Hennessy begins her recently released EP, Maybe I’m Oversharing with a voice memo she recorded on New Year’s Day this year. The soft-spoken spends a little over two minutes admitting her flaws and bouts with depression and anxiety. At the same time, she questions those who criticize her for a moment of weakness, wrongfully assuming it’s connected to laziness or insufficiency in her life. By the end of the voice memo, Hennessy finds solace in her attempts to overcome her mental health struggles and a moment to explain herself and overshare a bit about her life, something the voice memo allows her to do.
Born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island, Hennessy dove headfirst into a music career in 2020 with her debut single “1-800-SLIDE.” Since then, she’s used music as a medium to find her voice and recover from life’s ups and downs. Her debut EP Time Revealed, released in 2022, exhibits this the best as its six songs document the crushing rise and fall of a relationship that, in the end, was “all for nothing” as the project’s lead single details.
With later singles like “I’ll Be” and “Forever & A Day” in her back pocket, in addition to Maybe I’m Oversharing, it’s now clear that Hennessy has not only accepted but embraced the healing nature of music. Keeping that in mind, it makes sense why the singer ditched her therapist after their last encounter, something she poignantly details in “Therapy Session” on Maybe I’m Oversharing.
Days removed from the release of Maybe I’m Oversharing, as well as Virgo men-bashing freestyle on the New York-based platform On The Radio, Uproxx spent some time with Hennessy where she unveiled her love for Brandy, concerns for teleporting into the future, and her hope to heal with her music.
What is your earliest memory of music?
I think probably Sunday cleaning with my mom. She would always play old-school R&B and my brother would play rap in his room. That’s how I acquired my music taste.
Who inspired you to take music seriously?
I think myself. I was in the hospital in a coma for so long and when I woke up, I was like, “Damn, if I died, I really didn’t do all the things I wanted to fully commit to in life and one of them was music.” In elementary, middle, and high school, I did all the talent shows. I did America’s Got Talent and The X Factor, my mom brought me to them. I knew if I would’ve died, I wouldn’t have died fulfilled because I didn’t pursue music. So when I left, like literally soon as I got healthy — not even when I got healthy because I was still kinda limping because of the surgery — I went to LA and I went to Atlanta to record.
Do you know how to play an instrument? If so, which one? If not, which instrument do you want to learn how to play?
I want to learn how to play the bass. I love it on all my songs, like every record, I have to have live bass on it. So it’s like if I’m having live bass on all my records, I want to be able to go on stage and actually perform with it.
What was your first job?
My first job was at the Boys & Girls Club. I was working with kids, I was like 14.
What is your most prized possession?
Definitely my hard drive. I’m done for if it’s gone.
What is your biggest fear?
I think dying before I accomplish everything that I want to do. I think because I have come close to death already, I really want to accomplish everything that I want to do because I know it’s possible.
Brandy is the vocal God, a layering queen, and my favorite R&B artist of all time. PartyNextDoor is the originator of trap R&B rnb, and without PND, we wouldn’t have a bunch of our favorite R&B male artists who were, of course, influenced by him. Plus, his production and pen are crazy. Lauryn Hill gave us one of the best albums of all time, and she was able to blend hip-hop and R&B so well, I’m heavily inspired by her. Finally, Jhené Aiko is one of the pioneers of this modern R&B sound for women. I feel like people don’t give her enough credit. She really created a subgenre in R&B for all the soft-toned singing girls. People have one idea of what R&B should sound like – with crazy runs, belting, and all – not knowing the beauty of the genre is that R&B can come in all types of forms and tones. I think we need to start giving Jhené her flowers.
You get 24 hours to yourself to do anything you want, with unlimited resources: What are you doing? And spare no details!
I’ll stay in Rhode Island. I’m eating mad crab legs. I’m going to Wonderland and I’m paying somebody’s college tuition at the strip club. I’m buying my car that I sold, I’m buying back my 1970 Buick. I’m buying all my friends things that they always wanted. I’m paying my friends’ student loans back as well. I’m buying my mom a crib, I’ll pay it in cash. I’m gonna tell everybody to meet me at the mall and I’ll buy them whatever they want. I’ll go to a grocery store like Stop & Shop or Shaws and pay for people’s groceries. I’ll go to AS220, find an artist who is in high school and wants to become a singer just like me and give them bread to start their music career. I think I’m just naturally a humanitarian so I want to give people things if I had unlimited resources. I don’t know what I would do personally besides eat crab legs. I think I’ll be fulfilled with that and getting my mama crib.
What are your three most used emojis?
.
What’s a feature you need to secure before you die?
If you could appear in a future season of a current TV show, which one would it be and why?
Rick And Morty because I want to do voice acting. I feel like I’m awkward on camera, but when there are no cameras around, I’m able to actually showcase my personality. So if I was a voice actor, I just know it’d be fire. I have the voice for it. It’ll be fun too and I love Rick And Morty.
Which celebrity do you admire or respect for their personality and why?
Cardi B. She shows her personality a lot. She’s really just unapologetically her.
Share your opinion on something no one could ever change your mind about.
Virgo men are not good people and Young Thug is the most influential artist of our generation. No one can ever change that for me either.
What is the best song you’ve ever heard in your life and what do you love about it?
“Put That On Everything” by Brandy. It’s my favorite love song.
What’s your favorite city in the world to perform, and what’s a city you’re excited to perform in for the first time?
Bangor, Maine is my favorite city to perform in. I want to perform in Toronto really badly, they have a really great R&B scene.
You are throwing a music festival. Give us the dream lineup of 5 artists that will perform with you and the location where it would be held.
It’s gonna be in Providence, RI. It’ll be fire to bring a music festival to Rhode Island. I like how artists have festivals in their hometowns. Jack Harlow just announced he’s doing one, I like how Tyler The Creator does it, and I like that J. Cole and Drake have their own too. So it’ll definitely be in my hometown. It’ll be me, Kehlani, SZA, Young Thug, Cash Cobain, and Drake of course. I gotta bring Drake to Rhode Island, Drake has to experience Rhode Island.
What would you be doing now if it weren’t for music?
I would be an Africana Studies professor at a university because I think that’s what I want to do when I’m like 60 years old.
If you could see five years into the future or go five years into the past, which one would you pick and why?
I think I’m too scared to see the future. What if I don’t f*ck with it? What if I die so now I just see black? Like I’m dead so I wasted the five years for nothing. I think I’ll go to the past to relive some moments, just to get that feeling again.
What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?
You should’ve never dated that man.
It’s 2050. The world hasn’t ended, and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?
I went to Brockton for Luke Bar’s listening party for his “Flawless” single and one of the guys that owns the venue came up to me and said Time Revealed was one of the best projects he’d listened to that year because he was going through something dark. I told him I just dropped a three-pack, but I didn’t tell him the names of the songs. I told him that if you liked Time Revealed, you’ll like this one because this one is me being more vulnerable and expressing my mental health. He’s like it’s crazy because a lot of people don’t talk about therapy when it comes to mental health and I told him I have a song on the project called “Therapy Session.” So I just want my music to heal people because every time people DM me or tell me my music just helped them, it makes me feel better and like I have a purpose outside of just releasing music. It makes life worth living.
Maybe I’m Oversharing is out now via Pousome Records. Find out more information here.
While convention wisdom is to avoid drinking the high-proof stuff early in your whiskey journey, that’s not always necessary. There are some high-proof bourbons on the shelf that hide their heat amazingly well. To that end, I’m calling out 15 bourbons that have very high proof points but don’t drink like it. These bourbons have superb flavor profiles and offer warmth instead of all-out numbness. Even if you’re new to bourbon, these whiskeys will feel approachable on the palate without torching your senses.
Now, there are a few parameters here. First and foremost, when I’m talking about high-proof bourbons, I’m talking about anything above bottled-in-bond proof, which is 100 proof/50% ABV. And for this particular list of high-proof bourbons, I’m choosing ABVs above 55%/110 proof. Anything below that should be pretty manageable already for most folks, even newbies. Also worth noting — the best flavor profiles do not come cheap. I’m often asked if “expensive” bourbons are that much better. As always, the answer is “depends…” I can tell you that high-proof bourbons that perfectly balance their warmth with a deep flavor profile tend to cost a fortune.
Okay, that’s enough preamble. Let’s get into the bourbons that offer some serious kick but hide the heat.
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
2024’s first Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is a unique one. The batch is made from barrels that averaged out to 10 years and nine months old, which is on the young side for these releases. Moreover, the ABVs are much lower than usual as well, coming in under 60%.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rich salted caramel, apple fritters, cherry pie, winter spice, old leather tobacco pouches, and deep oakiness drive the nose with a touch of rye bread crust and nutty … I want to say granola covered in dark chocolate.
Palate: The sweetness gets buttery on the palate with rich toffee and salted caramel ice cream next to creamy cinnamon chews, vanilla malt, dark and smooth chocolate sauce, and a counterpoint of sharp oak spices with a touch of old spicy tobacco.
Finish: That tobacco and oaky spice sharpen on the finish before the creamy caramel, vanilla, and chocolate base returns for a soft and lush end.
Bottom Line:
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof drops tend to hide their heat well under classic Kentucky bourbon profiles. That’s not always true though as some are firebombs — so pay attention to batch numbers. Overall, this batch is going to feel warm from the nose to the finish but it’ll never feel hot.
That said, for the best experience of this barrel proof, I’d use it in a classic old fashioned. It gets super creamy and adds a wonderful depth to the drink with a nice kick of booziness.
14. Hirsch The Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Finished In Cognac Casks
This cask-strength version of Hirsch is made from a classic bourbon mash of 72% corn, 13% rye, and 15% malted barley. That hot juice then rests for six years in new American oak. Those barrels are batched and then re-filled into 30-year-old Hine XO fine cognac casks for another year-and-a-half of resting. Finally, the whiskey is batched and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose feels lush and oaky with a sense of Christmas cookies, mincemeat pies, and sticky toffee pudding next to stewed plums over fresh scones with a hint of brandy butter.
Palate: Old leather boots filled with cinnamon bark and a medley of dates, figs, and prunes lead to chocolate cut with red chili and vanilla and kissed with salt and dry cedar.
Finish: That cinnamon bark intensifies with dark red fruit, light chili pepperiness, and a sense of old malted cookies dipped in vanilla toffee on the very end.
Bottom Line:
I’d never in a million years call this out as a 126+ proof whiskey. The warmth is there but it registers more as warm holiday cakes and sharp spices than burning heat. It’s delicious and deep without leaving you feeling like you’ve numbed your senses.
13. Russell’s Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 13 Years
This whiskey was made by Eddie Russell to celebrate his 40th year of distilling whiskey with his dad, Jimmy Russell. The juice is a collection of a minimum of 13-year-old barrels that Eddie Russell hand-picked. Those barrels were married and then bottled as-is with no proofing or filtration.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet and dried fruits invite you on the nose as a touch of fresh, creamy, and dark Black Forest cake mingles with mild holiday spices, dried almonds, and a sense of rich pipe tobacco just kissed with sultanas.
Palate: That dark chocolate and cherry fruit drive the palate as a hint of charred cedar leads toward vanilla tobacco with more of that dark chocolate and a small touch of honey, orange blossom, and a whisper of dried chili flake.
Finish: That honey leads back to the warmth and spice with a thin line of cherry bark smoke lurking on the very backend with more bitter chocolate, buttery vanilla, and dark cherry all combining into chewy tobacco packed into an old pine box and wrapped up with worn leather thread.
Bottom Line:
This is another one that just doesn’t feel hot at all. The profile is so lush and nostalgic for the holidays that you feel maximum comfort.
Stagg is Buffalo Trace’s Mash Bill no. 1 (a low-rye mash) turned all the way up to MAX volume. The whiskey spends about a decade resting in the old Buffalo Trace warehouses before it’s batched and bottled (in this case in Spring 2023) 100% as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is rich on the nose with deep senses of dark chocolate brownies just kissed with stewed black cherry and old vanilla pods before a soft sense of red chili tobacco and wet brown sugar tobacco lead to a whisper of smoldering fall leaves.
Palate: That dark chocolate and chili-laced tobacco drives the taste toward a Christmas cake brimming with candied cherry, orange rind, rum raisin, clove, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and creamy vanilla icing with a dash of salt, marzipan, and brandy-soaked apple and pear orchards.
Finish: The rich and boozy holiday cake fades on the finish as deep earthiness — think firewood bark and smudging sage — drives the end toward a big Kentucky hug of warmth that’s just right.
Bottom Line:
Stagg batches are very hit-and-miss if you’re looking for hidden ABVs. Some of them are like chewing mega hot chilis or swallowing fire while others a creamy sweet flavor bombs with a lovely Kentucky hug on the end. Last year’s Batch 22A is the latter. This is just a wonderfully nuanced and luscious whiskey with a deeply earthy Kentucky profile. It’s nutty, creamy, and full of orchard vibes in all the best ways.
This new version of Legent leans into the marriage of Kentucky and Japan in the bottle. The whiskey is a straight bourbon from Beam that spent eight years mellowing in Kentucky. That whiskey was then sent to the Yamazaki Distillery outside of Kyoto, Japan where blending legend Shinji Fukuyo transferred the whiskey into French and Spanish oak casks for another rest before batching again and re-filling the whiskey into the incredible Yamazaki Spanish Oak whisky casks for a final rest before blending, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a leathery sense of old dried chilis that have just been kissed with heat before a sense of dried cranberry and rich malted chocolate take the nose toward soft plummy cakes full of soft powdered spices.
Palate: A hint of maltiness comes through early on the palate with a fleeting sense of smoked red berries before deep vanilla buttercream creates a luscious foundation for rich pipe tobacco, cranberry sauce cut with anise, clove, and nutmeg, sticky toffee pudding, and mulled wine cut with toffee and dry reeds.
Finish: The spices warm on the finish before descending toward soft nutcakes and winter-spiced doughnuts with a light sense of stewed plum and pear over old saddle leather and rickhouse dank.
Bottom Line:
This is a divine sipper. There’s no heat whatsoever. There is a subtle warmth that builds toward the end, but it’s more in line with nuttiness and winter spice cakes than any chili or firey heat. You can easily sip this neat and not worry about numbing heat. Again, this makes a great cocktail, especially a Manhattan.
10. Angel’s Envy Cask Strength Bourbon Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Port Wine Barrels
This is the 12th Cask Strength Bourbon release from Angel’s Envy but the first under new Master Distiller Owen Martin. Martin brings a deep knowledge of craft Colorado whiskey making and Scotch whisky to the table and it shows in this new release. The whiskey is a masterful blend of Angel’s Envy’s port-finished bourbons at cask strength, allowing the barrels to shine through. As a limited edition, there were only 22,656 bottles produced. The good news is that they’re going out to all 50 states.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Spiced cherry cake mingles with rich and buttery caramel sauce, toasted marshmallows, rum raisin, black-tea-soaked dates cut with cinnamon and nutmeg, and a deep sense of mulled wine cut with dark chocolate.
Palate: The palate leans into the mulled wine and sticky toffee pudding with a flourish of sea salt and orange zest next to lush vanilla buttercream, dark cherry spiced tobacco leaves, and old motorcycle jacket leather.
Finish: The end leans into brandy-soaked cherries dipped in dark chocolate next to dry sweetgrass, smudging sage, and cedar bark braided and stacked in an old cigar humidor next to a dry red wine cork with winter spice cakes, pear brandy marzipan, and deep dried fruits rounding out the end.
Bottom Line:
This is Christmas in a glass next to a roaring fire. While the fire warms you from a distance, you never feel like you’re in the flames. You’re really greeted and delighted by deep nostalgic holiday profile notes that drive this delicious whiskey from top to bottom. This is another amazing Manhattan base as well.
9. Blanton’s Straight From The Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
This expression is the purest form of Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon. The whiskey in these bottles is from the same Blanton’s barrels, but they’re perfect just the way they are. This whiskey goes into the bottle straight from the barrel with no proofing water whatsoever.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is full of very bespoke dark chocolate-covered salted hard caramel toffees encrusted with almonds and pecans — the kind you get from a chocolate shop that imports their goodies from somewhere like Belgium — next to full fall leaves falling on wet grass outside musty old warehouses with a hint of well-worn boot leather lurking beneath it all.
Palate: The nutty toffee carries through into the taste as oily vanilla pods mingle with cedar boxes of dried tobacco leaves and a touch of floral honey jars with old wooden spoons and more of that old boot leather before sharp winter spices and dried red chili pop on the mid-palate.
Finish: The end is very long and lingers in your senses with a hot buzzing thanks to the barky spices and dry chili that subtly fades through all that sweetness before ending up in an old cedar box full of choco-chili tobacco layered with old dark fruit leather sheets.
Bottom Line:
Blanton’s is already an amazingly light bourbon sipping experience — some would argue too light for all the hype it gets. This cask-strength version fixes that. There’s serious depth to this sipper that provides serious warmth without over-bearing heat. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if you buy one Blanton’s, make it this one.
8. Fortuna Rare Character Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Last year’s Fortuna release was an instant classic. This year the Rare Character team has upped the ante with a cask-strength version and, ho boy, they hit it out of the park. The whiskey in the bottle is a small batch of minimum seven-year-old barrels that were expertly batched and bottled 100% as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a sense of deeply roasted walnuts, almonds, and chestnuts dipped in salted toffee with a sense of darkly charred old oak staves countered by a lush vanilla cream cut with winter spices.
Palate: The nuttiness drives the palate toward vanilla buttercream next to winter spice cakes filled with rum raisin, candied orange rind, and brandy-soaked cherries before a hint of sticky toffee pudding arrives with a whisper of roasting herbs and sweetgrass.
Finish: Nutshells and dried pipe tobacco round out the finish with a deep winter spice bark vibe before the luscious vanilla creates a creamy landing for the pour that’s part eggnog and part malted vanilla shake cut with peppermint, clove, and sasparilla.
Bottom Line:
There’s a nice layer of warmth that runs through the whole profile on this one. It’s an embrace that accents the insanely deep and nuanced flavor profile. While I pour this one over a big rock, that’s more to add creaminess and nuttiness to the profile than to cool any proof heat down.
7. Bardstown Bourbon Company Discovery Series Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Series #11
The latest release from Bardstown Bourbon Company is a full-on Kentucky bourbon blend. The whiskey is made with 73% 13-year-old Kentucky bourbon, 21% 10-year-old Kentucky bourbon, and 6% of Bardstown’s own six-year-old Kentucky bourbon. Once batched, the whiskey mellows before bottling 100% as-is at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Tart cherries and rich toffee rolled in roasted almond and dipped in salted dark chocolate drive the nose toward cinnamon spice cakes with a hint of dried cranberry, plummy sauce, and rich tobacco.
Palate: The taste leans into caramel-covered peanuts with a hint of red fruit leather, old spice barks, and a whisper of orange rinds next to a touch of Cherry Coke, old leather tobacco pouches, and the old beams from a whiskey barrel house.
Finish: The end leans into a lush vanilla buttercream with notes of old back porch wicker, almost sweet cedar kindling, smudging sage, and cinnamon bark soaked in cherry brandy with a touch of chili-cut dark chocolate.
Bottom Line:
This is amazingly well-hidden proof. I had to triple-check the ABVs when I first tried this expression. It’s wild how well those ABVs are layered into soft and supple profile notes that they almost magically disappear. This is a great option for neat tasting with touches of water that’ll reveal incredible depth.
6. Old Forester President’s Choice Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
This year’s President’s Choice Single Barrel bourbon from Old Foresters is yet another masterpiece from the Louisville brand. The whiskey in this case is a 10-year-old barrel that rested in a specific location in the West Louisville warehouses. Once it was just right, the whiskey was bottled as-is with a touch of water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The whiskey opens with a salted caramel apple nose that edges towards apple saltwater taffy with a creamy layer of spicy dark chocolate and a touch of orange blossoms and barrelhouse beams.
Palate: The palate takes the wintry spices and attaches them to the creaminess, creating an egg nog feel to the taste that leans into dark fruits and a hint of toasted coconut cream pie.
Finish: The end holds onto the spice but focuses more on anise (and maybe fennel) while the caramel and spice attach to sticky tobacco with a warming end.
Bottom Line:
This is a slow burn in the best way. The profile is iconic Kentucky bourbon that takes you on a journey with proof adding depth, not heat. Yes, it’ll leave you warmed by the end but that’ll be a hug more than a punch to the face.
5. Augusta Distillery Buckner’s Aged 13 Years Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
This is a very niche brand out in rural Kentucky that’s sourcing old barrels. The whiskey in the bottle is a Kentucky straight bourbon that rested for 13 years before it was bottled completely as-is both unfiltered and at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a sense of old barrel houses full of sweet and spice bourbon next to a gentle moment of creamy vanilla honey with old corn husks stuffed in the honey which is poured over spiced winter nut breads with a hint of butteriness and earthy nutshells.
Palate: The clove, allspice, and anise of the nut bread amp up the buttery palate with a sense of Earl Grey tea leaves, salted caramel, and mocha-heavy espresso beans next to a light marzipan moistness and hints of burnt orange next to old dry black cherry bark.
Finish: The end lingers for a while as the marzipan and orchard barks fade toward sharp eggnog spices and soft creaminess before the vanilla creamed honey slathers old oak staves with a good dose of earthy fall vibes kind of like a forest floor on a frosty day.
Bottom Line:
This is a warm bourbon that never feels it. It’s hard to explain in that you are presented with this deeply beautiful flavor profile that does heat up but never burns. So this is probably one of the only entries that I’d warn that newbies might feel a little more heat. That said, the profile is so damn good that it’s worth a little heat on the senses. Think of it this way — you’re getting a silken bourbon profile with a warmth that leaves your senses buzzing at the very end of a few minutes, reminding you of the journey you just embarked on.
Every year, Willett releases amazing barrels that are going to blow you away. In early 2023, they released this short barrel that yielded only 62 bottles. That made this a distillery-only release of last year — that also means that this was a very fleeting bottle that came and went very quickly.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rich and oily coffee beans mingle with dark chocolate creaminess on the nose next to wet brown sugar, buttermilk biscuits fresh from the oven, salted caramel chews, and this fleeting sense of rye bread with a caraway seed crust covered with fresh and almost sour butter smeared over it.
Palate: That chocolate and coffee bean meld on the front of the palate for a rich and very dark mocha latte vibe before leaning into clove, anise, and sasparilla with a smoldering sense of smudging sage and marshmallow next to lush vanilla buttercream and pear compote cut with saffron.
Finish: Ginger coins dusted in raw sugar drive the finish toward spiced mulled wine and holiday nut cakes brimming with dried rum raisin, candied orange, and brandied cherry before eggnog-laced tobacco layered into an old cedar humidor leads to a rich yet sweet black dirt from a cellar that held hams and funky rind cheeses for centuries.
Bottom Line:
Willett is one of the best brands out there that magically hide massive ABVs/proofs under amazing flavor profiles. That said, you do have to mind the barrel numbers here. I’ve had some hazmat (above 70% ABV) bourbons and ryes from Willett that are like dragon’s breath. I can tell you that this range — almost 20 years and closer to 60% ABV — is the sweet spot.
You’ll be left buzzing but the road to the finish will be a wildly delicious one.
3. Michter’s Limited Release Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 25 Years Old
The whiskey in the bottle was distilled in or before 1998 at an undisclosed Kentucky distillery from a unique mash bill. That whiskey went into new American white oak barrels and was left alone until they were moved to the Shively, Kentucky campus where they were monitored for excellence. When the barrels hit the right mark — that’s where the Michter’s team’s prowess comes in — they were batched for this very small limited release and bottled 100% as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a deep sense of old molasses vats that held prunes, dates, and raisins with a sense of winter spice barks, berries, and buds next to brown buttery Christmas sugar cookies dipped in dark chocolate and dusted with ground vanilla pods before this light sense of smoked walnut shells and fire-roasted chestnuts arrives.
Palate: That molasses leans toward thick hot chocolate just kissed with red chili before a deep sense of candied almonds takes the taste toward rich and moist sticky toffee pudding flaked with sea salt and fresh orange zest with a hint of vanilla buttercream.
Finish: The end leans into dried sweetgrass and old fall leaves in an apple orchard with a hint of pear-brandy-soaked marzipan dipped in dark-as-night chocolate and kissed with a mix of woody brown winter spices wrapped up in old tobacco leaves and stored in a very old whiskey barrel in a musty old brick rickhouse on a cold fall day.
Bottom Line:
This is a shockingly lush bourbon. The heat is non-existent and presents as warming orange and winter spice more than chili pepper spice or fire. This is also a magnificent bourbon in general, so that helps.
This is Buffalo Trace’s classic wheated bourbon. This year’s Weller BTAC was distilled back in the spring of 2011 and left to rest in warehouses C, L, M, and N for 12 long years. Those barrels were batched and this whiskey was bottled 100% as-is at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Deep and dark candied black cherry mingles with dry cedar bark, molasses, real vanilla beans, nutty brown butter, and old leather rolled in pipe tobacco and just kissed with smoldering sage and dry chili pepper flakes.
Palate: The palate opens with a full blast of ABVs, making the front of your tongue tingle, as floral honey, cherry cobbler topped with vanilla ice cream, and brown butter streusel cut with nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove lead to a hint of dry orange tobacco.
Finish: Cinnamon sticks and clove buds floating in maple syrup arrive on the finish with a sense of old leather boots, the oak in an old rickhouse, orchard barks, and soft notes of vanilla and cherry cake.
Bottom Line:
I just drank the better part of one of these bottles a week or so ago. The reason we got through so much of it was that the heat never really overpowers any part of the profile. There’s a warmth there, sure. But it’s this embracing sharpness that’s a soft tobacco buzz more than a firey burn. It’s delightfully bold.
1. 15 STARS Fine Aged Spirits Sherry Cask Finish A Select Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys Finished in Sherry Casks
This brand-new release from 15 STARS is made from a blend of 10 and 13-year-old Kentucky and Indiana bourbons. Those barrels were batched by the 15 STARS crew and then the whiskey was re-barreled in sherry casks for a final touch of maturation. That whiskey was then bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Plums, dates, and figs come through on the nose with deep marzipan cut with pear brandy and dipped in salted dark chocolate next to eggnog spices and creaminess with a good dose of Christmas nut cakes.
Palate: The eggnog lusciousness leads the palate toward soft vanilla cookies, salted caramel chews, and a hint of spiced plum jam next to buttermilk waffles studded with pecans before old cellar oak adds an earthen layer.
Finish: The sweetness of the leathery dried fruits drives the finish toward winter spice barks and berries with a sense of old pipe tobacco braided with smudging sage and a whisper of dried mint next to cedar and fall leaves.
Bottom Line:
This is another one that you have to do a double-take on the proof when sipping. It feels so lush and supple with a soft warmth that never overpowers the amazing profile. This is the true sweet spot and the best example of a high-proof bourbon hiding its heat perfectly with a balanced flavor profile, even neat.
Jean Dawson is a bright young experimenter, trying things in multiple genres as he works his way towards the top. Now, he’s diving into multiple languages, too, on Boohoo, a new three-song collection he just dropped.
A press release describes the project as “a collection of tracks that serve as an overture for his upcoming full length album out later this year, painting a striking picture of what is to come with tracks ‘New Age Crisis,’ ‘Taste Like Metal,’ and his first full track in Spanish, ‘Divino Desmadre.’”
“New Age Crisis” debuted earlier this week (and was named BBC Radio 1’s “Hottest Record Of The Week,” even), and it’s an epic, gospel-inspired tune that packs a major wallop into under three minutes.
Listen to the new songs above and find the Boohoo cover art and tracklist below. Dawson is also joining Lil Yachty on a run of European tour dates starting in April, so find those shows below as well.
Jean Dawson’s Boohoo Album Cover Artwork
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Jean Dawson’s Boohoo Tracklist
1. “New Age Crisis”
2. “Divino Desmadre”
3. “Taste Like Metal”
Lil Yachty 2024 Tour Dates: The Field Trip Tour (With Jean Dawson)
04/29 — London, United Kingdom @ OVO Arena Wembley
05/01 — Birmingham, United Kingdom @ O2 Institute
05/02 — Glasgow, United Kingdom @ O2 Academy Glasgow
05/04 — Manchester, United Kingdom @ Manchester Academy
05/07 — Köln, Germany @ Palladium Cologne
05/08 — Zürich, Switzerland @ Komplex
05/10 — Barcelona, Spain @ Razzmatazz 1
05/12 — Milan, Italy @ Fabrique
05/15 — Vienna, Austria @ Gasometer
05/17 — Paris, France @ Salle Pleyel
05/18 — Brussels, Belgium @ Ancienne Belgique
05/20 — Tilburg, Netherlands @ Poppodium 013
05/22 — Berlin, Germany @ Columbiahalle
05/25 — Stockholm, Sweden @ Fryshuset Arenan
05/26 — Oslo, Norway @ Sentrum Scene
Amanda Knox was an American undergraduate exchange student in Italy when her entire world turned upside down in 2007. Her roommate, Meredith Kercher, was murdered in their rented home, and Knox quickly came under suspicion by police, who also zeroed in on her then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito. A tabloid frenzy ensued, and Knox found herself dragged for every nonverbal gesture she made and even her soccer-team nickname, “Foxy Knoxy.” During the eight years following Kercher’s death, she and Sollecito were found guilty and had their convictions overturned only to be tried again and found guilty. It wasn’t until 2015 that the pair was exonerated, and Knox was free to return to the U.S.
Since that time, her story has been adapted at least three times (including for Lifetime) in the true crime realm, but Hulu is going to do it again, and the synopsis will draw Knox’s saga through the present day, given that the project is not only “based on the true story of how Knox was wrongfully convicted for the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher” but also “her 16-year odyssey to set herself free.”
Casting for the project is largely being kept under wraps, but we do know who will play Knox. The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Margaret Qualley, who not only knocks every role out of the park but makes increasingly interesting choices (everything from Maid to Sanctuary to Drive-Away Dolls, Fosse/Verdon, and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood in recent years) will portray the lead role in a limited series executive produced not only by Knox but someone else who has experience with being misunderstood and dragged through tabloid hell: Monica Lewinsky.
Certainly, the group believes there’s much more story to tell, and hopefully, more details on the project will arrive soon.
(WARNING: Spoilers for BMF episode will be found below.)
The latest era for the Black Mafia Family isn’t off to the smoothest start as depicted in the first episode of BMFseason three. Down in Atlanta, Meech has united with a new crew down in Atlanta and things quickly got chaotic after Meech and his new associates spotted the man who shot Trey at the end of season two at a nightclub. A fight quickly broke out, but things didn’t end there, as the opposing crew shot and killed a member of Meech’s new crew meaning that Meech already has a new enemy in the Atlanta streets after being there for such a short time.
As for Terry, his issues are rooted in family. It starts with Markeisha’s recovery from gunshot wounds after she and Terry were ambushed in a drive-by to end season two. Terry and Markeisha’s relationship has angered Terry’s baby mother Lawanda who is extremely irritated with their relationship. It worsens when Terry brings Markeisha to his parent’s house where Lawanda is staying. The hope is, for both Meech and Terry, that things will start to go more in their favor starting with episode two. Here’s when you can watch it:
When Will BMF Season 3, Episode 2 Come Out?
The second episode of BMF season three, titled “Magic Makers,” will arrive on March 8. The episode will be available on Friday, 3/8 on the STARZ app starting at midnight EST/PST. The episode will later air on the STARZ TV channel at 8 pm ET/PT. A synopsis for “Magic Makers” can be found below:
Meech focuses on expanding BMF into Atlanta while Terry balances maintaining BMF in Detroit, new restaurant business venture, and his family. Terry looks for ways to generate revenue for BMF, yet Meech comes through with Columbian connects to keep them afloat.
New episodes of ‘BMF’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12 am ET/PT and on the STARZ TV channel at 8 pm ET/PT.
Movie theater etiquette has changed quite a bit over the past few decades. At one point, it was a nice dark place to watch movies in the presence of 100 other strangers. Now it’s a place to dress up and cause commotion in order to prove you love movies as much as Nicole Kidman. There is no in-between.
But no matter what, it is never okay to fart in the movie theater. That’s what home viewings are for. But Sam Neill did not give his 10-year-old child the heads up when the two went to the premiere of the first Jurassic Parkback in 1993. Not only did Neill’s child have a flatulence problem, but it was also in the presence of Princess Diana. As we all know, Royals don’t fart and actively scoff at the notion. So this was a problem.
Neill told the story on The Today Show, ” There was a royal premiere in London, and it was, it was sort of a fortuitous occasion — you don’t get to sit beside Princess Diana every day. But my son was sitting on the other side [of me] and it was kind of unfortunate, because once it starts getting exciting, about 45 minutes in, he was so carried away with things — he was about 10 years old at this point — he started to fart unreasonably.” He can’t blame the child for getting excited when there are dinosaurs on the screen, so that’s on him.
He continued, “It wasn’t that audible, but it was very, very [smelly]. And there was sort of a draft through the cinema, and it was all drifting in the Princess’ direction. And I was there in my suit and bowtie and things, sweating like crazy because I thought, ‘The princess is going to think this is me. And it’s this little boy here.’ ” It should be noted that this is also around the time in the film when Laura Dern is sorting through dinosaur droppings, so maybe Diana thought it was a 4-D experience. It’s been done before!
Odds are good that the Princess was way too invested in the dinos to even care about a small child farting beside her. If only they added this scene to The Crown.
Check out the full interview below:
Sam Neill talks about his latest role in the dramatic @Peacock series “Apples Never Fall.”
He also shares the last time he fully watched “Jurassic Park” was with Princess Diana at the royal premiere in London and what happened with his then-10-year-old son at the event. pic.twitter.com/Ie3DKpJc78
If you’ve already forgotten about Rebel Moon, don’t worry you’re not alone. Snyder’s attempt at launching his own Star Wars-esque franchise arrived on Netflix to dismal reviews and quickly faded as the holidays kicked into full swing. However, Snyder would like you to believe that, actually, Rebel Moon outperformed Barbie, the billion dollar record-breaking hit that’s currently up for several Oscars.
“You think about Netflix, for instance, where you push a button,” Snyder said. “‘Rebel Moon,’ right? Say right now it’s almost at 90 million views, right? 80 or 90 million accounts turned it on, give or take. They assume two viewers per screening, right? That’s the kind of math. So you think if that movie was in the theater as a distribution model, that’s like 160,000,000 people supposedly watching based on that math. 160,000,000 people at $10 a ticket would be…what is that math? I don’t know. 160,000,000 times ten. That’s 1.6 billion. So more people probably saw ‘Rebel Moon’ than saw ‘Barbie’ in the theater, right?”
To be fair to Snyder, this is exactly the kind of take that you’d expect to see on Rogan’s podcast. The man knows his audience. That said, there’s no way to verify any of the numbers he’s provided because, despite recent efforts at greater transparency, there are still huge questions around the authenticity of Netflix views.
Did those views really complete the film? We don’t know. How many people bailed on the film? Don’t know either. Does each view actually represent two people instead of one? Impossible to verify. You see the issue here.
Not only that, but there’s an easy way to verify Barbie‘s success: It’s box office numbers are quantifiable as well as the profits it generated for Warner Bros. studio. The film has also remained a pop culture phenomenon months after its release while the hype around Rebel Moon quickly faded shortly after it started streaming.
Streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music have made music consumption easier than ever. The issue, though, lies with how artists are paid by the platforms. In short, there are often complaints. Now, there are lawmakers who want to do something about that.
Yesterday (March 6), congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and congressman Jamaal Bowman (founder of the Congressional Hip Hop Task Force) introduced the Living Wage For Musicians Act. Per a post on Tlaib’s website, the legislation, created in partnership with United Musicians And Allied Workers (UMAW), aims “to compensate artists and musicians more fairly at a penny per stream when their music plays on streaming services.”
The post goes on to note, “Currently, musicians make tiny fractions of a penny per stream, while streaming has grown to represent 84% of recorded music industry revenue in the US. Spotify, the world’s largest streaming service, pays rights-holders an average per-stream royalty of $0.003, which means it takes artists more than 800,000 monthly streams to equal a full-time $15/hour job.”
So, essentially, Tlaib and Bowman hope to more than triple the current per-stream royalty currently paid out by Spotify.
More specifically, the post explains:
“The Living Wage for Musicians Act would tax providers’ non-subscription revenues and add a small fee to the price of music streaming subscriptions. DSPs like Spotify offering interactive music streaming services would pass their taxed revenues and royalties to a non-profit collection and distribution fund, that would in turn pay artists in proportion to their monthly streams. The bill includes a maximum payout per track, per month, in order to generate more sustainable income for a broader and more diverse set of artists beyond the world’s most popular performers. […] By creating a fund that directly compensates recording artists and musicians, the bill will allow vastly more artists to achieve a living wage from music, enabling them to pay rent, raise a family, buy a home, and invest in their future.”
Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey had only been with the Food and Drug Administration for about a month when she was tasked with reviewing a drug named thalidomide for distribution in America.
Marketed as a sedative for pregnant women, thalidomide was already available in Canada, Germany, and several African countries.
It could have been a very simple approval. But for Kelsey, something didn’t sit right. There were no tests showing thalidomide was safe for human use, particularly during pregnancy.
When Chemie Grünenthal released thalidomide in West Germany years earlier, they called it a “wonder drug” for pregnant women. They promised it would treat anxiety, insomnia, tension, and morning sickness and help pregnant women sleep.
What they didn’t advertise were its side effects.
Because it crosses the placental barrier between fetus and mother, thalidomide causes devastating — often fatal — physical defects. During the five years it was on the market, an estimated 10,000 babies globally were born with thalidomide-caused defects. Only about 60% lived past their first birthday.
In 1961, the health effects of thalidomide weren’t well-known. Only a few studies in the U.K. and Germany were starting to connect the dots between babies born with physical defects and the medication their mothers had taken while pregnant.
At the outset, that wasn’t what concerned Kelsey. She’d looked at the testimonials in the submission and found them “too glowing for the support in the way of clinical back up.” She pressed the American manufacturer, Cincinnati’s William S. Merrell Company, to share research on how their drug affected human patients. They refused. Instead, they complained to her superiors for holding up the approval. Still, she refused to back down.
A sample pack of thalidomide sent to doctors in the U.K. While more than 10,000 babies worldwide were born with thalidomide-related birth defects, FDA historian John Swann credits Dr. Kelsey with limiting the number of American babies affected to just 17.
Over the next year, the manufacturer would resubmit its application to sell thalidomide six times. Each time, Kelsey asked for more research. Each time, they refused.
By 1961, thousands of mothers were giving birth to babies with shocking and heartbreaking birth defects. Taking thalidomide early in their pregnancy was the one thing connecting them. The drug was quickly pulled from shelves, vanishing mostly by 1962.
Through dogged persistence, Kelsey and her team had prevented a national tragedy.
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy honored Kelsey with the Federal Civilian Service Medal. He thanked her for her exceptional judgment and for preventing a major tragedy of birth deformities in the United States:
“I know that we are all most indebted to Dr. Kelsey. The relationship and the hopes that all of us have for our children, I think, indicate to Dr. Kelsey, I am sure, how important her work is and those who labor with her to protect our families. So, Doctor, I know you know how much the country appreciates what you have done.”
But, she wasn’t done yet. Later that year, the FDA approved new, tougher regulations for companies seeking drug approval, inspired in large part by Kelsey’s work on thalidomide.
Reached via email, FDA historian John Swann said this about Kelsey’s legacy: “[Her] actions also made abundantly clear to the nation the important public health role that drug regulation and FDA itself play in public health. The revelation of the global experience with that drug and America’s close call indeed provided impetus to secure passage of a comprehensive drug regulation bill that had been more or less floundering during the time FDA was considering the application.”
Kelsey continued to work for the FDA until 2005. She died in 2015, aged 101, just days after receiving the Order of Canada for her work on thalidomide.
Bureaucratic approval work is rarely thrilling and not often celebrated. That’s a shame because it’s so critical.
People like Kelsey, who place public health and safety above all else — including their career — deserve every ounce of our collective respect and admiration.
If that doesn’t ring a bell, perhaps this character from the “Busytown” series will. Classic!
Scarry was an incredibly prolific children’s author and illustrator. He created over 250 books during his career. His books were loved across the world — over 100 million were sold in many languages.
But here’s something you may not have known about these classics: They’ve been slowly changing over the years.
Don’t panic! They’ve been changing in a good way.
Scarry started publishing books in the 1950s, when times were, well, a little different. So some of the details were quietly updated.
Alan Taylor, a senior editor for the photo section of The Atlantic, noticed differences back in 2005 and decided to photograph them. From his Flickr album:
“The 1963 edition is my own, bought for me in the late 60’s when I was a toddler, and read to tatters. The 1991 edition belongs to my kids today. I was so familiar with the older one that I immediately started noticing a few differences, and so have catalogued 14 of the more interesting differences here in this collection.”
Taylor found 14 pages with differences between the original and updated versions.
Here are eight changes that reflect some of the progress society has made:
1. First up: The cover got a makeover. It might seem subtle at first glance, but look closely.
The original has a woman (bunny) in the kitchen, while the updated cover has both a man and a woman (still bunnies) in the kitchen. Also: The “policeman” bear changed to a woman, and the label changed to “police officer.” The word “mailman” became “letter carrier,” and a female farmer was added. Oh, and we went from a cat-mom pushing the stroller to cat-dad! Progress!
(The bunny brushing its teeth in the house was changed from a boy to a girl, but I’m not gonna read into that because hopefully all bunny-kids brush their teeth, right? I mean, for the sake of their little bunny teefs!)
2. Men can be flight attendants and women can be pilots. And, you know, they don’t have to be hot.
While the gender of each role remained the same in the newer version (which is, unfortunately, pretty legit, given the glaring lack of female pilots in real life), the stereotyping was eliminated by making the “handsome pilot” more of an everyday “pilot” (raccoon?) and by turning the “pretty stewardess” into a regular flight attendant.
3. Christmas isn’t the only holiday people celebrate.
Shhhh: Don’t tell the Starbucks Christmas cup haters this, but there are a lot more winter holidays than just Christmas. The newer version of the book included a menorah in the blank space to recognize those who celebrate Hanukkah.
4. Mommy Bears are no longer expected to have breakfast prepared for Daddy Bears…
…and the subtle change from “called to breakfast” to “goes to the kitchen to eat his breakfast” reflects that.
(Side note: Do Daddy Bears realllllly want to be treated like Kid Bears by being called to a meal, where they must promptly appear? I’m thinking not.)
5. Because guess what?! Dads can cook, too! (Even Dad Bunnies.)
And Richard Scarry’s book was updated to reflect the late-20th-century realization that everyone belongs in the kitchen!
6. Helping professions aren’t just for men.
The updated version recognized that fact by changing “policeman” to “police officer” and “fireman” to “fire fighter.” The ever-important job of cowboy was eliminated ( sigh … how many career hopes and dreams were squashed?), replaced with a gardener and a scientist, both of which are filled by female characters. Three cheers for women in STEM! Also: The milkman was replaced by a taxi driver, but I’m pretty sure that was had to do with the fact that milkman (or woman) isn’t a growing occupation any longer.
7. Regular people need rescuing, too.
The newer version did away with the “beautiful screaming lady” (sigh… how many career hopes and dreams … oh, wait — none) and replaced her with a regular “cat in danger.” The “jumping gentleman” label was removed altogether, and the “fireman” became a “fire fighter” again.
8. “I” is for “ice cream” — and not stereotypical depictions of Native Americans.
We’re still waiting for our football teams to get with the times, but the folks behind the Richard Scarry book update eliminated the “Indian” character that was wearing stereotypical clothing.
Yay, progress! And before you shrug and say “It’s just a book,” listen to this:
Florida State University recently led “the most comprehensive study of 20th century children’s books ever undertaken in the United States.” As you can surely guess, they found a gender bias toward male lead characters, even in books about animals — books like those by Richard Scarry.
Janice McCabe, the assistant professor of sociology who led the study, wrote:
“The widespread pattern of underrepresentation of females that we find supports the belief that female characters are less important and interesting than male characters. This may contribute to a sense of unimportance among girls and privilege among boys. The gender inequalities we found may be particularly powerful because they are reinforced by patterns of male-dominated characters in many other aspects of children’s media, including cartoons, G-rated films, video games and even coloring books.”
It’s kind of cool to think these changes were made at least two and a half decades ago! That’s something.
And we need changes to keep happening! Kids should be able to read books with same-sex couples and characters who have disabilities, for example, because those are everyday occurrences and books are a great intro to the world for kids.
Anyone else up for modernizing other classic kids’ books so we can feel good about sharing them with our kids?
This article was writen by Laura Willard and originally appeared on 11.11.15
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