Category: News

Bacardi has been going through some of the most interesting changes in the spirits industry over the past few years. For decades, Bacardi Superior (a white rum) was pretty much the only expression people associated with the brand. It was a universal party mixer for tropical cocktails and the ubiquitous rum and Coke. Then, a few years ago, Bacardi decided to change that image and embrace the more refined world of dark, well-aged rums.

Look, I was skeptical at first too. I’d had far too much Bacardi 151 and, ahem, Baracdi Limon in college, and it kind of killed me on the Puerto Rican brand. Then a bar owner friend brought over a bottle of Bacardi Reserva Ocho for a dinner a few years ago and I was back into Bacardi after oh so many years away.

Since Bacardi just re-released their Spiced Rum expression, I had a chance to taste their aged line with Top Chef runner-up from season eleven, chef Nina Compton. Chef Compton offered some solid rum insight (she’s from Saint Lucia) alongside some great rum and food pairing advice. It’s definitely worth checking out our whole Expression Session.

If you don’t have 40 minutes to spare, here’s a quick review with my tasting notes of four bottles of Bacardi.

Bacardi Spiced

ABV: 35%
Average Price: $15

The Rum:

This newly re-released expression is a blend of rums aged in American oak that have been spiked with Caribbean spices. This is a straightforward spicy aged rum that’s crafted by Bacardi’s master blenders to be mixed.

Tasting Notes:

Vanilla is very present up top alongside that very distinct “Bacardi” aroma. There’s a clear touch of cinnamon and nutmeg with a very distant hint of oak. The creamy vanilla sweetness reminds me of a cream soda… in a good way.

Bottom Line:

This is sweet enough that you won’t need any extra bar syrup when making a rum old fashioned. I could also see this working wonders in egg nog.

Bacardi Añejo Cuarto

ABV: 40%
Average Price: $20

The Rum:

This rum is crafted as an entry-point for Bacardi’s aged line-up. The juice spends four years aging in oak under the Caribbean sun before blending and cutting down to proof.

Tasting Notes:

You know this is Bacardi immediately and then the nose veers into a little vanilla and oak, not unlike a bourbon. Those notes of toasted oak meet fresh honey sweetness and a flourish of fruitiness. The sip ends fairly quickly but leaves you pleasantly surprised.

Bottom Line:

This is a solid base for a cocktail. It’s also nice with a spicier Mexican cola, like Jarritos.

Bacardi Reserva Ocho

ABV: 40%
Average Price: $30

The Rum:

This is the rum that the Bacardi family made for itself for seven generations before finally releasing it to the market. This is a dialed-in aged rum that spends a minimum of eight years aging in oak.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a nice nose of bourbon vanilla, Christmas spices, and stone fruit next to butterscotch. The butterscotch feels more like toffee as the sip meanders — with spice, vanilla, plenty of oakiness, and a slight mustiness. There’s still a sense that you’re drinking Bacardi, but the aging of the rum is what really shines as the sip slowly fades.

Bottom Line:

This is a great cocktail base at this price point (an eight-year bourbon of this quality would easily be twice the price). I also dig it on the rocks.

Bacardi Gran Reserva Diez

ABV: 40%
Average Price: $40

The Rum:

This juice is aged for a minimum of ten years in white oak. Then the master blenders hand-select the best barrels for blending, creating this fine example of well-aged rum.

Tasting Notes:

If I was nosing this blind, I’d have a hard time telling that it’s “Bacardi.” There’s still a sense of molasses-y rum with oaky notes but tropical fruits — especially banana — shine brightly. A bit of pear peeks in with a nice hint of vanilla, oak, tobacco, and mustiness. The end lingers, warms, and then fades.

Bottom Line:

This is a solid sipper with a rock. It’s also inexpensive enough — come on, only $40 for a ten-year? — that I happily use it in cocktails.

Check out the full tasting below!

A lot of words have been spilled about Kanye West, but these days Ye gets little credit for when he’s actually right. To be fair, that’s because Kanye West routinely says inflammatory, damaging, hurtful things, and we mean really inflammatory. But occasionally he has a take so spot-on that it shows flashes of brilliance and truth, like when he’s pointing out the often predatory and unbalanced relationship between record labels and artists, or when he’s storming the stage to proclaim that Beyonce deserved the VMA for Best Female Music Video over Taylor Swift (though to MTV’s credit, they recognized Bey’s brilliance and gave her the Video of the Year award).

In his latest Twitter rant, West had some harsh words for PUMA and threatened to start redesigning the sneakers and bring the brand back to Adidas tweeting.

“I am the head of Adidas…” [he’s not -ed] “I will bring adidas and puma back together and bring me and jay back together…” before calling all PUMA designs ’embarrassingly trash’ and saying he’d start personally designing them.

To Ye’s credit, he’s absolutely right — with a few exceptions, PUMA has had a disappointing output for years now while other brands that were once ignored by the streetwear community, like Reebok and FILA, have found their footing in modern fits. If that bit about him and Jay-Z seems like random rambling, it’s actually not. Ye is drawing a parallel between himself and his “brother” Jay-Z, and Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, the two real-life brothers who started Adidas and PUMA respectively, only to become fierce rivals who had to be buried at opposite ends of their hometown.

We’ve long been advocates of Kanye West, fashion designer, and have made the case repeatedly that he should give up music (and politics) for good and stick to the world of sneakers, where he’s still doing his best work. Before you write this off as just another rant, remember that this dude is still actually running for president and while he’s not exactly the “head of Adidas” he does hold considerable sway for keeping the brand competitive with Nike via his Yeezy line.

PUMA isn’t without its fans though, which were quick to remind Kanye of some of his designer missteps on Twitter.

By this time next year, we might be ranking some Yeezy Pumas — a much better outcome for sneakerheads and streetwear fans than Kanye as the US President would be.

Videos of late night hosts dunking on Donald Trump are built to go viral, but that doesn’t mean they don’t raise some very valid points along the way. The latest example of that is Seth Meyers taking Trump to task for minimizing the impact of coronavirus because he claimed most deaths happened in “blue” states.

Meyers started by mentioning that the words “sedition” and “heat ray” are in the news at the same time. As bleak a reminder that 2020 has certainly been a tough go of things as we’ve seen this year. But Meyers almost immediately focused on Trump, his administration’s stunted and belated response to the COVID-19 pandemic that has seen nearly 200,000 Americans die this year, and his recent claims that the death toll in America wouldn’t look so bad if you took “blue states” out of the equation.

“Blue states had tremendous death rates,” President Trump said earlier in the week. “If you take the blue states out, we’re at a level that I don’t think anybody in the world would be at.”

For Meyers, who lives in New York, this was enough to unload on the president in a clip that quickly went viral.

“Also, as someone who lives in one of those states and knows people affected by this virus,” Meyers said, “I would just like to say, go f*ck yourself you rotting, soulless business ham.”

Meyers called Trump’s “blue states” comments “one of the most grotesque things he’s ever said,” then called the president an open sociopath.

“I’m sure Trump’s not our first sociopath president, but he’s definitely the first one who’s open about it,” Meyers said.

There’s a lot of different topics covered in the nearly 15-minute segment, from protests to attorney general William Barr’s comments that coronavirus lockdowns are akin to slavery, but Meyers saved the majority of his ire for Trump, and his dismissal of lives lost in places that didn’t vote for him. You can watch the full segment to feel the full extent of Meyers’ rage above.

With no end to our national nightmare in sight, The Daily Show has decided to celebrate the “most breathtaking achievements of the pandemic season” with its first (and hopefully final) Pandemmy Awards. Unlike other award shows, The Daily Show is giving you the chance to vote on a cornucopia of categories that best capture the very worst of America’s coronavirus response from anti-mask freakouts, cures that aren’t cures at all, and best supporting disasters.

Here are just some of the categories:

BEST CURE

Hydroxychloroquine
The Flu Vaccine
Not Testing
April
Disinfectant

BEST BULLS**T

Sean Hannity – “Always Taken Coronavirus Seriously”
Mike Pence – “Word is Bond”
Donald Trump – “I Knew This Was a Pandemic”
Kayleigh McEnany – “I Will Never Lie To You”

OUTSTANDING STUNT COORDINATION

Rep. Jerry Nadler
Donald Trump
Mike Pence
Joe and Jill Biden

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Dr. Deborah Birx – “A Scarf For Every Occasion”
Matt Gaetz – “Mocking Gas Mask”
Congressional Democrats – “Kente Cloth”
Senator Tim Kaine – “Old West Bank Robber”

BEST KAREN

“Democratic Pigs, All of You”
“I Have a Right To My Pizza”
“I Don’t Give a F**k”
“I Am Legend”

BEST KEVIN

Man Pushing Into Walmart
Costco Florida Man
“Return To Your Service of Satan” Guy
Man Dragged Out By Son

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN WISHFUL THINKING

Wolf Blitzer – “More Serious Posture”
Chuck Todd – “Bit More Reserved”
Gayle King – “Drastic Change”
Dana Bash – “From A Human Standpoint”

BEST PICTURE

Sean Hannity – “Zero Coronavirus Deaths”
Lou Dobbs – “Superb / Great / Very Good”
Trish Regan – “Coronavirus Impeachment Scam”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo – “SLUT”

BEST SUPPORTING DISASTER IN A PANDEMIC

Murder Hornets
Gender Reveal Wildfire
Locust Swarm
Election Day Asteroid

You can see more categories and vote for your choices at PandemmyAwards.com until Monday, September 21 when the winners will be announced.

(Via The Daily Show)

The 2020 general election will be unlike any in U.S. history due to a large number of people voting before election day, November 3.

The COVID-19 pandemic has many voting early, either in-person or by mail, so they can avoid large crowds of people. While others are mailing in their ballots early due to concerns over President Trump’s attempts to stifle voter turnout by disrupting the United States Postal Service.

Four states officially started early in-person voting on Friday and if the number of people who’ve already cast a ballot in Virginia is any indication of a nationwide trend, voter turnout is going to be massive this year.

Early voting by mail has already started in Idaho, West Virginia, New York, and Vermont. In-person voting is now possible in Virginia, Minnesota, Wyoming, and South Dakota,

According to a report from CNN, lines at the Fairfax Country registrar’s office in Virginia are as long as “two football fields” and people are waiting as long as three hours to cast their votes.

CNN reporter Kristen Holmes says a large number of people say they are voting early, in-person because they don’t trust the post office.

“I don’t trust the mail right now, that’s why,” Jim O’Conner told CNN. “If I gotta stay here all day, I’m gonna vote today.”

“We have heard that over and over again,” CNN reporter Kristen Holmes said. “People want to see their ballot being cast, they don’t believe the mail system is working right now.”

“Several people already waiting more than two hours to cast their ballot, and it is so important to keep in mind that this is a rolling process,” Holmes said. “They do not have to cast their ballot today. They are choosing to do so. They want to get out there. They want to have their say, and a lot of them want to actually see their ballot being cast.”

Twitter users have been posting videos of impressive lines.

Currently, Joe Biden has a solid lead in nationwide polls. The latest polling from The Five Thirty Eight has Biden with a comfortable lead (50.2%) in the national averages over Trump (43.5%).

According to The Five Thirty-Eight, if the election were held today, Biden would have an electoral college victory of 331 to 207 votes.

Given the fact that President Trump is fighting an uphill battle, the more votes cast early, the smaller his chance of winning.

“A ballot in is a ballot in, and no late-campaign message or event takes it out of the count,” Chris Wilson, a GOP pollster who specializes in data and analytics, told Politico.

“Bottom line is that means that Biden is banking a lead in the mail and more of the risk of something going wrong late is born by Republicans because our voters haven’t voted yet, Wilson adds.

Regardless of what it means for election results, it’s beautiful to see that Americans are excited to participate in democracy and are willing to do whatever they can to make sure their voice is heard.

In just one week, Deftones will release their anticipated new album Ohms, their first record in over four years. They’re offering another advance look in ahead of then, though, with a video for “Genesis.” The track begins with buzzing synths and atmospheric, post-rock-style guitars. From there, it bursts into a heavy alt-metal onslaught with alternately screamed and sung lyrics from Chino Moreno.

Moreno recently told Uproxx of the new album, “‘Heavy’ is kind of subjective, you know? The last thing I ever want to do is be quoted saying, ‘This is our heaviest record!’ The first thing that’s going to happen is some dude’s going to be like, ‘No way dude! This is…’ You know what I mean? It’s kind of subjective. But I do feel like it’s got a little more energy. I think that is attributed to everybody being engaged completely. Everybody firing on all cylinders. There’s not one of us individually that was sort of sitting back just going along. Everybody was very present physically and emotionally, ready to work and to put the work in.”

Watch the “Genesis” video above.

Ohms is out 9/25 via Warner Records. Get it here.

Deftones is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

UK singer and producer Labrinth just scored his first-ever Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics thanks to his Euphoria soundtrack standout, “All For Us.” The song, which ended the emotional rollercoaster first season, was nominated alongside Pharrell and Chad Hugo’s “Letter to My Godfather” from The Black Godfather, Thomas Mizer and Curtis Moore’s “One Less Angel” from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ “The Way It Used to Be” from Watchmen. Reznor and Ross won the Emmy for the dramatically-titled Outstanding Music Composition For A Limited Series, Movie Or Special award.

Since scoring Euphoria, Labrinth released his second studio album Imagination & the Misfit Kid, which he called a “concept collection about a child who sells his imagination to a businessman in exchange for success.” “All For Us” likewise appears on the album, along with the single “Something’s Got To Give.” Zendaya, who stars in Euphoria as lead character Rue, appears on “All For Us,” while Labrinth duets with “Sia” — with whom he formed the group LSD, also including Diplo — on album closer “Oblivion.” Labrinth is also nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for the Euphoria episode “Bonnie and Clyde.” His competition in that category includes Ludwig Göransson for the The Mandalorian episode “Chapter 8: Redemption” and Nicholas Britell for the Succession episode “This Is Not for Tears.”

After being controversially replaced in an award-winning ad campaign that he created, John Boyega publicly stepped down as the brand ambassador for UK fragrance company Jo Malone. While the company issued a statement apologizing for its mistake, the real life Jo Malone is “humiliated” over how poorly Boyega was treated.

While Malone is no longer involved with the brand after selling it to Estee Lauder in 1999, the company still bears her name, and the British perfumer did not enjoy seeing it associated with the Boyega controversy. “How dare somebody treat him [like that], and he finds out he is replaced on social media?” Malone said on a Friday segment of the UK morning show Lorraine, via Variety. “They never spoke to him. That for me is utterly despicable and is disgusting.”

Malone is also upset over the brand’s second attempt at an apology, which involved simply repeating its earlier statement to Boyega and adding that Malone had no involvement in the controversy. “This is my life, this is his life,” Malone said. “Don’t sit behind an apology, no one’s being human about this. Jo Malone London, Estee Lauder corporation, this is your mess, clear it up.”

In a Twitter thread on Monday, Boyega revealed that he was resigning from the fragrance company after he learned that it repurposed a short film based on his personal life that he made for the brand and reshot it with a new actor for China. Boyega was never given a heads up, nor did the fragrance company ask for his consent.

“While many brands understandably use a variety of global and local ambassadors, dismissively trading out one’s culture this way is not something I can condone,” Boyega tweeted. “It’s back to back but I assure you this will be dealt with swiftly. I don’t have time for nonsense. We press on and strong.”

(Via Variety)

The Boston Celtics find themselves in an unenviable situation during their Eastern Conference Finals matchup with the Miami Heat. Despite leading in the second half of both games, the Celtics are down 0-2, and following Thursday night’s 106-101 loss, reports indicated that tensions boiled over in the locker room, with mercurial guard Marcus Smart screaming at his teammates.

One day later and some more details have come out about exactly what went down. Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, Smart and Jaylen Brown got into it with one another, and while no physical altercation occurred and the two have “smoothed tensions over,” the pair needed to be separated.

Sources told The Athletic that Smart stormed into the Celtics postgame locker room saying that other players needed to be held accountable and not simply point the finger toward him when things are going wrong. As Smart continued and his voice grew louder, sources said Brown snapped back and shouted that Celtics players must stay together and that their actions must come as a team, not individually, and that Smart needed to cool off. Those sources added Smart had verbal exchanges with a couple of the assistant coaches during the game.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN added some details of what went down. While he confirmed that the two did not get physical with one another, Brad Stevens sat down with a collection of players — including Brown and Smart — to talk things over.

Smart is the heart and soul of the Celtics’ locker room, so it’s not a huge surprise that losing back-to-back games in the conference finals is something that irked him. Besides, with how Boston has looked over the first two games of this series, someone bringing a major sense of urgency is something that could be really beneficial for them, so long as things did indeed get smoothed over and this doesn’t rear its ugly head should the Celtics face any adversity over the remainder of this series.

Alabama rap sensation Flo Milli continues her breakout with the double video for “Send The Addy/May I” from her debut album, Ho, Why Is You Here? A relative unknown at this time last year, the 19-year-old Flo Milli has since bossed up in a big way, going from underground rookie to XXL Freshman contender, punctuating her rise with the viral fan-favorite project full of infectious bops and playful trash talk.

The new video reflects the rapper’s increased stature, opening with a flashy scene of Flo Milli rapping on the hood of an elaborately decorated lowrider in braids and knee-high boots and showing off her nameplate bamboo earrings. The bulk of the video is taken up by the “May I” video, filling the trunk of another lowrider with opulent floral arrangements as Milli sits astride a similarly bedecked lowrider bicycle. The final scene is a throwback to the 2000s, as the car club circles up to set the stage for a parking lot dance-off.

With the videos for “Send The Addy,” “May I,” and “Weak” continuing to rack up plays equal to those of her prior hits “Like That Bitch” and “My Attitude,” Flo Milli further endears herself to the fervent fanbase that turn her breakout single “In The Party” into a viral smash and made her a star on the rise. If she can keep up this same steady flow, it won’t be long ’til she’s outgrown Freshman class lists and finds herself the queen of hip-hop’s campus.

Watch Flo Milli’s “Send The Addy/May I” video above.