Easter is all about making memories, from the pastel-colored eggs to the joyous family gatherings and the giddy wait for the Easter Bunny’s grand entrance. It’s those special moments that fill the scrapbooks of our hearts. Yet, as the holiday hops closer, the panic of last-minute prep starts to feel like we’re in a race with the Easter Bunny himself—and he’s winning. But fear not, because CVS is sliding into the Easter scene like a bunny on a mission, ready to turn that holiday prep sprint into a leisurely bunny hop.
With CVS, there’s no need for frantic store-hopping. They’ve got shelves overflowing with all the Easter essentials, turning what could be a mad dash into a smooth slide into the holiday. Here, amidst the aisles, you’ll find everything to make this Easter not just another checkbox on the holiday list, but a treasure trove of laughter, joy, and those priceless family moments. So, wave goodbye to stress and welcome a holiday brimming with delight, all thanks to your unexpected Easter sidekick: CVS.
CVS Has All Your Easter Essentials
CVS might already be your go-to spot for everything from a quick pharmacy pickup to snagging your favorite shampoo on the fly. Known for lining its shelves with everything necessary for the day-to-day, CVS is a familiar face in the realm of health, beauty, and those oh-so-necessary essentials that keep our lives humming along smoothly. But, as the Easter eggs start to roll in, CVS unveils its festive side, hopping well beyond its usual fare to surprise and delight with a treasure trove of Easter goodies.
Yes, nestled among the aisles of practical finds, CVS transforms into an Easter wonderland with everything you need weave cherished Easter memories. It’s like discovering a hidden garden of Easter surprises, where every turn reveals another essential to make your celebration sparkle.
Cottondale Crafting Eggs
Easter just isn’t Easter without the timeless tradition of egg decorating. But not everyone likes making hard boiled eggs, let alone eating them. Luckily CVS has the perfect solution Cottondale Crafting Eggs. These plastic crafting eggs are little blank canvases that will bring out your family’s burst of creativity. Perfect for everyone from tiny tots to grandpas with a flair for the artistic, these eggs are your ticket to a fun-filled Easter.
Of course, CVS has traditional egg-dying kits as well. But why stop at eggs? CVS has all sorts of supplies to take your Easter crafts to the next level. Because Easter isn’t about perfection, it’s about laughing over blobs of glue, mismatched colors, and those oh-so-proud “Look what I made!” moments.
Cottondale Round Basket
Need Easter baskets for all your eggs and other goodies? CVS has you covered with the Cottondale Round Basket. Available in a variety of colors and sizes, this basket will be the centerpiece of your Easter morning, putting twinkles of joy in your little bunnies’ eyes.
And because CVS knows that Easter is all about personal touches, why not take that Cottondale Round Basket and make it uniquely yours? With a plethora of decorations and trinkets available right beside those baskets, CVS turns into your Easter customization station. Add a sprinkle of personal flair with stickers, ribbons, or even a bit of Easter grass to nestle those eggs snugly. It’s these little touches that transform a simple basket into a cherished memory, making this Easter not only festive but uniquely yours. So, grab that basket and let your creativity hop wild!
Don’t Forget the Peeps!
What’s fluffy, sweet, and absolutely essential for Easter? Peeps, of course! No Easter basket, no matter how beautifully crafted or creatively filled, is truly complete without these iconic sugary treats. They’re the marshmallowy delight that everyone, from the youngest egg hunters to the eldest family members, looks forward to. And guess what? CVS is your ultimate Peeps destination, offering an array of colors and flavors that cater to every taste and preference. Whether you’re a fan of the classic yellow chicks or you’re adventurous enough to try the rainbow varieties, there’s a Peep for every palate.
And FYI, Peeps aren’t just for baskets. These versatile treats can play a starring role in your Easter desserts, too. Why not nestle them atop your cupcakes for a pop of color or create a Peep-tastic centerpiece for your Easter table? The possibilities are as limitless as your imagination. So you’ll definitely want to stock up on these festive favorites and make your Easter celebration one to remember.
Make Easter Easy with CVS
As the final touches of paint dry on your crafting eggs and your baskets begin to brim with an assortment of colorful Easter treats, remember that this stress-free, joy-filled Easter prep was made possible by CVS. From the aisles filled with crafting supplies to the shelves stocked with Easter delicacies, CVS offers the convenience and variety that turns holiday preparation from a frantic scramble into a delightful hop. It’s your one-stop shop for ensuring that your Easter is not only memorable but also marvelously easy.
So, why wait? Make this Easter one to remember. Hop on over to CVS.com right now and get 20% off pickup orders with code SPRING20.
For years and years, Cosmopolitan has been known for the Cosmo sex tips that have graced their pages. The publication interviewed Sabrina Carpenter recently and the singer was taken aback when she was asked if she had any Cosmo sex tips of her own.
“No one’s ever asked me this,” Carpenter said. “I feel so honored. Honestly, this sounds weird to say, but when I was in my early teens, I read the Cosmo sex tips. Jesus. […] I feel like it’s so different for everybody. I mean, at the end of the day, my whole thing right now is, whatever you do, don’t get pregnant. That’s the way I’m living my life. So that’s my sex tip: Be smart. Use protection.”
She added, “But, in a real way, my advice is: Do whatever feels most comfortable to you. You can be curious and ask questions, but a lot of it is just going to be you learning yourself. So do whatever makes you feel the most comfortable and safe. Boring answer.”
Carpenter also referenced coming up with new lyrics for the “Nonsense” outros she sings live, saying, “It’s funny, too, writing the outros, because I feel like I’ve learned a lot more about sexuality through writing those than people think. I think people think I’m just obnoxiously horny, when in reality, writing them comes from the ability to not be fearful of your sexuality as opposed to just not being able to put it down.”
When fans sit down to play this year’s edition of MLB The Show, they’ll once again get the chance to play as today’s biggest stars, build up their own franchise, and relive the game’s storied past while getting a glimpse at its more inclusive future.
“If you say you’re going to tell stories rooted in baseball history, then you have to tell stories about women,” says Ramone Russell, the public face of MLB The Show who has been working in brand communications and brand strategy for Sony for more than 15 years.
Diving into the sometimes sparingly taught history of the sport has become a passion project for Russell, and a guiding tenet for how the studio hopes to push its baseball sim forward despite real competition in the space. In 2023, MLB The Show introduced a new Storylines mode highlighting the stories of Black athletes who played in the Negro Leagues before baseball was finally integrated. According to Russell, partnering with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and its president Bob Kendrick — who appeared in the game’s documentary video vignettes — enabled the MLB The Show team to faithfully resurrect stadiums and offer fans a chance to better discover legends like Satchel Paige and Rube Foster. In short, it was a “game-changer” for the studio.
But, when Kendrick was recording trailers for the first edition of the update, he threw Russell a curveball.
“We needed to record the promo, and Bob was like, ‘What do you want me to say?’” Russell recalls. “’Say something to the effect of, we’re going to introduce you to some of the baddest men that ever played the game of baseball.’ And Bob stopped me; he said, ‘Men and women.’”
“Wait, there was a woman who played in the Negro Leagues?” was Russell’s next question, and the answer led him to Toni Stone. Stone joined the Indianapolis Clowns as a second baseman in 1953, making her the first woman to play as a regular on an American major-level professional baseball team. Russell knew telling her story would be crucial to the game if Sony was serious about honoring the history of the sport, but it wouldn’t be easy.
MLB The Show never had a playable female character before despite women popping up in various professional leagues over the years. And Russell’s team didn’t want to stop with Stone, who they wanted to be the catalyst for a new edition of the game’s Road To Show mode, an origin story they could build from to introduce playable female athletes designed to welcome a wider audience — to the video game, yes, but also to the sport.
Introducing A Legend
Marcenia Lyle “Toni” Stone was born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1931. Her family described her as a tomboy — she played practically every sport, from basketball to football, golf, and hockey. But baseball was her first love, which is why, at age 16, she joined a semi-pro all-male team in the Twin Cities. Her career high came when she played second base for the Indianapolis Clowns and got a hit off the league’s greatest pitcher, Satchel Paige, but Russell knew those stats weren’t enough to capture the legacy of who Stone was as a player and a pioneer.
Sony worked with Stone’s family and estate, perfecting everything from the skin tone of her in-game character to what earrings she wore when she was on the field.
“We had to figure out, ‘How do we get her femininity to come through?’” Russell explains, noting her family wanted the game to honor her, not just as an athlete, but as a woman in a male-dominated sport. Using archival footage, audio recordings, and animated storytelling, MLB The Show 24 recounts Stone’s beginnings from a rebellious young girl set on defying the status quo to a player breaking barriers by filling the shoes of one of the sport’s greatest names.
According to Russell, bringing Stone’s journey to life encouraged progress within Sony’s team as well.
“The video game industry is not necessarily super diverse, so it forced us to have some really difficult conversations and put an extra focus on making sure we were listening to the marginalized voices on the team,” Russell shares. “I have been in plenty of meetings where the women on the team don’t feel like there’s a conducive environment for them to speak up. They just won’t say anything. And then something will happen, and someone will say, ‘Oh, why didn’t they speak up?’
“That’s not the question we should be asking. The question we should be asking is, ‘Is this a healthy environment where they feel empowered to speak up, where they feel like they’re equal?’ The problem isn’t them. The problem is us. So how do we start to create an environment that’s more conducive to women feeling like their voices are heard?”
Making sure women feel represented — during the development stages and when fans pick up their controllers to play — is also the reason why Russell’s team wasn’t satisfied with adding just one female character to MLB The Show. They’re planning on covering other Black female ball players like Connie Morgan and Mamie “Peanut” Johnson in future seasons. There’s also interest in bringing the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (the inspo behind A League Of Their Own) to life one day. But for now, they’re using the addition of Stone and the game’s RPG mode, Road to the Show, to expand their roster, and they’re doing it with the help of some heavy-hitters.
Paving The Way
“See me as a baseball player first.” That was the directive from Staten Island FerryHawks pitcher and outfielder Kelsie Whitmore, as well as several female athletes and executives whose experiences and expert input helped shape this year’s Road to the Show narrative. While Whitmore was in the studio, lending her voice to dialogue scenes and her body to motion-capture work off which players would eventually be modeled, the rest of Sony’s team was interviewing coaches, managers, and trainers about the realities of being a woman in baseball at the moment.
“We took what the women said to heart and reflected back as much as we could into the game,” Ashley Sanders, Content Specialist for MLB The Show, and Mollie Braley, the game’s Narrative Designer, tell UPROXX. “Their stories were that of any other athlete’s triumph and hardship, but with the unique twist of trying to break into a sport that is almost entirely male-dominated. Most scenes you’ll encounter in Road to the Show as a female character are universally understandable, but a lot of them have extra details that reflect that of a woman’s experience in baseball.”
Those details proved difficult to perfect, especially for a game that’s existed for almost 20 years without women as playable options.
“It was a major undertaking,” Russell admits. “Because if women’s faces don’t look right, that’s going to be an issue. If their hair doesn’t move, that’s going to be an issue. Women wear makeup. Most men who play major league baseball don’t. All of our pronouns had to change for the commentary. It forced the team to have some really difficult and honest conversations to get this right.”
But the nuances of how female players look in the game were just the beginning. The team behind MLB The Show knew they couldn’t just throw women on the field and call it a day. There needed to be storylines and narrative arcs that did justice to their unique experiences at the professional level.
“A woman’s path to MLB looks a lot different than the typical grind,” Sanders and Braley explain. “We didn’t want to shy away from telling a complete story. With that in mind, our lead narrative designer incorporated a friend, Mia Lewis, who experiences the path to the majors alongside our fans’ ballplayer.”
It’s alongside Mia that gamers get a sense of the hardships and joys that come with being a female baseball player. Through friendships built in locker rooms and on the field, the game makes a concerted effort to show how women in the sport lean on each other, look out for each other, and encourage each other to perform their best. Along with Whitmore, the team worked with names like Olivia Pichardo, Liz Benn, and coach Veronica Alvarez to get a deeper understanding of what made being a woman in baseball so special.
“They mentioned the importance of celebrating the myriad ways in which female players make themselves competitive and valuable on the field, despite differences in strength compared to male players,” Sanders and Braley say. “Many people have the idea that women must play a certain way in order to be successful but we want to challenge that idea and remind folks that since its inception, baseball has required the skills of players in all shapes, sizes, and strengths.”
As for any pushback they might receive by adding women to the game, Russell seems unbothered.
“Who cares?” he says. “It’s a fantasy video game. Representation is important. And if you don’t want to play as a woman, you don’t have to.”
He also offers the same guiding principle behind The Show’s Negro League Storylines in defense of inviting women to the game: It’s not a subtraction. It’s an addition.
“There are lots of women who play MLB The Show and they’ve never been able to see themselves in the game,” he says before sharing an anecdote of the day the team filmed the promo for Road To The Show: Women Pave Their Way. The little girl in the video is the daughter of a member of Playstation’s creative team and a baseball fan. Once the shoot was done, Russell invited her to play the game and she was able to build a player that finally looked like her.
“When we looked at her and we saw that smile, I was like, ‘Okay, this is why we did this,’” he says. “’If it’s only a hundred women, who gives a fuck? Look at the smile on her face. She can see herself now. This is why we did this.’”
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
What a month. March 2024 was largely defined by a string of controversies, conflicts, and conspiracy theories, which kept us a tad bit too busy for some of our typical in-depth musical coverage.
But there were also so many good hip-hop albums, I didn’t want the month to end without at least tipping my cap to the array of innovative releases that would have normally been given the RX seal of approval if there weren’t 1,000 other things going on.
And so, I present to you, loyal readers of Uproxx – and newcomers, too – to the first edition of the Best Hip-Hop Albums of the Month. Let’s call it an extension of my weekly column, designed to collect and rightfully praise the projects that impressed us the most over the past 30 or so days. After all, who says new albums only deserve a week’s worth of attention?
Flo Milli – Fine Ho, Stay
Flo Milli
Although it’s technically the Alabama rapper’s second studio album, her latest release completes a trilogy begun by her fan-favorite 2020 debut mixtape, Ho, Why Is You Here?. The new album expands on the world-building she did on it and its 2022 follow-up (and her debut album) You Still Here Ho?, the album contains contributions from Anycia, Cardi B, SZA, Gunna and Monaleo. Still, Flo Milli remains the star of the show, showing off an impressive degree of growth and polish across 14 tracks, including her latest breakout hit, “Never Lose Me.”
Kenny Mason – 9
Kenny Mason
It’s almost impossible to truly categorize what kind of music Atlanta native Kenny Mason actually makes. An amalgamation of Atlanta staples like trap, the Southern-fried funk rap of Outkast, the gloomy grunge of early-90s Nirvana, and soulful, blurry-eyed Bandcamp boom-bap, Kenny vividly details teenaged malaise, early adulthood angst, and stressful street trials without any part seeming trivial or melodramatically heightened in comparison to the others. 9’s guestlist is as eclectic as its subject matter, tapping Babydrill, Toro Y Moi, and Veeze.
Kyle – Smyle Again
Kyle
Longtime readers of my Best Hip-Hop of the Week column will likely be aware that this album combines two of my favorite things in hip-hop at the moment: A fellow West Coast native and the ongoing Black reclamation of EDM. Despite its title, Kyle’s latest doesn’t rehash the content or sound of his breakthrough 2015 mixtape; rather, it revisits its spirit, in a full-circle moment that allows the Ventura product to reflect on his career and have a little fun in the process. Utilizing an eclectic soundscape that draws on UK 2-step and garage, Smyle Again is a unique gem no one should overlook in the search for truly original hip-hop.
Schoolboy Q – Blue Lips
Schoolboy Q
Q’s first new album in five years is a gritty review of his journey so far through the eyes of a weathered vet. Sonically adventurous, it swerves erratically from blue-era Miles Davis jazz to menacing, guttural street Gothic opera, never settling into one mode for too long – or indeed, for very long at all. Yet, Q’s grizzled, paranoid flow holds everything together generating order in the chaos as he takes stock of his successes, which would be surprising if not for the perseverance he needed to exert to survive long enough to enjoy them. “Yeern 101” is a standout.
Tierra Whack – World Wide Whack
Tierra Whack
I haven’t been as devastated by a rap album since Rexx Life Raj’s 2022 album The Blue Hour. Where Whack’s colorful costumes and whimsical backing tracks might lure listeners into a false sense of upbeat security, the themes she tackles here – depression, grief, imposter syndrome, and survivor’s remorse – practically hollowed me out. “Two Night” and “27 Club” are a harrowing one-two punch that let the album linger on the terrifying implications of anointing – and leave you longing for the rest of the story, for the catharsis that even Whack can’t promise. I hope she’s doing okay.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
We’re a few years into pop culture’s obsession with microdosing-as-wellness and all things shroom. In record time, the world of psilocybin or “mushroom” products has become difficult to navigate for… almost everyone. It’s a big old confusing melange of brands offering to help your brain in a multitude of ways.
Does this gummy have magic mushrooms in it? Adaptogen mushrooms? Functional mushrooms? Couldn’t magic mushrooms also be adaptogens that are functional? Could adaptogens be psychedelic? Could they be functional?
In simpler times, the word mushroom in front of a product (especially gummies or chocolates) meant consumables that contained cubensis, the type of mushrooms we think of as “shrooms,” which are high in the chemical psilocybin, which makes us trip out. But in the current legal gray zone that these brands still operate in, and with the market still unregulated, plus many legal brands wanting align with psychedelics for marketing purposes, it can be difficult to tell exactly what is going on with any given product on the market. Especially when the majority of brands are intentionally deceptive — whether to evade law enforcement, to confuse their consumers, or just to seem cooler than they actually are.
Like any semi-legal drug that gets blasted from the underground to the mainstream very loudly and all at once, an onslaught of money-grab products with questionable ingredients renders the newly minted market extra confusing. That said, I want to set a few things straight about this list, navigating the market, and consuming these kinds of products.
The mushrooms that make you trip out in a traditional “shrooming” sense are called psilocybe cubensis. The chemical that makes you trip out, in the traditional sense of “shrooming,” is called psilocybin. When people say “fruiting bodies,” they are referring to the actual mushrooms themselves, as these are the fruits of mycelial webs in the soil whose function is to spread spores like a fruit spreads seeds for a tree.
Within cubensis, there are different strains like Penis Envy, Albino Penis Envy (APE), Golden Teacher, Pearly Gates, and so on. Strains vary in appearance and levels of psilocybin, the latter of which dictates potency. For more on mushroom strains, check out this extensive explainer I wrote.
Do not fully rely on dosing guidelines. What might be a microdose to one person, could cause hallucinations for someone else. How your body reacts to the mushrooms depends on many internal and external factors known as “set and setting.” Also, it’s not all brands have safeguards to know exactly how much active ingredient is getting into each gummy or piece of chocolate. While the amount of mg per total package is usually accurate, it can vary dramatically piece-to-piece depending on how well the ingredients are mixed, etc. Always start slow and build up. You can always take more, but you can never take less.
It’s a goddamn minefield out there. Please proceed with caution. Not all of the “mushroom” gummies on the market, especially those sold legally, include fruiting bodies or psilocybin at all. Many like to align with the hype but don’t want the legal hassles.
This is a list you can trust. Journalists like me care way more about your experience being positive than the people who financially benefit from marketing their products to you. You have my word that each one of these brands produces consistent and safe spirit-medicine-quality products.
Now, let’s get started. Here are the best magic mushroom gummies on and fruit chews on the (gray) market.
Super Fung!
Instagram
Why We Love It:
From their punk art branding to their homegrown ingredients, Super Fung is super cool. The psilo-arm of Super Chill, a beloved edibles brand in the cannabis space, is run by a husband-and-wife team who are plant people to the core. The importance of this cannot be overestimated. You want the people creating your medicine to care about the medicine itself more than the money they’re going to make from it.
Not only do they grow the fruits and herbs featured in their products in their garden or source from local farms, but they design the packaging and all the branding/marketing as well.
Available in either psilocybin-only or a mix of 200mg psilo and 5mg cannabis from high-quality rosin, these fruit chews are delicious and potent. Some of my favorites so far are the Golden Teacher Tangerine and Nebula Black Cherry.
Bottom Line:
From ingredients to vibes, these are some of the best products on the market. From my experience, they are more geared toward someone familiar with tripping, especially the jellies that contain rosin.
Psilo is probably the most popular microdose gummy brand out there, paving the way for other new brands to take flight when things were first getting going in the space.
They’ve had major staying power in a market that’s in constant flux due to an extremely consistent product (especially in terms of dosing, which is hard) that is best geared for mental clarity and productivity, unless of course you take too many and end up awash in a sea of fractal goo.
I’ve been using these crystalline sugar-covered cubes as a stimulant/focus enhancement tool for years, as have many other counterculture journalists I know. They also do a great day-to-night transition. You can eat one or two during the day to focus, then eat a couple more at happy hour after to make things even happier.
Bottom Line:
Consistent microdoses for the worker bee who likes to party.
Aside from being cute as hell, these microdosed mushroom marshmallows have soared in popularity among my friends, especially appealing to new users for their light-hearted, giggly high, and nostalgic Mario-esque form.
Made with no gross ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, these little marshmallow shroomies are dosed at just above a micro — so you won’t need more than three for a fun time.
The ethos of the brand is using their product to commune with nature, hit the trails, and enjoy living. As an avid nature girl, I can confirm these are great for all of those things because they never leave you feeling overwhelmed or too introspective, both of which can backfire when you’re alone in the woods.
Ceremony is one of the only brands on the market with an effect-based angle, a smart move that’s ahead of its time. All of their products, including their excellent sea-moss gummies, come in two forms: Ascend or Descend.
Ascend is uplifting and outward-facing, while Descend is relaxing and more introspective. This effect-based product genre is booming in the cannabis industry right now, so mushroom products are sure to follow, as lots of newer consumers are looking for a little more control as they enter this scary new headspace.
My personal Ceremony favorite is the Citrus Hibiscus Synthesis from the Ascend line, which features 200mg of fruiting body, organic hibiscus tea, and Irish sea moss (both of which have their own medicinal benefits). The gummies left me feeling bright, hopeful, and in a word, vital.
Ceremony’s commitment to high-quality ingredients and strain-specific fruiting bodies is admirable in this current wash of lames. They’re heavy on the intention-aspect of consumption (as their IG proves) and they clearly view the micro and macrodosing experiences as… well… a ceremony.
Bottom Line:
Great for newer users looking to feel more confident as they enter the vortex.
Micro Melts are created by some of the best medicine makers in Humboldt and produce one of the sparkliest, most enjoyable highs I’ve ever experienced.
That being said, they’re more geared for an experienced tripper, especially since they also have hash in them.
These are harder to come by on the market since they’re a labor of love from one of the best mushroom brands in the game and some heady weed peeps, so transparency isn’t exactly the objective.
The product was created with the idea of trying to design the ultimate antidepressant. Each of its creators deals with depression in different ways and wanted to extend the idea of microdosing mushrooms into the cannabis realm, as it might just result in actual joy, as opposed to a lack of depression.
Guess what, it worked!
Bottom Line:
Fantastic, uplifting high that is as great for brightening dull days as it is for enjoying fun nights.
Sacred Fruits Magic Carpets
Instagram
Why We Love It:
Sacred Fruits is one of the best fruiting body brands in the biz. Their mushrooms are consistently excellent and beloved amongst the snootiest connoisseurs in the industry.
These Magic Carpets are their foray into the edible product market. With 2 grams of mushrooms in each natural fruit roll-up, these are not for the novice or the faint of heart.
I love this brand because they produced a product that is explicitly designed to get you fucking high! There are more than enough micro-dosed brands on the market, and not enough new users to buy them all. These brands forget the people who really buy mushrooms are the ones who really DO MUSHROOMS.
So shout out to Sacred Fruits for making a product for the actual trippers to trip the fuck out on.
Synergy focuses on the actual mushrooms inside of the product, which all brands should be doing, but all too few are. These microdosed psilocybin gummies are hand-crafted in Humboldt and feature unique varieties of mushrooms sourced from expert mycologists, ensuring each batch is not only strain-specific but provides a high-quality psychedelic experience.
Their attention to detail shines in their production process. Synergy uses a solventless hot water process to extract the psilocybin, kind of like a big mushroom tea, which I believe is one of the best ways to consume mushrooms. The cellulose fibers of the mushroom cell walls are often what lead to nausea and sickness associated with consumption, so liberating the psilocybin from its natural state is a great way to have a smoother physical experience.
Bottom Line:
The headiest of the heady. If you can get ‘em, try ‘em.
Psilouette is one of the chicest and most accessible gummy brands out there. They have an in-house chemist and a Michelin-starred chef who create a wide array of precisely-dosed products, making consumers’ first foray into the mush-world a luxurious breeze.
From micro doses to macro doses, aphrodisiacs to Staments stacks, their website has a warm yet clinical feel that will probably characterize the mushroom product mainstream as it materializes in coming years. My personal favorites are their undetectably psychedelic psilo/lion’s mane blend called Stamets Stack (pioneered by famed mycologist Paul Stamets), as well as their high potency Macro series.
Bottom Line:
The clinical-yet-approachable future of mushroom consumables.
Last week, actress Rebel Wilson named the “a**hole” who she claims is threatening her over the release of her upcoming memoir: Sacha Baron Cohen. She has also alleged that the Borat star asked her to stick her finger in his butt while filming 2016’s R-rated comedy The Brothers Grimsby.
A spokesperson for Baron Cohen denied the accusation, writing in a statement that “these demonstrably false claims are directly contradicted by extensive detailed evidence, including contemporaneous documents, film footage, and eyewitness accounts from those present before, during, and after the production of The Brothers Grimsby.” Some of that evidence, including footage from “THAT butt scene,” was released to the Daily Mail on Friday.
In one pivotal intimate scene, Wilson’s character Dawn slaps the butt of Cohen’s character Nobby’s and then attempts to put her finger between his cheeks. He rejects her advances, saying, “Not my bumhole, Dawny. After that curry last night it’s like a loaded gun.” Still on camera but out of her character, Wilson can be heard discussing the blocking, telling Cohen, “I’ll do a slap [of your butt] and I’ll do a – going down the crack,” to which Cohen replies, “It’s almost as if you’re going to ram your fingers inside.” She answers, “Yeah.”
Unnamed producers told the Daily Mail that Wilson was aware of the sex scene and “fully engaged,” but in a statement provided to the UK-based publication, she called the footage “misleading.”
“It is an a**hole move to release footage of one part of that disgusting episode while leaving out everything that preceded it including my horrified refusal to stick my finger up SBC’s butt,” Wilson wrote. “This could not have possibly been for the film as the director Louis Leterrier was not even present. What this edited video shows is what I had to do in order to get out of the room, as written in [memoir] Rebel Rising. Releasing unauthorized and misleading behind the scenes video without my approval is SBC’s latest way of bullying and gaslighting me.”
Weirdly enough, this isn’t the first time that Wilson has discussed a co-star’s bum. A few years ago, while appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live, she talked about touching Tom Hardy’s butt while they were shooting 2012’s This Means War. “My first day on set, the director said, ‘When you enter the scene, I want you to just stick your finger up Tom Hardy’s butt.’ I just did it,” she said. “He gave a really realistic shocked expression. And then he didn’t really talk to me. He was wearing pants, so I couldn’t go all the way up.”
Wilson’s memoir, Rebel Rising, comes out on April 2.
Mysterious musical collective 1999 Write The Future is less than two months removed from the release of their debut album hella, but they are already on the move, dropping another quirky new single. “Pump It Up” takes its name from the favored refrain of the jock jams of the ’90s and appropriately, takes heavy inspiration from them, with synthetic laser blaps, echoing bass, and rapid tempo, all supported by energetic raps from Uproxx cover star Rich Brian and TiaCorine.
The amorphous, 88rising-affiliated group, which has never really officially codified its membership, has gained a lot of popularity in a relatively short time thanks to their adherence to an anything-goes policy of musical eclecticism. One of their first singles, October’s “World Stop Turning,” embraced shoe-gazing indie pop, while “Light Rails” from this January, stuck to more straightforward hip-hop, even going so far as recruiting Rick Ross for a chest-beating guest verse. They kept up the trend of recruiting guest rappers on “Slopes,” rapping Migos’ Offset to trade rapid-fire verses with 88rising’s Warren Hue.
That trend continued on hella, which featured appearances from Busta Rhymes, De La Soul, Ghostface Killah, and Smino, while also delving into a diverse array of musical styles, firmly establishing 1999 Write The Future as a team any music fan will want to keep an eye on.
The Scream VII drama has been a bit dizzying, and cameras haven’t even begun to roll. Back in August 2022, the saga actually began with Final Girl Neve Campbell announcing that she would not return as Sydney Prescott to the franchise in Scream VI due to a low-balled salary offer, and that seemed to be just fine for Campbell. She was after all, doing well elsewhere with Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer and also appearing in Peacock’s Twisted Metal. Then the existing confirmed cast began to fall by the wayside. First, Spyglass production company fired Melissa Barrera over her social media activity about Gaza. Then director Christopher Landon left, and Jenna Ortega dropped out of the movie, probably for scheduling reasons.
Recently and suddenly, however, Campbell announced that she would, in fact, return to for Scream VII and was thrilled to do so. Plans are now moving ahead with director Kevin Williamson, and now, another original cast member appears to be coming around. This addition isn’t terribly shocking, given that Courteney Cox has appeared in every Scream movie thus far, but it’s also a vote of confidence that Gail Weathers will probably be back onboard, as Variety now reports:
Courteney Cox may be heading back to the “Scream””franchise, as sources tell Variety she is in talks to reprise the role of Gale Weathers in the seventh movie of the slasher series, to be directed by “Scream” creator and writer Kevin Williamson.
The news comes about two weeks after Neve Campbell announced she was coming back as Sidney Prescott after the actor sat out of “Scream 6” due to a salary dispute.
And from here, where does the film go? Plot details are officially being shrouded in secrecy, but previously, Jamie Kennedy had revealed that he had seen a version of the Scream VI script, which heavily included Sydney. Will that part of the unseen plot now be incorporated into Scream VII? Whatever the case, it’s likely that we will eventually see the newest sequel sometime in 2025. Filming hasn’t begun yet, but as Variety has noted, this franchise’s films “don’t require extensive visual effects and can be produced quickly.” And now it’s time for the franchise to say-or-not-say, “I’ll be right back.”
Below, we’re calling out the absolute best of the best at every price point between $20 and $200. These are the bourbons that we can 100% assure are worth the price and the effort to find, and taste delicious — yes, even the cheaper ones.
Since this is about price — from cheap as dirt to expensive AF — we didn’t rank anything. In essence, this list is ranked by price. Let’s be real, the more expensive and rare a bourbon gets, the better it is going to taste (that’s the case with this list anyway). Let’s dive in!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
Heaven Hill makes great whiskey, especially inexpensive bottled in bonds (as we’ve shown on this list). This “b-i-b” is tailored for the Evan Williams flavor profile. Still, this is Heaven Hill, so we’re talking about the same mash bill, same warehouses, and same blending team as beloved bourbons like Elijah Craig and all other Heaven Hill bourbon releases. This is simply built to match a higher-end Evan Williams vibe.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a lovely nose at play with soft taco mix spice next to creamy vanilla, caramel-dipped cherries, a hint of pear skins, and plenty of nutmeg.
Palate: The palate has a minor note of cornbread muffins next to cherry-vanilla tobacco with a dash of leather and toffee.
Finish: The end leans into some fresh gingerbread with a vanilla frosting next to hints of pear candy cut with cinnamon and nutmeg.
Bottom Line:
If you’re looking to spend less than $20, this is the only bottle to buy. There’s no better bourbon at this price point. End of story.
$20-$30 — Jim Beam Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Each of these Jim Beam bottlings is pulled from single barrels that hit just the right spot of taste, texture, and drinkability, according to the master distillers at Beam. That means this juice is pulled from less than one percent of all barrels in Beam’s warehouses, making this a very special bottle at a bafflingly affordable price.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with classic notes of vanilla sheet cake, salted caramel, wintry mulled wine spices, and a sense of cherry pie in a lard crust next to a hint of dried corn husk, old broom bristle, and dark chocolate pipe tobacco.
Palate: The palate layers in floral honey and orange zest next to sticky toffee pudding, old leather, and cherry tobacco layered with the dark chocolate with this lingering sense of coconut cream pie lurking somewhere in the background.
Finish: The finish leans into more woody winter spices (especially cinnamon bark and nutmeg) with rich toffee and cherry-chocolate tobacco braided with dry sweetgrass and cedar bark.
Bottom Line:
It’s wild that you can get this single barrel product — of this high quality — at this price. This is delicious bourbon. It’s well made, sips easily, and makes a mean cocktail. You can’t ask for more at $25.
$30-$40 — Russell’s Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 10 Years Old
This small-batch expression is hand-selected by both Jimmy and Eddie Russell (the father and son team behind all of Wild Turkey’s line). The duo picks out ten-year-old barrels that hit just the right spot in both flavor and texture then small-batch them into this tasty bourbon.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is a classic bourbon nose with clear notes of spiced cherry cola, lush vanilla, salted caramel, and soft oak next to almost botanical winter spices.
Palate: The taste delivers with more lush vanilla next to spice barks, soft cedar, and deeply dark and red fruit with a whisper of smudged sweet sage.
Finish: The end dives into a dark spiced cherry vibe next to soft and luxurious vanilla, tempered oak, and a mild sense of just “bourbon.”
Bottom Line:
This is another whiskey that could easily cost way more for the quality of the juice in the bottle. This is a great and versatile whiskey that works as well as an everyday sipper as it does in a cocktail.
This is the mountaintop of what the main line of Wild Turkey can achieve (this is easily found on liquor store shelves for the most part). This is a blend of the prime barrels that are married and bottled untouched. That means no filtering and no cutting with water. This is a classic Turkey bourbon with nowhere to hide.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens like a dessert table during the holidays with crème brûlée next to a big sticky toffee pudding with orange zest sprinkled over the top next to a bushel of fresh mint.
Palate: The palate hits an early note of pine resin as the orange kicks up towards a bold wintry spice, soft vanilla cream, and a hint of honeyed cherry tobacco.
Finish: The end keeps the winter spices front and center as a lush pound cake feeling leads to soft notes of cherry-spiced tobacco leaves folded into an old cedar box with a whisper of old vanilla pods lurking in the background.
Bottom Line:
Wild Turkey is one of the best distilleries putting out whiskey in 2024. It just is. They’re also in the enviable position of putting out whiskeys that we all can still get and afford (for the most part). This whiskey is the one sipper you should always have on hand. Buy this stuff by the case.
$50-$60 — Four Roses Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
This Single Barrel from Four Roses is a slightly proofed version of their famed OBSV recipe (read about what that means here). That’s a bourbon recipe with delicate fruit yeast and a high-rye mash bill. A single barrel of that was picked from the north side of Warehouse P (a beloved position for Four Roses’ single barrel fans — yes, barrel position and warehouses make a big difference).
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Woody maple syrup and cinnamon sticks lead to a hint of pear candy with a vanilla underbelly on the nose.
Palate: The palate lets the pear shine as the spices lean into woody barks and tart berries next to leathery dates and plums with a butteriness tying everything together.
Finish: A spicy tobacco chewiness leads the mid-palate toward a soft fruitiness and a hint of plum pudding at the end with a slight nuttiness and green herbal vibe.
Bottom Line:
Four Roses is a very distinct whiskey and its single barrels are the best way to dive into their beautiful whiskeys. This is a killer sipper that’ll make a killer cocktail.
Jimmy Russell hand selects eight to nine-year-old barrels from his warehouses for their individual taste and quality. Those barrels are then cut down ever-so-slightly to 101 proof and bottled one at a time with their barrel number and warehouse location right on the bottle.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose draws you in with classic vibes from top to bottom thanks to rich vanilla smoothness, wintry spices, a hint of cedar, and a mix of sour cherry and tart apple with a slight lawn furniture earthiness.
Palate: The palate stays very classic with old boot leather next to dry cedar bark, a layer of rich marzipan cut with orange oils and covered in dark chocolate, and a distant hint of nasturtiums suspended in fresh honey.
Finish: The end finishes with a good hint of spiced cherry tobacco and old leather next to mild nuttiness, bitter chocolate, and soft vanilla cake frosted with cinnamon and cherry.
Bottom Line:
Yes, Wild Turkey again! This is another single-barrel product that never misses. This is endlessly sippable and the quintessential Kentucky bourbon.
$70-$80 — Jack Daniel’s 10 Years Old Tennessee Whiskey
This age statement released from Jack Daniel’s is a throwback to a bygone era in Tennessee Whiskey. The whiskey is aged for at least 10 years before batching. During that time, the barrels spend time in the “Buzzard’s Roost” at the top of the rickhouse. Once they hit the right flavor profile, those barrels are moved to the bottom floors of other warehouses to slow the aging down. Finally, the whiskey is batched, proofed, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with a rich matrix of cherry syrup, apple cores, sticky toffee, vanilla ice cream, and a bold line of wet and sweet oak with a mild earthiness.
Palate: The palate opens up towards the dark fruit but dries it out and marries it to a woody and spicy tobacco leaf alongside toasted cedar soaked in salted caramel paired with dry corn husks that are just singed.
Finish: The finish really takes its time as the cherry attaches to an old cinnamon stick and the tobacco takes on a sticky chewiness with an almost smoked oak woodiness.
Bottom Line:
Yes, Jack Daniel’s is making some of the best whiskey of the 2020s. This is a prime example of a whiskey that’ll completely change your opinion of the world’s biggest American whiskey brand. It’s delicate, delicious, and easy to get — the trifecta!
$80-$90 — Jack Daniel’s 12 Years Old Tennessee Whiskey Batch 2
Jack Daniel’s 12-year Batch 2 is here! The mash at the base of this whiskey is a mix of 80% corn, 12% barley, and 8% rye. Those grains are milled in-house and mixed with cave water pulled from an on-site spring and Jack Daniel’s own yeast and lactobacillus that they also make/cultivate on-site. Once fermented, the mash is distilled twice in huge column stills. The hot spirit is then filtered through 10 feet of sugar maple charcoal that’s also made at the distillery. Finally, the filtered whiskey is loaded into charred new American oak barrels and left alone in the warehouse. After 12 years, a handful of barrels were ready; so they were batched, barely proofed, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose bursts forth with soft and bright fruits — kind of like a package of Starbursts — before leaning into a luscious sense of stewed prunes and figs next to mulled wine spices and brandy-soaked vanilla cookies dipped in salted caramel chewing tobacco.
Palate: That Starburst vibe explodes on the palate with all the colors of the fruity sweet rainbow before a thick and creamy vanilla creaminess drives the palate toward burnt orange and vanilla wafers just kissed with Nutella and tobacco stems.
Finish: That tobacco takes on the creamy vanilla with nice layers of dark chocolate, an old barrel house, and soft and smoldering fall leaves wrapped in apple-smoked tobacco leaves bunched into an old cedar box.
Bottom Line:
This is a world-class whiskey, full stop. It might be the best Tennessee whiskey on the shelf in 2024.
Last year’s Fortuna release was an instant classic. In 2023, 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:
This is a big step up from the classic whiskeys on this list. This bourbon runs deep and delivers an elevated profile that’ll leave you warmed to your soul. We’d also argue that this will make an amazing whiskey-forward cocktail like a Manhattan or Sazerac thanks to its incredible depth. Or just sip it slowly over a big rock — it’ll shine that way too.
This whiskey heralds back to Michter’s historical roots in the 19th century before the brand was even called “Michter’s.” The old Bomberger’s Distillery in Pennsylvania is where the brand started way back in the day (1753). The whiskey in the bottle is rendered from a very small batch of bourbons that were aged in Chinquapin oak. The staves for that barrel were air-dried for three years before coppering, charring, and filling. The Kentucky bourbon is then bottled in an extremely small batch that yields around 2,000 bottles per year.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet mashed grains — think a bowl of Cream of Wheat cut with butter and molasses — mix with sticky toffee pudding, old saddle leather, old cellar beams, and sweet cinnamon with a hint of candied orange and dark chocolate next to luscious eggnog with a flake of salt.
Palate: The palate is super creamy with a crème brûlée feel that leads to soft winter spices, dry cedar, and orange chocolates with a hint of pear-brandy-soaked marzipan in the background.
Finish: The end has a creamed honey vibe next to brandy-soaked figs and rum-soaked prunes with fresh chewing tobacco and salted dark chocolate leading back to dark chocolate and old cellar floors with a touch of smoldering orchard bark.
Bottom Line:
This is probably the best overall sipper on the list. It’s so good.
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:
We’re back in Turkey country. Russell’s 13 is their best product and an incredible sipping whiskey. It’s everything that you want from a bold yet subtle Kentucky bourbon. Take it slowly and it’ll reward you with beautiful flavors and depth.
$150-$200 — Bardstown Bourbon Company Collaborative Series Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished In Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout Barrels
This new release from Bardstown Bourbon Company is a collaboration with Chicago’s Goose Island’s iconic Bourbon County Stout. The whiskey in the bottle is a blend of six- and seven-year-old Kentucky bourbons that are batched and then re-barreled into Bourbon County stout barrels. 12 months later, the whiskey is blended with another 9-year-old Kentucky bourbon, barely proofed, and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: A moment of honey draws you in on the nose before veering toward rich and very dark chocolate with a deeply stewed cherry cut with oily vanilla, mulled wine spices, and pear brandy-soaked marzipan with a hint of candied orange zest, dry espresso beans, and moist tobacco leaves.
Palate: There’s a moment of malted chocolate shakes on the taste that leads to a rich spiced Christmas cake brimming with walnuts, sultanas, candied cherry, candied lemon rinds, and leathery dates that lead to moments of creamy and very boozy eggnog poured over a Black Forest Cake.
Finish: The Christmas spices, fruit cake, dried fruit, and eggnog all combine on the finish to create a rich and sumptuous finish full of luscious textures and just the right amount of spiced whiskey warmth.
Bottom Line:
This is another incredible sipper. It’s also a wonderful pairing whiskey for big and bold meals — it works with everything from fancy steakhouse burgers to seafood feasts to wild game. It’s delectable.
A few days ago, Jhené Aiko announced The Magic Hour Tour, and it’s set to kick off this June. Aside from Aiko, the tour will also feature Coi Leray, Tink, UMI, and Kiana Ledé. If you want to get in on that, here’s what to know about ticket prices.
How Much Are Tickets For Jhené Aiko’s The Magic Hour Tour?
Prices vary depending on the seat. Looking at the available tickets for the June 19 concert at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena, for example, standard tickets are going for $64.50, while if you’re looking for a front row, “official platinum” seat, that’ll cost upwards for $600.
Find more information about tickets on Aiko’s website and check out her upcoming tour dates below.
Jhené Aiko 2024 Tour Dates: The Magic Hour Tour
06/19 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
06/20 — Chicago, IL @ United Center
06/22 — Greensboro, NC @ Greensboro Coliseum
06/23 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena
06/25 — Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
06/27 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden
06/29 — Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
07/01 — Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
07/02 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
07/06 — Orlando, FL @ Kia Center
07/07 — Sunrise, FL @ Amerant Bank Arena
07/10 — Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
07/12 — Ft. Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena
07/13 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center
07/15 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
08/01 — Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center
08/05 — San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
08/06 — Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center
08/08 — Portland, OR @ Moda Center
08/10 — Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
08/13 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
08/14 — Vancouver, BC @ Pacific Coliseum
08/16 — West Valley City, UT @ Maverik Center
08/17 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
08/19 — Kansas City, MO @ T-Mobile Center
08/20 — Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
08/22 — Columbus, OH @ Nationwide Arena
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