. Suddenly, cinnamon bark and vanilla extract can be found with a few swirls of the glass.
Palate: The sweet confectionary taste of glacé raspberries greets the tip of the tongue with that flavor of cinnamon bark and pie crust, easing each sip further down your palate. There’s a ton of white pepper and dense oak at midpalate, which offers balance as it transitions to the finish. The mouthfeel is quotidian, but the rest of the experience is rather impressive.
Finish: The finish is medium-length with some almond, orange pith, oak, and Rainier cherries, bringing added nuance to every sip.
Bottom Line:
Preservation Distillery is well-known in hardcore enthusiast circles, but the small outfit is quickly catching on with a wider audience as well, thanks to general releases like Old Man Winter and their well-received Rare Perfection series. Of course, they’re still releasing some absolutely stellar sourced bourbon under the Very Olde St. Nick banner, and for our money, that stuff is the best of the bunch.
Ben Holladay Distillery has existed since 1856, but it has only been since its major renovations in 2016 that it has been laying the foundation for the newest chapter in its storied history. For the first major collaboration in the brand’s modern era, they teamed up with the Bourbon Lore team to create this unique, first-of-its-kind, 18-barrel bourbon blend, which sold out in mere minutes both online and during the distillery’s release event.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Tons of butterscotch and orange rind fill the air when this whiskey is poured, with whipped cream and some vegetal notes joining the fray, along with gentle baking spices like nutmeg and clove.
em> Palate:/em> The flavor of orange rind and buttercream is delicious; my goodness, this is easy to drink. The first word that comes to mind after the first sip is “crushable,” meaning it’s incredibly crowd-pleasing and has a creamy, approachable mouthfeel that makes the simple act of drinking fun.
Finish: The medium-length finish turns over some black cherry and rich oak flavors, along with more clove and some candied walnuts.
Bottom Line:
We’ve previously ranked Ben Holladay’s Bourbon Lore blend among the 10 best non-Kentucky bourbons, and its placement on this list further proves its deliciousness. The future is bright for Ben Holladay and this Bourbon Lore collaboration is surely only a sign of things to come.
Old Carter is a bespoke whiskey brand out of Louisville that utilizes sourced liquid, artful blending, and a double-oak technique to create some of the best bourbon, rye, and American whiskey on the market. For Batch 14 of their well-regarded bourbon lineup, only 3,046 bottles were produced.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The aroma of raspberries, sage, and mint accent the air at first. With further exploration, there are further notes of Honey Nut Cheerios, chocolate, and thyme.
Palate: The palate on this one is oozing with salted caramel and white pepper up front, providing a spicy/sweet balance that calls for extended consideration. Once this reaches the midpalate there are flavors like dried raspberries and powdered sugar waiting to greet you. The back end is almost syrupy in terms of texture, and there’s a heavy dose of dark chocolate flavor there as well.
Finish: The finish on Old Carter Bourbon Batch 14 is lengthy, with some mellow spice and full of sweetness.
Bottom Line:
Wow! Old Carter has developed a reputation for full-bodied, sumptuous bourbons, and Batch 14 carries that mantle incredibly well. With lush layers of fruit and brown sugar bubbling over a sturdy foundation of mature oak, this is a bottle capable of converting any casual into a full-fledged cask-strength bourbon fanatic.
When you think of Jim Beam’s premium offerings, Booker’s most immediately comes to mind. However, in 2022, the brand launched the Hardin’s Creek lineup, which is slowly but surely gaining steam. 2023 saw the lineup introduce the “Kentucky Series” with three 17-year-old bourbons from the same mash bill, aged in different locations and released throughout the year. Of the three, the Boston Edition, so-named because it was aged at Beam’s Boston, KY location, was the standout.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The aroma notes are highlighted by rich leather tones and the sweetness of brown butter pastries with a little bit of oregano and black pepper thrown in the mix.
Palate: The palate on this bourbon is darkly sweet with vanilla ice cream, rich leather, and some tepid tobacco notes tumbling forth. Those well-developed flavors hang on through the finish, with dark chocolate and oak ushering in the transition to the end.
Finish: The finish brings more dense oak and caramel-topped vanilla ice cream as this pour slowly sizzles out of existence.
Bottom Line:
Hardin’s Creek Boston proves that the distillery can produce excellent hyper-aged bourbon. The brand stretched that reality even further by releasing a super-limited 20-year-old expression earlier this year as part of the Bardstown Collection, but when it comes to brands under their own banner, Hardin’s Creek Boston outpaces the rest of Jim Beam’s stellar portfolio.
Buffalo Trace’s vaunted Antique Collection features some of the most coveted bourbons in the world, and with all due respect to the more limited Eagle Rare 17 and the fan-favorite George T. Stagg, William Larue Weller comes second to none of them. This 12-and-a-half-year-old wheated bourbon was the crown jewel in the Weller lineup until 2023 when Daniel Weller was released, and 2024’s Weller Millennium subsequently trumped them both. Even with those high-priced alternatives now out in the wild, make no mistake, William Larue Weller is still the lineup’s ne plus ultra.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Cherries, leather, and vanilla ice cream flood the air BIG time, with some milk chocolate, sage, and a faint touch of allspice to be found as well.
Palate: Vanilla ice cream and sage hit the palate at first, with white pepper, cedar wood, and Rainier cherries joining the party at midpalate. It’s surprisingly full-bodied, though the proof causes it to become leaner as it transitions toward the finish, and the heat dries out some of those initially rich flavors.
Finish: The moderate finish leans a bit more heavily into the baking spices as cedar, allspice, and sage pair with vanilla extract and gentle oak.
Bottom Line:
Like most of the other annual LTO expressions on this list, William Larue Weller ranges from great to “get me a case of this so I can drink it until my dying day” from year to year. The 2023 version is in the former camp, but in previous years, in all likelihood, it would have placed much higher on this list. Indeed, the 2024 William Larue Weller is a preemptive threat to top this list once it’s released this upcoming October.
Brown-Forman’s King of Kentucky is a brand with a noble name and humble beginnings. What was once a lowly blended whiskey in the 1940s and discontinued in 1968 was recently revived in 2018 as a premium, single-barrel bourbon. The 2023 version of this expression is 16 years old.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The aroma immediately floods the room with the scent of cinnamon bark and fresh, crisp apples, joined by accents of almond extract, caramel, white pepper, and leather. Over time, there’s a bit of dark chocolate, port wine, clove, fresh coconut, and Aleppo pepper as well.
Palate: On the palate, the flavors of Aleppo pepper and coconut gently roll over the tongue before the liquid fans out to the edges of the tongue, introducing further notes of leather, Sugar Daddy milk caramel, and toasted almond. Cinnamon dashes up the mid-palate to the roof of the mouth, and before the transition to the finish begins, there are notes of nutmeg and clove as well.
Finish: The lengthy finish has a resemblance to rice pudding, with almond milk, dark chocolate, and washed-out caramel notes putting a cap on the affair.
Bottom Line:
The 2023 King of Kentucky was admittedly not my favorite bourbon of 2023, falling outside of my personal top 10 for the year. That said, its placement on this blind taste test reveals that even in a less-than-exemplary year, the King of Kentucky deserves a place among bourbon royalty.
11. Nashville Barrel Company 10-Year Barrel Proof Bourbon
Nashville Barrel Company, founded in 2018 by buddies Mike Hinds and James Davenport, got in early on the trend of buying up incredible whiskey and turning it into a killer non-distilling brand. But branding isn’t what these guys do best; that would be finding, blending, and releasing some of the best bourbon in the country. The brand recently won a Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, but this 10-year-old bourbon, nicknamed “Nashville Nights”, fits in the wheelhouse of what they’re most known for — great single-barrel offerings.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This whiskey has a rich cherry cordial nose with faint orange rind and sweet mint accents. The proof isn’t initially evident, allowing you to really get your nose in the class where there’s some peanut brittle as well.
Palate: Each of those well-developed nosing notes comes through the palate with a buttery mouthfeel, sending them to the back of your molars and coating your teeth. There is a bit of rising heat, which sends additional flavors like clove and hazelnut across the tongue. Overall, it’s incredibly dense and delicious.
Finish: The finish on this bourbon is long, and it hugs your chest with chocolate and hazelnut, along with a faint bit of barrel char and fresh dates.
Bottom Line:
Nashville Barrel Company has been flying under the radar for far too long. Now that 2024 has seen the brand starting to pile up some award-show victories, the secret is trickling out that these folks are sitting on some outstanding whiskey. This 10-year bourbon should put to rest any doubts. They fully belong on this list, and the fact they beat out several better-established brands is all the proof you need.
11. Old Forester: President’s Choice Single Barrel Bourbon
Unbeknownst to many, Old Forester President’s Choice was America’s first single-barrel bourbon. The expression, which can be traced back to 1962, originally got its name because the barrels that went into it were hand-selected by Old Forester’s President. Today, Old Forester President’s Choice single barrels are always bottled at full cask strength, although when it was introduced, there was also a 90.3-proof small batch version.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this whiskey is chock-full of layers with maple candy, deep caramel, and milk chocolate brownies representing the sweeter contingent as a fruity black cherry aroma pairs with sandalwood, clove, and vanilla on the other end of the spectrum.
Palate: Brownie and black cherry are most evident initially, enveloping your palate in a dark, rich sweetness. Initially, it has some heat on it, but it’s just enough to prod you and let you know it’s there. The liquid is full-bodied and silky, hanging out on the back palate with a touch of leather and mesquite barbeque sauce flavor.
Finish: The finish contains a bit of smoked black cherry to go along with the familiar taste of corner brownies and lovely oak tones.
Bottom Line:
Old Forester President’s Choice recently claimed the top spot in our “best of Old Forester” ranking, so it’s unsurprising to see it faring well here. This single-barrel expression is reliably delicious and difficult though it may be to find, he who seeks them out will be met with quite the bounty.
Jack Daniel’s is one of the most well-known whiskeys the world over, but many people don’t know that it’s been roughly 100 years since they last released a whiskey at 10-years-old or better. That all changed in 2022 with the introduction of their 10-Year Jack Daniel’s, and they followed that up in 2023 with their inaugural release of Jack Daniel’s 12-Year. This whiskey uses a mashbill of 80% Corn, 12% Malted Barley, and 8% Rye.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Boozy banana bread emerges straight out of the glass with this one, complete with walnuts, maple syrup, and some rich oak tones.
Palate: Once this whiskey passes the lips, the boozy banana bread is notable for being well-refined, as accenting notes of chocolate chunks, walnuts, and maple candies add to the pleasure. At midpalate, the whiskey picks up a bit of black pepper and barrel char, and its slick texture more fully reveals itself. What a treat.
Finish: Jack Daniel’s 12 has a velvety, creamy finish, aided by the presence of almond extract and some chewy butterscotch.
Bottom Line:
While it’s technically labeled as a Tennessee Whiskey, it also technically meets the requirements to be called bourbon, and there’s no denying that this 12-year-old version of Jack Daniel’s is one of the best bourbons on the planet. Thanks to its remarkably nuanced flavor profile that strikes a fine balance of maple candy sweetness and earthy nuttiness, Jack Daniel’s 12-Year-Old deserves every bourbon enthusiast’s respect.
Kings County Blender’s Reserve Bourbon is the brand’s most sought-after cask-strength offering. Released intermittently and featuring the most premium barrels in Kings County’s barrel warehouse, this expression is meant to showcase the prowess of their blenders and the quality of the self-distilled juice.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Pralines, caramel, dense oak, cinnamon, honey, figs. It’s really nuanced and rich, and it skews on the sweet side despite its ample proof. This is a delicious nose.
Palate: Dark chocolate and leather surprisingly lead the way before fig newtons and pralines make their way into the mix. There’s a slight alcohol punch that enhances the experience, and it has a heavy mouthfeel that veers on being syrupy.
Finish: Walnuts and powdered chocolate with nutmeg and barrel char on the lengthy finish
Bottom Line:
Kings County Bourbon has been getting a lot of love from us this year, and rightfully so. New York City’s oldest distillery is slowly leaving behind its reputation as a giant slayer, and thanks to an extended streak of producing superb whiskey, it might be time to start considering them a giant in their own right. From here on out, pretty much every bourbon on this list is a 10/10.
Binder’s Stash isn’t sitting at your local big box chain store yet, but if the hype around the brand continues to grow, that may not be far off. Binder’s Stash is currently built on the idea that people want excellent, curated single-barrel whiskey, and time and again, they’ve answered the call. This 15-year-old single-barrel bourbon sourced from Indiana nicknamed “Maiden Voyage” was part of their inaugural release and yielded less than 70 bottles.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Toasted coconut, melted dark chocolate, and gooey caramel comes rushing out of the glass at first pass, followed by dense oak, leather, a touch of mint, and sugar cane.
Palate: Binder’s Stash bourbon is full-bodied with bitter dark chocolate and rich, chewy caramel hitting the palate at first before barrel char, tobacco leaf, and roasted plantain kick in. The toasted coconut fuses with some maple syrup and hazelnut at midpalate and stays there for quite a while before a touch of black pepper leads the transition toward the finish.
Finish: The finish becomes increasingly chocolatey, with some walnuts and nutmeg appearing through its lengthy conclusion.
Bottom Line:
As part of the original batch of Binder’s Stash single-barrel bourbons to hit the market, the folks behind this brand must’ve known they had to come out swinging. This early release is an absolute home run and should quiet any of the naysayers who think non-distilling producers can’t hang with the big boys of the bourbon world. This stuff is fantastic.
Michter’s 10-Year Single Barrel Bourbon is one of the more highly anticipated annual releases, and that’s because of its reliably high-quality flavor profile and alluring age statement. Sure, there are other 10-year single-barrel bourbons out there, but this one consistently takes the cake thanks, in part, to Michter’s proprietary filtration process and the fact that they regularly include much older bourbon in these blends.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Deep, delicious leather notes fuse with fresh black cherries on the nose of this rich bourbon on the nose. This is a classic, well-aged bourbon profile, and one that I could sit with and nose all night long. There’s also sage, vanilla extract, dried cranberries, and dark chocolate hiding underneath the surface.
Palate: On the palate, there’s a surprising pop of cedar and cinnamon at first before the black cherries and leather seize the reigns. From there, it transitions into dense oak and dark chocolate toward the midpalate, with vanilla ice cream fanning out from the center of the tongue and climbing the roof of the mouth. The mouthfeel here is medium-bodied, which is surprising given the proof but welcome considering the depth of the flavors here.
Finish: The finish has a medium length, with caramel, almonds, milk chocolate, and black cherries standing out most prominently.
Bottom Line:
With its low proof, Michter’s 10-Year Single Barrel Bourbon perfectly encapsulates the dog in the fight/fight in the dog paradox. This is one whiskey that doesn’t need a heavy dose of ethanol to tightly layer a ton of flavor and stand toe-to-toe with the best bourbon on the planet. Michter’s puts its high-quality craftsmanship on display with every bottle in its portfolio, but when it comes to accessible bourbon released at regular intervals, this is the one you need to put a premium on finding.
13th Colony Distillery, out of Americus, GA, was quietly producing high-quality bourbon when — seemingly out of nowhere, this Cask Strength Double Oaked expression put them on the map. Finished in toasted maple wood, the resultant whiskey is bottled at full cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Applewood bacon notes inform the nose at first before fudge brownies and dense oak fills the air. This is a decadent, brooding nose that contains a healthy helping of ethanol and plenty of sweetness to keep you intrigued.
Palate: The flavor of remarkably rich caramel, barrel char, and Fuji apples splash across the palate on the first sip — I cannot believe how sweet this whiskey is. From there, you’ll pick up a light touch of smoke, which picks up steam at midpalate. This bourbon has an oily mouthfeel and significant heat at midpalate that refuses to quit and continues on through the transition to the finish.
Finish: For this cask-strength bourbon’s finish, it’s packed a ton of leather, butterscotch, and red apples which continue on for an incredibly long time.
Bottom Line:
13th Colony’s Cask Strength Double Oaked Bourbon is easily the best whiskey the brand is producing, and, going a step further, it might be the best whiskey coming out of the state of Georgia. While the rest of their lineup is worth your attention, this remarkably dark, flavorful bourbon is undoubtedly the main attraction.
Four Roses’ highly anticipated Limited Edition Small Batch for 2024 has finally been announced, and we were able to get a first taste of it. For this year’s release, Master Distiller Brent Elliott opted to blend three of Four Roses’ ten bourbon recipes with a 12-year-old OBSV, 15-year-old OESK, 16-year-old OESF, and more OBSV, this time at 20 years old, to create the final product.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is initially floral with ripe apples, butterscotch, and butter pecan ice cream. Faint bits of dark chocolate, star anise, and tobacco leaf help to round out the beautiful bouquet of aromas.
Palate: The butterscotch and apple note really pops on the palate off the bat. The whiskey is well-rounded with a mellow black pepper baking spice tone to go with a more pronounced helping of cinnamon bark, pecans, and brown sugar. The range of flavors reminds me a lot of fried apple pie with a splash of citrus zest. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied and enhances the depth of the flavors without becoming an attraction unto itself.
Finish: The finish has a mature oak backbone with the additional flavor of caramel chews and Fuji apple skin. It’s medium-length, but that brevity really works, urging your focus on the next sip rather than your last.
Bottom Line:
Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch is annually considered one of the stars of the fall-release schedule and its consistently high quality is indicative of why. While last year’s release soared to incredible heights, this year’s expression seems equally eager to touch the sky, claiming the number 4 spot on our list.
Heaven Hill’s Old Fitzgerald Decanter Series comes in one of the most beautiful bottles in the bourbon world, but don’t sleep on the liquid inside. These expressions, which are typically released twice a year, also occasionally feature distillery-exclusive versions sporting a red label. One such expression is this year’s 13-Year VVS edition, which is comprised of bourbon that was distilled in 1999, tanked in 2012, and then held until bottling earlier this year.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The aroma of milk chocolate, bright red cherries, and melted vanilla ice cream exit the bottle and hit the glass in full force. Juicy orange notes, sweet oak, and cinnamon bark emerge after a few waves of the hand, and yet the aromas still aren’t done revealing themselves. Sit back and marvel as this is a multilayered and incredibly rich nosing experience to be appreciated at length.
Palate: A whisper of ripe orange, bright red cherries, and vanilla ice cream welcome your palate to the party. Courtesy of this whiskey’s impressive depth of flavor and silky texture, it quickly finds every crevice in the mouth to coat. Milk chocolate and well-aged oak pool at the roof of the mouth, allowing the more expressive notes of honey and red berries to claim the tongue and live long, healthy lives.
Finish: The finish is medium to long and remarkably rich, with the heaviness of the whiskey gently relieving itself from your palate while a touch of leather and black pepper adds one final layer to this whiskey’s impressive depth.
Bottom Line:
It wasn’t that long ago that we crowned Old Fitzgerald 13-Year VVS the best bourbon in Heaven Hill’s entire portfolio, so it comes as no surprise that it places this highly in our best-of-the-best list. Sure, it checks every box, and it truly does have an exceptional flavor profile, but what’s most impressive about Old Fitzgerald 13-Year is how well-rounded it is. No matter what your favorite aspect of bourbon is, this is one that forces you to tip your hat.
While Rare Character has made a name for itself for bottling some of the preeminent single-barrel bourbons on the market today, none of them stand on par with their singularly elusive Obliteration. For what was at the time the brand’s oldest and highest-proof whiskey, this 14-year-old hazmat unicorn was released via an online lottery from a barrel that only yielded 36 bottles.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Get ready for the proofiest Proustian moment ever, as cherry fruit leather smacks you in the face before the aroma of dates, brown sugar, and orange rind rip you back into the present. There’s well-aged leather accenting the air as well, and surprisingly, the heat isn’t readily evident from the nose. That probably has something to do with the lush caramel, mature oak, and restrained black pepper spice, keeping flavor at the fore and the ethanol at bay.
Palate: Vanilla ice cream coats the tongue before cherry fruit leather, mature leather, and caramel tones come marching with gusto across the palate. The flavors of black pepper and savory pie crust take root toward the back of the tongue as the heat begins to creep up the roof of the mouth. There’s a gently pulsing heat left behind after the first sip that’s eminently enjoyable. This bourbon is unbelievably full of flavor, and the ethanol flash-burn serves to deepen the richness.
Finish: The flavor of charred green pepper and grilled pineapple begins the transition into the finish, which is incredibly long-lasting, with black cherry, barrel char, peanut brittle, and gooey caramel closing the show.
Bottom Line:
Rare Character Obliteration was immediately heralded among the few who have tried it as an exceptional bourbon, and after tasting it in this lineup alongside some of the best bourbons in the world, I’m pleased to report that it definitely lives up to that billing.
Russell’s Reserve 15 is Wild Turkey’s latest age-stated release, and boy, has it been met with enthusiasm. The brand’s digital launch caused its website to crash both days it made the expression available online. This expression is non-chill filtered, and given their track record, one can safely assume there’s bourbon even older than 15 years in this blend.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Syrupy fig, mature oak tones, and rich leather fill the room once you pour this whiskey, and they’re joined by medicinal cherry notes and milk chocolate. There’s no mistaking the fact that this is a bourbon of a certain age. With further investigation, your nose will bump up against clove and cinnamon as the aroma of vanilla pod takes root. Finally, a faintly floral note reminiscent of rosewater can be found.
Palate: Black cherries covered in chocolate truffle dust hit the palate at first; this is distinctly different than, say, cherry cordials as there’s a ripeness to the fruit and an almost chalky textural component to the chocolate. On the second sip, observe nougat, caramel, vanilla, and rich oak. While the nose gave the impression that this would be over-oaked, the palate greatly alleviates those concerns as each of the hallmarks of hyper-aging has its say without muddling any of the others.
Finish: Lengthy, balanced, and delicious, the finish is marked by black cherries, clove, and cacao nibs as it grips your palate for dear life, refusing to dissipate until minutes after the last sip.
Bottom Line:
Russell’s 15-Year Bourbon is truly a world beater. When it was initially released, expectations for this bottle were sky-high, and our impression of it has remained there throughout the year. Sure, Russell’s Reserve 15-Year is one of the best bourbons available today, but taking the superlatives a step higher, this might go down in the pantheon as one of the best bourbons in the Wild Turkey brand’s 81entire history.
Big Sean isn’t letting leaks or delays impact his forthcoming album’s promotion. Although the new release date for Better Me Than You hasn’t officially been announced, fans can sink their teeth into another track off the project.
Today (August 16), the “Precision” rapper dropped a new single off of the forthcoming body of work. On “Together Forever,” Big Sean forgoes his usual humble pie (as of late) to boast about how ambition has made him a household name.
In the track’s official video, his Better You Than Me partner-in-crime, The Alchemist, joins Big Sean to showcase that their chemistry far surpasses the recording booth.
“How does it get any better than this / Woke up to a PYT telling me to get up / Through all of the pressure I’m keeping my chest up / Tupac keep your head up, they aim for the next up / They plottin’ but f*ck it I’m set to go setup the b*tch that’s setting me up for the set up,” raps Big Sean.
The Alchemist’s fluid production and Big Sean’s even wavier bars make the wait for the project even harder to bear. But, it does build a confidence that it could very well be worth it in the end.
Watch Big Sean’s new video for “Together Forever” with The Alchemist above.
Better Me Than You is out soon via FF to Def Entertainment. You can find more information here.
Today (August 16), Post Malone’s official full-length project in the genre, F-1 Trillion, is available across streaming platforms. The song most supporters looked forward to most was “California Sober” with Chris Stapleton.
In June, the duo teased the record by way of a video snippet. But that just didn’t do the track justice. The two release their woes over an entanglement neither can shake, as they sing: “California sober on the Highway 1 / Over on the shoulder, thought I saw some fun, lookin’ for a ride / Trouble in some daisies, holdin’ out her thumb / Stole some sucker’s money, now she’s on the run and she wanna get high / She said, ‘I’ll take you on a little trip, come on, give these lips a try’ / She drank up all my whiskey, blew down all my smoke / I became the punchline of some cosmic joke.”
Prior to its formal release, Post Malone shared several of F-1 Trillion‘s records, including “I Had Some Help” with Morgan Wallen, “Guy For That” with Luke Combs, and “Pour Me A Drink” with Blake Shelton. But nothing could prepare you for the addictive track that is “California Sober.”
Listen to Post Malone’s song “California Sober” with Chris Stapleton above.
F-1 Trillion is on now via Republic. You can find more information here.
If you can tour together, you can create together. Although their time on The Field Trip Tour has officially ended, Jean Dawson and Lil Yachty have seemingly maintained their bond.
Today (August 16), Jean Dawson dropped his latest single, “Die For Me” featuring Lil Yachty. On the gloomy record, produced by , the duo detailed their ultimatums for loved ones as Jean sings: “I bet somebody love me, no / After I’ve died, we’ll see / Don’t show up at my funeral / If you won’t die for me.”
Lil Yachty used his guest verse to flex his confidence and demand for unwavering loyalty in a partner.
“I gotta give out some vital information, this is a congregation / This is the conversation, a breathtaking persuasion / I think you are amazing, so good that n****s obsessed / I’ve been feeling sharp pains in my chest / As of now, I think I know what’s best / If you love me you’ll lay down and rest / To your family, I’ll explain it best / I just tell ’em I loved you to death,” raps Yachty.
Based on Jean Dawson’s latest post on X (formerly Twitter), “Die For Me” is a teaser for the entertainer’s forthcoming album, Glimmer Of God.
Listen to Jean Dawson’s new single “Die For Me” featuring Lil Yachty above.
Lady Gaga made her musical return at the 2024 Paris Olympics. While she opted to perform a French classic, “Mon Truc En Plumes,” the world quickly learned Lady Gaga hasn’t missed a beat.
Today (August 16), Lady Gaga returned to her signature pop goodness alongside Bruno Mars. After teasing their collaboration, “Die With A Smile,” online the official song and music video has arrived.
Both musicians are known for the commercial successful and catchy radio tunes. But on “Die With A Smile,” Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars opt for the perfect pop ballad fit for any doomsday playlist.
“Wherever you go, that’s where I’ll follow / Nobody’s promised tomorrow / So imma love you every night like it’s the last night,” sings the pair.
In the cinematic video, co-directed by Daniel Ramos & Bruno Mars, the Grammy Award winners perform their track as if it is the last time. This flare for dramatics is heighten by their country flare stage wear, just makes the listener fall in love with the single even more.
Knowing what the public knows now, Bruno Mars’ declaration in June to work with Lady Gaga, wasn’t just a manifestation but a planned LG7 Easter egg. Now, supporters are patiently waiting for Lady Gaga to reveal the forthcoming project’s official release date.
Listen to Lady Gaga’s new single “Die With A Smile” with Bruno Mars above.
Charles Barkley made quite the statement during the United States men’s basketball team’s stint at the Paris Olympics, as he insisted that the players are not allowed back into the country if they could not win a gold medal. It’s unclear just how serious he was, but fortunately, we don’t have to find out, as the Americans took home their fifth gold in a row.
Barkley’s comments about how the team should roll to a gold rubbed Kendrick Perkins the wrong way, and during an appearance on the Dan Le Batard Show, Barkley got asked about Perkins saying he was off-base. He decided, in powerfully Charles Barkley fashion, to not even address it, and instead expressed his dislike for Perkins.
“First of all, don’t bring up a guy who averaged five points a game,” Barkley said. “I’m not gonna stoop to his level. You average five points a game, you shut the hell up.”
While Barkley then got into some stuff about Serbia’s national team and why he did not think they were on the same level as the U.S. — along with some criticisms of Steve Kerr’s coaching — it’s worth mentioning that this is not the first time Barkley has used this exact line on Perkins. Earlier this year, Perkins criticized Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal for what he called an inability to consistently watch basketball, which led to Barkley calling him this name.
Ween is a band that everyone has heard of but relatively few people know. “That’s the ‘joke rock’ group, right?” is the median take among the general populace. Slightly more educated individuals might remember them from Beavis & Butthead. Slightly less educated people will confuse them with They Might Be Giants. Both groups will label them a jam band. And that more or less is the sum total of general knowledge about Ween.
Let’s change that. Earlier this month, Ween released a 30th anniversary edition of Chocolate And Cheese, one of the finest alt-rock albums of the ’90s. It’s a great entry point for this band’s consistently excellent (if also somewhat intimidating) discography. But what if you want to go deeper? You should want to go deeper. And I would love to take you deeper.
Typically, my approach with this sort of column is to educate, and with Ween the No. 1 task is to dispel any misconceptions and replace them with takes that are informed and enlightened. That’s my plan. I adore this band. And I want to take you away. To some other land. The land of bananas and blow and mutilated lips and pork roll egg and cheese’s.
Here are my 40 favorite Ween songs.
PRE-LIST ENTERTAINMENT: TWO BIG CANNONS THAT SPRAY … WELL, YOU’LL SEE
To learn about Ween you must prove that you are mentally and physically prepared to follow the Boognish. Therefore, I am going to start with the brownest music of their career. In the process, I will clear the room of all but the diehards and the disciples.
The performance above was recorded on January 31, 1995 in Columbia, Missouri. “Poop Ship Destroyer” is described by Dean Ween in the liner notes of Paintin’ The Town Brown: Ween Live – 1990-’98 as “our anthem.” And he calls this particular rendition “the definitive version of the song.” He’s right. It is Ween’s anthem, and this truly is the definitive version. The Dead had “Dark Star,” and this is “Darker Star.” Zeppelin had “Dazed And Confused,” and this is “Extremely Dazed And Confused.” Phish has “You Enjoy Myself,” and this is “You Don’t Enjoy Myself.”
“If we get the money someday,” Dean writes, “we want to get two big cannons that spray diarrhea on the crowd when we play this.”
Are you still with me?
Ween never did get the sufficient amount of funds to pay for those cannons, and for better or worse, the reason is their insistence on pursuing self-indulgent gambits like a 26-minute version of “Poop Ship Destroyer.” Bands that play a song like “Poop Ship Destroyer” for 26 minutes do not normally graduate to “two big cannons” money. It’s just not a commercial or audience-pleasing move. If you don’t believe me, press play on the video and see how long you last before closing this tab and chucking your phone or computer into the nearest lake. If you can make it to at least the 10-minute mark, congratulations — you’re a complete and utter pervert.
Also, you are a Ween fan.
40. “You Fucked Up” (1990)
Ween is not a joke band. Ween is not even a particularly funny band. At least not “ha ha” funny. Ween is funny like a kid who burns ants with a magnifying glass is funny. It’s “funny as an abstract concept but creepy as an IRL entity” funny.
So, what is Ween? Ween is a duo composed of Gene Ween (generally the singer and sometimes a guitar player) and Dean Ween (generally the guitar player and sometimes a singer). On stage, they expand to a five-piece. In that environment, they almost resemble a normal rock band. But they are not normal. They are Ween.
Ween is irreverent. The definition of “irreverent” is “showing a lack of respect for people or things that are generally taken seriously.” “Irreverent” is used synonymously with “funny,” because the words frequently intersect. But they don’t always intersect and Ween mostly resides in that non-intersection zone. They lack respect for people or things in ways that are more disturbing than silly.
At their best, Ween is so off-putting that their music achieves a special kind of catharsis that’s only possible when you completely disregard matters of decorum and good taste. I’ll give you an example: Three days after 9/11, Ween played a show in their hometown of New Hope, Pennsylvania celebrating the reissue of their 1990 debut studio album, GodWeenSatan: The Oneness. In recognition of the recent national disaster, Gene Ween naturally began with a moving a cappella performance of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” followed by a spontaneous audience sing-along of “God Bless America.”
Just kidding. Ween did the opposite of what I just described. They opened with the first song from GodWeenSatan, “You Fucked Up.” For those who are unfamiliar: “You Fucked Up” is a sludgy punk-metal number in which Gene berates a woman as “a fucking Nazi whore” and “a slimy little shit.” (He also calls her a “bitch,” which seems relatively tasteful in this context.) There is no excuse for “You Fucked Up.” It’s the sort of song only kids who burn ants laugh at. I can’t justify it all, except that it totally rocks and it works perfectly as the kickstart to a record that also includes songs about weasels, zits, ticks, fat guys, smelly hippies, mushroom festivals in hell, and begging to perform cunnilingus. And it must have been doubly perfect to hear those songs performed so close to the cataclysmic disaster that many pundits at the time believed would kill our national irreverent impulses forever and ever.
You fucked up, pundits.
39. “Don’t Laugh (I Love You)” (1990)
Gene (aka Aaron Freeman) and Dean (Mickey Melchiondo) met in 1984, when they were in the eighth grade. They named their band after a made-up word combining “wuss” and “penis,” which is among the smartest things ever done by any pair of eighth grade boys ever. (That bar is low, but still.)
I know this will sound like hyperbole but I mean it: Their meeting can only be described as an accident of divine providence. In most American small towns, there might be one kid who loves punk rock and weird avant garde art music so much that he starts making primitive tapes in his bedroom. That might happen, but it probably won’t. And yet, in New Hope in the mid-’80s, there were somehow two of those kids. And they met, and then they started writing songs. So many songs. “You Fucked Up” was the first one with a verse and a chorus. Ween was on their way.
The reductive (but still fairly accurate) breakdown of their partnership follows the old Lennon/McCartney model. One is brash, sarcastic and loves to rock (Dean) and the other is more sensitive and romantic and prone to writing beautiful pop songs (Gene). Ween doesn’t always conform to these stereotypes, but they hew close enough that it’s a helpful way of thinking about the band. (This dichotomy also apparently applies to each man’s father — Dean has characterized Gene’s dad as a hippie who went to Woodstock, and his own dad as “the guy who would throw rocks at hippies.”)
“Don’t Laugh” feels like a Gene song. Romantic love is perhaps the one thing that Ween is not irreverent about, and their earliest ballads have an innocence that’s only possible coming from very young people. If Paul McCartney had skipped joining The Beatles and instead started making records like McCartney II in his early 20s, it would sound like this track.
38. “Stay Forever” (2003)
In the pre-list entertainment section, I referenced the “brown” sound. Before we proceed, we need to elaborate on the properties of Ween’s brownness. The brown sound was originally associated with Eddie Van Halen, whose ideal guitar tone — a mix of significant bottoms, creamy middles, and screaming high ends — was described with that lightly dark shade. For Ween, however, brown doesn’t much resemble the supersonic plastic of Eddie’s guitar licks. It’s the antithesis of that — filthy, scuzzy, disgusting, evil, transgressive, blackout intoxicated, “bad” but in a good way, “ugly” but in the sexy sense. That’s Ween’s brand of brown.
“Stay Forever,” meanwhile, is the straightest (i.e. least brown) love song of Ween’s career, from their least brown album, 1999’s White Pepper. Some fans don’t like it for that reason, though I would argue that Ween’s ability to toggle between brown and non-brown music is a testament to their ability of songwriters and musicians. “Stay Forever” shows they could have been a regular ’90s radio rock band if they wanted to be. In a different universe, Ween is like the Gin Blossoms with a much deeper catalog of genius guitar pop tunes. (This is not a better universe, but it is conceivable.)
Also: It helps to have at least one “normal” record when you’re trying to bring new people into the fold. You can’t hit them with “L.M.L.Y.P.” right from the jump.
37. “Reggaejunkiejew” (1992)
This, on the other hand, is not what you would play for the Ween neophyte. This sounds like Captain Beefheart if he had made a record inspired by Licensed To Ill.
36. “Don’t Get 2 Close (2 My Fantasy)” (1992)
Ween’s first three albums put them on the periphery of the era’s “lo-fi” scene that also included bands like Pavement, Silver Jews, and Guided By Voices. Incredibly, Ween was the one that ended up on a major corporate record label, Elektra, starting with the release of Pure Guava. Of all the decade’s “only in the ’90s” alt-rock success stories, Ween seems the least plausible, with the possible exception of Butthole Surfers. (Ween’s moniker, at least, is somewhat less obvious as a scatological reference.) Their early trilogy actually moved in a less commercial direction — for all its juvenile, gross-out humor, GodWeenSatan was recorded on 16-track with live drums, whereas 1991’s The Pod and Pure Guava showcases the unconventional “two guys plus drum machine” lineup that Ween performed as on stage in those days.
At the time Ween wasn’t a “real” band in the traditional sense, they were two guys emphasizing all the ways in which they weren’t a real band and trying to make larger-than-life rock songs anyway. It was like putting wheels on a cardboard box and attempting to drive at 180 mph at the Daytona 500. Which seems like a fool’s errand until you listen to “Don’t Get 2 Close 2 My Fantasy” and realize that they somehow won the race.
35. “Frank” (1991)
Chocolate And Cheese is the best Ween record, Live In Chicago is the Ween album I listen to the most, and The Pod is my personal favorite Ween LP. It was the soundtrack to the worst summer of my life, which occurred exactly 20 years ago, when I was convinced that my life had fallen irrevocably apart. (Fortunately, this breakdown was not irrevocable, because these sorts of breakdowns rarely are.) I don’t know if listening to this dense, druggy and (yes) deeply brown record at the height of my depression was a good idea or the worst idea I’ve ever had in my life. All I know is that The Pod was not a record I especially liked or understood before I was thrust into a temporary hell, and then it became the only music that made sense to me.
The solo at the end of “Frank” — where it sounds like there’s five guitars melting together while being sucked into a black hole — is the sonic representation of what depression feels like to me.
34. “Sketches Of Winkle” (1991)
GodWeenSatan was like a greatest hits album composed of the best songs that Gene and Dean worked on throughout their teens for the previous six years. That explains the vulgarity of the record, but it also points to its sneaky sweetness as well. The Pod has some sweet moments as well, but the overall vibes are far more sinister. The infamous lore about the guys huffing Scotchgard as they recorded The Pod provides some of that disquieting air, but it’s really the music — which toggles between fuzzily incoherent and a hard-edged metallic mania — that cuts deep. “Sketches Of Winkle” is on the latter side of that equation, and it stands out as the most propulsive of their Ween 1.0 prog-rock homages. Though even here, they trojan-horse a love song between flashy guitar riffs: “I think I love her but she don’t love me.” Tell me about it, guys, 2004 me moaned.
33. “Pandy Fackler” (1999)
Ween is irreverent, but they insist they don’t do parodies. They have stated their case on this repeatedly. “We’re not trying to parody music. We’re not trying to destroy music. We’re just trying to make good music,” Dean pleaded to Spin in 1995. Added Gene, “We’d probably like to hang out with those people and work with them. We would never make fun of any of those people.”
Taking Gene and Dean at their word, I wish Donald Fagen and Walter Becker had heard “Pandy Fackler,” called up the Ween guys, realized they were all kindred spirits in the smart-ass arts, and collaborated on an album that only exists in my imagination, Four Against Nature.
32. “Japanese Cowboy” (1996)
When Ween went to Nashville and recorded with some of the city’s most celebrated session musicians for 12 Golden Country Greats, the reaction ranged from confused to disappointed to “you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” The album represented the height of the public assuming that these guys were perfecting their genre exercises in order to make fun of the people who genuinely liked that particular music. That 12 Golden Country Greats has only 10 tracks was like a period at the end of the insult.
Now, it really wasn’t an insult, and 12 Golden Country Greats actually was a sincere and well-executed record. But at the time, it was probably the strangest and most commercially self-defeating album released by a rock band on a major label. Which, again, only seems strange in retrospect given how downright genial a lot of this music is. (“Piss Up A Rope” notwithstanding.) If country radio had more creative programmers, “Japanese Cowboy” would have been a hit.
31. “Fluffy” (1996)
I’m including the studio version here, but I prefer any live performance of “Fluffy” where Dean rips an eight-minute guitar solo, especially from the excellent tour they did in 1996 with the Shit Creek Boys aka the best Ween tour of all time. (I look forward to defending this take on a Reddit page in the near future.)
30. “She Fucks Me” (Paintin’ The Town Brown version, recorded in 1996)
Another performance from the Shit Creek Boys tour. It’s a testament to the miraculous power of the pedal steel that it makes this song sound five times more tender. Also: It’s the first part of the “Pork Roll Egg And Cheese” trilogy, preceding “Frank” and (of course) “Pork Roll Egg And Cheese.”
29. “Push Th’ Little Daisies” (1992)
This song is to Ween what “Creep” is to Radiohead. It’s technically their “hit,” and it’s the track that defines Ween for people who know nothing else about them. Ween plays “Push Th’ Little Daisies” more than Radiohead plays “Creep,” but it’s not the song that’s top of mind for anyone who loves this band. It feels very early ’90s — this was a time when music that deliberately set out to annoy listeners was considered commercially viable, similar to how people couldn’t get enough of British guys self-identifying as losers. (It also messed with people’s minds, especially in the music press — Robert Christgau was so frazzled he dropped an n-word in his review of Pure Guava.) The closest equivalent to “Push Th’ Little Daisies” is 100 Gecs putting out something like “Cheetos And Fritos,” though that song is more stupid than confrontational. When Ween acted like buffoons, it was in the service of punk rock.
28. “Ocean Man” (1997)
The car commercial song. Taken from The Mollusk, the aquatic-themed prog-rock concept record commonly regarded along with Chocolate And Cheese as top-shelf Ween. It’s the album that most successfully balances Ween’s “kinda normal rock band” and “weirdo experimental bedroom pop” sides. The one-stop shop for all of your Ween needs. The same can be said about this tune.
27. “It’s Gonna Be A Long Night” (2003)
The first time I interviewed Dean Ween, it was 2007 and he was promoting what may or may not be the final Ween studio album, La Cucaracha. Almost nobody loves La Cucaracha. If there is a consensus choice for worst Ween album, that’s probably the one. It’s still good, because it’s Ween, but relative to the other records it’s weak. Let me put it this way: The one Ween song that JD Vance put on his Spotify playlist came from La Cucaracha.
You know who does love La Cucaracha (along with JD)? Deaner. He did in 2007, anyway. He called it a “party” record in comparison to the previous Ween LP, Quebec. “With Quebec, I like it as a record, but it’s very negative. It’s one of our darker records, I think. I don’t listen to any of our records, but I have never listened to that one. Basically, I was all fucked-up, and Aaron was all fucked-up,” he told me. “We had to un-fuck ourselves to make a new record and sustain this thing, Ween.”
Now, it’s obvious in retrospect that they did not un-fuck themselves after La Cucaracha. But we’ll address that in a moment. For now, I just want to point out that the first song on Quebec, the Motörhead-inspired “It’s Gonna Be A Long Night,” is one of the hardest partying songs in the entire catalog.
26. “Captain” (2003)
Nevertheless, Dean is right about Quebec having bad vibes. That’s one of the things I love about it. But those vibes carried over from the live show. I started going to Ween gigs around that time, and early-to-mid-aughts Ween remains the single most evil concert environment I have ever experienced firsthand. It wasn’t the sort of party vibe you get at a jam-band show, where people dance and have a good time. Nobody was dancing at these Ween shows. This was about getting as fucked up as possible, and then venturing inward on a fraught psychic journey akin to Martin Sheen going up the river in order to murder Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now. The band also seemed worse for wear, especially Gene, who looked underweight at one show and then overweight at the next show. He was constantly ping-ponging between those extremes.
All things considered I had fun.
This song evokes that era the strongest for me. It’s just Gene bellowing “Captain, turn around and take me home” over and over as the band descends slowly into madness. It killed live, too. In the audience, we all felt like we were dead.
25. “Little Birdy” (1992)
Oliver Stone allegedly played this song on a loop while filming Natural Born Killers. The point was either to put Woody Harrelson into a psychotic frame of mind, or to literally drive him crazy. It’s possible he was pursuing both goals simultaneously. Whatever the case is, it represents Stone’s finest work as a director next to the time he inspired John Candy in JFK to deliver the word “daddy-o” better than anyone ever.
24. “Even If You Don’t” (1999)
Back to Ween’s failed “un-fuck ourselves” project post-Quebec. On January 24, 2011, Ween performed in Vancouver. As the show unfolded, Gene got progressively more wasted. By the encore, he was on stage by himself and singing on his back. Soon after, he checked into rehab. One year later, I interviewed Gene as he was promoting his first solo album, Marvelous Clouds. When I asked about the future of Ween, Gene was noncommittal. “I’m really leaving things open-ended right now,” he said. Later that month, he announced that he was leaving the band. Ween didn’t play live for another four years.
One thing that stands out from the interview is our conversation about Terry Jacks’ ’70s bubblegum classic “Seasons In The Sun,” one of Gene’s favorite songs. It sounds like a proto-Ween tune, with shiny and child-like pop commingling with macabre subject matter. “In order to set dark music to dark lyrics, that takes its own special talent,” Gene argued. “I mean, I could sit down and work on making gothic, dark rock and putting gothic, dark music to it. But I love pop music, and I always have.”
A bouncy pop song about a man trapped in a terrible relationship, “Even If You Don’t” has that “Seasons In The Sun” feel. “I was happy this morning / You finally got yourself dressed / Eating raw bacon / It’s okay I was still impressed.”
23. “Zoloft” (2003)
Quebec and The Pod are sister albums in Ween’s discography. They are the “drugs are frightening and will loosen your grip on sanity” records. It’s the yin to the yang of Chocolate And Cheese and The Mollusk, which are the “drugs can strengthen your friendship and provide life-affirming experiences” albums. I love them all, though I find myself relating more to the yin side these days. “Zoloft” is a good example of this.
22. “Gabrielle” (2005)
You can make the case for Chocolate And Cheese being the best Ween album based on the number of classics on the tracklist. (We will be discussing this record more and more as we reach the top of this list.) You can also make a case for Chocolate And Cheese based on the classics that didn’t make the album, starting with “Gabrielle,” a brilliant Thin Lizzy rip-off revived for the 2005 outtakes compilation Shinola, Vol. 1. Would I take anything off Chocolate And Cheese and replace it with “Gabrielle”? No, I would not. I would just make Chocolate And Cheese longer.
21. “The Golden Eel” (1997)
Chocolate And Cheese is 1a and The Mollusk is 1b in the Ween album hierachy. Everybody knows this. (The Pod is my personal 1c.) While Chocolate And Cheese showcases the breadth of Ween’s talent, The Mollusk is their most cohesive statement. And what is that statement? It’s a statement about hanging out with your best bud, renting a house on the ocean, doing a ton of psychedelics, and making songs about the glory and terror of aquatic life. “The Golden Eel” epitomizes this.
INTERMISSION
Top Five Songs I Regret Not Putting On This List
5. “Sarah” (1990)
See the earlier note about Paul McCartney.
4. “Object” (2007)
Justice for La Cucaracha.
3. “Right To The Ways And The Rules Of The World” (1991)
I have also listened to Syd Barrett while stoned.
2. “Booze Me Up And Get Me High” (Live In Chicago version, 2004)
Self-explanatory.
1. “She Wanted To Leave” (1997)
Fake Richard Thompson never hit so hard.
Now … back to the list.
20. “Piss Up A Rope” (1996)
The most quotable Ween song. Which is a problem because it’s also one of the filthiest. But it’s memorably filthy. Joe Walsh’s “Life’s Been Good” is the only song I know where every single lyric could be a bumper sticker. But “Piss Up A Rope” is the only song where each line could be emblazoned on a trucker hat. “Now you’re up shit’s creek with a turd for a paddle” is something I would wear proudly.
19. “You Were The Fool” (1996)
The best non-filthy song from 12 Golden Country Greats. Alan Jackson should have recorded this and had a huge hit in the late ’90s.
18. “Captain Fantasy” (1991)
I have only ever experienced the “band” version of Ween in person. The “two guys plus drum machine” configuration exists for me only via bootlegs and live albums. Overall, I prefer the “band” incarnation. But there are certain songs that sound better when Ween was a more pared-down operation. “Captain Fantasy” is one of them. With the band, it sounds exactly like a lost FM rock classic that reimagines the spare parts of every cool song by Yes, Genesis and King Crimson. It smokes. But it’s a little too perfect. It doesn’t have that “cardboard box that’s trying to be a racecar” aspect of early Ween that’s so essential to those early records.
17. “What Deaner Was Talking About” (1994)
An ongoing concern for Ween fans post-hiatus is the relationship status of Gene and Dean. After the breakup, words were exchanged online that suggested that their friendship had devolved into a business-only partnership. Given the trajectory of most long-running bands, this shouldn’t have come as a surprise. But given that Ween is composed of only two people — and the sort of creative and even romantic synchronicity the guys seemed to have early on — the thought of them not being bros is upsetting. “The best I can say about that is, there are things in my life that no one can understand except Aaron. We kind of have a parallel life. We went through everything together: junior high school, high school, being broke, getting evicted, meeting our wives and ex-wives, having kids,” Dean told me in 2007. “But there are other things where I can talk to anyone but Aaron.”
That quote makes me think about “What Deaner Was Talking About,” a perfect two-minute late-period Beatles nod about Gene waking up, feeling terrible, and knowing that only Dean understands what he’s going through.
16. “The Mollusk” (1997)
Dean’s personal favorite Ween song. It’s also a title track, which makes it unique in their discography. But above all it represents the point where Ween went from emulating classic rock to making classic rock. The album even has a trippy Storm Thorgerson cover. Like any Pink Floyd LP, it was made for rolling joints.
15. “Dr. Rock” (1991)
It takes chutzpah to call a song “Dr. Rock” when you’re not AC/DC. On The Pod, Ween pretty much pulls it off. Live, they absolutely pull it off.
14. “Take Me Away” (1994)
A good example of Ween spotlighting the ridiculousness of a particular style of music while also demonstrating how awesome it is. (I am trying very hard to not use the “p-word” here.) Gene slips into his sleaziest “Elvis in the 1970s” voice, thanking the crowd between pleas about how this woman is driving him crazy. It’s a send-up of show business at its cheesiest, and yet Ween in lounge-band phase manages to swing with maximum force.
13. “Freedom Of ’76” (1994)
Robin Zander of Cheap Trick is known as “The Man Of A Thousand Voices.” And he totally deserves that nickname. But Gene Ween is The Man Of Ten Thousand Voices. And the voice he uses on “Freedom Of ’76” is his sweetest and most velvety. (He even nailed it live on The Jane Pratt Show.) This also has to be considered one of the finest songs ever written about Philadelphia. Boyz II Men, Mannequin, South Street — all the essential bases are covered.
12. “Pork Roll Egg And Cheese” (1991)
Named after a breakfast fixture of New Jersey. The one Ween song that the guys in Ween could conceivably have a conversation with Bruce Springsteen about.
11. “Demon Sweat” (1991)
Prince is the musical North Star for Ween. Perhaps because Prince basically was Ween, only he had a much bigger budget and he contained Gene and Dean in the same body. But, like Ween, he was a master of every genre and he wrote filthy lyrics and he was funnier than the world gave him credit for. “As young kids in Ween, it was attainable to imitate Prince,” Dean told Rolling Stone in the wake of Prince’s death. “When we got better, we could actually make ourselves sound like Prince a little bit.”
On “Demon Sweat,” they weren’t quite at the level where they could pass for Prince. (Like they do here.) It’s just two Prince fanatics trying to emulate Purple Rain. But in failing to replicate Prince, Ween achieves the peak sex music of their own carer.
10. “Tear For Eddie” (1994)
“Eddie” is a reference to Eddie Hazel, the visionary guitarist from Funkadelic who managed to out-Hendrix Hendrix via his historic solo on “Maggot Brain.” “Tear For Eddie” has a similar mournful stateliness, which makes it an outlier in Ween’s catalog. Rarely do they sound this melancholic, even on the love songs. (The unreleased “Love Comes Down” has a similar feel.). Dean really blows the doors of “Tear For Eddie” on stage, but the relative restraint of the Chocolate And Cheese has plenty of power of its own.
9. “Bananas And Blow” (1999)
It just makes me happy. Being stuck in a cabana with narcotics and fruit sounds like a dream. And I say that as a person who typically gets grumpy when steel drums pop up in a song. The alleged backstory is that Gene and Dean wanted to troll Jimmy Buffett for trying to block other musicians from covering “Margaritaville,” so they conceived of an entire album of songs that sounded like “Margaritaville.” Only “Bananas And Blow” made it to the light of day, but I hope against hope that this faux-Buffett record actually exists, especially since Jimmy himself is no longer with us.
8. “Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down)” (1994)
The first 20 times you listen to Chocolate And Cheese, you skip this song. The next 20 times, you are annoyed and even slightly angry that Gene and Dean put such a morbid song on the record. The 20 times after that, you grudgingly listen to it, just to check to make sure you still hate it. Then, on the 61st spin, you realize you can sing along to every word. And every time after that, you forget you ever hated it at all.
In terms of the lyrics, this is as brown as Ween gets. Playing it in front of anyone who doesn’t know this band will lead to your immediate excommunication from that person’s life.
7. “The Stallion (Pt. 3)” (1990)
Not to be confused with “The Stallion” Parts 1-2 and 4-5. This is the most accessible installment of “The Stallion” saga. I took my friend to see Ween a few years ago and they subjected the crowd to several minutes of “The Stallion (Pt. 1)” right at the start of show. My friend bailed after 20 minutes. I am confident that if Ween had instead played “The Stallion (Pt. 3)” in that slot he would have stayed for at least 25.
6. “Voodoo Lady” (Live In Chicago version, 2004)
Honestly, I could specify the “Live In Chicago version” for all of these remaining songs. But I must do it for “Voodoo Lady,” which was transformed on stage as a showcase for Dean Ween’s A-plus shredding. I could have also gone with the Paintin’ The Town Brown version, particularly because Dean writes in the liner notes that he was trying to sound like the Santana live album Lotus on the guitar solo. (This was the thing that got me to buy Lotus, so I’m extra grateful for that.) But the Live In Chicago “Voodoo Lady” has the slight edge as the definitive version for me. It’s even browner than Paintin’ The Town Brown.
5. “Transdermal Celebration” (2003)
When Spin profiled Ween in 1995, the reporter skeptically quizzed the band on Dean’s penchant for solos. “Is it punk?” she wondered. This was, after all, the ’90s, and people asked “is it punk?” constantly. Henry Rollins doing spoken word — is it punk? The Flaming Lips going on 90210 — is it punk? Billie Joe Armstrong playing an acoustic guitar — is it punk? It was a tedious question for a tedious time.
Only Dean answered it with dignity. And he did it by invoking (who else?) Santana. “The original punk band,” he declared.
Anyway: “Transdermal Celebration” includes the finest solo of Dean’s life, played on (who else?) Carlos Santana’s guitar.
4. “Buckingham Green” (1997)
Deaner’s greatest riff. A true rock epic. It’s only three minutes and 18 seconds but it feels six times longer, in the best sense.
3. “Baby Bitch” (1994)
Ween does “Idiot Wind.” Or maybe “Idiot Wind” was Bob Dylan inventing Ween 10 years in advance. A song about murdering a guy and then running off with his wife is pretty damn brown. And a song about running into your ex while you’re with your current partner, and the takeaway is “You’re beautiful, I guess,” is pretty damn Dylanesque. If Bob hadn’t put out Time Out Of Mind three years later, “Baby Bitch” would have been the best Dylan song of the ’90s. (Yes, I’m also counting “One Headlight.”)
2. “Mutilated Lips” (1997)
Ween’s “Strawberry Fields Forever.” For all of the talk in this column about Ween’s dexterity with different genres, “Mutilated Lips” sounds like a song only they could have made. Ravishing and gross, profound and preposterous, “Mutilated Lips” is the brown sound at its absolute finest.
1. “Roses Are Free” (1994)
It was a toss up between the top four songs. I moved them around about a dozen times. Right now, I feel confident about this being the top choice. It’s where all the Ween elements come together — you have Prince, you have the psychedelia, you have the bedroom pop feel delivered by a capable rock band, you have music that is super fun and poppy and lyrics that are weird as hell. (After all these years, I’m still trying to wrap my head around “take a wrinkled raisin and do with it what you will.”) When the mighty Boognish appeared before Gene and Dean and instructed them to become Ween, this was the kind of song they were meant to write. “Roses Are Free” is a work of pure craft and demented inspiration and genius songwriting and idiot-savant musicianship. It’s a perfect pop song, and it would cause any Top 40 station that ever dared to play it to instantly implode. It makes me happy when it’s on, and it inspires me to do things that will make me feel sick tomorrow morning. But that’s okay. Because Ween always keeps me coming back for more.
Texas hip-hop heads are going to pour out one for one of their legends. Today (August 15), it has been reported that “Then Leave” musician Beatking has died at the age of 39.
Beatking, real name Justin Riley, was a proud representative of Houston, Texas who raise through the state’s underground scene then become a staple in its club scene. When news of his untimely passing was shared across social media, supporters of the musicians refused to believe the devastating announcement.
However, in a statement posted to Instagram, the late entertainer’s manager, Tasha Felder, confirmed that sad news.
“Today, August 15, 2024 we have lost Beatking,” she wrote. “BeatKing has been the best part of the club for over a decade. He has produced and worked with so many artists, that his sound will forever live.”
The note closed with a line to spotlight the people and things Beatking cared for the most. “He love his daughters, his music, and his fans,” she wrote. “We will love him forever.”
Tributes from across the culture are sure to pour in for the legendary recording artist, producer, and songwriter.
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