Category: Worldwide

In 2021, we did our best to cover the newest and best bottles of whisk(e)y as they dropped throughout the year. Considering that the world of whiskey is international and oh so vast, we found the task to be… pretty much impossible. There are just so many expressions produced that even when we release our 50 or 100 favorite whiskeys of the year, a few choice bottles of the good stuff are sure to slip through the cracks. This post aims to amend that (as best we can).

The ten bottles of Scotch whisky below are bottles that I think need a little boost before 2021 winds down. There are no real parameters here, it all really comes down to whether or not the whisky tastes good and whether we covered it previously. That said, these picks happen to all be relatively accessible and not particularly expensive.

Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Scotch Whisky Posts of 2021

• The 50 Best Scotch Whiskies Of 2021, Ranked
• A Blind Ranking Of Affordable Blended Scotch Whiskies
• Our Favorite Scotch Whisky At Every Price Point From $30 To $500
• We Blind Tested Blended Scotches In The $40 Range And A Clear Winner Emerged
• The Best Bottles Of Scotch Whisky Between $50-$60

Speyburn Bradan Orach

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $27

The Whisky:

This entry-level single malt is named after the Golden Salmon that swims the River Spey. The juice is a no-age-statement marrying of malts that leans into the honeyed hues of the region.

Tasting Notes:

The nose on this is pure honey dropping over fresh and very green apples with a hint of lemon oils and a touch of bourbon vanilla lurking deep in the background. The palate harnesses that vanilla for a creamy texture that helps the stewed apple vibe pop with plenty of dark spice, buttery notes, and a touch of lemon drop candy. The finish allows space for that candy note to drive towards a short and sweet end that’s just touched with cinnamon spice warmth.

The Bottom Line:

This is a great entry-point single malt that’s pretty damn enjoyable. It’s also a wonderful base for any single malt cocktail.

Highland Park Viking Heart 15

ABV: 44%

Average Price: $135

The Whisky:

Highland Park’s Master Whisky Maker Gordon Motion hand-picked sherry seasoned American oak barrels of single malt to create this new expression. The whisky is then decanted/bottled in a throwback ceramic bottle from Wade Ceramics, which has been making bottles like this since the early 1800s.

Tasting Notes:

Even though this is a peated whisky, the nose is all about bright notes of orange and lemon oils with a deep vanilla sauce vibe, a touch of dried heather, and old sticks of cider-soaked cinnamon. The palate lets the smoke sneak in via grilled pineapple that turns towards smoked plums, soft and moist Christmas cake with plenty of dried fruits, and a sense of cinnamon-flecked tobacco leaves that have just been singed around the edges. The peat sneaks in late via an almost sea salt element that lets the orange oils, vanilla, and cinnamon-tobacco all mellow towards a silky finish.

The Bottom Line:

This is deliciously complex while still feeling very accessible. It’s peaty, yes, but that smoke is tied to sweet fruits and mild spice, meaning that it never overpowers your senses.

Springbank 21

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $265

The Whisky:

This 21-year-old whisky, released in 2021, was crafted with help from old Port, sherry, and bourbon barrels. The peated Campbeltown whisky (a region I plan to cover more in 2022) is built to highlight the unique and very fruity notes of the style.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is all about the malts with a vibe that’s halfway between an oatmeal cookie and a Graham cracker with rich vanilla pudding notes, a touch of buttery toffee, and a final burst of deep red strawberries. The fruitiness takes on a savory note that’s kind of like smoked watermelon before heading back towards those cookies with plenty of cinnamon warmth and nutty depth on the palate. The finish arrives slowly with a nod towards peat as a passing fancy that’s buried beneath a vanilla cream laced with cinnamon, oats, raisins, and bitter over-roasted coffee beans.

The Bottom Line:

This is a phenomenal peated malt. The peat is so drawn back and nuanced that it’d be easy to miss it the first time around on this dram. Still, add a little water or a rock and this will bloom beautifully in your glass.

Glengoyne Cask Strength

ABV: 58.8%

Average Price: $99

The Whisky:

This whisky is all about the blend of casks involved in the mix. The majority (55 percent) comes from refill oak casks, 29 percent is from first-fill Olorosso sherry, and 16 percent comes from first-fill bourbon casks. That whisky is then vatted and bottled as-is without any filtering or fussing.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a clear fruitiness on the nose that’s all gree apple and peach skins that have taken on a little patina next to eggnog, apple crumble made with plenty of cinnamon, and almost fatty white chocolate squares. The palate stews all those fruits while adding in hints of buttered popcorn, salted caramel drizzled over ginger cake, a hint of banana bread with plenty of walnuts, and a fleeting touch of orange oils. The finish mellows dramatically as the stewed fruits take center stage with a slight savory fruit vibe (think kiwi) and a touch of malt biscuits with a hint of nutmeg and clove.

The Bottom Line:

There’s a ton going on in this dram but it all makes sense. There’s a build to the taste that crescendos and then fades very nicely on your senses. Just make sure to add a little water or a rock to really let it bloom.

Benromach Cask Strength Vintage 2009 Batch 4

ABV: 58.5%

Average Price: $80

The Whisky:

There are several releases of this cask-strength whisky that are worth calling out. Last year’s Batch 4 was a highlight. The juice was sourced from only 29 first-fill bourbon and sherry casks. That small grouping of barrels was vatted and the whisky was bottled as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Deep orange oils mingle with dark chocolate notes on the nose that have just been burnt around the edges as caramelized sugars mix with a dusting of dark spice. The palate takes on a stewed fruit note that’s more red/ tart berries than orchard fruits as hints of fresh honey lead towards peppery spice and a hint of smoked applewood. The finish ties to the sweeter notes of the red berries to a smoked plum vibe as that slightly burnt dark chocolate makes a final nod on the velvet finish.

The Bottom Line:

The peat in this is so attached to the fruit and chocolate that you’ll probably miss it. This is a great dessert whisky that’s bright yet lush.

Bruichladdich The Biodynamic Project

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $132

The Whisky:

This whisky is the first of its kind in Scotland. The whisky is distilled from unpeated barley from a single farm. It goes beyond that though. The farm is regenerative and pulls more carbon into the soil than it emits, meaning this is a carbon-negative whisky from the jump. The whisky then ages for ten years in ex-bourbon barrels and is bottled at cask strength.

Tasting Notes:

This whisky is a fruit bomb on the nose with peach syrup from the can, stewed apples with plenty of spice, butter, and pie crust, hints of vanilla pods, a touch of orange oil, and the faintest hint of apple, cherry, and apricot Turkish Delights. The palate has real peaches-in-cream vibes that lead towards dark chocolate-covered toffees with a flake of salt and a few petals of dried nasturtium and lavender. The finish leans into the malt to the point that feels like a warm bowl of Cream of Wheat cut with brown sugar and cinnamon with a dash more of orange oil, toffee, and vanilla.

The Bottom Line:

This is a bold and delicious whisky. Make sure to add some water or a rock to let this one explode with more flavors and textures.

The Glenallachie 21 Cask Strength

ABV: 51.4%

Average Price: $265

The Whisky:

Glenallachie’s Master Distiller Billy Walker hand-selected just five casks for this release. The barrels were ex-Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso sherry puncheons (a large barrel that’s around 100 gallons, give or take). Those whiskies were vatted and bottled as-is.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a note of grapefruit pith when you nose this dram that leads towards honeyed chocolate truffles with a touch of cinnamon and orange. The palate goes full Christmas cake with plenty of dried nuts, candied and dried fruits, rich wintry spice, and a touch of chocolate maltiness next to candied ginger, more orange, and a note of golden corn syrup. That sweetness attaches to the fruit and spice to create a stewed plum vibe on the finish that luxuriates in mild spice, sweet and meaty stone fruit, and a touch more of that chocolate.

The Bottom Line:

This is like drinking silk. It’s pure wintry vibes and soft as velvet. I can’t overstate how easy-drinking this beautiful whisky is.

Craigellachie 17

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $179

The Whisky:

Craigellachie is the other main whisky that helps make Dewar’s (the other base spirit being Aberfeldy). This expression is made with old-school stills and stored in old-school warehouses. The juice is aged in ex-bourbon casks for 17 long years and vatted to highlight the uniqueness of the brand.

Tasting Notes:

You’re drawn in by that familiar and deep vanilla note with some apple pie in there next to a dried and salted pineapple candy, a touch of smoked oats, and a savory fruit (almost a honeydew melon). That pineapple note holds on and intensifies to a pineapple and vanilla pudding on the palate as dry and woody spices arrive next to a hint of dry tobacco, cedar, and a billow of dry smoke. The end embraces the smoke through the filter of that pineapple pudding as it slowly fades out.

The Bottom Line:

If you’re looking for the perfect bridge between smoked and fruity scotch, this is the bottle for you. It’s subtle yet very vibrant and fruity. It’s also one of those drams that really needs a little water (or a rock) to let it fully bloom.

Aultmore Foggie Moss 12

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $75

The Whisky:

Speaking of Dewar’s, this is part of their Last Great Malts range. The juice is a rare release from a distillery that releases bottles every few years (this bottle dropped back in 2014).

Tasting Notes:

The nose bursts forth with notes of ripe apples and pears next to a seriously creamy vanilla base with touches of orange blossoms and soft cedar bark. The palate wraps those apples and pears into a soft and buttery puff pastry with plenty of soft spice and brown sugars as the vanilla thickens into a pudding with the florals becoming slightly more dried towards the mid-palate. The finish hoists those stewed apples and pears to center stage as the mild spice gently fades away.

The Bottom Line:

This rarity is a damn fine dram of whisky. It’s not simple by any stretch but it has this accessibility that holds you tight and feels right on your senses, especially if you’re looking for a whisky that mimics a delicious breakfast pastry.

Loch Lomond 18

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $104

The Whisky:

Loch Lomond is renowned for making both malt and grain whiskies, both peated and unpeated, and winning tons of awards for doing so. This expression was the creation of Loch Lomond’s Master Cooper, Tommy Wallace, who hand-selected the barrels to be vatted, proofed with Highland water, and bottled as-is.

Tasting Notes:

The oak comes through on the nose but is tied to applewood that’s been dipped in fresh and floral honey to the point that it feels like a honeycomb rolled in heather petals in a nearby field. The palate delivers on that while adding in an almost savory gooseberry next to grapefruit oils and an old cedar box full of berry-laced tobacco. That berry tobacco note leads to a nutty flourish near the end that then gives way to a hint of Band-Aid and clove as the peat just sneaks in on the finish.

The Bottom Line:

While this is peated, it’s the beautiful fruits and floral honey that will linger the longest in your senses. This really is a great all-around Highland dram that highlights the beauty of the region’s unpeated and peated styles in one glass.

As adults, sometimes we forget how much impact our words can have on the children in our lives. But most of us can recall things that were said to us as kids, positive or negative, that stuck with us. Some of those words may have influenced how we see ourselves our whole lives, for better or for worse.

Elyse Myers is a popular TikToker who has a knack for storytelling. Most of her videos are funny, but one of her most recent ones has a serious—and seriously important—message for us all.

“It is no secret that as a child, and specifically as a middle schooler, I was a little bit…round,” she said. “That would have been one way to describe me. Other ways that would have been more appropriate? Funny, cute, has curly hair, determined, sarcastic, witty, smart, talented, musical—so many ways to describe me, but the one thing that people loved to latch onto was the size of my body.”

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“Was I ashamed of that?” she asked. “No. Other people seemed to be. You would be shocked at how determined other kids and adults were at making sure that I knew that they knew that I was larger than other kids my age.”

Myers then made a statement that millions of people, especially women, can resonate with:

“I was made aware of the size of my body long before I was ever taught how to love it.”

Watch:

Myers is dead on. Her story about a male substitute teacher going out of his way to “save her from herself” by telling her in so many words that she should give up the idea of being a cheerleader because of her size is appalling, but unfortunately not uncommon.

“The audacity of a man to walk up to a 7th-grade girl, in front of her friends, and comment on her appearance in any way is disgusting,” she said. “I met that man for one hour when I was like 11, and I am 28 and still undoing the damage that that one sentence had on my life. So if you are an adult, if you are around children—if you are around humans in any way—I want you to understand how powerful your words are. As easily as they can tear someone down, they can build someone right back up, but it’s going to take a hell of a lot more work to build them up after you’ve torn them down.”

In reality, it’s always far easier and faster to break something than to build it. In fact, research from The Gottman Institute found that in a happy, stable relationship, couples had an average of five positive interactions for every one negative one. Couples who had a smaller ratio than that were less happy, and a 1:1 ratio, meaning evenly balanced between positive and negative interactions, equaled an unhealthy relationship “teetering on the edge of divorce.”

It takes far more positive words to create a positive experience than it does negative ones to create a negative experience, which is why it’s so important for us to choose our words carefully. And because children are so impressionable, what we say to them sticks.

“I was taught how to perceive my body through the eyes of other people that didn’t love me, that didn’t care about me, that thought they could just make a passing comment and move on with their life, and I carried that forever.” said Myers.

“We have to teach people how to speak kindly about themselves, how to love themselves, how to see them as beautiful and worthy and more than just what they look like. If I had as much attention poured into the things that I was good at, and I cared about, and I loved, I would have been a completely different kid.”

Right on, Ms. Myers. Thanks for the reminder that what we say matters more than we might think.

Jim Cramer, the longtime host of CNBC’s Mad Money, is known for his incessant—and often unwarranted—yelling. Now he’s on the receiving end of a string of shouting voices, who are berating him for posting a misleading image to Twitter of what appears to be an aisle full of empty store shelves with a snarky one-word caption: “suboptimal.” But the only thing that might be suboptimal here is Cramer’s eyesight, as it was clear to most people who took even a quick glance at the image that these “empty” shelves were simply being prepped to be filled with Whitman’s samplers, conversation hearts, and other Valentine’s Day-themed items.

As The Wrap noted:

Cramer was presumably offering economic commentary on the potential plight of consumers amid the combined effects of supply-chain shortages and the Omicron variant’s COVID-19 surge.

But what Cramer apparently failed to see were pink strips below the featured shelves, prompting many to take the CNBC host to the presumptive cleaners over what they saw as a short-sighted attempt—with the photo revealing nothing more than a store that had made room for Valentine’s Day inventory.

Cramer’s tweet quickly went viral and got the term “Valentine’s Day” trending. And it didn’t take long for his fellow Twitter users to point out the err of the CNBC host’s ways. Some people called on Cramer to publicly acknowledge that he had either made a mistake, or was intentionally trying to mislead his 1.7 million followers:

Others were more straightforward:

While others helpfully suggested that Cramer get out of the damn way so that the store’s employees could do their jobs:

Cramer has yet to follow up on his photo, or tweet again.

(Via The Wrap)

The Matrix Resurrections is proving to be the most polarizing blockbuster since The Last Jedi, but one aspect of the (good imo) film that nearly everyone can agree works is any scene where Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss are together. They have a real-life “soul friendship,” as Moss described it, and it shows when they’re playing Neo and Trinity. Moss said she’s “watched him grow in the last 20 years” and is “in awe of it,” while Reeves responded with an equal amount of admiration. “You’ve got a flavor. It’s Trinity! It’s Carrie-Anne Moss, Trinity flavor,” he exclaimed. “All the fierceness and mind, focus, commitment is there in the gestures. Untamed and wild and controlled.”

We should all be so lucky as to receive a compliment from Reeves, and Moss received the greatest compliment of all: an invitation to join the John Wick franchise.

“I love John Wick,” she told People. “I really started to understand Keanu’s outrageous gift for telling story through his body. And I didn’t fully understand that until I went deep into John Wick with one of my children. It was very bonding for us too. It was amazing to have that experience with my son and to watch the depth that Keanu is able to [create] with his body. It’s really an art form.” After hearing her affection for John Wick, Reeves asked, “You want to play an assassin?”

“I’d love it,” said Moss.

Reeves: “Really?”

Moss: “Yeah!”

Reeves: “Okay. Let’s get on that.”

Moss: “I’ll start practicing.”

Reeves: “Be careful for what you wish for. I’m on it now.”

John Wick already has Reeves and Laurence Fishburne. It can make room for another Matrix star — especially since John Wick: Chapter 4 was just bumped to 2023. That gives director Chad Stahelski (who plays, yes, Chad in The Matrix Resurrections) plenty of time to let Moss join the film as the world’s most stylish assassin, or whatever.

(Via People)

In the debate sparked over a potential Verzuz with Jay-Z, Future agreed with many of his listeners in Atlanta that he could successfully take on Hov in a battle of their hit songs. While that may or may not be true, Future definitely has the fanbase numbers behind his claims — but that’s probably because he’s much more active on social media than Jay-Z. Not only does the rapper boast over 18 million followers on Instagram (while Jay-Z recently deleted his own account), he’s just become the first artist to reach 10 million followers on SoundCloud.

Future’s SoundCloud page just hit the major follower milestone, which is very impressive seeing as the rapper hasn’t dropped a project since his 2020 Lil Uzi Vert collaborative album Pluto x Baby Pluto. While Future may have just reached 10 million followers on the music streaming service, the rapper has actually been one of SoundCloud’s top-followed artists for a while. Big Sean follows closely behind Future’s numbers with 9.5 million followers.

Future saw the news of his SoundCloud milestone on Instagram and re-shared his achievement while adding a few emojis for good measure.

SoundCloud isn’t the only streaming service the rapper has dominated on. On Spotify, Future has racked up just over 10 million followers — 10.9 million to be exact — and boasts over 31.7 monthly listeners on the platform.

It was revealed yesterday that Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” is No. 1 on the January 1, 2022-dated Billboard Hot 100 chart, but that’s not all the holiday cheer on 2022’s first Hot 100. In fact, Billboard notes that there are 37 holiday songs on this week’s chart, which is second only to the time 39 holiday tunes appeared on the Hot 100 from a year ago this week.

Aside from Carey at No. 1, the rest of the top 10 features Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” (No. 2), Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” (No. 3), Burl Ives’ “A Holly Jolly Christmas” (No. 4), Andy Williams’ “It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year” (No. 6), Wham!’s “Last Christmas” (No. 7), José Feliciano’s “Feliz Navidad” (No. 8), and The Ronettes’ “Sleigh Ride” (No. 10).

While the rest of list is also mostly made up of older tunes, some tracks by modern stars are sprinkled throughout the ranks: Kelly Clarkson has a couple of entries (“Underneath The Tree” at No. 13 and “Christmas Isn’t Canceled (Just You)” at No. 79), Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me” is at No. 18, Justin Bieber’s “Mistletoe” is at No. 44, Ed Sheeran and Elton John’s “Merry Christmas” is at No. 55, Taylor Swift’s “Christmas Tree Farm (Old Timey Version)” is at No. 62, and Camila Cabello’s “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” is at No. 71.

Meanwhile, this week’s chart is filled with achievements for various other artists. Frank Sinatra, for example, had “Jingle Bells” become his first top-40 hit (at No. 33) since 1980. This is also the first time that any recording of “Jingle Bells” has hit the top 40. Meanwhile, “Santa Baby” by Eartha Kitt with Henri René And His Orchestra became the late Kitt’s first song to rank on the Hot 100 last week, and now it’s her first top-40 song as it achieves a new peak at No. 35 this week. Similarly to “Jingle Bells,” Kitt’s recording is the first version of “Santa Baby” to appear on the Hot 100.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

De La Soul‘s streaming woes are well-documented at this point, but now that the crew has landed a soundtrack placement on the biggest movie of the year, new fans are finding themselves frustrated to learn that the pioneer trio’s catalog is unavailable on DSP. The crew’s 3 Feet High And Rising song “The Magic Number” appears over the end credits of Spider-Man: No Way Home, undoubtedly sending many of the film’s viewers to Apple Music, Spotify, and Tidal only to discover that the only two De La Soul albums available are The Grind Date and The Anonymous Nobody.

And while both albums are worth several spins, most of De La’s most recognizable work comes from earlier in their career, when they were still under contract with Tommy Boy Entertainment. The trouble with streaming the albums stems from their extensive sample use; over the course of their six projects under Tommy Boy, the band used hundreds of samples of prior works — 3 Feet High And Rising contains 60 samples by itself. While Tommy Boy cleared most of those samples, the contracts only covered physical releases, the only method for releasing music through the ’80s and ’90s. With the advent of streaming, the label considers the albums open to a plethora of potential lawsuits and not worth the hassle of uploading.

The band themselves have offered to take on the intricate work of clearing all the samples backed by an army of volunteers who just want to be able to stream the albums they love, only to get rebutted by Tommy Boy. Earlier this year, De La Soul apparently won back their master recordings after Reservoir Media acquired Tommy Boy for around $100 million, but now comes the nitty-gritty work of actually clearing all those samples, which could take some time considering the age of the records and the labyrinthine nature of copyright law. While the appearance of “The Magic Number” on Spider-Man’s soundtrack could be a promising sign that at least the work has begun (the song mainly samples Bob Dorough’s “Three Is a Magic Number”), all those new fans will have to join the grizzled vets in waiting impatiently for that work to be completed to stream De La’s greatest hits.

When one of the biggest music festivals in the world is named after the region where it goes down, there’s bound to be some confusion, and maybe even legal action. This has been the case this past month as Goldenvoice, which operates the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (that we all commonly know as simply “Coachella,”) filed multiple restraining orders against Live Nation and the Day One ’22 NYE concert/fest (fka “Coachella Day One 22”) that they are producing alongside the Coachella Valley-based Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians.

Goldenvoice’s first effort against Live Nation was successful, thus leading to the name change of the event which now does not include the word “Coachella.” But Rolling Stone reports that on Monday, December 27th, a judge denied a second effort from Goldenvoice (which is owned by AEG) that would have denied Live Nation the ability to sell tickets to the event no matter what the name. Day One 22′ will go down on New Year’s Eve at the Coachella Crossroads venue, which is a couple of miles away from the Empire Polo Field where the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is held. The Day One 22′ lineup features Lil Wayne, E-40, DJ Diesel (Shaq), and Getter.

As Rolling Stone further reports, Judge R. Gary Klausner rejected Goldenvoice’s latest restraining order because the naming of the event came from the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians, who are entitled to sovereign immunity from this type of legal action. The tribe isn’t named in the restraining order and this has allowed them to maintain their promotional material with the current name, and continue to sell tickets leading up to the event. The Chairman of the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians, Darrel Mike, issued a statement on the latest advancement:

“Today’s response from Judge Klausner is a win for the Tribe, the community and our ticketing partners at Live Nation. As a community and nation who reside in Coachella, California — we are equally thrilled that our outdoor venue, Coachella Crossroads will be able to continue operation under its given name. The strongarming of Goldenvoice and its parent company AEG to take reign over a name of a region and businesses who choose to identify with it is disrespectful to small and large business operations, those under their employ and the indigenous people who live within the valley.”

It’s wild to consider how Goldenvoice has essentially proven a justifiable claim on the rights to using the word “Coachella,” based on the ubiquity of their festival. It feels like a slippery slope for other festivals that rise to such notable prominence in small regions that could stake a claim to the use of the name of said region. This is definitely a win for the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians, but we should not breeze past the fact that in the end, this boils down to a Goldenvoice vs. Live Nation legal tiff.

The Utah Jazz comfortably led the NBA in net rating during the 2020-21 season, out-scoring opponents by nine points per 100 possessions. Utah also finished the campaign with the league’s record at 52-20, but the Jazz fell short of the Western Conference Finals, losing in the second round amid a collapsing defense and injury issues in the backcourt. That early playoff exit left Utah in a position in which any regular season success may be discounted, simply because the Jazz have proven to be a strong team over the marathon that is a full NBA season. As such, the Jazz haven’t received much buzz during the 2021-22 season, with much of the attention at the top of the West focused on the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns.

Here’s the thing: The Jazz are playing even better this season than they did a year ago. Utah boasts an incredibly impressive +10 net rating through 33 games, even as the Jazz are “only” 24-9 in the standings. Beyond that overall dominance, Utah is quite easily the best offensive team in the NBA right now, putting up 116.6 points per 100 possessions. That figure is essentially identical to what the Jazz were able to produce offensively last season, but the NBA’s offensive environment is down quite a bit year-over-year, with the glaring exception of Quin Snyder’s team.

Utah leads the NBA in offensive rating by nearly four points per 100 possessions, which is a comically large gap over 30+ games. The Jazz are firmly in the top-10 of the NBA in offensive rebound rate, and Utah ranks in the top-6 in field goal percentage, two-point percentage, three-point percentage, and free throw volume. All told, the Jazz also lead the NBA in true shooting percentage, and there is nothing inherently fluky about what Utah has been able to do.

In similar fashion to last season, Donovan Mitchell serves as Utah’s engine on offense, with a perimeter-based attack revolving around Rudy Gobert’s two-way brilliance. The Jazz have strong shooters, intriguing secondary creation with Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson, and a system that is beautifully designed by Snyder. Overall, Utah’s performance may be ignored until they progress further in the NBA Playoffs but, through 33 games, the Jazz are performing at a level that is impossible to ignore.

Are the Jazz better than the Warriors or Suns? Maybe not, but Utah has to be grouped firmly in that tier right now, and the hope would be that the Jazz can figure out enough answers on defense to make this legitimately elite offense sing.

Where do the Jazz rank in this week’s DIME power rankings? Let’s take a glance.

1. Golden State Warriors (27-7, Last week — 1st)

Golden State’s road win over Phoenix on Christmas outweighs a home loss to Denver on Tuesday. That is the basically the calculus for keeping the Warriors in the top spot, particularly since Draymond Green missed the loss to the Nuggets. This is a close call, though, as the No. 2 team has a real case.

2. Utah Jazz (24-9, Last week — 3rd)

The Jazz host the Warriors on New Year’s Day. That’ll be fun.

3. Phoenix Suns (26-7, Last week — 2nd)

It’s not as if the Suns are struggling right now. After all, the Suns went from Oct. 27 to Christmas without losing a single game with Devin Booker on the floor. Phoenix did just lose two in a row, though, and a home loss to Memphis keeps them out of the top-2. Don’t fear, though, as the Suns are clearly as good as anyone when taking the full season into account.

4. Brooklyn Nets (23-9, Last week — 5th)

After three postponements, the Nets just won back-to-back games in Los Angeles against the Lakers and Clippers. That isn’t the type of gauntlet this season that it’s been in previous years, but Brooklyn has just one loss since Dec. 8, and they held serve this week.

5. Chicago Bulls (21-10, Last week — 6th)

Chicago’s roster situation was a mess in the last few weeks but, as the Bulls get healthier, the results are great. The Bulls are on a four-game winning streak with top-10 units on both offense and defense. They aren’t the same defensive team without both Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso, but those guys should return in the relatively near future and the full cast is strong.

6. Milwaukee Bucks (23-13, Last week — 7th)

The Bucks are 19-9 with Giannis Antetokounmpo in the lineup, headlined by a wild comeback win on Christmas. Milwaukee has won four in a row, and the Bucks really feel too low on this list. They just couldn’t climb this week because the Nets and Bulls didn’t lose.

7. Miami Heat (22-13, Last week — 8th)

Miami is just cruising along. The Heat have battled injury issues, with Jimmy Butler missing extended time and Bam Adebayo still out, and they’ve weathered those hiccups. Miami is in the top-5 in net rating (+4.1) after six wins in seven games, and there is a lot to like.

8. Memphis Grizzlies (21-14, Last week — 9th)

The Grizzlies were ready to slip in this space after three straight losses. Then, Memphis beat Phoenix on the road on the second night of a back-to-back. That is a huge win, and the Grizzlies are comfortably ahead of the pack for the No. 4 seed in the West at the moment.

9. Cleveland Cavaliers (20-14, Last week — 4th)

The protocols have sidelined key pieces, and the Cavs haven’t cratered. However, Cleveland has dropped two of three and Ricky Rubio went down with an apparent knee injury on Tuesday. If that is a long-term issue, the Cavs will have challenges with only Darius Garland to handle ball-handling duties, and the team’s depth will be tested once again.

10. Philadelphia 76ers (18-16, Last week — 11th)

There is a real drop to No. 10 in our power rankings in terms of full-season pedigree. Philadelphia gets the nod here because of three wins in the last four games, and the Sixers also have the 10th-best winning percentage in the league. This is a top-10 team whenever Joel Embiid is playing, and he’s been playing more often than not.

11. Denver Nuggets (17-16, Last week — 10th)

Denver started last week’s slate with two disappointing losses. On cue, the Nuggets rebounded with two strong wins, capped by a road victory in San Francisco on Tuesday. Nikola Jokic remains preposterous and, while Denver’s overall profile isn’t outstanding, that groups them with a bevy of teams in this range.

12. San Antonio Spurs (14-19, Last week — 15th)

Even with all of the plaudits for San Antonio last week, this feels high, but is it? The Spurs are 10-6 in the last 16 games, and San Antonio is now in the top-10 in net rating. Does that mean it’ll hold up? Maybe not, but it’s tough to argue for many teams against them.

13. Boston Celtics (16-18, Last week — 12th)

Boston played well on Christmas before ceding the game to the Bucks in the final minutes. That is something of a microcosm of a pretty frustrating season for the Celtics, but Boston is still tied for 11th in net rating and just hanging around the middle.

14. Dallas Mavericks (16-17, Last week — 16th)

Luka Doncic hasn’t played in almost three weeks and the Mavs haven’t cratered. Dallas is 4-4 in the last eight games, and that is enough to stay in the top half of the league. It’s a low bar to clear right now.

15. Los Angeles Lakers (17-18, Last week — 13th)

If this wasn’t the Lakers with LeBron James and high-end pedigree, they’d be lower than this. Los Angeles narrowly avoided a sixth straight loss by outlasting the Rockets on Tuesday, which meant they avoided a true free fall in these rankings. LeBron has been outrageously good lately in the absence of Anthony Davis, but he isn’t getting much help.

16. New York Knicks (16-18, Last week — 20th)

New York’s last two wins came against protocol-riddled opponents, but they count in the standings just the same. The Knicks also had their own issues and managed to weather them, hanging around the playoff chase as a result.

17. Minnesota Timberwolves (16-18, Last week — 17th)

Minnesota is among the teams battling incredibly difficult roster situations, and they weren’t very impressive in a loss to the Knicks on Tuesday. In zooming out, though, the Wolves are 5-3 in the last eight games with solid metrics on both sides of the floor.

18. L.A. Clippers (17-17, Last week — 14th)

Paul George’s elbow injury is a tough blow to a Clippers team already operating without Kawhi Leonard. It is hard to imagine L.A. can keep up its .500 level without George for an extended period of time, and the Clippers are just 1-5 in the last six overall.

19. Charlotte Hornets (18-17, Last week — 21st)

The Hornets are 20th in net rating but 12th in win-loss record. I’m trusting the metrics a bit more right now, particularly with only a 5-9 record over the last 14 games. On the positive side, Charlotte did have a very nice road win in Denver this week.

20. Toronto Raptors (14-17, Last week — 18th)

Due to postponements, the Raptors have played only three times in more than two weeks. One of those losses was a 45-point annihilation at the hands of the Cavs in which Toronto fielded a roster that was barely NBA quality. There isn’t much to glean here.

21. New Orleans Pelicans (13-22, Last week — 23rd)

If only the season started in December. The Pelicans are 7-5 with approximately a net-neutral point differential this month. Of course, New Orleans dug a gigantic hole at the start of the season but, in taking the team’s recent play at face value, they shouldn’t be in the bottom five anymore.

22. Washington Wizards (17-17, Last week — 22nd)

Washington is 14-2 in what NBA.com classifies as “clutch” situations this season. That is remarkable, and kudos to the Wizards for pulling off that kind of high-wire act. However, the Wizards are just 4-10 in the last 14 games, and the team’s win-loss record doesn’t match its statistical profile.

23. Indiana Pacers (14-20, Last week — 26th)

The Pacers went 5-6 in the first 11 games of December, and they did it without a single bad loss. That represents progress, and Indiana is still a team that is confounding with a 14-20 record and a positive point differential.

24. Atlanta Hawks (15-18, Last week — 19th)

No team has been hit harder by the NBA’s health and safety protocols this week than the Hawks. Atlanta’s roster has ballooned to a reported 25 (!) players and it is tough to make too much of the results as such. Still, the Hawks have lost eight straight at home and they are 4-9 in the last 13 overall.

25. Sacramento Kings (14-21, Last week — 27th)

On the heels of three consecutive double-digit losses, the Kings rallied to beat the Thunder on Tuesday. That doesn’t move the needle very much, but Tyrese Haliburton was excellent in that game, and he is averaging 16.2 points and 8.5 assists per game in December.

26. Oklahoma City Thunder (12-21, Last week — 28th)

Oklahoma City is 12-17 when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander plays this season. The Thunder are a spot or two lower than they probably should be due to Tuesday’s head-to-head loss to Sacramento, but they have been soundly better than the teams below them here, which is wild.

27. Portland Trail Blazers (13-20, Last week — 24th)

Only the Pistons have an uglier point differential than the Blazers (-9.8 points per 100 possessions) since Nov. 24. That is really gross, and Portland is just 3-12 over the last 15 games. It is virtually impossible to win consistently with a defense as bad as the Blazers’ group right now.

28. Houston Rockets (10-25, Last week — 25th)

Houston was highly competitive against the Lakers on Tuesday, nearly pulling off the home upset. The Rockets are still on a five-game losing streak with seven losses in the last eight games, though, and the four previous losses came by double figures. Houston had a heck of a stretch a couple of weeks ago, but the overall product isn’t fantastic.

29. Orlando Magic (7-28, Last week — 29th)

It’s not all bad for Orlando. Cole Anthony has been a positive story in the absence of Jalen Suggs, and Franz Wagner looks tremendous. The rookie forward erupted for 38 points in a loss to the Bucks on Tuesday, and considering Wagner’s impressive slate of supporting traits, that kind of offensive outburst is even more encouraging.

30. Detroit Pistons (5-27, Last week — 30th)

Detroit can’t score, which has been a theme throughout the season. The Pistons also just allowed 144 points to the Spurs in a regulation game, which is jarring to even type. Detroit is 1-17 in the last 18 games and, even with contention from other organizations, the Pistons own this spot right now.

Branching off from the events of The Mandalorian‘s second season, the new spinoff series, The Book of Boba Fett, made its Disney+ debut on Wednesday and along for the ride was a surprising cast member: What We Do in the Shadows star Matt Berry. Eagle-eared fans may have caught his distinctive voice during a brief appearance in the season premiere, but if you didn’t, Berry played the droid who introduced Tattooine dignitaries to Boba Fett, who now sits on Jabba the Hutt’s vacant throne This guy…

Via Decider:

He was cast as the voice behind UK2-B, a smelter droid of the same model as 8D8. And 8D8 was one of the most memorable droids from the original sequence in Jabba’s palace from 1983’s Return of the Jedi. He was the droid that was in charge of all that droid torture, proving that not only can droids feel pain, they can also derive pleasure from inflicting pain.

Berry’s character definitely loves torture alright. When Boba Fett decides to spare two Gamorrean guards, UK2-B protests that torturing is a show of power, which Fett is not concerned with. For now. As for whether Berry will be a continued presence on the Disney+ series is unknown, but if he is, hopefully, he’ll get to cut loose a little bit. Berry is one of those actors who can make reading the phone book sound hilarious.

(Via Decider)