Category: Trending

You gotta hand it to AMC and the Daryl In Paris team, including showrunner David Zabel, exec producer Greg Nicotero, and star/exec producer Norman Reedus. The least likely core cast member of The Walking Dead to end up in France is heading there, and he’s got no clue how he washes ashore. Once on the scene, footage has shown that Daryl seems to be hating his “vacation,” so to speak. He’ll spend the first season of this spinoff series (a second season has already been greenlit) attempting to get home, but first, he must end up in several states of peril and figure out how to navigate without speaking the language.

You didn’t think that Daryl spent a summer abroad in France while in high school or college, did you? No way. The series has already promised to make this a barrier, and as seen in the below teaser, a young woman drags the hell out of the stranger in a walker-filled-strange land: “Ay! You American guy. I speak English very good. Was crackin’ noob.”

Gotta hate-love it. Fortunately, we’ll have a double dose of Reedus on AMC beginning on September 10, when we’ll also see him blaze through Utah with Keanu Reeves in Ride With Norman Reedus. My unwashed boo is having his day in the post-apocalyptic sun. Some new slices of key art put the resulting haze on display:

Needs more Dog. And here’s another teaser, in which Daryl attempts to stay hopeful in his own crotchety way while toting a crossbow through the lush countryside and various urban landscapes. They are gonna trash The Louvre in this series, and I am ready to watch.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon premieres on September 10.

Tom Cruise sure loves to catapult himself into theaters over the summer months. Last year, he took over Hollywood/air space by returning to theaters in Top Gun: Maverick, and this summer he was able to return to the big screen as Ethan Hunt for the seventh installment in the Mission Impossible series alongside his IMF team. It seems like the missions have been possible after all.

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One hit theaters in July, with part two coming sometime in 2024. But if you can’t quite get enough of Cruise and his action-packed stunts, you might have to tune in from the comfort of your own home. Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One is a Paramount production, which means it will head to Paramount+ after it has its time in theaters.

There is no planned release date at the moment, and it depends on just how many people head to the theater to see Mr. Hunt hunt down some secret weapons. Most Paramount movies, for instance, head to the platform about 45 days after release. But Tom Cruise hits like Top Gun: Maverick took over 200 days (!!!) to head to streaming, so it could be a while. We can only hope it will appear on the streamer by the end of the year, just in time to enjoy it while eating some coconut cake.

The good news is that every other Mission Impossible movie is now streaming on Paramount+, so you have six other movies to scratch that Cruise itch. You can also pre-order the DVD on Amazon, though the release date has not been announced yet. At this point, Tom Cruise really just does things his own way.

At one point, Jenna Ellis was a loyal MAGA soldier as she joined Donald Trump’s legal “Strike Force” and went to battle attempting to prove the former president’s “Big Lie” that the 2020 election was stolen. Now, Ellis has been indicted in Georgia alongside her old boss and Strike Force members Rudy Giuliani and Sydney “The Kraken” Powell.

Like Giuliani, Ellis is struggling to pay her legal bills despite dutifully doing the bidding of Trump, a supposed billionaire. However, while Rudy reportedly flew down to Mar-a-Lago to beg the former president for money, Ellis has gone a different route: Crowdfunding.

Via NPR:

Ellis posted a link to her crowdfunding campaign on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday evening with a quote from attorney Mike Melito, who she says is representing her.

“We will fight for Jenna. If you would like to help support our efforts please consider donating by clicking the link below,” the quote reads. “America and the profession of law are worth the fight.”

Since her work on Trump’s “Strike Force,” Ellis has admitted to making “misrepresentations” about the 2020 election, and more recently, she’s become a vocal supporter of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the upcoming Republican primary.

According to unconfirmed reports, endorsing DeSantis has allegedly prompted Trump to refuse to help Ellis with her legal bills stemming from the Georgia indictment. However, Newsweek has been “unable to independently verify” those claims.

(Via NPR, Newsweek)

Janelle Monáe’s The Age Of Pleasure Tour kicks off later this month, and today, the non-binary icon revealed the tour’s openers. In addition to Monáe’s longtime collaborator Jidenna, the tour will also receive support from viral breakouts Flyana Boss, Chicago singer-songwriter Dreamer Isioma, and rapper/producer Nana Kwabena. Anticipation for the tour is high thanks to the hedonistic, NSFW rollout for The Age Of Pleasure, so each of these acts will certainly benefit from the extra exposure.

Monáe embraced a different kind of exposure as they prepared to release their well-received candidate album of the summer, showing off plenty of skin the videos for songs like “Lipstick Lover” and “Water Slide.” They attributed their newfound tendency to get their kit off to being “much happier when my titties are out,” which certainly ruffled feathers in certain corners of the internet. However, Janelle received support from fellow musicians like Cardi B, who posted an NSFW tweet of her own in response, SZA, who offered a message of approval, and Jason Isbell, who registered his confusion that there’d be any backlash in the first place. In any case, none of the criticism has slowed the singer, who lived up to her promise that you cannot police her by flashing the audience at Essence Fest.

Check out the dates for The Age Of Pleasure Tour below.

08/30 – Seattle, WA @ WAMU Theater
08/31 – Vancouver, BC @ UBC – Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre
09/02 – Portland, OR @ RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater
09/06 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
09/07 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
09/09 – Kansas City, MO @ The Midland Theatre
09/11 – Minneapolis, MN @ Armory
09/13 – St. Louis, MO @ Stifel Theatre
09/14 – Chicago, IL @ Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
09/17 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway
09/18 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met
09/20 – Montreal, QB @ Mtelus
09/21 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
09/24 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem*
09/26 – New York City, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
09/28 – Brooklyn, NY @ Kings Theatre
10/02 – Charlotte, NC @ Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre
10/03 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
10/04 – Birmingham, AL @ Avondale Brewing Company
10/06 – Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre Atlanta
10/09 – Dallas, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
10/10 – Houston, TX @ Bayou Music Center
10/11 – Austin, TX @ Moody Amphitheater
10/15 – Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Financial Theatre
10/17 – San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
10/18 – Inglewood, CA @ YouTube Theater

Mike Lindell’s “Election Crime Bureau Summit” is only two days long, but it should last a week. Maybe two. To quote an iconic Darren Rovell tweet, “I feel bad for our country. But this is tremendous content.”

The increasingly-desperate pillow man teased that the “historical event,” held in a hotel and convention center in Springfield, Illinois, like all good historical events, would culminate in a plan to prevent election fraud that “has never been done before in world history… This is such a perfect plan, the only way it fails is if we do not get the word out to the entire country.”

Boy, I bet it’s good and definitely doesn’t involve any drones. Let’s check in with Springfield News-Leader reporter Kelly Dereuck, who was there on site. “Live from the Mike Lindell event on day 2: so far the plan to secure our elections is to fly a wifi detection device on drones over polling places to see if voting machines are connected to the internet,” she tweeted. After losing all his Walmart money, Lindell must be hoping to put MyPillow-branded drones on Best Buy shelves.

Take a Tylenol now. You will get a headache looking at… whatever this is.

The dozens of people in attendance must have been shocked by this revelation.

Earlier this year, Jamie Foxx was rushed to the hospital while on the set of his latest flick Back in Action after suffering from a medical complication. It’s been a few months, but Foxx is seemingly back in action for real this time, as he becomes more active on social media.

While the actor has yet to disclose what exactly happened, Foxx has been opening up about his “unexpected dark journey” on social media. He shared a photo of himself with a heartfelt caption, thanking his fans for their continued support over the past few months.

“You’re lookin at a man who is thankful… finally startin to feel like myself… it’s been an unexpected dark journey… but I can see the light,” the caption read, paired with a photo of Foxx holding a pair of off-brand Crocs (not sponsored). “I’m thankful to everyone that reached out and sent well wishes and prayers… I have a lot of people to thank… u just don’t know how much it meant… I will be thanking all of you personally… and if you didn’t know… GOD IS GOOD… all day every day… #swipeleft #imbackandimbetter #nobaddays”

Currently, Foxx stars as Bug in Strays, an R-rated canine film where a bunch of stray dogs curse and band together to get revenge on a neglectful owner by biting off his penis. This is normal cinema.

You’d be forgiven for balking at the idea of “smooth” rye whiskey. The grain-forward American version of the spirit is purposefully built to be sharper, earthier, and more loaded with herbal/floral vibes. Those don’t always bring “smooth AF” to mind like, say, “vanilla buttercream” or “lush marzipan” — two notes you might uncover while sipping a corn-fueled bourbon whiskey.

But as will all things in this crazy ol’ world of ours, rye is not a monolith. There are amazingly smooth American rye whiskeys out there, folks, and I’m here to help you find them.

Below, I’m conducting a blind taste test of newer rye whiskeys that are all under $100 to find the “smoothest” of them all. What do I mean exactly when I say “smooth”? A smooth whiskey is soft, lush, and polished without any rough edges. It’s easy to drink but also must have real depth with a fully rounded flavor profile without burning your senses or leaving you dry. It has to take you somewhere when you nose and sip without making you feel like you’re chewing on firewood or burning spice.

To find those beautifully smooth ryes, I grabbed some I knew were smooth and others I just supposed were pretty damn smooth from my shelf. I added in single barrel drops, toasted barrel finishes, sherry cask-finished softies, and even a couple of barrel-strength biggies for a broad testing pool. Our lineup features the following rye whiskeys:

• Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Series Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Finished in Toasted Cherry Wood And Oak Barrels
• Hemingway Rye, Signature Edition Straight Rye Whiskey Finished in Rum Seasoned Oloroso Sherry Casks
• Penelope Straight Rye Whiskey Toasted Barrel Finish
• Brother’s Bond Four-Grain Small-Batch American Blended Rye Whiskey
• Barrell Rye Cask Strength A Blend of Rye Whiskeys Batch #004
• Chicken Cock Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
• Old Potrero Single Barrel Reserve Straight Rye Whiskey
• Heaven’s Door Refuge Straight Rye Whiskey Finished in Sherry Casks
• Starlight Distillery Old Rickhouse Bottled-In-Bond Double Oaked Rye Whiskey Toasted Series
• Jack Daniel’s Twice Barreled Special Release Tennessee Rye Whiskey Heritage Barrel Rye

After I blindly tasted these ryes, I ranked them according to both how smooth they really are and how deep their flavor profiles goe. Smooth is great and all, but if the profile isn’t there, it’s not always going to be a winner. “Thin” should never be confused with smooth. Moreoever, if something tastes great but it’s not silky, it’ll slide down the rankings. Savvy?

Let’s dive in!

• The Absolute Best Bottle Of Whiskey From Each Of The 50 States
• Every Single Buffalo Trace Whiskey & Spirits Brand, Ranked
• 100 Best American Rye Whiskeys, Ranked
• The Best Whiskeys To Chase Down This May
• Every Whiskey Brand From Jim Beam, Ranked

Part 1 — The Smooth Rye Whiskey Blind Tasting

Taste 1

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose is classic with fresh cherry layered with nasturtiums, cinnamon sticks, and soft cedar planks just kissed with clove, nutmeg, and anise before light red peppercorns and brandy-soaked cherries dipped in salted dark chocolate kick in.

Palate: The palate follows the nose’s lead with a lush mouthfeel that’s full of spicy stewed fruits and ciders mixing with creamy vanilla and nutty bases over subtle chili pepper spiciness far in the rear of the taste.

Finish: The end pushed the woody spices toward an apple cider/choco-cherry tobacco mix with a cedar box and old leather vibe tying the whole taste together.

Initial Thoughts:

This is creamy and smooth with a good depth that balances the woodier aspects nicely. I like this one.

Taste 2

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with a hint of dry sweetgrass over berry brambles before veering into nut cake and rum-soaked raisin with a hint of spice barks and vanilla cream.

Palate: Caramel cut with orange oils and dipped in dark chocolate drives the palate toward clove and nutmeg-heavy eggnog with a touch of vanilla sugar cookies, orange cake, and a medley of dates, figs, and prunes.

Finish: That dark fruit folds into a sticky toffee pudding vibe with more of that chocolate-covered caramel and dark orange with a lush finish.

Initial Thoughts:

This is pretty goddamn good too. Lush, deep, fun, and pretty damn tasty.

Taste 3

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with a leathery sense of old winter spice barks, rich caramel, and vanilla pudding cut with butterscotch and orange rinds.

Palate: There’s a sense of singed marshmallows and dark orange zest on the palate that leans into hints of minty tobacco and cedar bark.

Finish: A hint of salted caramel and dark chocolate oranges drive the finish toward a soft old oakiness and a touch of smudging sage.

Initial Thoughts:

This inches toward creamy and smooth but leans more dry and woody by the end. It’s very good but I’m not sure I’d call it smooth.

Taste 4

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Dark fruit leather, stewed peach, and salted caramel mingle with vanilla buttercream cut with toffee and winter spice syrups on the nose.

Palate: The palate opens with a hint of grilled pineapple and peach dosed in caramel sauce and hit with salt before dark winter spice cakes arrive with dates, prunes, and old nuts with plenty of clove and allspice that eventually leads to a hint of eggnog creaminess.

Finish: The spice gets barky on the backend as the finish drives toward old wicker furniture in sweetgrass on a summer’s day next to a mild chili-peach-infused chewing tobacco leaf.

Initial Thoughts:

This has a smooth mid-palate but ends pretty warm and dry.

Taste 5

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Leathery candied fruits and berries drive the nose toward tobacco leaves, roasting herbs, and nasturtiums with a whisper of woody sasparilla just kissed with spearmint and sesame seed.

Palate: There’s a candied fruit vibe on the palate with pecan waffles, butter, maple syrup, and a touch of burnt marshmallow dipped in creamy espresso that leads to anise and old boot leather.

Finish: Hazlenut shells and marzipan lead to a whisper of dried botanicals like juniper and ancho chili with a woody sense of dried herbs and tobacco dosed in old brandy.

Initial Thoughts:

This is pretty delicious but I’d never call it smooth. This is as sharp as a scalpel and cuts deep.

Taste 6

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This opens like a root beer float with an eggnog ice cream scoop that leads to a touch of rye bread funk, old tobacco, and a hint of oak.

Palate: The palate is like an old cedar box full of spicy tobacco leaves that lead back to the sasparilla of that root beer.

Finish: The mid-palate has this spicy stewed peaches vibe with a hint of dried fruit, black tea bitterness, and a touch more of that peppery root beer.

Initial Thoughts:

This is creamy and smooth. I don’t if it runs as deep as some of the other pours though.

Taste 7

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Molasses heavy bran muffins mingle with dry cinnamon sticks, Granny Smith apple skins, and Red Hots next to rum-raisin and a twinge of an old oak stave and craft grain porridge with a caramelized edge.

Palate: The palate leans into ginger snaps with plenty of cinnamon and nutmeg next to vanilla pudding right out of the cup and a dry sense of cedar kindling.

Finish: The end holds onto the dry woodiness with a layer of salted caramel raisins and sweet porridge before veering into a bold cinnamon spice that’s like eating Red Hots and chewing Big Red gum at the same time.

Initial Thoughts:

This ends hot. I mean really hot. I like that cinnamon fire but it’s not “smooth” by any stretch of the imagination. It’s a lot of fun though!

Taste 8

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a deep oakiness on the nose with a hint of dry grain silos, soft prune juice, and dark winter spice barks next to a touch of nutshell.

Palate: Dark fruit stewed in winter spices with a touch of floral honey drives the palate toward vanilla pods, caramel sauce, and more of those sharp winter spices.

Finish: The end leans back into that deep oakiness with a winter spice edge that kind of just drifts off into dark fruit leather.

Initial Thoughts:

This is more tannic than smooth. It’s nice enough but more of a spiced woody vibe than creamy soft.

Taste 9

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Orange-laced salted caramel is countered by rich and bold huckleberry pie and stewed blackberry compote with a big dollop of buttercream with plenty of vanilla and toffee.

Palate: That orange darkens with winter spice barks and berries next to a rich vanilla creaminess that leans toward eggnog and creamy caramel all accented by a nice layer of soft oakiness.

Finish: The end is lush and just warm enough with dark winter spice, burnt orange, and brandy-soaked marzipan next to a lush sense of vanilla cake cut with stewed dark berries.

Initial Thoughts:

This is both smooth AF and deeply hewn. This is the good stuff, folks.

Taste 10

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with a Christmas spiced cake with candied cherries, orange peels, roasted walnuts, moist pear brandy-soaked marzipan, and a light hint of homemade cranberry sauce, roasting herbs, and a light sense of fresh pipe tobacco.

Palate: That vanilla gets super creamy on the palate as eggnog with clove and nutmeg drive the taste back to candied pear, cherry, and orange with an underbelly of dry smudging sage, cedar bark, and tobacco leaves braided and rolled into an old cigar humidor with a sweet leathery edge.

Finish: The end marries the candied cherry, spiced chocolate, and vanilla buttercream into a bespoke Black Forest cake with a holiday spice vibe next to soft sweetgrass, more of those roasting herbs, and a whisper of dried ancho chili soaked in pear brandy that’s just kissed with huckleberry pie.

Initial Thoughts:

This is not only delicious but it’s one of the smoothest pours I’ve ever had with incredible depth. This is a winner.

Part 2 — The Smooth Rye Whiskey Ranking

10. Heaven’s Door Refuge Straight Rye Whiskey Finished in Sherry Casks — Taste 8

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $79

The Whiskey:

This new imagining of Bob Dylan’s signature rye whiskey is made with a 100% rye mash bill. Those barrels are left alone for six to eight years before batching. That whiskey is then re-barreled into an Amontillado sherry cask for a final maturation run.

Bottom Line:

This is a fine whiskey. It’s not a smooth one though and that’s why it’s here.

9. Old Potrero Single Barrel Reserve Straight Rye Whiskey — Taste 7

ABV: 65.16%

Average Price: $86

The Whiskey:

This whiskey is a bit of a throwback with a West Coast vibe. The whiskey is 100% rye whiskey made at Hotaling & Co. in Potrero Hill, one of San Francisco’s most iconic spots for booze. As of this year, the spirit is being distilled on the waterfront in San Francisco but still carries that Anchor Brewing heritage. With that move, the bottle also got a brand new design that leans into San Francisco’s sea-faring history.

Bottom Line:

This is also a fine whiskey with a great grainy vibe. But the end is so hot and cinnamon-heavy that I can’t call it “smooth.” So while it’s a nice one, it’s ranked lower on this panel.

8. Barrell Rye Cask Strength A Blend of Rye Whiskeys Batch #004 — Taste 5

ABV: 57.85%

Average Price: $84

The Whiskey:

This brand-new blend of ryes from Barrell Craft Spirits combines four styles of rye. The main component is five, six, and 10-year-old Indiana rye mixed with a five-year-old Tennessee rye, a 6-year-old Kentucky rye, and a 14-year-old Canadian rye. Once batched, those whiskeys were bottled at cask strength.

Bottom Line:

This is a very good whiskey that’s not really smooth at all. It doesn’t have rough edges but it certainly has sharp corners. I can see this really working wonders over a big ice cube on a slow-sipping day.

7. Penelope Straight Rye Whiskey Toasted Barrel Finish — Taste 3

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $70

The Whiskey:

This is made with 100% Indiana rye whiskey. The whiskey was then re-barreled into fresh heavily toasted barrels (with a tiny bit of char) before batching and bottling with a touch of proofing water.

Bottom Line:

This was nice but woody (naturally). There was a hint of smoothness sneaking in but I’d never define this as a smooth whiskey. It’s a nice dry rye with a good balance of flavor notes.

6. Brother’s Bond Four-Grain Small-Batch American Blended Rye Whiskey — Taste 4

ABV: 47.5%

Average Price: $48

The Whiskey:

This brand-new release from Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley’s Brothers Bond is their first foray into rye. The whiskey in the bottle is a blend of their bourbon cut with a four-year-old 95/5 rye (rye/malted barley). The final product ends up being a 77% rye whiskey once batched, proofed, and bottled.

Bottom Line:

This had a nice and smooth mid-palate that gave way to a hot and dry finish. Over ice, that creamy mid-point would extend out and this would be a smooth sipper. But I tried this neat so here we are.

5. Chicken Cock Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey — Taste 6

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $70

The Whiskey:

This whiskey from a re-invigorated brand is comprised of that famous sourced 95% rye that’s aged (and now contract distilled) at Bardstown Bourbon Company. In this case, it’s aged for around two years before the barrels are blended, proofed, and bottled.

Tasting Notes:

This was smooth, for sure. It hits the middle of the pack simply because it was the middle of the road. This is clearly a cocktail rye that works over a glass full of rocks.

4. Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Series Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Finished in Toasted Cherry Wood And Oak Barrels — Taste 1

ABV: 48%

Average Price: $69

The Whiskey:

This whiskey — from Bardstown Bourbon Company’s own Origin Series — is their classic 95/5 rye that’s aged for almost five years. Then the whiskey is finished with alternating toasted American oak and toasted cherry wood staves in the barrel. Once the whiskey is just right, it’s batched, proofed, and bottled.

Bottom Line:

This is where we get into the truly smooth stuff. This was smooth from top to bottom with enough depth to stand out as a classic cocktail base for killer whiskey-forward cocktails.

3. Hemingway Rye, Signature Edition Straight Rye Whiskey Finished in Rum Seasoned Oloroso Sherry Casks — Taste 2

ABV: 51%

Average Price: $79

The Whiskey:

The second release from Hemingway Rye is a blend of six-year-old Indiana rye (classic 95/5 rye/barley) with a four-year-old Kentucky 95/5 rye. Once those whiskeys were batched, the rye was re-barreled in Oloroso sherry casks that held rum.

Bottom Line:

This is delicious whiskey. The cask comes through a tad on the finish, adding a tannic factor, but a big rock will calm that right down.

2. Starlight Distillery Old Rickhouse Bottled-In-Bond Double Oaked Rye Whiskey Toasted Series — Taste 9

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $49

The Whiskey:

This new release from Indiana’s Starlight Distillery is a blend of their 90/10 and 80/20 (rye/barley) rye whiskeys that are 4.5 to 6.5 years old. Those whiskeys were then finished in heavily toasted French Canton barrels for a final mellowing before a touch of proofing water and bottling.

Bottom Line:

This has the perfect balance of smooth and deep. This is pretty much a perfect sipper with just the right kick at the end. This is the good stuff.

1. Jack Daniel’s Twice Barreled Special Release Tennessee Rye Whiskey Heritage Barrel Rye — Taste 10

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $75

The Whiskey:

This whiskey starts off with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Rye Whiskey which is hewn from a mash of 70% rye, 18% corn, and 12% malted barley with Jack’s own yeast and lactobacillus strains. After a slow drip-drop filtering through 10 solid feet of sugar maple charcoal (which strips oily graininess and highlights sweet fruitiness, among other notes), the mellowed juice is filled into “Heritage Barrels.” Those barrels were seasoned in the open air for years. Once coopered, the American white oak barrels are heavily toasted and lightly charred. That toasting allows the sugars to caramelize and become more easily available to the distillate while the light char means less filtering as the whiskey moves in and out of the wood.

Bottom Line:

This is pretty much a perfect whiskey that’s incredibly smooth, balanced, and deep. It’s a delight to sip and keeps rewarding when you come back for more.

Part 3 — Final Thoughts on the Smooth Rye Whiskeys

Brass tacks, the top four are the whiskeys you want to focus on if you’re looking for “smooth”. Each one offers something a little different in their profile, but each one of those profiles is outstanding.

Look, there wasn’t a bad whiskey on this list. But when it comes to finding a perfectly balanced smooth rye whiskey — you have to find that Starlight or Jack Daniel’s. They’re stellar whiskeys, period.

After days of various games being leaked out, the full NBA schedule for the 2023-24 season was released on Thursday afternoon. Per usual, each franchise’s social media teams devised a creative way to unveil the schedule, with some teams outclassing others and staking a claim to the premier schedule release of the summer. Among the top contenders for best video, at least from what I’ve seen, are the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Pelicans, and Golden State Warriors.

Initially, the Heat’s video didn’t sell me, but the potshots directed at the three Eastern Conference foes they defeated en route to the Finals last spring were witty. I especially found joy in the “97 percent” quip regarding the Boston Celtics after ESPN Analytics gave Miami a 3 percent chance of winning that series heading into their Eastern Conference Finals showdown.

The Bulls went the nostalgia route with a Pokemon-style video, which was rather sweet. That Pokemon soundtrack is as catchy as can be and the video was well-executed with sublime graphics. Bravo, Chicago.

Speaking of nostalgia, the Orlando Magic catered to fans of 1990s cartoons with their video.

The Minnesota Timberwolves played off of the viral TikTok trend in which jars, bowls, and bottles are rolled down steps until they shatter or survive the entire journey. The video starts off with a bang, as a rubber dinosaur is smacked from above the top step by a hockey stick, making clear they’ll be opening their season against the Toronto Raptors. The video is pretty long for Twitter standards, but also creative, silly and enjoyable.

The Indiana Pacers adhered to a similar concept and the two Twitter admins had some fun about the parallels.

The Utah Jazz elected for an art exhibit — “The Museum of Jazz Moments” — to debut their schedule. The elegant narration voice dishing out trash talk made for a cheeky contrast between message and tone.

New Orleans’ video didn’t even convey any of its games. Instead, it included Jaleel White, who played Steve Urkel on “Family Matters,” as a fill-in of sorts for C.J. McCollum when McCollum’s schedule grows overwhelming. The only problem, though, is White revels in life as McCollum’s replacement and a rivalry brews between them. It’s an ingenuitive and lighthearted promo.

Gary Payton II starred in the Warriors’ release, as he sampled different culinary dishes and tried to guess which NBA team they represented. It’s certainly not a bad gig, and if any other teams need someone for a video like this, my line is open.

The NBA’s schedule release day is always a shining moment for social media departments and these groups absolutely nailed the assignment. I’m sure there are plenty other awesome videos that I missed, so I apologize in advance. Every video can be found here, if you’re looking the rest.

To the surprise of no one, Rudy Giuliani was reportedly up to some shady business during the 2020 election. According to a new lawsuit, the former attorney for Donald Trump allegedly solicited investors for a documentary that would bring down Joe Biden by exposing his alleged business dealings in Ukraine.

Giuliani, who is now allegedly broke, and two of his associates made the bold claim in 2019 to “California fruit-and-nut farming magnates and brothers Baldev and Kewel Munger” who reportedly forked over $1 million for the project. The brothers believed their investment would help Trump secure a second term.

Via Insider:

The lawsuit claims that the three men pitched the farmers on a film that would be “a possible ‘kill shot’ to Biden’s presidential campaign.” The three men “all represented that they possessed key documents that were ‘smoking guns’ that would establish that the Ukrainian government engaged in a quid pro quo exchange with the Biden family to benefit Burisma,” the complaint continues.

To the surprise of no one, the documentary was never made and Giuliani is accused of pocketing $300,000 in the brother’s lawsuit. As for why America’s Mayor didn’t deliver the goods, it turns out he did not already possess a “smoking gun” implicating Biden. Even more damning, Giuliani failed to locate one when he personally traveled to Ukraine and interviewed “various officials.”

According to Insider, Giuliani turned his attention to Hunter Biden’s laptop, which also failed to be a “kill shot” to Joe Biden’s campaign.

(Via Insider)

The 2023-24 NBA regular season schedule was released on Thursday afternoon, with all 30 teams getting the dates for their 82-game season (plus a possible two extra games if they can make the finals of the In-Season Tournament).

From a national perspective, the schedule release is best for seeing the games for key dates during the year — Christmas Day, MLK Day, etc. — as well as learning what matchups we will be seeing on national television. This year will look and sound a bit different on ESPN and ABC broadcasts, where Doc Rivers and Doris Burke join Mike Breen in the lead broadcast booth and Ryan Ruocco, Richard Jefferson, and J.J. Redick make up the new No. 2 national team for the four-letter.

As always, ESPN will broadcast games mostly on Wednesday and Friday nights, with ABC beginning Saturday primetime and Sunday showcase games once the NFL season has concluded.

For those interested, here are how many times each team will appear on ESPN/ABC broadcasts, unsurprisingly led by the Lakers and Warriors.

Lakers: 17
Warriors: 17
Suns: 15
Celtics: 15
Nuggets: 13
Knicks: 13
Bucks: 12
76ers: 11
Mavericks: 11
Heat: 10
Grizzlies: 8
Spurs: 7
Clippers: 6
Cavaliers: 6
Kings: 5
Hawks: 4
Pelicans: 4
Thunder: 4
Nets: 3
Bulls: 3
Timberwolves: 3
Jazz: 1
Hornets: 1
Rockets: 1
Pistons: 1
Wizards: 1
Raptors: 0
Blazers: 0
Pacers: 0
Magic: 0

And here are the full schedules for the NBA on ESPN and ABC this coming season (all times Eastern):

NBA on ABC Schedule

12/25
Warriors at Nuggets (2:30 p.m.)
Celtics at Lakers (5:00 p.m.)

1/27
Heat at Knicks (3:00 p.m.)
Sixers at Nuggets (5:30 p.m.)
Lakers at Warriors (8:30 p.m.)

2/3
Lakers at Knicks (8:30 p.m.)

2/10
Suns at Warriors (8:30 p.m.)

2/11
Celtics at Heat (2:00 p.m.)

2/24
Celtics at Knicks (8:30 p.m.)

2/25
Bucks at Sixers (1:00 p.m.)
Lakers at Suns (3:30 p.m.)

3/2
Nuggets at Lakers (8:30 p.m.)

3/3
Sixers at Mavs (1:00 p.m.)
Warriors at Celtics (3:30 p.m.)

3/9
Celtics at Suns (8:30 p.m.)

3/16
Warriors at Lakers (8:30 p.m.)

3/17
Suns at Bucks (1:00 p.m.)
Nuggets at Mavs (3:30 p.m.)

NBA on ESPN Schedule

10/25
Celtics at Knicks (7:00 p.m.)
Mavs at Spurs (9:30 p.m.)

10/27
Heat at Celtics (7:30 p.m.)
Warriors at Kings (10:00 p.m.)

11/1
Pelicans at Thunder (7:30 p.m.)
Clippers at Lakers (10:00 p.m.)

11/3
Knicks at Bucks (7:30 p.m.)
Mavs at Nuggets (10:00 p.m.)

11/8
Spurs at Knicks (7:30 p.m.)
Warriors at Nuggets (10:00 p.m.)

11/10
Nets at Celtics (7:30 p.m.)
Lakers at Suns (10:00 p.m.)

11/15
Celtics at Sixers (7:30 p.m.)
Kings at Lakers (10:00 p.m.)

11/17
Kings at Spurs (7:30 p.m.)
Suns at Jazz (10:00 p.m.)

11/22
Bucks at Celtics (7:30 p.m.)
Warriors at Suns (10:00 p.m.)

11/24
Heat at Knicks (7:30 p.m.)
Spurs at Warriors (10:00 p.m.)

12/1
Grizzlies at Mavs (7:30 p.m.)
Nuggets at Spurs (10:00 p.m.)

12/6
TBD at TBD (7:30 p.m.)
TBD at TBD (10:00 p.m.)

12/15
Lakers at Spurs (7:30 p.m.)
Knicks at Suns (10:00 p.m.)

12/22
Wizards at Warriors (7:30 p.m.)
Bucks at Knicks (10:00 p.m.)

12/25
Bucks at Knicks (12:00 p.m.)
Sixers at Heat (8:00 p.m.)
Mavs at Suns (10:30 p.m.)

1/3
Bulls at Knicks (7:30 p.m.)
Heat at Lakers (10:00 p.m.)

1/5
Knicks at Sixers (7:30 p.m.)
Grizzlies at Lakers (10:00 p.m.)

1/10
Sixers at Hawks (7:30 p.m.)
Pelicans at Warriors (10:00 p.m.)

1/12
Rockets at Pistons (7:30 p.m.)
Hornets at Spurs (10:00 p.m.)

1/17
Bucks at Cavs (7:30 p.m.)
Mavs at Lakers (10:00 p.m.)

1/19
Nuggets at Celtics (7:30 p.m.)
Mavs at Warriors (10:00 p.m.)

1/24
Thunder at Spurs (7:30 p.m.)
Suns at Mavs (10:00 p.m.)

1/31
Suns at Nets (7:30 p.m.)
Nuggets at Thunder (10:00 p.m.)

2/4
Grizzlies at Celtics (6:00 p.m.)

2/7
Hawks at Celtics (7:30 p.m.)
Pelicans at Clippers (10:00 p.m.)

2/14
Bulls at Cavs (7:30 p.m.)
Clippers at Warriors (10:00 p.m.)

2/23
Cavs at Sixers (7:30 p.m.)
Heat at Pelicans (10:00 p.m.)

2/25
Nuggets at Warriors (7:00 p.m.)
Kings at Clippers (9:30 p.m.)

2/28
Grizzlies at Timberwolves (7:30 p.m.)
Lakers at Clippers (10:00 p.m.)

3/1
Mavs at Celtics (7:30 p.m.)
Bucks at Bulls (10:00 p.m.)

3/3
Knicks at Cavs (7:30 p.m.)
Thunder at Suns (10:00 p.m.)

3/6
Grizzlies at Sixers (7:30 p.m.)
Bucks at Warriors (10:00 p.m.)

3/8
Hawks at Grizzlies (7:30 p.m.)
Bucks at Lakers (10:00 p.m.)

3/10
Nets at Cavs (7:30 p.m.)
Timberwolves at Lakers (10:00 p.m.)

3/13
Nuggets at Heat (7:30 p.m.)
Lakers at Kings (10:00 p.m.)

3/18
Heat at Sixers (7:30 p.m.)
Knicks at Warriors (10:00 p.m.)

3/20
Bucks at Celtics (7:30 p.m.)
Grizzlies at Warriors (10:00 p.m.)

3/27
Clippers at Sixers (7:30 p.m.)
Suns at Nuggets (10:00 p.m.)

4/3
Grizzlies at Bucks (7:30 p.m.)
Cavs at Suns (10:00 p.m.)

4/10
Mavs at Heat (7:30 p.m.)
Timberwolves at Nuggets (10:00 p.m.)

4/14
TBD at TBD (1:00 p.m.)
TBD at TBD (3:30 p.m.)