Just over a year after releasing her fifth album, COPINGMECHANISM, Willow is back with new music. Tonight (November 2), she has dropped a new single called “Alone,” which features the 23-year-old artist at her most introspective.
On “Alone,” Willow is forced to confront her innermost thoughts on her own. But she later finds solace in her solitude.
“Nothing is what it seems / When you wake, when you dream / When you talk, is it not medicine for us all? / Show me something I cannot define,” she sings on one of the song’s verses.
Over the past few years, Willow has took on more of a rock sound, but “Alone” has noticeable neo-soul influences.
Willow has been making music since she was 10 years old. Not to mention, she’s the child of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith — one of the buzziest celebrity couples in the world. Shortly after news broke that Will and Jada had been separated for six years, Willow shared a cryptic post on Instagram, reading “I think solitude can be scary for humans sometimes. There is so much space to remember and reflect on things that may be really painful for us.”
We are just a week out from The Kid Laroi’s hotly-anticipated debut album, The First Time. Ahead of the album, the Australian hitmaker has given us a new taste of the album. Tonight (November 2), Laroi has shared “Bleed,” a guitar-driven ballad, on which, Laroi displays pure emotion through his raw vocals.
On “Bleed,” Laroi has a tough time letting go following the dissolution of a relationship. Meanwhile, his past love already seems to have moved on.
“How did your heart mend so easy? / Mine still bleeds Hard to believe you don’t need me / All those memories we made are burnin’ in my brain,” he sings on the song’s chorus.
Continuing the run of cinematic visuals Laroi has delivered during this era, “Bleed” is accompanied by a haunting video directed by Ramez Silyan. In the video, Laroi is seen dreaming that he is drowning, to be revived by his past lover, a woman played by Ryley Ladd. This is juxtaposed with Laroi flying off the road on his bike, then later waking, presumably to deal with the emotional — and literal — wreckage.
You can see the video for “Bleed” above.
The First Time is out 11/10 via Columbia Records. Find more information here.
On Thursday morning, the NBA and Nike officially unveiled the 30 City Edition uniforms that each team will wear during the 2023-24 season, marking the eighth season of the locally inspired alternate uni set.
The 2023-24 Nike NBA City Edition uniforms are HERE – which represent the stories, history and heritage that make each franchise unique – honoring the inherent bond between, court, community and culture.
The official unveiling came a week-plus after the full set leaked online, and the fan response was not particularly good. As is always the case, when you see them on players and in professional photos, rather than low resolution leaks, they all look a bit better, but plenty of them still miss the mark. What began as a fun idea to be creative with a unique, local spin on a team’s image has become an almost dreaded part of the early season, as eight years in, the well of great uniform ideas has run a bit dry.
That’s unfortunate because there is a story and a lot of thought behind each one, with various details tucked inside each design that have a deeper meaning to the team or the city, whether it be fonts, trim, or other little detail points. However, at this point it feels like Nike and the NBA have gotten lost in those little details and hiding Easter eggs on the uniforms and forgotten what is most important in creating a beloved uniform.
Small details can enhance a uniform, but what matters is how it looks from afar. That’s how we consume them for the most part, by watching teams run up and down the court from a distance, whether you’re in the arena or watching on TV. As such, what matter most is how they pop in a macro sense, with the colors, logos, and graphics you can see from afar.
This year’s City Edition set is particularly drab, as more than half feature a mostly black, charcoal, or navy base, with limited pops of color. Individually, many of them are fine, but when shown as a set, they seem particularly uninspiring.
Nike
Beyond that, City Edition unis can get cluttered by swapping out city and team names for longer slogans or choosing fonts and numbers with weird kerning that are hard to recognize from a distance. Basketball uniforms aren’t meant to be viewed in a static sense, and a lot of this year’s City Edition unis miss the mark on the big picture.
That’s not always been the case, as there have been some truly beloved uniforms that have come from the City Edition line over the years. Miami’s “Vice” uniforms are the gold standard, and I still think they should have just become their permanent set. Phoenix’s “The Valley” and Utah’s gradient uniforms were so good they petitioned the league successfully to keep them around for multiple years — with the Suns running back the Valley theme again this year with a twist, and, unsurprisingly, they’re among the best.
What all of those have in common is that they managed to strike the balance between understanding what makes a jersey pop when zoomed out while also connecting to the local flavor of the city with a great story. As a group, almost all of this year’s uniforms hit on the latter point (although, I’d understand if you think the Heat uniform might just be mailing it in) but very few seem to remember the former.
The result has been a tepid response, at best, from most fan bases, and if the league and Nike are going to continue this, they’d do well to get back to basics a bit more going forward.
At long last, we finally have an answer about the mysterious collab album by J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar. Cole made an appearance on Lil Yachty’s A Safe Place podcast, where he explained the origins of the album.
Rumors of the collab album have circulated for over a decade, and Cole confirmed that the two did, in fact, meet around the time Lamar was working on his 2011 independent album, Section.80.
“Closer to the album, I get into all of this,” said Cole of his earliest meetings with Lamar, “so in-depth it’s crazy.”
Cole remembered meeting Lamar at No ID’s home studio. Cole had a collection of beats at the time, including the track for “HiiiPower,” which ended up as a solo Lamar song on Section.80.
“In that moment, we talked about ‘Yo bro, we should do a project,” said Cole. “At that time, he not on like that, but I’m f*cking with him…Him being so excited — because that’s a look for him at that point — so I think he went to Twitter, like ‘Me and J. Cole got something crazy coming’ and he put up a picture of us together.”
The two did end up recording material together, however, as both of their stars were on the rise, and they never found time to complete the project.
“At one point it was a real thing… but time and life, we ain’t never got a chance to like really go in,” Cole said.
While the two still have love and admiration for each other, it doesn’t seem like the album will see the light of day anytime soon.
“We put it to bed years ago,” said Cole, “but at one point in time, it was a conversation for sure.”
You can see the full episode of A Safe Place above.
It’s hard to truly describe the amazing bond between dads and their daughters.
Being a dad is an amazing job no matter the gender of the tiny humans we’re raising. But there’s something unique about the bond between fathers and daughters.
Most dads know what it’s like to struggle with braiding hair, but we also know that bonding time provides immense value to our daughters. In fact, studies have shown that women with actively involved fathers are more confident and more successful in school and business.
You know how a picture is worth a thousand words? I’ll just let these images sum up the daddy-daughter bond.
A 37-year-old Ukrainian artist affectionately known as Soosh, recently created some ridiculously heartwarming illustrations of the bond between a dad and his daughter, and put them on her Instagram feed. Sadly, her father wasn’t involved in her life when she was a kid. But she wants to be sure her 9-year-old son doesn’t follow in those footsteps.
“Part of the education for my kiddo who I want to grow up to be a good man is to understand what it’s like to be one,” Soosh told Upworthy.
There are so many different ways that fathers demonstrate their love for their little girls, and Soosh pretty much nails all of them.
Get ready to run the full gamut of the feels.
1. Dads can do it all. Including hair.
2. They also make pretty great game opponents.
3. And the Hula-Hoop skills? Legendary.
4. Dads know there’s always time for a tea party regardless of the mountain of work in front of them.
5. And their puppeteer skills totally belong on Broadway.
6. Dads help us see the world from different views.
7. So much so that we never want them to leave.
8. They can make us feel protected, valued, and loved.
9. Especially when there are monsters hiding in places they shouldn’t.
Seeing the daddy-daughter bond as art perfectly shows how beautiful fatherhood can be.
It’s been two years since J. Cole dropped his last album, The Off-Season. Since then, he’s been hard at work on his upcoming album, The Fall Off. But he’s been keeping fans fed with incredible feature verses through collaborations with artists like Young Thug, Summer Walker, Lil Durk, and Drake — the lattermost helping him earn his first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1.
As Cole has shown to be the one to call to add a little spark to your track, listeners are wondering how much he charges for a guest verse.
Does J. Cole charge for rap features?
In 2019, Young Thug released “The London,” a song featuring Travis Scott and J. Cole. On Cole’s verse, he seemingly implies that his guest spots come with a hefty price tag.
“I left a flock of rappers dead and buried / A verse from me is like eleven birds / Just did the math, that’s like two thousand dollars every word,” he raps on his verse.
On an episode of Lil Yachty’s A Safe Place podcast, Cole clarified that despite this particular line, he actually does not charge artists for features.
“It’s just a bar, bro,” said Cole. “A lot of my bars be really on point, but man that’s just a flex. I’m not gonna charge [artists] $2000 a word. I don’t even charge [artists] for the verse. I’m doing this sh*t because I’m inspired to do it.”
You can see the full episode of A Safe Place above.
We are just hours away from Jung Kook‘s debut album, Golden, and the BTS Army is filled with joy and anticipation. Many Army members already have their physical editions of Golden on pre-order. But of course, fans are going to want to stream Golden the minute it drops on digital platforms.
And luckily, they’ll be able to do so beginning tonight.
Assuming the Army doesn’t crash Apple Music — like the Swifties did last week upon the release of Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) — fans will be able to stream the album at midnight EST tonight (November 2) via Apple Music and other streaming platforms. Those on CST will be able to listen at 11 p.m., and the PST Army will be able to stream at 9 p.m.
Ahead of the album, Jung Kook has released two singles — the smooth, romantic “Seven,” which features Latto, and the sexy, rhythmic Jack Harlow collaboration, “3D.” He is set to drop the single “Standing Next To You” from Golden upon the album’s release, as well as a music video for the song.
Golden will boast 10 tracks, including new collabs with DJ Snake and Major Lazer.
The album arrives via BTS’ home label, BIGHIT Music. Find more information here.
The midway point of the 2023 NFL season has come and gone. The trade deadline is behind us and, while it isn’t the stretch run just yet, things are beginning to take shape. More and more data is coming in, which can be quite useful in this space, but we managed to churn our way to a .500 week in Week 8 and stay afloat for the season. Of course, it was one sequence away from a 3-2 week before the Browns turned a 3-point lead into a 4-point loss and effectively snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, but I digress.
At any rate, Week 9 is here, bye weeks are back, and here is a look at the progress through the first 40 selections of the season.
Week 8: 2-2-1
2023 Season: 22-15-3
Come get these winners.
Kansas City Chiefs (-1.5) over Miami Dolphins — FanDuel
I have an underutilized principle, and it states that I will take the Chiefs on a neutral field against anyone if they are relatively healthy and laying less than a field goal. I’ll acknowledge this could get weird in Germany and that Miami is dangerous, but I think KC should be a larger favorite than this. It doesn’t hurt that Mahomes and company are coming off a hideous performance a week ago and we’re buying low.
TEASER: Carolina Panthers (+8.5) over Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints (-2.5) over Chicago Bears — Widely Available
Teasers have been fairly good to us this season, and we’re going back to the well. Carolina has been friskier than the market seems to think, and this teaser moves through two numbers for a home underdog. The flip side is New Orleans laying less than a field goal against Tyson Bagent at home. The fundamentals are strong.
Washington Commanders (+3) over New England Patriots — Widely Available
Yes, the Commanders just held something of a fire sale, and the perception of Washington is rock bottom right now. However, that gets us to a key number of three against a Patriots team with a thoroughly uninspiring offense. It may not be pretty, but it’s a valuable line in the direction of the underdog.
Dallas Cowboys (+3.5) over Philadelphia Eagles — PointsBet
Most shops are at three, but PointsBet is dealing 3.5 as of Thursday evening when this is posted. I like it at three as well, but if you can shop it, shop it. At any rate, I like what I’ve seen from Dallas the last two games, and Philadelphia hasn’t been as dominant as their win-loss record suggests.
Los Angeles Chargers (-3.5) over New York Jets
In general, I like the Chargers more on the road than at home, largely because they don’t actually have a home-field advantage. This is a long trip, to be sure, but I’m higher on the Chargers and lower on the Jets than most. It’s not often we have a road favorite of more than a field goal, but here we are.
Johnnie Walker is the best-selling whisky on the planet. To say that it’s ubiquitous almost feels like an understatement. Still, as with all whisk(e)y brands, Johnnie Walker isn’t a monolith. Hell, it’s not even a monolith of “blended Scotch whisky” when you look at the current expressions that the brand has available. There’s a lot of Johnnie Walker out there and a lot of it is amazing, is my point. On the other hand… some of it is not so great.
I’m here to help you figure out which Johnnie Walker Blended Scotch is the right one for you. The beauty of this brand is that there is a lot of variation in their expressions, meaning that there’s a good chance that there is a perfect Johnnie Walker vibe for you out there.
Before we dive in, Johnnie Walker is blended Scotch whisky and blended malt whisky. Yes, these are two different varieties of Scotch. “Blended Scotch whisky” is made with a blend of grain whisky and malt whisky from different distilleries in Scotland. “Blended malt whisky” is made with single malt whisky from different distilleries across Scotland. While single malt whisky is made with 100% malted barley, grain whisky is made with malted barley mixed with wheat, rye, and sometimes corn.
That can make blended Scotch whisky and blended malt whisky two very different beasts. Giving Johnnie Walker a lot of room to play with flavors. Okay, now that we have the homework out of the way, let’s dive in a rank every current mainstream and limited edition bottle on shelves (in the U.S.) right now.
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Scotch Whisky Posts of The Last Six Months
Johnnie Walker’s entry point expression is also the best-selling scotch expression on the planet. The whisky is a blend of single grain and single malt whiskies from Diageo’s deep stable of distilleries around Scotland that’s specifically designed to be mixed and not taken straight.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose reminds you more of a sweet and citrusy Speyside or Highland whisky.
Palate: The palate holds onto those notes while adding a peppery spice and a hint of orchard fruits.
Finish: The end shifts towards Islay with a wisp of smoke as the sip fades quickly away while warming you with alcohol heat.
Bottom Line:
This whisky was devised as a mixer for highballs (not even cocktails). That means that this is built to be mixed with fizzy sodas like Coke, Sprite, ginger ale, and any other soda pop or juice.
And even then… I’d skip this one. It’s harsh and very light.
17. Johnnie Walker Black Label Blended Scotch Whisky Aged 12 Years
The classic Black Label is a blend of over 40 grain and single malt whiskies from three dozen distilleries in the Diageo stable, including powerhouses like Talisker and Lagavulin. The throughline is that all of the whiskies are at least 12 years old when married into this blend.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Citrus meets spicy Christmas cake and a bit of powdery white pepper on the nose.
Palate: Those wintery spices carry on through the taste as creamy maltiness, caramel sweetness, and dry herbs bounce on your tongue.
Finish: The oak comes in late with a dose of peaty smoke that’s cut by an orange zest flourish on the quick end.
Bottom Line:
So back in the day, this was the Johnnie Walker that was built for on the rocks sipping. Today, the expression is positioned as a classic highball whisky. That means that this is made to be mixed with bubbly water with a bold garnish (think orange wedge, cucumber slice, dried lavender sprig, a sprig of rosemary — they all work). And I’d argue this works perfectly well for that, as long as you have a lot of good ice and really good mineral water with a big fizz.
This is a newer expression from the brand that also leans into mixing. The blend of wheat and single malt whiskies is aged in American oak barrels, which gives the final blend a much sweeter profile that’s specifically tuned to American whiskey palates.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet toffee candy leads the way on the nose with a counterpoint of bright red berries, soft vanilla, and a hint of oakiness.
Palate: That vanilla leads the way on the palate with more sweet toffee next to dried apple chips and a very mild winter spice malted cookie vibe.
Finish: The finish is pretty short (it’s a mixer after all) and leans into the malted spice and sweet toffee/vanilla with a hint more of the bright berry sweetness.
Bottom Line:
This is another perfectly fine highball whisky. It’s a little lighter than Black Label, so you won’t have to go as hard on the fizzy water.
15. Johnnie Walker Double Black Blended Scotch Whisky
This is Johnnie Walker Black that’s been re-casked in deeply charred oak barrels for a final maturation, making this a classic double-cask whisky. The idea is to maximize that peat and amp up the Islay and Island whiskies’ smokiness.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Clove-forward spice and billows of softwood smoke — think cherry and apple trees — greet you on the nose.
Palate: The palate has a vanilla creaminess that’s punctuated by bright apples, dried fruit, and more peat that leans more towards an old beach campfire than a chimney stack.
Finish: The spice kicks back in late, warming things up as the smoke carries through the end with a nice dose of oakiness, fruitiness, and sweet vanilla creaminess.
Bottom Line:
This is getting into decent on the rocks pours that also still works wonders in a subtle highball with a nice, herbal garnish.
The blend of this new-ish Walker blend is 40% single malts from Diageo’s stable of distilleries — particularly Cardhu, Glenkinchie, and Caol Ila — and 60% Scottish rye whisky aged in American oak. Those whiskies are vatted, proofed down, and bottled with a look toward the American whiskey palate.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose feels like the best of both worlds as a twinge of rye spiciness mingles with sweet smoky notes cut with orchard fruit and a hint of vanilla.
Palate: The fruit drives the palate with tart apples spiked with clove and anise as a buttery caramel sweetens the sip.
Finish: The finish moves on from that sweet note towards a dry sense of woody spices and a touch of dried and smoked apple slices.
Bottom Line:
This is another nice one that works as well on the rocks or in a simple highball. Try it with a dried floral garnish for the best results.
13. Jane Walker by Johnnie Walker Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
Master Blender Emma Walker created this blend with Cardhu — a Speyside distillery — at its core. Cardhu was famously founded and run by another female pioneer in whisky, Elizabeth Cumming, back in the 1800s. The juice is a blend of malts that aged at least ten years from the Diageo stable of Scotch single malts.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The sip has a nose with a clean maltiness next to raisins and peach juice with a hint of leather coming in late.
Palate: The palate is light, almost airy, with stewed apples floating in rich cream next to a touch of milk chocolate.
Finish: The finish has a very faint hint of Johnnie Walker peat next to dry reeds, more malts, and a bitter chocolate powder.
The Bottom Line:
This is the best version of Johnnie Walker Black out there. It’s nice over some ice with a twist of lime or lemon. It also really works well in a basic whiskey-forward cocktail.
12. Johnnie Walker Aged 18 Years Blended Scotch Whisky
This blend used to be called Johnnie Walker Platinum, which was also aged 18 years. You might still see some of those bottles on shelves where scotch sells slowly. This is the same whisky and comprises 18 whiskies (single grain and single malt) all of which are a minimum of 18 years old. The primary distilleries in the bottle are Blair Athol, Cardhu, Glen Elgin, and Auchroisk.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Apple chips and toffee mingle with ripe berries, old leather, and supple malts with a hint of dark brown spice mingle on the nose.
Palate: The palate is a mix of salted caramel next to marzipan and vanilla pudding with a touch of canned tangerine.
Finish: The end is sweet with a line of dark chocolate cut with dried chili flakes with an ever so slight smoked edge.
Bottom Line:
This is the first whisky on the list that I’d sip neat or on the rocks and not be mad about it. Still, this makes a killer highball (use some woody botanicals as a garnish) or solid whisky cocktail.
This no-age-statement blend leans into that signature Walker marriage of Highland and Speyside whiskies with a small dose of Western Scottish whisky for good measure (both grain and malt whiskies are in the mix). The lion’s share of the whisky involved in this gilded bottle is Clynelish, a Highland whisky that adds a modicum of peat to the mix.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose balances old leather gloves and honeyed oats with meaty sultanas, cinnamon-spiced malts, a hint of anise, and an echo of grilled fruit.
Palate: The palate leans into the grilled fruit with a smoky underbelly and a savory edge (almost papaya) next to a lush vanilla cream and a sharp clove/allspice vibe.
Finish: The finish combines the dried fruit and honey with a twinge of florals as a whisper of earthy peat sneaks in late, kind of like a dry moss slowly growing on a tree.
Bottom Line:
This is where we truly get into easy-sipping territory. I have made delicious highballs and cocktails with this too. In fact, if I was making a very whisky-forward old fashioned, I’d probably use this and let the whisky really shine in the glass.
released to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the brand’s founding in 1820. The brand launched Old Highland Whisky in the 1860s and Celebratory Blend honors this event by using whiskies operating during that time
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a good dose of rum raisin next to plenty of woody winter spices before a soft marzipan cut with pear brandy and dipped in dark yet soft chocolate arrives.
Palate: The nuttiness gets sweet on the palate as a whisp of smoked chestnuts arrives with a soft sense of dirty and wet peat fresh from the bog before a hint of black pepper draws your attention.
Finish: The black pepper softens toward a powdery white pepper on the finish as a hint of old tobacco leather pouches leads to a very mild sense of barrel warehouse floor.
Bottom Line:
This is a nice yet very easy-going whisky. It’s an easy sipper that delivers a classic lightly peated punch in all the right ways. Try it neat and then pour it over a big rock. You’ll be in for a treat.
9. Johnnie Walker Blue Label Blended Scotch Whisky
This is the mountaintop of Johnnie Walker’s whiskies. The blend is a marriage of ultra-rare grain and malt stock from extinct Diageo distilleries around Scotland. That’s just … cool. This expression is all about barrel selection and the mastery of a great noser and blender working together to create something special.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this one feels like silk with soft malts, dried plums, good marzipan, old boot leather, mulled wine spices, and a whisper of fireplace smoke.
Palate: The taste layers orange oils into the marzipan as rose-water-infused honey leads to a line of bitter dark chocolate that’s touched with smoked malts and nuts.
Finish: The end has an even keel of velvet mouthfeel next to floral honey, soft smoldering smoke from a fireplace, and old dried fruit.
Bottom Line:
This is absolutely a good pour of whisky even if it is a little overhyped. Still, this over a big ol’ rock is a slice of peated whisky gold. Not for nothing, but this also makes one hell of a Manhattan (or Rob Roy if you want to get technical).
8. Johnnie Walker Island Green Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
This travel retail exclusive is a take on Johnnie Walker’s iconic Green Label Blended Malt (we’ll get to that soon). The whisky in the bottle is made from barrels from Caol Ila in Islay, Clynelish in the Highlands, Glenkinchie in the Lowlands, and Cardhu in Speyside. Once vatted, the whisky is proofed down and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is like walking past fishing boats that just came in with their catch on a rainy day on the nose before rich toffee arrives with a vanilla cookie and a faint whisper of incense (sandalwood).
Palate: The whisky warms on the front of the tongue with spiced winter cakes and mulled wine before leaning into deeply smoked plums, apricots, and peaches with a smoldering sweet orchard wood fire still spitting smoke in the background.
Finish: That smoked fruit takes on a spiced stewed vibe at the end as the finish leans into almost mossy peat smoke lines through rainwater in slate and straw.
Bottom Line:
This is a very good pour that works well on the rocks or in a cocktail. The end is just different enough to help this stand out as a neat pour too.
7. Johnnie Walker Blue Label Blended Scotch Whisky Ghost And Rare Glenury Royal
The core of the blend is barrels of whisky from the extinct Glenury Royal Distillery. Those barrels are blended with grain whisky from Cameronbridge Distillery and single malts from Glen Elgin, Inchgower, and Glenkinchie.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Bright and lush fruit orchards burst from the nose with ripe sweet apple, plump apricots, green pears, and ripe tart cherries before rich and almost creamy toffee drives the nose toward sweet notes of smoked butterscotch and vanilla pods.
Palate: The tip of the tongue is greeted with fresh honeycomb next to lush vanilla that feels like a moist coffee cake before the fruit from the nose takes a dry turn and becomes salted and just kissed with sweet smoke.
Finish: Those dried fruits are covered in salted dark chocolate on the finish as a sense of brandy-soaked marzipan arrives with a light flourish of salted smoked plums and pears lingering on the very end.
Bottom Line:
This 2019 Limited Edition release is still on shelves. So get some because this is just delicious. It’s also peat-lite, meaning that it won’t scare off the peat-curious sippers out there.
6. Johnnie Walker Blue Label Blended Scotch Whisky Ghost and Rare Pittyvaich
This is another Johnnie Walker Blue that’s built on the back of barrels from closed distilleries. The blend is built on the back of old barrels from Pittyvaich Distillery, which has been shuttered since 1993. Those barrels are blended with whisky from Mannochmore, Auchroisk, Cragganmore, Strathmill, and Royal Lochnagar. Once vatted, the whisky was bottled 100% as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Tart and crisp apples dance with fresh wisteria and nasturtium on the nose with a sense of honeycomb pulled straight from the hive, cinnamon bark stips soaked in apple cider and just kissed with raspberry syrup and a light sense of smoked berries over a buttery vanilla-laced crumble.
Palate: Those apples join the crumble vibe as a rich and spicy mincemeat pie vibe takes the taste toward marmalade, rich toffee rolled in roasted almonds, and salted dried pear and apricot.
Finish: There’s a light fruity leatheriness to the finish that’s smoothed out by rich cinnamon vanilla ice cream over warm apple pie before a spice malted cake drizzled with orange icing and stuffed soaked in pear brandy round out the end.
Bottom Line:
This is delicious. Pour it neat, take your time, and enjoy the ride.
5. Johnnie Walker King George V Blended Scotch Whisky
This blend from Johnnie Walker is a celebratory Blue Label variant. Part of what you’re paying for is the extinct Port Ellen distillery whisky in the bottle. Another part is that all the whiskies in the blend are from distilleries that were running when King George V reigned in the U.K., between 1910 and 1936. Then, of course, there’s the bespoke flint glass decanter that has its own serial number (don’t throw it away!).
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a delicate dance between honeyed almonds dusted with coarse salt, dark chocolate just kissed with vanilla, and an orange-honey sweet smokiness.
Palate: The taste builds on that orange-honey vibe with a touch of rose water and marzipan as the dark chocolate sharpens its bitterness and the smoke moves far into the background.
Finish: The end is like pure velvet with a bright fresh rose note next to the final slow fade of smoked oranges and almonds.
Bottom Line:
This is a silky dream in a glass. It might not be as deep as some of the whiskies on this list but it’s so beautiful on the palate and balanced that it doesn’t matter.
4. Johnnie Walker Blue Label Blended Scotch Whisky Ghost And Rare Port Ellen
Closed back in 1983, Port Ellen has remained a distillery of legendary status (so much so that it’s been reopened). This Johnnie Blue limited edition uses very old barrels of Port Ellen grain whisky and blends it with other shuttered distillery barrels from Carsebridge and Caledonian distilleries. That whisky is then blended with barrels of single malt from Mortlach, Dailuaine, Cragganmore, Blair Athol, and Oban. You know, some of only the most iconic working distilleries today.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Grilled peaches drizzled in smoked blue cheese sauce lead to creamy vanilla over gnocchi (if you know, you know) before hints of smoked candied orange and lemon lead to a note of star fruit and grilled pineapple covered in rum raisin and layered over smoldering oak and orchard wood staves.
Palate: The smoked and candied citrus rinds turn waxy like a saltwater taffy with neon colors before papaya skins and mango seeds drive the palate toward salted oysters and clams with a hint of bacon and parsley.
Finish: The end takes you to a dock just as the cages and nets are hitting the deck and sort of combines everything into a briny seafood chowder with a hint of smoked tropical fruit turnover for dessert with a lush vanilla cream sauce.
Bottom Line:
Again, this is just f*cking delicious. It’s a journey in a glass and it’s a journey that really speaks to me. My palate aside, this is also a very complex and nuanced whisky that simply rises above most blended Scotch whiskies on the shelf today.
3. Johnnie Walker Blue Label Elusive Umami Blended Scotch Whisky
Johnnie Walker just dropped a new and very unique version of their Blue Label. Dr. Emma Walker, Johnnie Walker’s Master Blender, worked with Chef Kei Kobayashi to create a whisky blend that truly presented as “umami” on the profile. They did this by selecting umami-forward barrels from the vast stables of Diageo’s Scotch distilleries to create a masterful and truly unique Johnnie Blue.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Orange oils and bright fresh berries lead on the nose before woody winter spices create a sharp shift toward pepper smoked brisket burnt ends with a hint of blueberry BBQ sauce.
Palate: The palate leans toward white peaches that are almost savory before the woody apple is cut with tangerines and orange oils with a hint of wild berries that are part savory and part woody — think huckleberries off the bush.
Finish: The finish swings back around to that brisket with a deep saltiness and sharp black pepper vibe before the dark and woody berries come back into counterbalance with brightness, sweetness, and woodiness.
Bottom Line:
This is funky and weird and it just works. This paired with a full-on omakase meal is the stuff of whisky-pairing dreams.
2. Johnnie Walker Blue Label Blended Scotch Whisky Ghost and Rare Brora
Rare Brora is also made from whiskies from distilleries that are no longer with us — in this case, Cambus and Pittyvaich. Those whiskies are blended with the Highland Single Malt, Royal Lochnagar, Clynelish, Glenkinchie, Glenlossie, Cameronbridge, and of course Brora.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Grilled and smoked tropical fruits burst forth on the nose with a sweet orchard wood smokiness that gives way to candied citrus peels, caramel apples, brandy-soaked pears stewed with saffron, and creamy orange sherbert cut with a note of grapefruit pith.
Palate: The pear takes on a dried and salted form while still holding onto the brandied vibe before dark spice barks and buds drive the palate toward a smoldering pile of botanicals and spices infusing into tropical and fall fruits countered by a rich and lush Nutella spread over a fresh from the oven scone with clotted cream on the side.
Finish: The Nutella separates on the finish with roasted and smoked hazelnuts mixing with a hint of fire-roasted chestnuts before salted and very dark chocolate arrives with a note of smoldering smudging sage and tobacco lingering on the very end.
Bottom Line:
Again, this is just delicious. And it’s even relatively affordable. You know what to do.
1. Johnnie Walker Green Label Blended Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 15 Years
Johnnie Walker’s Green Label is a solidly crafted whisky that highlights Diageo’s fine stable of distilleries across Scotland. The whisky is a pure malt or blended malt, meaning that only single malt whisky is in the mix (no grain whisky). In this case, the primary whiskies are a minimum of 15 years old, from Talisker, Caol Ila, Cragganmore, and Linkwood.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Soft notes of cedar dance with hints of black pepper, vanilla pods, and bright fruit — think red berries, fresh pear, and nectarines — with a wisp of singed green grass in the background.
Palate: The palate delivers on that soft cedar woodiness while edging towards a spice-laden tropical fruit brightness with grilled peaches covered in salted caramel, honey malt biscuits, and bitter yet sweet marmalade with a dash of winter spiciness.
Finish: The finish is dialed in with hints of soft cedar bark, singed wild sage, bark-forward winter spice, and stewed stonefruit leading toward a briny billow of smoke at the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is also delicious and has no business being this good at this price point. Hell, a bottle of Caol Ila 12-year costs more than this and the 15-year-old version of that whisky is in this blend. Is this the wildest ride on the list? No. But this is by far the best whisky from Johnnie Walker thanks to an amazing price and a fantastic profile that speaks to all the best moments of Johnnie Walker’s overall vibe.
When the attack on Pearl Harbor began, Doris “Dorie” Miller was working laundry duty on the USS West Virginia.
He’d enlisted in the Navy at age 19 to explore life outside of Waco, Texas, and to make some extra money for his family. But the Navy was segregated at the time, so Miller, an African-American, and other sailors of color like him weren’t allowed to serve in combat positions. Instead, they worked as cooks, stewards, cabin boys, and mess attendants. They received no weapons training and were prohibited from firing guns.
As the first torpedoes fell, Dorie Miller had an impossible choice: follow the rules or help defend the ship?
In the heat of the aerial attack, Miller saw an abandoned Browning .50 caliber anti-aircraft machine gun on deck and immediately decided to fly in the face of segregation and military rules to help defend his ship and country.
Though he had no training, he manned the weapon and shot at the enemy aircraft until his gun ran out of ammunition, potentially downing as many as six Japanese planes. In the melee, even Miller himself didn’t know his effort was successful.
“It wasn’t hard,” he said after the battle. “I just pulled the trigger and she worked fine. I had watched the others with these guns. I guess I fired her for about 15 minutes. I think I got one of those [Japanese] planes. They were diving pretty close to us.”
Original newspaper reports heralded a hero “Negro messman” at Pearl Harbor, but no one knew who Miller was.
The Pittsburgh Courier, an African-American paper in wide circulation, sent a reporter to track down and identify the brave sailor, but it took months of digging to uncover the messman’s identity.
Eventually, Miller was identified. He was called a hero by Americans of all stripes and colors. He appeared on radio shows and became a celebrity in his own right.
Miller’s heroism and bravery didn’t go unnoticed in Washington, D.C., either.
In March 1942, Rep. John Dingell, a Democrat from Michigan, introduced a bill authorizing the president to present Miller with the Congressional Medal of Honor. Sen. James Mead introduced a similar measure in the Senate. While Miller did not receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, he became the first African-American sailor to receive the Navy Cross.
While there are medals, movies, and statues celebrating Miller, it’s important to remember and honor the man himself — a 22-year-old black sailor who set aside the rules to do what’s right.Poet Gwendolyn Brooks wrote a poem from Miller’s perspective, the conclusion of which perfectly captures the young hero’s courage in the face of bigotry and uncertainty:Naturally, the important thing is, I helped to save them,them and a part of their democracy,Even if I had to kick their law into their teeth in order to do that for them.And I am feeling well and settled in myself because I believe it was a good job,Despite this possible horror: that they might prefer thePreservation of their law in all its sick dignity and their knivesTo the continuation of their creedAnd their lives.
This article originally appeared on 12.06.16
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