Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.
This week saw Rico Nasty’s long-awaited debut, new tunes from Lil Baby, Mariah Carey return to her Christmas wave. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.
Rico Nasty — Nightmare Vacation
In Rico Nasty’s new Uproxx digital cover story, she told us of working on her new album with Kenny Beats and 100 Gecs’ Dylan Brady, saying, “Because Dylan and I are both so weird and sh*t, we don’t criticize each other. We just work out like that and try to fix it. But I can be in a booth with Kenny and he’s like, ‘Nah, bruh, you can do this better.’ So we could go back and forth, low-key arguing. Both of them are totally different, but I probably wouldn’t be who I am today if I didn’t have such amazing people in the studio letting me do what I want to do and then also giving me constructive criticism.”
Aminé — Limbo (Deluxe)
Deluxe editions of albums have become a new beast in 2020, and Aminé is the latest rapper to hop on that train. Instead of dropping it right after Limbo‘s release, though, he waited a few months and put out what is essentially an album of new material.
Lil Baby — “On Me” and “Errbody”
Lil Baby just capped off a tremendous 2020 (as tremendous as anybody’s 2020 can be, anyway) by celebrating his 26th birthday. He marked the occasion by dropping a pair of new songs, “On Me” and “Errybody,” the videos for both songs equipping the rapper with Fast And Furious levels of transportation options and intensities.
Juice WRLD and Benny Blanco — “Real Sh*t”
Speaking of birthdays, Juice WRLD would have celebrated his 22nd a few days ago, and Benny Blanco observed the day by dropping “Real Sh*t,” a song they worked on together before Juice’s death. In a message accompanying the release, he revealed the song was the first one they ever recorded together and noted, “It was the first time I saw his magic.”
Mariah Carey — “Oh Santa” Feat. Ariana Grande and Jennifer Hudson
There’s no way Mariah Carey was going to let a Christmas pass without putting her stamp on it. This year, she dropped a new holiday special and the Ariana Grande-featuring single “Oh Santa,” which proved to be perfect meme material for Grande.
100 Gecs — “Sympathy 4 The Grinch”
On the opposite end of the Christmas music spectrum sits 100 Gecs, who introduced a characteristically warped new brand of holiday music with “Sympathy 4 The Grinch.” Like the character referenced in the title, they too have a bone to pick with Santa and the season of which he is emblematic, so they plan a nasty surprise for the jolly one.
24kGoldn — “Coco” Feat. DaBaby
24kGoldn has been one of the year’s biggest rising stars and has a No. 1 single on “Mood” to prove it. Now he has linked up with another young hip-hop stud in DaBaby for “Coco,” on which the pair try to get inside a romantic interest’s head and figure out what it is they’re looking for.
Run The Jewels — “The Ground Below (Royal Jewels Mix)” Feat. Royal Blood
El-P and Killer Mike make the most of the guests they get to work with them, and they’ve done so again on the “Royal Jewels” remix of “The Ground Below.” They got UK duo Royal Blood to put a hard rock edge on the track, and RTJ’s in-your-face style works beautifully against a backdrop of aggressive guitar and punishing drum work.
Drakeo The Ruler — We Know The Truth
This summer, Drakeo The Ruler dropped a truly one-of-a-kind album with Thank You For Using GTL, for which he recorded his vocals over a prison phone system. Now that the rapper is out from behind bars, he has returned with his first post-prison album, which impressively was released less than a month after he was free.
Death Cab For Cutie — The Georgia EP
Atlantic
If you’re just hearing about this one now, you’re too late. The Georgia EP was only available on Bandcamp for 24 hours last week, and it saw Death Cab cover a handful of songs by Georgia-based artists (like the project that Jason Isbell has promised), including R.E.M., TLC, Cat Power, and a couple others.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Bob Dylan’s library of music could go up against anybody’s. Under his belt, he has legendary singles like “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” and “Like A Rolling Stone” and albums like Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde On Blonde. Even his latest album, this year’s Rough And Rowdy Ways, has received overwhelmingly positive critical reception. Now, all of that music has a new owner, as Bob Dylan has sold the publishing rights of his song catalog to Universal Music Publishing Group (UMG) in a huge new deal.
The sale includes over 600 copyrights that span about 60 years, with features material ranging from 1962’s “Blowin’ In The Wind” to this year’s “Murder Most Foul.” Variety reports that while the terms of the deal were not disclosed, a source told the publication the deal “was easily in nine figures,” which isn’t a huge leap to make considering 80 percent of Stevie Nicks’ catalog sold for about $100 million within the past week. Variety speculates the Dylan deal “probably drew a number well above that.” For additional context, Taylor Swift’s Big Machine master recordings sold recently for $300 million.
UMG chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge said in a statement, “As someone who began his career in music publishing, it is with enormous pride that today we welcome Bob Dylan to the UMG family. It’s no secret that the art of songwriting is the fundamental key to all great music, nor is it a secret that Bob is one of the very greatest practitioners of that art. Brilliant and moving, inspiring and beautiful, insightful and provocative, his songs are timeless — whether they were written more than half a century ago or yesterday. It is no exaggeration to say that his vast body of work has captured the love and admiration of billions of people all around the world. I have no doubt that decades, even centuries from now, the words and music of Bob Dylan will continue to be sung and played — and cherished — everywhere.”
Aside from Grainge, Dylan has also received praise recently from Paul McCartney, Barack Obama, and Uproxx’s Steven Hyden; See where Rough And Rowdy Ways ranks on Hyden’s list of favorite 2020 albums here.
When in doubt, go to the math. That’s what we’ve done here with our list of best television shows of 2020. Five of our writers submitted their personal top ten lists, and then we assigned point values based on each entry (10 points for each person’s top choice, 1 point for their tenth, with the scores descending in between), and then we added it all up, and then we had our collective list of the 10 best shows of the year, which actually contains 12 shows because of ties. It’s kind of a mess, honestly, but at least the cold hard numbers give us an excuse for our inability to follow our own simple guidelines. And it should be a mess this year. Everything was a mess this year. All things considered, our top 10 shows of the year containing 12 shows might be one of the more normal things that happened in 2020. And it gave us the ability to add more good shows, which was nice, because there were so many good shows to watch and talk about this year. In a way, we’re doing all of you a favor, really.
So what we’re really saying here, if you get right down to it, is that you are welcome. Unless your favorite show didn’t make our list. In that case we are very sorry. It was out of our hands. Because of the math.
10. (tie) Betty (11 points)
HBO
Television shows can be funny, or thrilling, or sexy, or scary, but they’re rarely “cool,” the way your favorite indie band that no one has heard of is “cool.” HBO’s Betty is cool. It’s almost intimidating how cool it is (have I crossed the street to avoid loitering teens, because I don’t want them judging me, someone who is decidedly not cool? Yes). But the real-life skateboarders that Betty follows, whether it’s Kirt and her rat or Indigo and her Gucci coat, are so inviting and charismatic that they would welcome your dorky self into their cool-as-hell skateboarding troupe (no guys, though). Betty will make you long for sweltering summers spent with your friends, where the only item on your to-do list is “skateboard,” but mostly, it will make you feel cool. — Josh Kurp
10. (tie) Umbrella Academy (11 points)
Netflix
This show’s second season proved to be a twist-filled blast that improved upon its predecessor (RIP Pogo and Mary K. Blige’s hitwoman). Yet it’s surprising that it all worked so well, really, because the world truly did not need any more dysfunctional, superpowered protagonists (and especially not a family full of them); yet this show turned out to be much more than that framing device. Like Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba’s comic book series, it gave these siblings a lot of heart. They’re self-tortured and loathing, and simply want to stop feeling so much emotional pain while, yes, stopping the apocalypse. As much as the audience does love to see them get down with their energy-slinging selves, too, the show blossoms the most when the characters struggle and succeed at battling their emotional demons. And the Texas time-travel thing added an expansive historical backdrop that fueled a ton of socially relevant plot points without being heavy-handed. It’s no wonder the show’s so beloved, and thank god Elliot Page is still on board because Vanya kicks ass; and Robert Sheehan, boosting his drug-addled, sexually fluid character who communes with the dead into fan-favorite status, remains the coolest. — Kimberly Ricci
10. (tie) Harley Quinn (11 points)
HBO
One of the nicest developments of this year was Harley Quinn moving from the DC Universe streaming network to HBO Max. It was nice for a bunch of reasons, too, starting with the thing where it gave lots of people access to a show that had quietly been very good for two seasons. It’s funny and foul and sweet, filled with cussing and delightfully stupid jokes and surprisingly tender moments between its characters, who grow and change and learn in a way you probably wouldn’t expect from a cartoon spinoff series about a Batman villain. It is so good. This cannot be stressed enough. Harley and Poison Ivy develop one of the best relationships on television. Kite Man, a man whose quote-unquote superpower is “flying a kite well,” becomes an integral figure in the action. Bane is reimagined as an insecure doofus who spends large chunks of the show trying to angle for a nicer chair at the Legion of Doom. It’s a whole thing. You could do a lot worse in a show. Chill out and watch Harley Quinn if you haven’t. Come on. — Brian Grubb
9. The Boys (12 points)
Amazon Prime
You know what’s more fun than worshipping superheroes? Dumping on them, which is what The Boys continued to do in its second season. In fact, the show perfected its driving theme, giving us new villains that felt disturbingly relevant, over-the-top violence so visceral it made us nauseous, and Karl Urban driving a speed boat straight through a humpback whale. Eric Kripke and his writing team doubled-down on the best parts of the show’s first season – the destructive megalomania of Anthony Starr’s Homelander, the weird, beautiful friendships of characters like Frenchie and Kimiko – while adding antagonists powerful enough to shake up their world. Crude and crass, filled with nightmarish visuals of grown men slurping breast milk and human gills being voiced by Patton Oswalt, season two gave absolutely zero f*cks and that kind of brazen storytelling deserves to be celebrated. — Jessica Toomer
7. (tie) The Crown (14 points)
Netflix
Consider the challenge faced by The Crown as it runs toward the present with increasing speed, facing greater foreknowledge of the history and personalities that fill up the screen. Simply put, while some in the viewing audience may have had a passing understanding of who and how Churchill and the young Queen Elizabeth were thanks to history books, many have a crisp idea of Prince Charles and, specifically, Princess Diana and their doomed marriage. From news reports of the time to the mountain of books, documentaries, and interviews that have been generated since the ‘90s, a tabloid forest fire became an eternal flame that many still can’t look away from. Because of this, The Crown’s fourth season ran the risk of exhaustion or unoriginality. And yet it went down as a triumph, playing in the margins of a convenient but at times legitimately sweet courtship before turning sour largely thanks to Charles’ cruelty, sense of entitlement, and the dysfunctional suffocating burdens of his family and title. Is it all true? I don’t know, but it was captivating and felt true to the story as we know it now almost 30 years later. — Jason Tabrys
7. (tie) I May Destroy You (14 points)
HBO
Michaela Coel, man. She created, wrote, and starred in a fearless show and wasn’t afraid to take risks by spiking a very serious subject — sexual consent in many, layered contexts — with pitch-black humor, and she pulled off the gutsiest finale of the year (fight me). Watching her character whip through a nightclub, limbs flying everywhere, announcing herself as a “twisted Firestarter” to her rapist (before serving him comeuppance) was astounding. What I appreciate most are the wonderfully imperfect characters drawn by Coel as she built toward the end. Arabella is fully-dimensional, rather than defined by her trauma; she’s flawed and damn proud of that fact. And as twisted as this sounds, I do re-watch the finale episode every now and then because it’s electrifying to relive all of those alternate endings building toward vengeance and, eventually, a cathartic and meditative resolution. — Kimberly Ricci
5. (tie) The Queen’s Gambit (15 points)
Netflix
Well, guess what: There’s a show about chess on this list. Can you believe it? Can you believe a show about chess was riveting and compelling enough to beat hundreds of flashier options, many with pedigrees that look better on paper? It’s a little startling, really, unless you watched The Queen’s Gambit, in which case it makes perfect sense. What a terrific show this was, largely thanks to its star, Anya Taylor-Joy, and the lasers she stared through a rotating crew of overconfident chess dopes. She took the character on a twisting ride from adolescence to adulthood and from troubled youth, uh, slightly less troubled adult, and made the whole thing fascinating even as she pushed the… horsies across the… chess table. That was the other nice thing about the show: it worked even if you had no idea what was going on in the very intense matches she was winning against those dopes. Almost a magic trick, really. — Brian Grubb
5. (tie) How to With John Wilson (15 points)
HBO
So much of How To With John Wilson’s goodness is amplified by the timing of its release (when we most needed a reminder of humanity’s endearing quirks). But it’s more than an anthropologically valuable snapshot of life before the pandemic. The layers that Wilson explores when it comes to the mundanity of life and the lessons we can learn if we examine that behavior is the kind of thing that’s built for all seasons, making this not just one of the best shows of 2020 but one that should be reexplored (and hopefully continued) in 2021. — Jason Tabrys
3. (tie) Lovecraft Country (20 points)
HBO
No one knew what to expect when J.J. Abrams and Jordan Peele got together to executive produce with Misha Green in the series creator seat, but damn if this show didn’t come through at exactly the right time. Audacious and astounding and full of gleeful genre-bends, this year’s season culminated by killing the hero and taking out the ultimate Karen. The show also proved itself to be a worthy (if probably similarly a one-season pony) successor to Watchmen and even performed its own retelling of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Across the board, the ensemble cast — including Jurnee Smollett, Jonathan Majors, Michael K. Williams, Abbey Lee, and Wunmi Mosaku — crushed their roles, all to reinforce how Black history and horror are often interchangeable terms. And we got a lot of pulpy lit and Jackie Robinson metaphors, along with a freaking pet monster after monsters ate bad guys. We got space-and-time travel and exorcisms and a bionic arm. It was simply nuts, and I loved all of it. — Kimberly Ricci
3. (tie) Better Call Saul (20 points)
AMC
The most recent season of Better Call Saulpremiered in February, continued through March, and ended in April. I remember almost nothing from the early days of quarantine because time is meaningless now, but I do remember how much I loved Saul. This is true of every season, but especially this season, the show’s finest to date. The desert episode, the room service burger, the glass bottle tossing, the return (debut?) of Hank and Gomez, the least romantic wedding ever, the pee chugging (I would like to forget this one), the ants and the ice cream (this one, too), the finger guns, the Lalo jump, the failed assassination attempt on Lalo (poor Nacho), basically everything Lalo did. It was an unforgettable season for one of TV’s best shows, and the rare spinoff that might be better than the original series. If only the Emmys were paying attention… — Josh Kurp
2. Ted Lasso (28 points)
Apple TV+
Ted Lassoshouldn’t be as good as it is. Its plot isn’t particularly inventive; its main character is derived from a commercial skit that mined laughs from mocking stereotypical culture clashes. And yet, in 2020, it became the show we all needed. Most of that has to do with Jason Sudeikis, who gives a pitch-perfect performance as a fish-out-of-water football coach crossing the pond to try his hand at helming a new team for an entirely different kind of sport. Full of puns and dad-jokes and surprisingly philosophical nuggets of wisdom, his Ted Lasso is basically a teddy bear in human form. But the half-hour comedy also benefits from an impressive supporting cast and a team of writers who know what to do with them. More than that, there’s an unapologetic optimism to the humor here – you’ll see slapstick spit-takes and snappy one-liners, but you’ll never see characters punching down for the sake of laughs – something we didn’t realize we were lacking in our workplace comedies until now. And if Sudeikis’ reaction to that “Caesar you later” pun didn’t leave you literally lol-ing, you’re just lying to yourself. — Jessica Toomer
1. What We Do In The Shadows (32 points)
FX
Jackie Daytona. That name alone, the one used by Matt Berry’s character, Laszlo, in the episode titled “On the Run,” in which he flees a threat from guest star Mark Hamill and starts a life as a toothpick-chawing, volleyball-loving Pennsylvania bartender, might have been enough to get this show into the top 10. It was, and is, that good. And if that had been the entire legacy of this season, it would have been a fine one. Thankfully, however, the episode also shined a big bright spotlight — no sunlight, please — on what was quickly becoming the most reliably funny show on television. And it convinced more people to double back and check it out. And those people were in for a treat. The show’s second season was absolutely littered with great gags and great performances — Mark Proksch is a genius as “energy vampire” Colin Robinson, who feeds on boring and annoying people and has his own standout episode where he goes to work in an office — and a lovely little arc that tied it all together. When 2020 started, you probably didn’t expect a show about bumbling vampires in Staten Island to top this list. But a lot of stuff happened this year that you probably didn’t expect. This is one of the good ones. One of the best ones, some might say, whether they’re television critics or viewers at home or regular human bartenders. — Brian Grubb
Bill Lawrence, the former showrunner of Scrubs and Cougar Town, among others, is currently killing it as showrunner of Apple TV’s Ted Lasso, arguably the best new show of 2020 and — along with Mythic Quest — the best reason to subscribe to Apple TV. Lawrence, however, has had a tumultuous history with network television, so he’s probably very happy to be working in an environment with far fewer restrictions, especially now that Ted Lasso has been renewed for two more seasons (and according to Lawrence, Lasso is a planned, three-season TV series).
That freedom did not always exist for Lawrence, and back in his Scrubs days, he had to deal with Standards and Practices, otherwise known as the TV censors. The way that Standards and Practices applies the rules has always been a little inexplicable, but in this week’s episode of the “Fake Doctors, Real Friends” podcast, Lawrence provides an example of one of the more absurd applications.
It involved Scrubs‘ Christmas episode in 2004, “My Rule of Thumb,” and what Standards and Practices did in this episode “drove [Lawrence] insane.” The episode centers on a patient with terminal cancer, and as originally written, Elliot and Carla were “out and about” trying to help the cancer patient deal with the pain by finding her some marijuana (this was before medical marijuana was commonly available). When Lawrence handed the script in, however, Standards and Practices told him they couldn’t air an episode where a “physician and nurse are driving around trying to find someone they can buy pot off of.”
Baffled, Lawrence offered another suggestion, which would both offer an “easy fix” and reveal the “hypocrisy” of Standards and Practices. Instead of having the cancer patient search for weed, “we had the woman who was dying be a virgin and Elliot and Carla go look for a man-whore so she can get laid.” When Lawrence turned that into Standards, they said, they said laughed, said it was funny, and that it “was fine” to air.
“So, even though it’s proven by so many medical studies that” marijuana is effective for patients dealing with the side effects of chemo, “doctors can’t go get a patient who is dying some marijuana, but they can go anywhere to get them a man-whore so she can have sex in a hospital.” TV censorship is weird.
Side note: It’s probably worth tracking down this episode of Scrubs, because it was the one where Kelso introduced his most famous catchphrase: “What has two thumbs and doesn’t give a crap? This guy.”
Dolly Parton’s version of her biggest song, “I Will Always Love You,” performed well on the country charts back in the day. It became an enduring global hit, though, when Whitney Houston recorded her version. Now, Parton thinks that a modern star could do something similar with another classic song of hers from the same period, “Jolene.”
Parton told The Big Issue, “‘Jolene’ has been recorded more than any other song that I have ever written. It has been recorded worldwide over 400 times in lots of different languages, by lots of different bands. The White Stripes did a wonderful job of it, and many other people. But nobody’s ever had a really big hit record on it. I’ve always hoped somebody might do [that] someday, someone like Beyonce.”
In the piece, she also wrote about the song’s background, revealing (as she has before) that it was possibly written on the same day as “I Will Always Love You,” saying, “‘Jolene’ and ‘I Will Always Love You’ were on the same album [1974’s Jolene]. In fact, they came from the same cassette, so it is possible that I wrote those two songs in the same day. ‘Jolene’ is a song about… you know, I’ve got my pride and I’ve got my strength. But when I write a song, I’m vulnerable at those moments. I leave my heart out on my sleeve. I’ve always said I have to leave my heart open in order to receive those kind of songs. I have to feel everything to be a real songwriter. And yes, a lot of my songs are kind of melancholy. Some of them are sad, and some of them are pitiful. And I mean for them to be pitiful, those really sad songs like ‘Little Sparrow’ or ‘Jeannie’s Afraid Of The Dark.’ I have a big imagination and I become whoever I’m writing about. It’s like starring in a movie; I am that character in that song. So when I wrote it, I was ‘Jolene.’”
A fun way to kill 20 minute is to look at the winners for the MTV Movie & TV Awards (formerly MTV Movie Awards) over the years. For instance, did you know Sin City‘s Jessica Alba won “Sexiest Performance” in 2006 over Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo‘s Rob Schneider? Of course you did. But how about the Ham and Cheese Sandwich from Smoke upsetting the Submarine Sandwich With Tomatoes and Provolone from GoldenEye to take home Best Sandwich in a Movie? I’m still outraged. My personal favorite (existing) category, however, is Best Kiss. It’s been around since 1992, when Anna Chlumsky and Macaulay Culkin won for My Girl. Other winners include Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst (Spider-Man), Ashton Sanders and Jharrel Jerome (Moonlight), and Sarah Michelle Gellar and Selma Blair (Cruel Intentions).
“Looking back 20 years ago… A kiss. Between two young actresses. On screen. In a mainstream teen movie. In 2000,” Blair wrote on Instagram ahead of Sunday’s MTV Movie and TV Awards: Greatest of All Time special. “It was a sweet and delicious kiss for my character, Cecile. And she wanted more. And I must say it was a really good kiss. What feels so delicious to me now is how it isn’t shocking in 2020. It stands for a shift in thinking.” She also reunited with Michelle Gellar to give the kiss a 2020 update.
It’s no surprise that Rudy Giuliani, who has been on a whirlwind Trump campaign “Strike Force” tour, tested positive for the coronavirus. However, the timing of said positive status is somewhat surprising, given that it’s going down two weeks after his hair-dye meltdown at an event where his son, Andrew, attended and tested positive the next day. Nonetheless, it turns out that Giuliani really is positive now, and no one knows when he was infected, but there’s a good chance that he was exposed (and possibly contagious) during a public hearing in Michigan. This would be the same “election fraud” hearing in which he apparently passed gas, and it’s also the same one where a wild wine lady made it even weirder. It’s all a blur, right?
At this Michigan hearing, Rudy asked a witness (who was sitting next to him) to remove her mask. Here’s a video clip, courtesy of Fox 17’s Aaron Parseghian on Twitter. Rudy asks the woman if she would be “comfortable” removing her mask while testifying, “so that people could hear you more clearly.” Spoiler alert: she was not comfortable doing so and pushed back.
Here’s Rudy Giuliani in Lansing Wednesday asking one of his witnesses if they were comfortable taking off their mask while testifying…she wasn’t.
As The Independent reveals, this woman has been identified as Jessy Jacob, a city clerk’s office worker. Jessy was Giuliani’s first witness at the hearing, which was jam-packed at the Anderson House Office Building (a state government building, unlike the Hyatt venue of last week’s Arizona hearing) in Lansing, Michigan. Rudy spoke at this hearing for over three hours while, you know, not wearing a freaking mask.
In some respects, Dionne Warwick could be considered old-fashioned. For example, Warwick (who turns 80 years old on December 12) doesn’t get why artists today have the word “The” in their stage names or intentionally spell words wrong, and she spent part of her weeknd (intentional misspelling) going after some of the most famous offenders (all in good fun, of course).
Her first target was Chance The Rapper, at whom she tweeted, “Hi, @chancetherapper. If you are very obviously a rapper why did you put it in your stage name? I cannot stop thinking about this.” She added in another tweet, “I am now Dionne the Singer,” before continuing with some praise for Chance: “‘Holy’ by Justin the Bieber @justinbieber and @chancetherapper is one of my favorite songs right now.”
Hi, @chancetherapper. If you are very obviously a rapper why did you put it in your stage name? I cannot stop thinking about this.
Chance was beside himself after Warwick’s tweets, replying, “Sorry I’m still freaking out that u know who I am. This is amazing!” He added, “I will be whatever you wanna call me Ms Warwick. God bless you.” Warwick responded, “Of course I know you. You’re THE rapper. Let’s rap together. I’ll message you.”
Sorry I’m still freaking out that u know who I am. This is amazing!
After the Chance encounter, she moved on to her next target, tweeting, “If you have ‘The’ in your name i’m coming for you. I need answers today.” She then called out The Weeknd, tweeting, “The Weeknd is next. Why? It’s not even spelled correctly? @theweeknd.” Like Chance, The Weeknd responded by indicating that he was thrilled by the interaction, writing, “I just got roasted by Dionne Warwick and I feel honored! You just made my day.”
If you have “The” in your name i’m coming for you. I need answers today.
Warwick concluded this saga by confirming what most people already suspected: That her criticisms weren’t meant to be hostile. She tweeted, “It’s all in good fun. Of course I am just kidding. Those talented young men were good sports & very respectful! Enjoy your Sunday. Stay kind.”
It’s all in good fun. Of course I am just kidding. Those talented young men were good sports & very respectful! Enjoy your Sunday. Stay kind.
This comes a few days after Warwick shouted out Taylor Swift, who, like Chance and The Weeknd, was also happy to receive some attention from the legend.
It’s a question that has haunted mankind since John Q. Pringles popped his first can: What does the Pringles guy look like below the neck?
His face is familiar — the mustache, the Tobias-esque hair — but his body remains a salty mystery. This topic consumes Last Week Tonight host John Oliver, in particular, who asked in a recent episode, “Is he tall or short? Does he have a lot of body hair, or is he completely smooth? When will he be able to tell me what his nipples look like? Are you talking hours, or are you talking days?” I can answer one of those (like Carlos Santana ft. Rob Thomas, he’s smooth), but as for the rest, Last Week Tonight returned on Sunday for a web exclusive clip where Oliver showed off the Pringles Guy fan art he’s received since making his non-Adam Driver obsession public, including this beauty.
HBO
“Hot Daddy Pring” is not official, though. That’s why Oliver wants to hear from Pringles itself. “Why is Pringles dodging our question here?” he wondered. “We’re truly not asking for a lot. We’ve seen a ton of excellent, excellent Pringles bods; we just need to know which one is canon.” Oliver knows so much useless information about Pringles, including that the mascot is named Julius Pringles, but “not the one thing I really want to know, which is: What is Julius Pringles working with from the neck down?” It’s probably this.
Christopher Osburn has spent the past fifteen years in search of “the best” — or at least his very favorite — sips of whisk(e)y on earth. He’s enjoyed more drams than his doctor would dare feel comfortable with, traveled to over 20 countries testing local spirits, visited more than 50 distilleries around the globe, and amassed a collection of bottles that occupies his entire basement (and infuriates his wife).
In this series, he cracks open his worn “tasting diary” and shares its contents with the masses.
Picking favorites is tricky. As you gain more and more experience, your tastes shift. Everything becomes subjective. Perceptions are filtered through your imperfect memory and reshaped by nostalgia. Once you hit your mid-20s, even shouting out your most beloved movie or song is tough.
Don’t worry, I’m still going to do it. Ranking whiskeys is the gig, after all. In fact, I’m picking my thirty favorite bourbons, then ranking them. But it should be noted: Though one bottle will be slotted 30th and one will take the highly coveted top spot, I enjoy all of these expressions. Some for personal, sentimental reasons and some because they’re just flat out tasty.
As you might expect, you’ll find some of the big boys of the bourbon world represented (Jim Beam, Wild Turkey, Buffalo Trace, etc.). But there are also some lesser-known brands and even a few not from Kentucky (gasp!). I’m also more than a little influenced by price, making sure to keep a solid number of entry-level expressions in play. Don’t worry, snobs, the expensive drams get shine, too.
Check my picks below and let me know how much you hate my list (and therefore everything else about me) in the comments.
This small-batch, estate-bottled bourbon comes from Willett. It’s double-distilled and aged for ten years. It’s complex, rich, and mellow. It also happens to be surprisingly cheap, at around $35. A bargain bottle that belongs in your liquor cabinet.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find hints of fresh mint, charred oak, and buttery caramel. The first sip is filled with dried cherries, molasses, creamy vanilla, and toasted wood. The finish is long, warming, and ends with a final flourish of salted caramel.
Produced since 1946, this is a true throwback bourbon. This 80-proof whiskey is as consistently good as it is ridiculously affordable. It’s the kind of bourbon you’ll want to tell your friends about. Buy a bottle (or three) and stock up your liquor cabinet for the impending holidays and beyond.
Tasting Notes:
If you take a whiff or two, you’ll find scents of caramel corn, sugar cookies, and subtle sweet cinnamon spice. The first sip brings you flavors of sticky toffee pudding, sweet corn, candied orange peel, and spicy rye. The finish is long, lingering, and ends with a nice final hint of caramelized sugar.
Even though most bourbon expressions are made in Kentucky, it doesn’t need to be made in the Blue Grass State. The folks at Wyoming Whiskey know this better than most. Their flagship, small-batch bourbon has won so many awards that even the most ardent Kentucky loyalist would be charmed by it.
Tasting Notes:
The first aroma that fills your senses is that toasted vanilla beans. This is followed by subtle wildflowers and brown sugar. The first sip emphasizes hints of sweet cream, spicy cinnamon, cloves, and sweet caramel. The finish is long, slightly warm, and ends with a combination of caramel candy and cinnamon spice.
What begins as fully matured Maker’s Mark becomes something totally different when seared French oak staves are added to the barrel and the juice is aged for one more season.
The result is a bolder, more pronounced bourbon with extra caramel and vanilla sweetness.
Tasting Notes:
Take a deep draw of this bourbon before sipping and you’ll be met with sweet caramel, charred oak, and toasted vanilla. Flavors of English toffee, creamy vanilla, and spicy cinnamon dance on your palate. The finish is long, mellow, and ends in even more caramelized sugar.
This three-grain bourbon from FEW in Illinois is made with corn, rye, and barley. It’s prepared in small batches and aged in charred oak casks. The result is a complex, flavorful whiskey that will make you rethink any biases you have again bourbon made outside of the Bluegrass State.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find hints of spicy rye, sweet vanilla, sugary nuts, and buttery caramel. Take a sip and you’ll find flavors of sticky toffee, cloves, licorice, and brown sugar. The finish is long, very warm, and ends with a final kick of peppery spice.
Buffalo Trace is the flagship (and bargain-priced) whiskey for the distillery of the same name. It’s made from corn, barley, and rye, and aged in new, charred, American oak casks. It’s known for its smooth, rich, easy-drinking flavor.
Tasting Notes:
If you spend time nosing this whiskey, you’ll find aromas of chocolate, toasted wood, and caramel. The first sip brings you flavors of buttery vanilla, walnuts, sweet toffee, and subtle rye spice. The finish is long, mellow, and ends with a final mouthful of creamy caramel.
If you’re not open-minded, you might wonder why a whiskey like Wild Turkey 101 belongs on this list. Well… it’s my list. And if you ask me, not every enjoyable bourbon is $150. This is a high rye bourbon aged in extra-charred barrels and bottled at barrel proof. It’s bold, rich, and perfect for sipping or mixing.
Plus just look at the price!
Tasting Notes:
For such high rye, high proof whiskey, the nose is rather mellow with hints of caramel corn, sweet cinnamon, and subtle cracked black pepper. The first sip is filled with charred oak, toasted vanilla beans, brown sugar, and buttery caramel. The finish is long, robust, and ends with a final kick of peppery spice.
A bourbon produced by the Willett Distillery, this is made in small batches and bottled at a robust 114.3 proof. It comes in a no-frills bottle and is shrouded in a bit of mystery. But that doesn’t stop it from being one of the most underrated bourbons on the market.
If you spot it in the wild, buy it.
Tasting Notes:
The complex nose is full of hints of maple sugar, dried cherries, and rich leather. The palate is velvety sweet, with notes of cooking spices, toasted walnuts, caramelized sugar, and subtle pepper. The finish is medium, warm, and ends with a final kick of white pepper.
22.) Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel (September 2020)
ABV: 47%
Price: $49.99
The Story:
You can’t go wrong with any whiskeys from Elijah Craig. But one of its newest releases is one of its best. Toasted Barrel dropped in the fall. It’s the brand’s award-winning small-batch bourbon that’s given a second maturation in proprietary toasted new American oak casks. The result is a more mellowed, sweet, caramel-filled bourbon.
Tasting Notes:
Give this whiskey a proper nosing before diving in to take a sip. You’ll find aromas of charred oak, toasted marshmallows, and caramelized sugar. The first sip is filled with spicy cinnamon, cracked black pepper, sweet vanilla, brown sugar, and just a hint of campfire smoke. The finish is warming, long, and ends with a nice flourish of spice.
On top of being a fantastic, well-rounded, high-proof whiskey, Old Grand-Dad Bonded is surprisingly cheap. Perfect for sipping or mixing into an old fashioned or whiskey sour, let’s hope the folks at Jim Beam never wise up and realize they could be charging a lot more for this bottle.
Tasting Notes:
Your nose will be treated to the delightful fragrances of candied orange peels, robust cinnamon spice, and sweet vanilla. On the palate, you’ll find hints of peppery rye, charred wood, sweet caramel corn, and brown sugar. The finish is medium in length, full of heat, and ends with a nice combination of sweet and spicy.
Knob Creek is one of Jim Beam’s Small Batch Bourbons (along with Baker’s, Booker’s, and Basil Hayden’s). From 1992 until 2016, Knob Creek had an age statement of 9-years. It was removed because the brand said they could no longer guarantee every batch would be at least 9 years old, due to a lower inventory.
In 2020, the classic, 9-year small-batch returned to shelves and, as you can see, I like it.
Tasting Notes:
This whiskey’s nose is extremely complex with hints of cinnamon sugar, caramelized sugar, sweet vanilla, and subtle rye spice. The first sip will fill your palate with hints of dried orange peels, caramel, honey, and more spicy cinnamon. The finish is medium in length, warming, and ends with a nice combination of sweet and spice.
Booker’s is a bold and brash bourbon. It’s one of Jim Beam’s small-batch bourbons and it’s known for its unfiltered, uncut, robust flavor. This expression was aged between six and eight years and bottled between 120 and 130 proof. Yet it remains surprisingly smooth and sippable.
A truly unique bottle that belongs in your liquor cabinet.
Tasting Notes:
After the first whiff, you’ll realize why this whiskey has such a bold reputation. Charred oak, rich leather, and salted caramel are very prevalent. With the first sip, your tongue will mingle with flavors like toffee, clover honey, and spicy cinnamon. The finish is long, very warm, and ends with more charred oak and a kick of spicy rye.
Just like Noah’s Mill, Rowan’s Creek is shrouded in mystery. It’s labeled as being bottled by Rowan’s Creek Distillery, but it’s assumed that it’s actually owned by Willett and sourced from another distillery (maybe MGP). It’s bold, high proof, made in small batches, and completely refined and nuanced.
Tasting Notes:
The nose has hints of cinnamon, buttery caramel, and a subtle herbal backbone. The palate is filled with caramelized sugar, sweet vanilla, and just a hint of spicy black pepper. The finish is long, mellow, and ends with a nice final kick of that spicy rye.
Named for the Volstead Act of 1920, which began Prohibition in the US, Old Forester 1920 is a throwback to a bygone era. To pay tribute to those days, Old Forester bottles its 1920 expression at a robust 115 proof. It’s also designed to have a similar flavor profile as those made a century ago this year.
The result is a bold, rich, complex whiskey worth savoring.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find hints of cocoa powder, spicy cinnamon, dried cherries, and charred oak. The first sip will bring you hints of almond cookies, caramelized sugar, butterscotch, and subtle spice. The finish is long, warming, and ends with a nice, lingering sweet vanilla flavor.
This award-winning, high-rye bourbon sits at a robust 100 proof. It was aged in new, charred American oak barrels for a minimum of 7-9 years. The result is an extremely well-rounded, complex whiskey that’s a bargain for just under $50.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is spicy, with hints of clove and cinnamon tempered by sweet vanilla and maple candy. On the sip, you’ll find buttery caramel, dried orange peel, milk chocolate, and just a hint of peppery rye spice. The finish is long, full of pleasing heat, and ends with some white pepper heat.
If you’ve never tried Jefferson’s Bourbon because you think the whole “aged at sea” thing is simply a gimmick, now’s the time to get over your hang ups. This is a great bourbon, trust me on that. Especially the cask strength expression.
This bottle is a blend of small-batch bourbons that were put on a ship and crossed the equator four times while visiting five continents. It’s seen the world, man.
Tasting Notes:
If you take time to nose this bottle, your nostrils will be filled with the aromas of toasted marshmallows, candied orange peels, spicy cinnamon, and sweet vanilla. The first sip is heavy on the toffee candy, dark chocolate, cinnamon buns, and brown sugar. The finish is medium in length and ends with a nice burst of herbal flavors.
While this bourbon carries no age statement, it’s believed to be at least 12 years old. It’s a single barrel bourbon that uses Buffalo Trace’s #2 mash bill (the same higher rye mash used in Blanton’s and Ancient Age) and is named for former Buffalo Trace Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee.
Tasting Notes:
The nose on this expression is full of classic bourbon flavors like baking spices, dried leather, spicy cinnamon, and caramelized sugar. The first sip brings hints of clover honey, buttery vanilla, shortbread cookies, and dried fruits. The finish is long, full of gradually warming heat, and ends with a nice jolt of rye.
The name ‘Full Proof’ might seem a little confusing as this expression isn’t barrel proof. It’s 125 proof and carries no age statement. But internet sleuths believe that it’s around eight-years-old. Honestly, we don’t care about age statements when the juice is this good.
It’s well balanced and filled with a nice amount of peppery rye spice. (I’m noticing that rye is a common thread in this list. Never really picked up on that before!)
Tasting Notes:
Enjoy a nosing before your first sip. You’ll enjoy aromas of peppery rye, toasted oak, creamy vanilla, and salted caramel. Take a sip and you’ll get flavors of caramelized sugar, espresso beans, rich leather, and cracked black pepper. The finish is long, warming, and filled with hints of brown sugar and spicy cinnamon.
You might not think about Texas when you think of bourbon, but the folks at Garrison Brothers are making some pretty amazing stuff. One of their best is the flagship Cowboy Bourbon. It’s bottled at cask strength and uncut and non-charcoal filtered to create a bold, burly whiskey that gives off serious Lone Star State energy.
Tasting Notes:
Take a whiff of this epic bourbon and scents of toasted tobacco, espresso beans, sweet caramel, and vanilla will fill your nostrils. The first sip is loaded with dried fruits, sugar cane sweetness, toasted marshmallows, and honey. The finish is long, warming, and ends in a nice mix of caramel sweetness and peppery spice.
You can’t go wrong with any offering from Woodford Reserve, but its Double Oaked Bourbon is one of its best. It’s twice-barreled (hence the name). The first is a regular charred oak cask and the second is a “deeply” toasted and charred barrel.
The result is a softer, sweeter, more well-rounded whiskey.
Tasting Notes:
Take time to nose this whiskey and you’ll find hints of toasted marshmallow, dried cherries, clover honey, and caramel. When you taste it, expect almonds, Christmas spices, creamy vanilla, and caramel apples. The finish is velvety, mellow, and ends with a nice “Kentucky hug.”
This 90-proof bourbon has received countless awards and for good reason. Aged for ten years in charred American oak barrels at Buffalo Trace, this one uses the distillery’s #1 mash bill — believed to be low rye and high wheat. If you can find it at cost, you’re looking at one of the best bargains on the market.
If not, it’s still probably worth the price.
Tasting Notes:
The first scents you’ll notice are those of candied fruits, sweet honey, and rich toffee. The palate features nutty sweetness, rich leather, toasted oak, and creamy vanilla. The finish is long, full of pleasing heat, and ends with a nice final hint of cinnamon.
Back in 2019, Henry McKenna Single Barrel won “Best in Show Whiskey” at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. This led to its addition to the whiskey hype train and made a $30 bottle one of the hardest to find on the market. But just because it became wildly popular, that doesn’t mean McKenna Single Barrel is already overhyped. I’ll happily hop on the bandwagon for a dram this good.
Aged for ten years and bottled in bond, this 100-proof bourbon is worth all of the accolades it’s received.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is filled with sweet caramel, mouth-watering vanilla, and subtle cinnamon. The first sip brings charred oak, spicy rye, brown sugar, and clover honey. The finish is spicy, warming, and ends with a nice pleasing hit of caramelized sugar.
Michter’s is well-known for making some pretty great bourbons (and ryes). One of its best is its 10-year-old bourbon. This single barrel bourbon is made in limited quantities and aged in fire-charred American oak barrels for a decade. The result is a bold, rich whiskey, filled with caramel and vanilla.
Tasting Notes:
Give this whiskey the nosing it deserves, and you’ll be treated to aromas of toasted wood, vanilla beans, and cocoa powder. The first sip yields sweet cinnamon, candied orange peels, buttery toffee, and chocolate cake. The finish is medium in length, warming, and ends with a nice hit of black pepper.
Batch 009 is one of the most sought-after Barrell expressions in the county, for a variety of reasons. It’s the oldest (aged for 13 years) and lowest proof (still pretty high, at 112.1 proof). It’s also a very unique whiskey, having spent time aging in both Tennessee and Kentucky.
Tasting Notes:
Give this bourbon a quality nosing before your first sip. You’ll find aromas of candied orange peels, caramelized sugar, almond cookies, and molasses. Sip it to find sweet butter cookies, brown sugar, and subtle, spicy cinnamon. The finish is long, warming, and ends with a nice mix of tangy citrus and sweet caramel.
If you talk to whiskey fans, you’ll get a ton of opinions on Blanton’s. While many love it, they all say it’s not priced right. But just because the price might be a little inflated, that doesn’t change the fact that this ten to twelve-year-old bourbon is extremely well-made and nuanced.
Hell, it practically made my top five.
Tasting Notes:
If you give this a nosing, you’ll be treated to scents of sticky toffee, vanilla beans, and cinnamon. The first sip is full of candied orange peel, sweet honey, velvety caramel, and brown sugar. The finish is long, warming, and ends with caramelized sugar and just the tiniest hint of spice.
Bourbon aficionados love cask strength whiskeys and Angel’s Envy makes one of the best. It’s port-wine cask finished and a limited release, with less than 18,000 bottles available. But it’s finally available nationwide which makes it at least slightly easier to find.
The retail price is around $200, so expect to pay a lot more for the aftermarket. But again, this is a special dram. If you can afford it, pay whatever you have to.
Tasting Notes:
Give this whiskey a nice nosing and your senses will be treated to hints of caramelized sugar, charred wood, dried cherries, and subtle cinnamon spice. The first sip rolls deep with salted caramel, candied orange peel, sweet vanilla, and spicy cinnamon flavors. The finish is long, full of warmth, and ends on a current of brown sugar.
In 2019, Widow Jane dropped a limited release of its rarest and oldest bourbons. The blended bourbons are a minimum of 14 years. After aging, this expression was finished in 8-year, air seasoned American oak barrels. This created a unique, rich, mellow whiskey that’s so good, you’ll eagerly await the new release (dropping soon).
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find hints of toasted oak, subtle mint, sweet caramel, and spicy cinnamon. The palate shifts gears, with flavors of creamy vanilla, dark chocolate, butterscotch, and subtle cracked pepper. The finish is long, very warm, and ends in hints of dried fruits, cover honey, and more cinnamon.
Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr is known as one of the founding fathers of the bourbon industry. Hand-selected barrels make up this small batch bourbon that’s known for its velvety, smooth flavor profile well suited for slow sipping.
Tasting Notes:
Maple syrup, spicy cinnamon, and charred oak greet you on the nose. The first sip is filled with fall spices, caramel apples, brown sugar, and sweet anise. The finish is lingering, soft, and ends with a wave of warm pepper.
This is the second whiskey named for George T. Stagg (one of the founders of the distillery now called Buffalo Trace). The first is uncut, unfiltered, and aged for 15 years. This second expression, Stagg, Jr, is the same uncut and unfiltered bourbon, but it was aged for just about a decade.
In all honesty, that’s enough time to rach perfection. This whiskey is smooth, refined, and highly sippable.
Tasting Notes:
Make sure to give this hard-to-find bourbon a proper nosing. You’ll find charred oak, leather, and brown sugar. The first sip morphs those notes into salted caramel, clover honey, toasted wood, and rich milk chocolate. The finish is long, warming, and ends with a nice hint of maple sugar and spicy cinnamon.
While Pappy Van Winkle is almost impossible to find, unless you’re willing to pay a ridiculous sum, W.L. Weller 12 (known as the “poor man’s Pappy”) is slightly easier to track down (and much cheaper). Like Pappy, this 12-year-old bourbon is wheated, soft, and extremely mellow.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is filled with dried orange peel, creamy vanilla, and subtle cinnamon spice. The first sip has flavors of rich maple syrup, sweet caramel, cooking spices, and candied fruits. The finish is long, full of warmth, and ends with more maple sugar candy and cinnamon.
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