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The Kyrie Irving trade introduced a wave of wrinkles, both on and off the court, for the Dallas Mavericks. On the court, Irving becomes the first Maverick to be a true talent peer to Luka Doncic. He’s a player who can both complement and amplify Doncic’s skill set while also serving as a star-level offensive engine when Doncic sits. Irving’s prowess as both a ball handler and shot creator are well-documented, but it’s his playmaking and ability to be a threat off the ball that should elevate Doncic and this Maverick offense to new heights.

For the first time since he became the face of the franchise — which was approximately four seconds after they acquired him in a draft day trade with the Atlanta Hawks — Doncic is playing with someone who can cause him to alter his approach on offense. Throughout Jason Kidd’s tenure, Dallas has deployed an isolation-heavy offense that leverages 5-out spacing with very little movement from their non-ball handlers. Doncic, Spencer Dinwiddie, and previously Jalen Brunson all excelled in isolation and created constant rim pressure, which led to a bevy of open 3s for their teammates.

Dallas wants to drag teams into the mud and play at Doncic’s meticulous pace — they rank 29th in pace and 1st in half-court offensive efficiency, per Cleaning The Glass. It was an offensive strategy good enough to carry them to the Western Conference Finals last year, and as of this writing, Dallas has the eighth-best offense in the league.

However, both Doncic and Dinwiddie need multiple dribbles to break down their defenders, which often led to stagnant possessions that dwindled late into the clock. And without Brunson this season, that stagnation has amplified in crunch time, leading to a series of late game collapses by Dallas early in the year. Doncic leads the league in average seconds per touch at 6.9 a game. Dinwiddie isn’t far behind at ninth at 5.44 seconds. Dinwiddie performed well this season, but his skill set and approach was too similar to Doncic’s, and the results weren’t always great. This dynamic and roster construction forced Doncic into a career-high usage that made Dallas almost entirely dependent on his brilliance. Dallas was 11.8 points per 100 possessions better when Doncic was on the floor and went 0-7 in games without him prior to the trade.

The Irving trade introduces a star-level talent and a new play style into the Maverick offense. The offensive variance was obvious in Irving’s debut against the Los Angeles Clippers. Typically, Dallas is a heavy pick-and-roll team, which allows Doncic to dissect defenses over and over until they waive the white flag and send hard doubles. With Doncic during Irving’s debut, the offense featured a series of dribble hand-off sets that let Irving and their other perimeter players play off of Dwight Powell to scramble a switch-heavy Clipper defense. Here’s a fun little play they ran to get Irving his first basket.

Irving’s ability to change direction off the ball, stop on a dime, and shoot off the catch opens up new possibilities for Kidd. Introducing new motion sets will lessen the burden on Doncic and allow his teammates to be more involved in the offense, even if most of the creation still comes from Irving and Doncic. The change in approach was evident from one stat in Irving’s debut: Tim Hardaway Jr. and Reggie Bullock both had a season-high six assists. While the offense won’t always be so egalitarian, this is a glimpse at what Irving’s presence can provide.

When Doncic returns from injury, he will have to acclimate to playing off the ball for the first time since his rookie season when he was paired with Dennis Smith Jr. Doncic spends the majority of his possessions creating for himself and his teammates — only 12.1 percent of his made field goals this season have been assisted. For the first time in his career, Doncic has a teammate that can create shots for him and will require him to stay alert off the ball. Irving is the best passer with whom he’s played since Doncic shared a backcourt with Goran Dragic on the Slovenian national team in 2017. That version of Doncic was a fantastic off-ball player that utilized all his on-ball brilliance to make smart cuts and push in transition.

Irving presents an opportunity for Doncic to diversify the game and make it easier on himself. He’s already proven he can do all the heavy lifting of an MVP, but to make a long playoff run, he’ll need to learn when to take his foot off the gas and allow Irving to create for everyone. To start, Doncic needs to play more in transition and early offense to avoid the stagnation that has plagued the Mavericks at times this season. With Irving replacing Dinwiddie and Josh Green soaking up Dorian Finney-Smith’s minutes, Dallas has the personnel to be dangerous in the open court. They don’t need to be the Seven Seconds or Less Suns, but taking a step up from 29th in pace can supercharge this offense.

To fully maximize this partnership, Doncic will have to tap into the younger version of himself. It’s a funny thing to say about someone who is 23, but Luka Doncic’s basketball career has been defined by his ability to be brilliant beyond his years.

It’s (un)officially one of the biggest holiday weekends in America — Super Bowl weekend! If you drink alcohol, you’re going to be drinking (a lot of) something this Sunday. It may as well be the best whiskey that you can actually get that also won’t break the bank.

That’s where I come in. I’m naming 20 affordable (cheap!) whiskeys that actually taste pretty damn good.

75% of Americans are watching the game this weekend, which puts Super Bowl Sunday just under Thanksgiving (America’s most celebrated holiday) right along with Veteran’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Memorial Day when it comes to what Americans celebrate most. It tracks, Christmas and New Year’s are long past and we need something to celebrate in the doldrums of late winter. And what better than a good pour of whiskey to help you do just that?

The range today is the $20 to $40 window, with most bottles hitting around 30 bucks. Look, I could name some $10 and $15 bottles, but they rarely taste as good as the ones that cost just $5 to $10 more. So we’re starting at $20 and going from there, and let’s not pretend that anything under $50 isn’t cheap/affordable in the whiskey world in 2023.

Lastly, you should be able to find most of these bottles. A couple of the picks are a tad regional, but not overly so. This is about whiskey that you can get so click on those prices to do just that. Let’s dive in!

• The 100 Best Bourbon Whiskeys Of 2022, Ranked
• Our Head Drinks Critic Reveals The Expensive Bourbons He *Won’t* Pay Above Retail For
• The Affordable Vs Expensive Blind Bourbon Bottle Battle
• The Absolute Best Bourbons Between $20-$30, Ranked
• The Absolute Best Bourbons Between $30-$40, Ranked

Bradshaw Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

ABV: 51.9%

Average Price: $44

The Whiskey:

Terry Bradshaw’s rye whiskey is a compliment to his new bourbon. The whiskey is made at the Green River Distilling Company (now part of Bardstown Bourbon Company) from an undisclosed mash bill. That whiskey ages for a mere two years before proofing and bottling.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with soft leather and Dr. Pepper spices next to plenty of vanilla and a deep sense of burnt popcorn (that’s slightly rough).

Palate: The palate is oaky put white peach and brown sugar cut through it with a sense of subtle winter spices and mild peppercorns.

Finish: The end mixes soft vanilla with old oak as a butter toffee and spiced cherry tobacco finishes things off on the senses.

Bottom Line:

It’s Super Bowl Sunday and this is the best NFL legend bottle you can get. The best part is that this whiskey actually tastes pretty damn good thanks to Terry Bradshaw actually taking the time to care about what’s in the bottle (and not just slap his name on something).

Jameson Irish Whiskey Caskmates Stout Edition

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $39

The Whiskey:

Aging stout in whiskey barrels has a long tradition in brewing. Plus, a pint of stout goes hand-in-hand with drams of Irish whiskey. So aging Jameson in whiskey barrels that held stout beer makes a lot of sense. In this case, the aged juice spends an extra six months in the stout barrels, giving the whiskey that little somethin’, before proofing and bottling.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Apple orchards and bails of hay mingle with almonds, spice, chocolate, and a hint of lemon oil on the nose.

Palate: Dark chocolate and a note of woody spices mingle on the palate with creamed honey and a whisper of espresso cream.

Finish: The end brings about a note of butterscotch next to a milkier chocolate smoothness that leads to a finish that’s part of spiced wood and part bitter espresso bean, creating a spiced-mocha-latte-spiked-with-whiskey vibe.

Bottom Line:

Jameson feels essential this time of year. The light Irish whiskey is perfect for on the rocks sipping for passive whiskey drinkers at your Super Bowl party. It’s inoffensive yet tasty and very easygoing.

Benchmark Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 47.5%

Average Price: $25

The Whiskey:

This expression is from the single barrels that actually hit that prime spot/flavor profile to be bottled one at a time. This is the best of the best of the barrels earmarked for Benchmark in the Buffalo Trace warehouses. Those barrels are watered down slightly before bottling at a healthy 95-proof.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: That orange and caramel really come through on the nose with a thin line of creamy dark chocolate and some nutmeg and cinnamon.

Palate: The palate largely adheres to that flavor profile while adding in layers of dark fruit, old leather, mild oak, and orange cookies.

Finish: The finish arrives with a sense of winter spices and dark chocolate oranges next to a twinge of cherry-kissed spicy tobacco chew and a final note of old porch wicker.

Bottom Line:

Benchmark is the ultimate “in the know” cheap bourbon. The whiskey is from the Buffalo Trace facility and is the same juice as Eagle Rare, Stagg, E.H. Taylor, and Buffalo Trace Bourbon. Pouring this on Sunday will give you a great bourbon experience without the staggering Buffalo Trace (secondary) price points.

Buchanan’s DeLuxe Blended Scotch Whisky Aged 12 Years

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $33

The Whisky:

Buchanan’s is making a big comeback. Part of that is due to this expression snagging a Double Gold from San Francisco World Spirit Competiton in 2020; another part is the quality Diageo whiskies in the blend.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The whiskey opens with a real sense of dark chocolate married to bright orange zest.

Palate: The palate builds on that adding hints of vanilla pudding and dark spices next to a cedar woodiness and a little bit of spicy/ chewy tobacco.

Finish: A whisper of peat arrives late and far in the background as the chocolate orange throughline lasts the longest on the fade.

Bottom Line:

This is the perfect highball whisky to have on hand. Pour this with some good fizzy water and a twist of citrus and you’ll be all set.

Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

ABV: 45.2%

Average Price: $35

The Whiskey:

This whiskey was a long time coming. Master Distiller Chris Morris tinkered with this recipe for nine years before it was just right. The juice has a fairly low-rye mash bill — for rye, that is — with only 53% of the grain in the recipe. The rest is made up of local corn and malted barley. The whiskey then spends up to seven years maturing at their Versailles, Kentucky facility before its blended, proofed with soft limestone water, and bottled.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This opens nicely with soft green grass next to a dusting of freshly cracked black pepper and dry cedar that’s countered by pear and marzipan.

Palate: That pear infuses into the marzipan on the palate as floral honey balances a rye pepperiness and hint of clove.

Finish: A whisper of fresh mint drives the mid-palate toward more of that sharp clove with a final note of honey-soaked pear on the thin finish.

Bottom Line:

This is a great mixing rye. Manhattans, old fashioneds, Sazeracs, and sours are all great options for this one.

Bushmills Prohibition Recipe Irish Whiskey Shelby Edition

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $32

The Whiskey:

This new release from Bushmills celebrates the sixth and final season of Peaky Blinders. The juice in the bottle is a classic Irish whiskey blend of ex-bourbon casks (aged three to five years) bottled without chill-filtration, hence its higher proof.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Applewood leads to apple candies made with plenty of honey next to a hint of dried flowers, dry firewood, and a whisper of dry straw.

Palate: The palate amps up the apple to a spiced apple fritter with plenty of cinnamon, clove, and ginger next to a layer of creamy vanilla and more of that dry straw.

Finish: The end is full of honey and spice and fades out pretty fast.

Bottom Line:

This is another great Irish whiskey to have on hand. Yes, it’s branded with the badassery of Peaky Blinders. It’s also a very easy-drinking Bushmills that makes a killer cocktail.

1792 Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 46.85%

Average Price: $29

The Whiskey:

This whiskey from Barton 1792 Distillery is a no-age-statement release made in “small batches.” The mash is unknown, but Sazerac mentions that it’s a “high rye” mash bill, which could mean anything. The whiskey is batched from select barrels and then proofed down and bottled as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with a woody cherry bark next to sour apple pies, distiller’s beer, and caramel candies next to vanilla cream with a counterpoint of cumin and dry chili lurking in the deeper reaches of the nose.

Palate: The palate opens with a Cherry Coke feel next to rich and buttery toffee, vanilla malts, and sharp Hot Tamales cinnamon candy with a nod toward allspice and root beer.

Finish: The end is soft and lush with vanilla smoothness leading to black cherry tobacco braided with cedar bark and wicker.

Bottom Line:

This is a great mixer for mules, highballs, or just easy on the rocks pours. Hell, it even works as a good shooter with beers.

Monkey Shoulder Blended Malt Scotch Whisky

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $32

The Whisky:

This Speyside blend is crafted as a workhorse whisky. The juice is drawn from the William Grant & Sons stable of distilleries. The juice is then rested for up to six months after blending to let it mellow even more before proofing and bottling.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a nice welcoming note of creamy vanilla that almost becomes cream soda, next to hints of zesty orange marmalade, malts, and dark spices.

Palate: The taste delivers on those notes by amping the spices up to Christmas cake territory with a slight tart berry edge next to that cream soda sweetness.

Finish: The end is short and sweet with a nice lightness that really makes this very drinkable.

Bottom Line:

This is built as a mixing whisky, so use it that way.

Elijah Craig Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

ABV: 47%

Average Price: $32

The Whiskey:

This is a subtle rye whiskey. The mash bill only has 51% rye grains next to 35% corn and 14% barley. The hot juice is then aged for several years before being blended, proofed, and bottled with no age statement.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a real sense of a dark chocolate bar that’s cut with dried chili and a touch of cinnamon that draws you in.

Palate: The palate mellows that spice into a Christmas spice mix while a honey sweetness and texture lead towards sweet oak and the slightest wisp of pipe tobacco smoke.

Finish: The finish takes its time as those spices keep your senses warm and buzzing on the slow fade.

Bottom Line:

This is another great option for mixing up whiskey-forward cocktails. Don’t let that stop you from pouring this over some ice and sipping it slow though.

Jim Beam Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 54%

Average Price: $24

The Whiskey:

Each of these Jim Beam bottlings is pulled from single barrels that hit just the right spot of taste, texture, and drinkability, according to the master distillers at Beam. That means this whiskey is pulled from less than 1% of all barrels in Beam’s warehouses, making this a very special bottle at a bafflingly affordable price.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Vanilla pound cake and salted caramel are countered by spicy cherry tobacco, mulled wine vibes, and dark chocolate cut with orange zest and a hint of corn husk.

Palate: The palate brings in some floral honey sweetness and more orange oils with a sticky toffee pudding feel next to more spicy cherry tobacco and a hint of coconut cream pie.

Finish: The end amps up the cherry with a little more sweetness than spice before salted dark chocolate tobacco folds into dry sweetgrass and cedar bark before a hint of fountain Cherry Coke pops on the very back end with a sense of sitting in an old wicker rocking chair.

Bottom Line:

This is one of those bottles that have no business being as good as it is for this price. This works on the rocks or in your favorite cocktail.

Glenmorangie The Original Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 10 Years

ABV: 43%

Average Price: $36

The Whisky:

The Glenmorangie is a classic Highlands single malt. The juice is created on the tallest stills in Scotland, which allows more spirit creation along the way as it’s boiled. The whisky then spends ten years mellowing in ex-bourbon barrels. Finally, the whiskey is vatted, proofed, and bottled.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with soft grains next to a rush of dried fruits and supple leather with a floral hint that leans toward dry hibiscus and fresh woodruff.

Palate: The palate is gentle with hints of wet malts next to powdered dark spices, fresh honeycombs, and a thin line of vanilla oils just touched with orange zest and maybe a twinge of grapefruit.

Finish: The end arrives with a soft honeyed sweetness that feels like it’s drizzled over an orange cake with a hint of malted cracker graininess next to an echo of old apple chips.

Bottom Line:

This is a great, simple single malt. It’s easygoing as a slow sipper over some ice, in a highball, or as a cocktail base. Dealer’s choice.

Sazerac Rye Straight Rye Whiskey

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $34

The Whiskey:

Sazerac Rye is a great entry point for a refined touch and a throwback to the 1800s. The brand was named after the famed Sazerac Coffee House on Royal Street in New Orleans where the Sazerac cocktail was born. Today, this expression is a true classic made at Buffalo Trace from their iconic rye mash bill.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a vanilla underbelly that’s pretty luscious which supports star anise, sasparilla, clove, cardamom, and a hint of red peppercorn.

Palate: The palate has big Christmas-time vibes with fruit cakes full of candied fruits and nuts with plenty of dark spice, mulled wine, more of that red peppercorn, and a hint of black licorice with old pine wood paneling lurking in the background.

Finish: The finish is bold yet soft and lush with anise and candied fruits creating a spicy cream soda with an old sweetgrass rope drying things out.

Bottom Line:

This is a pretty easy-to-drink rye whiskey that shines in cocktails, especially Manhattans, old fashioneds, boulevardiers, and, of course, Sazeracs.

Evan Williams Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Single Barrel Vintage

ABV: 43.3%

Average Price: $38

The Whiskey:

This is Heaven Hill’s hand-selected single barrel Evan Williams expression. The whiskey is from a single barrel, labeled with its distillation year, proofed just above 86, and bottled as is.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This has a really nice nose full of woody cherry, salted caramel with a tart apple edge, and a soft leatheriness.

Palate: The palate feels and tastes “classic” with notes of wintry spices (eggnog especially) with a lush creaminess supported by soft vanilla, a hint of orange zest, and plenty of spicy cherry tobacco.

Finish: The end is supple with a hint of tart apple tobacco with a light caramel candy finish.

Bottom Line:

This is a quintessential bourbon. It’s deep enough to work as a sipper, accessible enough to mix with, and laid-back enough to shoot.

Johnnie Walker Double Black Blended Scotch Whisky

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $41

The Whisky:

This is basically Johnnie Walker Black — a slightly peaty blend of over 40 whiskies from around Scotland — that’s been casked again in deeply charred oak barrels for a final maturation. The idea is to maximize that peat and amp up the Islay and Island whiskies’ smokiness.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Clove-forward spice and billows of softwood smoke — think cherry and apple — greet you on the nose.

Palate: The palate has a vanilla creaminess that’s punctuated by bright apples, dried fruit, and more peat that leans more towards an old beach campfire than a chimney stack.

Finish: The spice kicks back in late, warming things up as the smoke carries through the end with a nice dose of oakiness, fruitiness, and sweet vanilla creaminess.

Bottom Line:

If you’re looking for a thin line of smoke in your whisky, this is the play. You can drink this on the rocks or in a cocktail (think citrus-forward).

Wild Turkey 101 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 50.5%

Average Price: $19

The Whiskey:

A lot of Wild Turkey’s character comes from the hard and deep char they use on their oak barrels. 101 starts with a high-rye mash bill that leans into the wood and aging, having spent six years in the cask. A little of that soft Kentucky limestone water is added to cool it down a bit before bottling.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Sweet and buttery toffee is countered by burnt orange, old oak, and a hint of cumin and red chili pepper flakes.

Palate: The palate leans into soft vanilla pudding cups with a touch of butterscotch swirled in next to orange oils, nougat, and a hint of menthol tobacco.

Finish: The midpalate tobacco warmth gives way to a finish that’s full of woody winter spices and a whisper of Cherry Coke next to orange/clove by way of a dark chocolate bar flaked with salt.

Bottom Line:

Sometimes there’s nothing better than a straightforward pour of Wild Turkey 101. You can shoot it, mix it, or pour it over a lot of ice and take it slow.

Coopers’ Craft Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 100 Proof Barrel Reserve

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $31

The Whiskey:

This whiskey is from Brown-Forman (which also makes Jack Daniels, Old Forester, King of Kentucky, and Woodford Reserve in the U.S.). The Kentucky-distilled juice is aged in special oak barrels that are chiseled before charring to create more surface space for carbon filtering and aging in the barrel. The best barrels and then batched, slightly proofed with that Kentucky limestone water, and bottled.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a sense of old oak and almost smoldering cinnamon bark on the nose with a hint of apple/pear cider cut with orange oils and a whisper of vanilla-nougat wafers.

Palate: That apple/pear cider vibe dominated the start of the palate with a Martinelli’s cider sweetness next to clove buds and more cinnamon bark, a light sense of vanilla cake, and burnt orange.

Finish: The cinnamon really attaches to the apple/pear cider on the finish with a fleeting sense of sweet oak and old evergreen pitch and an echo of orange tobacco.

Bottom Line:

This is a really solid slow-sipping bourbon that feels fundamental in its profile. I dig this over a large ice cube or in an old fashioned.

Jack Daniel’s Bonded Tennessee Whiskey

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $31

The Whiskey:

This whiskey is made from Jack’s classic mash of 80% corn, 12% barley, and 8% rye before it’s twice distilled and run through Jack’s long Lincoln County sugar maple charcoal filtration process. The spirit then goes into the barrel for at least four years — per bonded law — before it’s batched, cut down with a little water, and bottled.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose draws you in with Cherry Jolly Ranchers next to sweet cedar bark braided with old strands of leather and orange-laced tobacco leaves while a hint of vanilla wafer and general “health food store” vibes underneath it all.

Palate: The palate feels like warm apple pie on a sunny day with the best vanilla ice cream on top as layers of eggnog nutmeg and creaminess move toward a Cream of Wheat vibe.

Finish: Some apple wood chips for a smoker and a hint of almond shells pop on the finish.

Bottom Line:

This is refined Jack Daniel’s and it’s pretty goddamn tasty. I tend to mix with this (basic, whiskey-forward cocktails) but you can easily pour this over ice and enjoy it. It makes a solid shooter too.

Legent Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Partially Finished in Wine & Sherry Casks

ABV: 47%

Average Price: $39

The Whiskey:

This bottle from Beam Suntory marries Kentucky bourbon, California wine, and Japanese whisky blending in one bottle. Legent is classic Kentucky bourbon made by bourbon legend Fred Noe at Beam that’s finished in both French oak that held red wine and Spanish sherry casks. The whiskey is then blended by whisky-blending legend Shinji Fukuyo at Suntory.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Plummy puddings with hints of nuts mingle with vinous berries, oaky spice, and a good dose of vanilla and toffee on the nose.

Palate: The palate expands on the spice with more barky cinnamon and dusting of nutmeg while the oak becomes sweeter and the fruit becomes dried and sweet.

Finish: The finish is jammy yet light with plenty of fruit, spice, and oak lingering on the senses.

Bottom Line:

This is getting into the good stuff. This whiskey is built to be stirred into good cocktails or enjoyed slowly either neat or over some good ice.

Micher’s US*1 Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

ABV: 42.4%

Average Price: $43

The Whiskey:

Michter’s well-crafted juice is warehoused until the deeply charred new white oak barrels hit just the right moment in both texture and taste. Those barrels are then hand-selected and bottled one at a time with a touch of Kentucky water.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Peppery rye and a hint of citrus open this one up before deep fatty nuttiness, dry espresso beans, soft dark chocolate sauce, and a twist of sharp spearmint dance through the nose.

Palate: There’s a distant line of toffee candies dipped in roasted almonds next to a brioche smeared with Nutella and dipped into a fresh cup of espresso with mild notes of white pepper, ground chili powder, and maybe a whisper of honey.

Finish: The finish leans into woody winter spice barks and buds — think cinnamon, clove, and allspice — with a sense of whole red peppercorns soaked in molasses, a whisper of walnut cake, and a thin line of toasted marshmallows dipped in dark chocolate.

Bottom Line:

This is one of the best whiskeys that you can actually find and drink right now at this price point. It also makes one hell of a Manhattan.

Russell’s Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 10 Years Old

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $29

The Whiskey:

Jimmy and Eddie Russell go barrel hunting in their Wild Turkey rickhouses to find this expression. The whiskey is a marrying of bourbons Jimmy and Eddie Russell handpicked with a minimum age of ten years old. They then cut it down to a very accessible 90-proof for bottling.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This is just a straight-up classic with depth on the nose leading to rich vanilla, salted caramel, sour cherry, wintry spices, and a touch of old oak.

Palate: The palate opens with orange-oil-infused marzipan covered in dark chocolate next to bolder holiday spices, moist spiced cake, and a very distant whisper of barrel smoke.

Finish: The end is a lush mix of orange, vanilla, chocolate, and spice leading to an old leather pouch full of sticky maple syrup tobacco.

Bottom Line:

This is a great bourbon at a great price point. It’s so breezy yet deeply built. You can use this for any application from mixing to shooting to batching to slow sipping.

You Season 4 hasn’t been universally loved by fans, and that includes myself, since Joe Goldberg and the show have been hit by a severe case of ennui. That wasn’t my main criticism of this season, but that lack of fire does extend to a corresponding lack of super fiery intimate scenes for Penn Badgley’s character. There is a lewd scene (that’s going viral) starring Lukas Gage’s character, but again, Joe keeps things pretty tame.

As Badgley revealed on his Podcrushed podcast, this was a fully intentional move. As relayed by the New York Post, Badgley was frank about the subject: “I asked Sera Gamble, [the] creator, ‘Can I just do no more intimacy scenes?” Penn also added that this has been a subject on his mind since the beginning of You, although certainly it was hard to avoid not getting busy at all when Joe’s very nature revolves around his fatal obsession with women (and the people who get in his way of being with said women).

“This was actually a decision I had made before I took the show,” Penn admitted. “I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it publicly, but one of the main things is, ‘Do I want to put myself back on a career path where I’m always [the] romantic lead?’” Penn then related how doing sexy-time scenes made him feel uncomfortable, given that he’s married to Domino Kirke, and it sounds like he doesn’t want to compartmentalize in that way. This is fine and all good, apparently, with the makers of You.

There’s likely also the added edge of Penn being reminded that the Internet lusts after his character, even after he pointed out that being a killer isn’t sexy. All one has to do is visit Twitter to confirm how people aren’t done with that vibe yet. Penn Badgley, on the other hand, is more than happy to not take it off on TV anymore.

(Via Page Six & Podcrushed)

Matisse Thybulle was one of the players who got a change of scenery at the NBA trade deadline. Thybulle, who the Philadelphia 76ers selected with the No. 20 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, got sent to the Portland Trail Blazers as part of a three-team transaction that included the Charlotte Hornets.

This will mark the first time that Thybulle will play for a team other than the Sixers, and on his way out of town, he found a unique way to say goodbye to the city. There’s a mural of Thybulle outside of the bar Garage Fishtown, and the artistically-inclined forward decided to go grab a can of spray paint, make his way over to the bar, and spray paint a goodbye message to the City of Brotherly Love, which he posted to his Instagram account.

“It’s such a sweet comment, and the response has been pretty loving towards Matisse,” said Jason Evenchik, the owner of the bar, per Nick Vadala of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “It was a nice little goodbye.”

The mural was painted back in 2021 as part of a partnership that the Sixers have with Red Bull. While Thybulle is on his way to Portland, Philly managed to acquired Jalen McDaniels as part of the trade.

Super Bowl Sunday is fast approaching, so you’re probably getting into daily arguments with whomever you’re planning your party with over where to pick up the pizzas. Sure, you could go deal hunting and just buy whatever gets you the most amount of food for the least amount of money, but if you truly love food, the obsessive way that we love food, you’re probably a less concerned with the money and a lot more concerned with the flavor.

Yes, pizza is hard to f*ck up, even the worst slices are often delicious (it is melted cheese over bread after all) but great pizza is a whole other thing. Why just eat… pizza, when you can find a slice that makes you savor every bite relatively easily. You know, the sort of pizza that stops you in your tracks and leaves you musing on its various elements — “this sauce is soooo bright” “I love the crispy edges of this pepperoni!” “my god in heaven, can you believe this crust?!”

I don’t know about you, but that’s the kind of pizza I want to eat. But who makes the best pizza?

Well, if you live in a big city there’s probably a local spot or two that absolutely dunks on all the big brands, but for the sake of universality, we decided to find out by grabbing a pepperoni pie from the three most popular national pizza chains: Pizza Hut, Domino’s, and Papa Johns, and putting them to the blind taste test against our two favorite frozen pies — Screaming Sicilian’s Holy Pepperoni (which won our Frozen Pizza ranking), and Digiorno Crispy Pan Pizza, a frozen pie that my editor swears by. Like our recent burger and chicken sandwich blind taste test, I took this process incredibly seriously so let’s talk methodology before we talk pies:

PART I — Methodology

I push back against my editor about blind fast food taste tests a lot because I feel like for the food to have a fair chance, it needs to be hot. Even pizza. I’m aware that there are people who love a slice of cold pizza but I’m of the belief that pizza tastes best when it’s still hot enough to scald the roof of your mouth. With food that is famous for being deliverable, you’d think that would be easy, and yet… it wasn’t. I logged on to each respective pizza chain’s website and attempted to place an order for a hand-tossed medium pepperoni pizza from each but got wildly different estimated delivery times.

That wasn’t going to fly for me, so I decided to order carry out which gave me an estimated time of 9-19 minutes at each chain, and considering all three pizza places were located within blocks of one another on the same street, I could send my girlfriend to round them all up faster than any of the chains could deliver to me. Problem solved. ‘

And then came the frozen dilemma. The Screaming Sicilian pizza requires an oven temperature of 425 degrees, and a cook time of 17-19 mins but the Diogiorno needed to be cooked for 20-22 mins at 400 degrees. To be fair to each pizza, I couldn’t cook them in the same oven, so I knocked on my neighbor’s door, and explained to them the situation (twice — they didn’t really understand but stopped asking questions once I offered them a bunch of free pizza and a shout out in an article).

RELATED: Shout out to Liz!!

Less than 30 minutes later, all the fast food pizzas arrived and the frozen pizzas finished cooking, so I had each slice served to me under cover of a blindfold and took a bite or two (or three, or four, or just finished the slice) of all five pizzas. Here were the results!

PART II — The Tasting

Taste 1:

It’s a frozen pizza. I know this because of the way the crust is like a cracker. It doesn’t have that spongey doughy quality that a fresh pie has, there is an airiness and sort of hollow quality to it. Each ingredient feels like a separate component, the sauce has a good amount of brightness, with a simple tomato-forward flavor, the cheese has an interesting blend of salty and creamy flavors, but the real star of this slice is the pepperoni. It’s thick, savory, and slightly spicey with a pepper-forward flavor that lingers on the palate.

Unfortunately, as good as these flavors are on their own, they just don’t come together harmoniously. It tastes like it was made by a machine.

Taste 2:

Very interesting. There is a salty garlic flavor to this slice, it’s a bit overpowering but not to the point of being unenjoyable. The sauce is herb-heavy and robust, I’m tasting oregano and some dried basil hovering over rich tomato flavors. The cheese is surprisingly creamy, and the mix of a crispy exterior and chewy innard of the crust makes the mouthfeel of this pizza excellent.

The pepperoni is a bit thin and lifeless in flavor, but everything else about this slice just works.

Taste 3:

This slice has a lot of what made Taste 2 good without that garlic salt flavor. The crust is foldable and has a delicious gummy texture to it with a slightly sweet taste that plays well with the sauce. The sauce here is brighter than Taste 2, less herbal but also less distracting. I like a simple pizza sauce, and this pie has that going for it. The pepperoni also tastes better to me, it’s zesty with a strong pepper-forward bite more akin to Taste 1 and has a thinner cut, making it crisp up on the edges and providing a little crunch in the mouthfeel.

The cheese isn’t quite as creamy as Taste 2, it has a saltier aftertaste to it and isn’t quite as melty, it’s a bit more solid but that might be time working against it. Overall, this pizza manages to be thin without turning into a crispy cracker. So far it’s the winner for me by a mile.

Taste 4:

Ew, there is a middle-school lunch vibe to this pizza. Everything about it tastes so loud and obnoxious, the sauce is way too bright and distracting, it’s almost ketchup-esque. The cheese is good but it’s spread a bit too thin, the pepperoni is crispy and zesty but the crust is bland. I was starting to wonder if somehow my tastebuds had become exhausted so I took a few sips of water and nope, this pizza just doesn’t have anything going for it really.

It comes across as tasting incredibly cheap. The only thing that makes it better than Taste 1 is the sponginess of the dough.

Taste 5:

This one was a bit of a surprise. It was incredibly greasy to the touch, almost wet, but when I bit into it I instantly fell in love with the big fluffy crust. It has a great chew to it, but the toppings just aren’t really working for me. The flavor of the cheese isn’t present enough, the pepperoni has a meaty texture but lacks that peppery zest of the other slices, and the sauce is fairly standard stuff, bright and a bit herbal, but nothing really outstanding.

Part 2: The Ranking

5. Screamin’ Sicilian — Holy Pepperoni! (Taste 1)

This won our frozen pizza ranking so it might surprise you to see it ranked at the bottom of the list but it doesn’t really surprise me. It’s frozen pizza, one of the best your money can buy, sure, but frozen pizza nonetheless. You can source the best ingredients in the world, but at the end of the day, once you freeze them they lose a certain amount of life and flavor. Screamin’ Sicilian is fine on those days you have a hangover and can’t be bothered to look at a screen and order a pizza, or answer the door and tip a delivery driver, but on Super Bowl Sunday?

If you show up with Screamin’ Sicilian you’re going to be kicked out of the party.

The Bottom Line:

One of the best-tasting frozen pizzas, but still… a frozen pizza.

Find your nearest Screamin’ Sicilian here.

4. Pizza Hut — Handtossed Pepperoni (Taste 4)

As far as I’m concerned, Pizza Hut might as well be frozen pizza. It’s only saved by the crust — which tastes a heck of a lot better than the weird dry cracker-crust texture of frozen pizza. For that reason alone, it isn’t at the bottom of this list but still, Pizza Hut seriously needs some work.

The worst part about this pizza was the sauce, it was so cheap and sweet that it reminded me of ketchup. Pizza sauce shouldn’t taste like ketchup. Ever. EVER.

The Bottom Line:

The dough is spongey and chewy in the best way, that’s about all this pizza has going for it.

Find your nearest Pizza Hut here.

3. DiGiorno — Crispy Pan Pizza (Taste 5)

I’m shocked that this was frozen pizza. The crust had this nice chew and gumminess to it that frankly blew me away. I don’t know what sort of alchemy DiGiorno has done to this pie to make it taste so fresh, but it’s working!

Unfortunately, the toppings are what hold this one back from truly being great. Now if you want to top it with your own layer of cheese and some more meats, you’re going to end up with a great pizza and this thing is small enough that you can probably fit about four in an oven at a single time, so it’s perfect for Super Bowl Sunday.

Unfortunately, that’s not how we tasted this pizza. So as it stands, it’s getting the bronze medal.

The Bottom Line:

A surprisingly fresh-tasting frozen pizza. Easily the best crust of any frozen pizza ever.

Find your nearest DiGiorno Crispy Pan Pizza here.

2. Domino’s — Hand-Tossed Pepperoni (Taste 2)

Domino’s came very close to snagging the first-place spot but I’m just not a fan of that garlic-salt crust. Why does Domino’s do that? Seriously, this pizza is full of salty-ass ingredients already: sauce, pepperoni, cheese, why did they feel the need to add more to the crust? I just don’t get it.

This pizza has a lot of flavor, everything single topping is pulling its weight and combining to something greater than the sum of its parts, and then the crust comes in and makes the whole thing taste like a sodium bomb.

The Bottom Line:

So close to being a perfect fast food pizza, but that single garlic-crust ingredient held it back for me. Maybe you’ll like that, but I think it throws the balance of flavors off.

Find your nearest Domino’s here.

1. Papa John’s — Hand Tossed Pepperoni (Taste 1)

Remember when I said the best pizza you can find is probably from a local joint? Well, Papa John’s comes the closest to tasting like a corner pizzeria. This pizza just tastes like a freshly baked pie should, the shape is slightly imperfect, the toppings are thrown on haphazardly, the dough has a great chew and a slightly sweet aftertaste, the cheese has a great balance of creamy and salty qualities, it almost tastes, dare I say, homemade and wood fired.

During the tasting, this one stood out as the best and none of the subsequent slices ever took its place. Of the five, this is the only one I had the desire to go back to for more.

The Bottom Line:

This Super Bowl Sunday, if you’re bringing pizza to the party, our vote is for Papa John’s.

Find your nearest Papa John’s here.

Rihanna may have changed her setlist for Super Bowl LVII’s halftime performance 39 times but Coldplay’s Chris Martin has no doubt she her performance no matter what songs she performs. Today (February 10) during an interview with Apple Music 1, Martin shared his thoughts on the “Lift Me Up” singer’s pending set.

In conversation with host Zane Lowe, Martin sang the Barbados native’s praises, saying, “I don’t know Rihanna very well. I’m mainly just a fan, and we have performed with her a few times, and you’re right, it is rarer and rarer for her to just sing, which is what makes it even more special, and in a strange way, it shows that she really, really wants to do it. No one can make Rihanna do anything at this point.”

The performance will mark Rihanna’s first show in seven years. But Martin isn’t concerned saying, “You have to be an idiot not to recognize that she’s the best singer of all time.”

Martin has collaborated with the singer in the past and isn’t denying his professional bias, telling Lowe, “I’m very biased because I’m such a big Rihanna fan. I mean, I think she could just walk out in sweatpants and sing, and that would be just great.”

Given that Martin has already performed at the Super Bowl, back in 2016 bringing out Beyoncé and Bruno Mars, his opinion might hold some weight. Just seems ironic, that Rihanna is returning to music while Coldplay is planning their retirement in 2025.

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

Just days after shooting down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina, the Biden Administration has confirmed that another “high-altitude object” was shot down over Alaska on Friday. Little is known about the object’s origins, but it is reportedly smaller than the spy balloon and was reportedly destroyed out of an “abundance of caution” because it posed a potential threat to civilian aircraft. Like the spy balloon, it was taken out while still over water to minimize a risk of property damage or injury.

National Security Council coordinator John Kirby provided the White House Press Corps with details. Via CNN:

“We’re calling this an object because that’s the best description we have right now. We don’t know who owns it – whether it’s state-owned or corporate-owned or privately owned, we just don’t know,” Kirby said.

He added: “We don’t have any information that would confirm a stated purpose for this object. We do expect to be able to recover the debris since it fell not only within our territorial space, but on what we what believe is frozen water. So a recovery effort will be made and we’re hopeful that it will be successful and then we can learn a little bit more about it.”

Kirby also revealed that the object was roughly the size of a small car and President Biden was “absolutely” involved in the decision to shoot it down. However, despite Biden acting quickly this time around, Fox News somehow found a way to make this development a negative for the president even though he did exactly what conservatives criticized for not doing with the Chinese spy balloon.

The Fox News reporter who tried to spin the incident was quickly roasted on Twitter:

(Via CNN)

Three is the magic number, but it looks like Nas isn’t keeping his King’s Disease album series to a trilogy. At least, not if you believe 50 Cent, who says he’s working with his fellow Queens native and former G-Unit rival on the next installment of the series. As noted by Okayplayer, 50 told Billboard in his new cover story, that he’s slated to feature on King’s Disease IV, although there’s not that much detail included.

In the 2000s, to say that 50 and Nas didn’t quite get along would be an understatement. Although Nas had helped 50 early in his career, their relationship soured as 50 became more popular. 50 told MTV, “Nas was the first person to do something for nothing for me. He allowed me to go on his promo tour [for Nastradamus in 1999]. He said, ‘The way you came out with that record [‘How to Rob’], it felt like when I came out [with ‘Illmatic’].” Given how much he makes on tour now, he probably appreciates it.

When Nas called out 50 and G-Unit onstage in 2004, deploring their commitment to violent, stereotypical imagery (something Nas had been guilty of himself, although he later refocused on promoting a more positive aesthetic), 50 found a way to get back at him. On his 2005 Ja Rule diss “Piggybank,” 50 mocked Nas for getting a tattoo of Kelis, whom he had just married. “Kelis said her milkshake bring all the boys to the yard
/ Then Nas went and tattooed the bitch on his arm,” he rapped.

This led to a short feud between the two that only produced a handful of diss records before they squashed things at Summer Jam 2014. They haven’t collaborated yet, but fans will undoubtedly be excited to hear them do so on King’s Disease IV whenever it arrives.

Marc Lasry, one of the co-owners of the Milwaukee Bucks, is reportedly looking to sell his stake in the team. According to The Athletic, Jimmy Haslam and Haslam Sports Group are in talks to take him up on that offer, which would lead to Haslam joining forces with Wes Edens.

Per Eric Nehm, Shams Charania, and Sam Amick, Lasry “has spent recent weeks contemplating the decision to potentially sell his Bucks stake to Haslam Sports Group.” This would not mark Haslam’s first foray into sports ownership, as he and his wife, Dee, are owners of the Cleveland Browns, while the two are part of the ownership group of the Columbus Crew.

Via The Athletic:

Sources who were granted anonymity so that they could speak freely tell The Athletic this process with Haslam began after Lasry considered selling his stake in the Bucks to American businessman Mat Ishbia before Ishbia bought controlling interest of the Phoenix Suns. Haslam entered the conversation after Ishbia moved on to the Suns and joined Edens courtside for the Bucks’ 123-114 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Dec. 30, 2022.

Lasry and Edens, the latter of whom would keep his ownership stake in the team if the deal went through, purchased the Bucks from Herb Kohl in 2014. In the years since they took over the team, Milwaukee has turned into one of the most successful franchises in basketball, as the team has made the postseason in seven of their eight years at the helm. In 2021, the Bucks won the second NBA championship in franchise history and their first in 50 years.