The first day of spring is officially tomorrow, March 20. Saturday Night Live is set to kick the new season off strong, too: Today, they announced the hosts and musical guests for some upcoming episodes.
The March 29 show will be hosted by Mikey Madison and feature Morgan Wallen as musical guest. Then, on April 5, Jack Black is hosting and the musical guests are Elton John and Brandi Carlile. Finally, on April 12, Jon Hamm is hosting and Lizzo is the musical guest.
Wallen famously has a bit of a bumpy history with SNL. He was supposed to be the musical guest on October 10, 2020, but the show ended up dropping him after videos of him maskless at a party during peak COVID surfaced. Then, he actually appeared as musical guest on the December 5 episode that year. (Not long after that, he found himself in more hot water after a video of him using a racial slur surfaced.)
Meanwhile, Lizzo made her SNL debut in 2019, then was both host and musical guest in April 2022, then she returned as musical guest in December 2022.
As for John, he’s been on the show surprisingly infrequently: He was a musical guest in 1982, then he was host and musical guest in 2011, and that’s it. Then there’s Carlile, who was a musical guest in 2021 and 2022.
Erykah Badu is working on something. In February, she and The Alchemistteased some new music they’re making together, with Earl Sweatshirt also in the mix. Still, it wasn’t clear exactly what they were doing: A song, an EP, and album? Well, it turns out the answer is album.
A new feature from Billboard notes the project, which will be Badu’s first album in 15 years, will be produced entirely by The Alchemist. The piece also notes the project has “been taking up most of” Badu’s time, and that she “says she can’t wait until she’s done.”
Badu also spoke about her thoughts on modern-day hip-hop, saying:
“[The thing I like about rap right now] is the same thing I liked about rap when I first met it. Rap is the people. Hip-hop is the people. It’s the folks. It’s the tribe. I have the luxury of experiencing having children who I watch grow up and love and encourage very much, and I cannot separate them when I see artists who are that age coming up. That’s how they feel. They are continuing the tradition.”
She admits, though, that she doesn’t follow rap like she used to, but that her children keep her in the loop.
It’s penultimate episode time for Reacher‘s third season, and boy, he must be ready to fully put this “undercover” assignment (although his cover has already been blown) behind him. Last week, any naysayers also received reassurances that the Neagley spin off will be worth waiting for (that “call me an ambulance” followup was *chef’s kiss*), and Prime Video/Amazon will also surely begin rolling out word of Reacher’s next vagabond adventure soon, too.
Guys, we haven’t seen Roscoe return yet, but you know what? That’s just fine. This season has surpassed the weaker second entry, which means that the Big Guy has made a comeback like Alan Ritchson followers knew that he would. Now, it’s almost time for the buildup to the finale episode.
When Does Reacher Season 3 Episode 7 Come Out?
Thursday, March 20 at 12:00am PST and 3:00am EST.
This week’s episode, “L.A. Story,” sees Reacher on the road again, but this time, he isn’t making the trip alone: “Reacher and Duffy travel to Los Angeles to cut a deal with one of Quinn’s colleagues. Meanwhile, Quinn makes final preparation for a massive criminal sale that is about to go down.”
And if you want help passing the hours before this episode arrives, Ritchson is keeping the action alive on his Instagram page, where he has been reading aloud from the Persuader novel that forms the basis of these episodes. As one commenter sums up, “It’s Reacher reading Reacher as Reacher!”
Recording artists often compare making music to therapy. For the members of PartyOf2, it literally was — and still is.
The duo started out as a quartet in 2019 called Grouptherapy, made up of former child actors who came together to make music informed by their experiences — some very traumatic — in the entertainment industry.
However, two of the group’s founding members departed: Rhea (Elijah Rhea Johnson, formerly of the teen boy band Mindless Behavior) in 2020 and TJOnline (also known as Tyrel Jackson Williams, the younger brother of Abbott Elementary star Tyler James Williams) in 2024. So, the remaining members — Koi (Coy Stewart, who got his start in the TV version of Are We There Yet? and appearing in roles for Marvel and Nickelodeon) and Jadagrace (Jadagrace Gordy-Nash, who appeared in Terminator Salvation and was signed to Epic Records when she was just nine years old) — decided it was time for a rebrand.
On March 14, the duo released their first EP since the name change, We Owe You An Explanation. It’s a short but compelling collection of songs in which they wrangle with the internal turmoil that led to TJOnline’s departure from the group, and the sense that, while Grouptherapy may be over, PartyOf2 still needs the benefits the group provided through its camaraderie and the catharsis of music.
Over burgers and fries at Fairfax hotspot Trophies Burger Club in Los Angeles, the two born performers — who still take auditions to this day — got into the nitty gritty of their new dynamic, the pitfalls of the entertainment business, and why, despite their EP’s title, they really don’t owe anyone a thing.
You guys were Grouptherapy before. Now you’re a PartyOf2. You don’t have to get into the messy details and pull out all your guts or anything, but how did you guys get to this new configuration, and what was the adjustment like for you?
Koi: It was very quick for us. To put it plainly, being in a group is hard because there are multiple people with multiple opinions and goals and dreams, and all of those things aren’t going to all line up all the time. So, I think we reached a point where goals and dreams and visions were going in different directions. When we realized we got to that point, I think me and [Jada] hit a place where we were like, because of how it was a refuge for us, “Do we even want to still do this?”
Jada: Is it still going to feel right and feel good? We don’t want to just keep going because we’ll feel like we failed or whatever. It’s like, do we want to keep going? Are we going to be happy?
Koi: Are we going to be happy? Do we still love this? And I think what we circled back to again was how therapeutic it is for us. Because that change was very difficult, we just went straight to the music, we locked ourselves in the studio, and very quickly, we realized that if we were going to continue, it only felt right to re-brand and give this new life because of what we built with Grouptherapy as a trio. We wanted to honor that and we wanted to start a new chapter. So, PartyOf2 was born.
Jada: When thinking about continuing this as Grouptherapy, it felt like there was always going to be something that felt wrong in our hearts about it, just because Grouptherapy was what it was, and this is a totally different dynamic. This is something totally new and we just wanted to honor that, and also let the fans know, obviously with this project coming out, how much we still love the therapy and do it in a way where it’s not abandoning it, but just honoring it and moving forward with some new energy.
I like that segue because I wanted to ask… titles are portentous. Obviously, you guys feel like there’s stuff you have to explain. Why is it so important to you to explain this? Because really, if we’re getting into it with us in the entertainment business, we don’t owe people that. So, what was so important to you guys about getting that out there, and what do you want people to learn about you guys?
Koi: It’s interesting because I think the feeling that we owe people an explanation is more specific to people who are like us and look like us and enjoyed our music and were true core fans of us from the beginning. With Grouptherapy, we were so transparent, and we showed people it was okay to be transparent and be yourselves and be different and look like this. To go through such a crazy change like that and not say anything felt wrong.
Jada: It also felt not only we owed it to the Grouptherapy fans, but more so to ourselves, because you’re right, we don’t owe. If we don’t want to talk about something, we won’t. We’ll move on. But it didn’t feel right, because it’s genuinely what we were going through and what was on our hearts at that time. So, just being true to ourselves and trying to be authentic in our music, it’s like, “We’re going to talk about what we’re going through and this is it, and we happen to go through it publicly.” So everybody wants to know, but it’s not to feed into it or to make it a whole thing. It’s just because that’s how we’re feeling right now.
I wanted to ask you guys what your process is like now. How has it changed? How do you guys come up with the ideas? What are you listening to when you’re getting inspired? I’m a big fan of the back-and-forth flow: “I’m going to take four bars, I’m going to take four bars and then bounce off.” And you guys did that to perfection. And only, I think, once or twice have I ever heard it for the man-and-woman dynamic.
Jada: Being a duo now, there’s just naturally more room for both of us to shine individually, and we just honestly have a lot of fun going back and forth. Sometimes, to be honest, we’ll write a whole song and just record it, or Koi will write some demos and stuff, and we’ll just listen to it in full. And then we’ll be like, “Honestly, you should be saying this part, I should be saying this part.” So sometimes we’ll switch because it just feels right. But yeah, our process is very unique and it has changed since becoming a duo. We’ve been producing a little more. I feel like we are always trying to do something that we haven’t touched yet.
Koi: The studio still feels like the only place that I can actually be my truest self. Creatively, I think this year, we’ve been really pushing ourselves to be as raw and vulnerable as we possibly can. On the album before, when we were a trio, I would never step into the booth without having my entire verse completely written. And now, we literally will put something on that inspires us and I will lock myself in the booth and just say sh*t. I try to remove that right side of my brain that’s trying to judge everything.
I want to do something fun. Jada, what’s your favorite thing about Koi?
Jada: Creatively?
Just as a person.
Koi: I would love to know.
Jada: I would say he’s the most determined person I’ve ever met in my life. It don’t matter how many obstacles you put in front of this man, he will knock them down. It don’t matter if he’s bleeding on the floor. He will clean up his own blood and he will get up and make it happen. It just feels like we can never fail. He’s always pushing us forward.
Koi, same question
Koi: Jada is probably the most genuine and pure person I’ve ever met in my life. And your heart is always so open and so in the right place that it scares me sometimes. I don’t understand how you’ve been through the things that you’ve been through and you haven’t let any of it poison you or darken your heart at all. I feel like the balance that we have is, yeah, I am very determined, but I think sometimes with that determination, you can lose some of your humanity in being so focused on the goal. So she brings me back to center a lot when I’m bleeding too much and trying to get back up too much. But that’s the balance we have. You blow my mind the things that we’ve been through and how you’ve just been like, “It’s okay, it’s fine. It’s going to be okay.”
Next year, if we decide to make this a tradition — Trophies, burgers and fries, and just hang out and talk — and you say, “Aaron, this last year was crazy. This, we did this, we did that, we did this.” What’s the answer to that question?
Jada: It’s the simple things for me. Just putting out a project with just the two of us is going to be so filling to me because we’ve been working so hard. The moment we found out that we were going to be a duo, I felt like I just couldn’t see it for a second. If you would’ve told me that we would make an album, sign, tour, and all that, I just would be like, “How?” So the fact that we’re going to do it and I know we’re going to do it successfully, I will be happy. And also, we’ve never done a headline tour, not even as Grouptherapy. So to do a headline tour, just the two of us.
Koi: See the fans. I think it’s interesting: We experienced so much as children, so many things. Very life-changing things. I think it made me a little bit jaded to the idea of success, and maybe not in a negative way, but just that there aren’t really a lot of things that can happen in terms of material success that affect me anymore because I’ve been through so many different things, and it’s still very exciting. Of course, I want a Grammy one day.
And I want to buy my mom a house and all these amazing things. But I think I’ve got to the point now where it’s like, in a year, bro, I hope I’m happy still. And I hope that I can look back at the project we made and just be proud of it. I’ve never been proud of a project more than this EP because I was really able to take my heart and put it on that canvas in the most honest way I’ve ever been able to do it, and now I’m addicted to that. So, I’m just hoping that we do it again and can continue to do it.
We Owe You An Explanation is out now via Def Jam Recordings. Find more info here.
Tom Hardy recently finished throwing down his hip-hop inspired Venom voice, and he’s been going straight-up gangster in the aftermath. This immediate future might or might not include a pit stop in the upcoming Peaky Blinders movie, but Hardy is imminently starring in Guy Ritchie’s MobLand series for Paramount Plus. Additionally, he will be wreaking Havoc in a film of the same name for Netflix. It’s been a relatively long ride for this movie to arrive, so let’s get down to business on what to expect.
Plot
Netflix
Does four years seem like a long time for an action movie intended for Netflix to gestate after securing its leading man? Perhaps. The Hollywood strikes probably contributed to the process, but in early 2021, Deadline reported that the streaming service and Gareth Evans entered into “an exclusive deal” for the Apostle and (more importantly) The Raid franchise director to both direct and produce projects. And at that time, Havoc was set with Tom Hardy already confirmed to star. Further, the Netflix-Evans deal was said to be in the works “for some time but wanted to make sure Hardy was locked up as they saw this as the first project to unveil under the deal.”
Havoc was also written by Evans with the project originally being described as the aftermath of a botched drug deal, and Hardy doesn’t portray a gangster here, but as a jaded detective, he certainly tangles with those underworld figures. With a 105-minute runtime, Havoc is described as “a high octane action thriller” with a malevolent Timothy Olyphant included as a bonus. In other words, it’s everything that you’d expect from the continued career of The Raid franchise filmmaker. From the synopsis:
Walker (Tom Hardy) is a bruised detective fighting his way through the criminal underworld threatening to engulf his entire city. In the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong, Walker finds himself with a number of factions on his tail; a vengeful crime syndicate, a crooked politician, as well as his fellow cops. When attempting to rescue the politician’s estranged son, whose involvement in the drug deal starts to unravel a deep web of corruption and conspiracy, he is forced to confront the demons of his past.
Evans is also a co-creator of AMC’s Gangs Of London, which is a highly recommended watch while the wait for Havoc winds down.
Cast
In addition to Hardy and Olyphant, Havoc co-stars Forest Whitaker, Luis Guzmán, Jessie Mei Li, Justin Cornwell, Quelin Sepulveda, Jim Caesar, Xelia Mendes-Jones, Michelle Waterson, Sunny Pang, and Yeo Yann Yann.
Trailer
This teaser contains enough blink-and-you’ll-miss-it action to make heads spin, but Hardy and Olyphant are both giving their best anti-bromance faces. Win win all around.
Uproxx’s newest show launches today, and this time, we’re putting some of our favorite artists in the hot seat, testing their taste in Sound Check With Jeremy Hecht. Our host — who you may know from the HipHopDX/Uproxx co-branded podcast The Bigger Picture with Elliott Wilson and DJ Hed — will sit down with each guest artist for a 12-round interview, prompting them to choose between two tracks each round.
Jeremy knows his stuff; each of the tracks is hand-picked to hold some relevant connection to the artist being interviewed and force them to make and defend tough choices, including selecting a “desert island” pick to get thoughtful, revealing answers and let artists play the role of fans for a change.
“Music has the power to transport us back to moments in time, and that’s what makes Sound Check so special,” Jeremy explains. “This show gives artists a chance to reflect on their influences and share their personalities in a fun, relaxed way through the music they love. You can learn so much about someone just by their taste in music, and I love that Sound Check uses that as the foundation for conversation. I’m grateful to bring this format to life with UPROXX and hope it helps fans connect with their favorite artists in a new way—maybe even discovering a new song or two along the way.”
Our first guest is DaBaby, with future episodes taking on stars like G-Eazy, LaRussell, and Rico Nasty. New episodes of Sound Check With Jeremy Hecht premiere every Wednesday, starting today on UPROXX’s YouTube channel and social platforms. You can watch the first episode up top.
On their 2023 debut album, Dead Meat, The Tubs revived ’80s jangle-pop for the modern age. For its follow-up, Cotton Crown, the London-based group doubles down on that premise, albeit they expand their sonic blueprint to encompass the ’90s output of groups like R.E.M. and Guided By Voices.
They still channel The Smiths and other ’80s torchbearers, but there’s an additional, subtle heaviness in George Nicholls’ guitar tone, most notably on blazing songs like “Chain Reaction” and “Embarrassing.” Those weightier textures buttress Owen “O” Williams’ ruminations on the suicide of his mother, folk musician Charlotte Grieg. Through that lens, Cotton Crown pulls off an impressive feat: drawing from The Tubs’ influences to create a record only they could have made.
Following the album’s release earlier this month, Williams sat down with Uproxx to talk about seeing The Magnetic Fields on ecstasy, eating peanut butter on bread, loving Jim Legxacy, and more in our latest Q&A.
What are four words you would use to describe your music?
Rat arsed Celtic pop.
It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?
We’re hoping we’ll still be around in 2050, but we’ll have a kind of grey-beard/shiny-waistcoat/pint-of-ale/set-up-in-the-corner-of-the-pub vibe.
Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?
I’m not sure, but we’re all obsessed with Shogun from Royal Headache’s new band Antenna right now.
Where did you eat the best meal of your life and what was it?
Peanut butter on bread at my house.
Tell us about the best concert you’ve ever attended.
I saw The Magnetic Fields high on ecstasy, which was good.
What song never fails to make you emotional?
Jim Legxacy – “nothings changed (!)”
What’s the last thing you Googled?
What are ‘soul ties’
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?
We slept on the floor of an old steam train at a festival once.
What’s your favorite city in the world to perform and what’s the city you hope to perform in for the first time?
Favourite city – London.
City we hope to perform in – Tokyo.
What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?
Do not touch the glowing stone.
What’s one of your hidden talents?
Gallery invigilation.
If you had a million dollars to donate to charity, what cause would you support and why?
The Free Wales Army.
What are your thoughts about AI and the future of music?
American Single Malt is a category that’s quickly expanding (and improving), so there’s no time like the present to explore your options within it.
After all, it isn’t every day that you get a brand-new legally designated whiskey category, but with recent changes to the TTB officially recognizing American Single Malt, you can get in on the ground floor of this rapidly growing subset today.
So, where should you start? That’s where this UPROXX list comes in! As a spirits judge, brand consultant, and whiskey critic, I’ve tried hundreds of whiskeys and scores of American Single Malts, which gives me some unique insight when it comes to identifying the very best of the best. Looking across the landscape, I rounded up the 12 best American Single Malt whiskeys for beginners to buy right now.
Make no mistake; even if you’ve been enjoying American Single Malt since 1996 when the first ASM whiskey was released, this list will serve you well. Each of these bottles is available today and can be found with relative ease.
So, while there are some truly intriguing limited releases from the likes of Wolves Whiskey, Town Branch, Stranahan’s, and even Jack Daniel’s, they require either a plane ticket, a bit of extra cash, or a laborious search to track down. The following options are among the absolute best, and they can be bought either at your local liquor store or with the click of a button online.
As one final housekeeping note, you may be wondering, what is American Single Malt whiskey? For a quick outline, to be labeled an American Single Malt, a whiskey has to meet the following criteria:
• Made from 100% malted barley
• Distilled to no more than 80% ABV (160 proof) and bottled at no less than 40% ABV (80 proof)
• Mashed, distilled, and aged in America
• Aged in either used or new oak containers no larger than 700 liters
• Distilled entirely at one distillery
With that all out of the way, let’s dive into the 12 best American Single Malt whiskeys to buy right now!
Redwood Empire is the California-based distillery responsible for this “small lot” of 100% malted barley American Single Malt Whiskey. The size of the lot in this release is 27 barrels. Of note about the distillery is that they’re committed to planting a tree for every bottle sold. As of the publication date, that count is now well over 1.5 million trees planted.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Bright orange and cherry gummy bear aromas jump out of the glass; this is far and away the most fruit-forward ASM of the bunch with a gentle undertone of dark chocolate, mint, and curry powder. It’s truly intriguing stuff!
Palate: The cherry candy notes continue to the palate along with more malted barley than the nose indicated and a slight mesquite characteristic that grips the midpalate and leaves barrel char and slight smokiness in its wake as it transitions to the finish. The mouthfeel is quotidian, but it has a lot of grip towards the end.
Finish: For the finish, Foggy Burl is full of black pepper spice, youthful oak, and cherry fruit leather. It’s pretty succinct, but that brevity definitely works here.
Bottom Line:
Redwood Empire’s Foggy Burl expression packs a ton of unexpected flavors for a well-balanced, positively impressive whiskey. If you’re making your first foray into the category, this is an excellent jumping off point.
Bulleit is a major producer, and its inaugural American Single Malt expression made a significant splash. For this offering, Bulleit distills on a copper column still with a secondary distillation in a copper doubler at a slightly higher proof than their bourbon.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Lots of honey, cinnamon red hots, and clove with accents of freshly picked mint. There are also some raisin and sage aromas that follow the first set. Overall, it’s a slightly unexpected but pleasant nose with a bit of cookie dough in there as well.
Palate: The initial impression of the palate is that it’s doughy with dollops of honey and a light cinnamon dusting. It has a nice viscous mouthfeel, which carries a bit of dried strawberry. It’s not necessarily simple, but it is exceedingly crowd-pleasing with good balance and restrained baking spices, with nutmeg and green pepper chief among them.
Finish: Bulleit American Single Malt has a mellow medium-length finish that welcomes more of the spice notes like nutmeg and black pepper to go with the honeyed barley flavors.
Bottom Line:
Bulleit American Single Malt performs well as a crowd-pleasing entry to the category. At its moderate price point, I’d highly recommend this uncomplicated, straightforward delight that doesn’t excel in any one way but doesn’t leave you wanting anything more, either.
This is meant to be an Amerian Single Malt for everyone, and in that role, it succeeds.
10. Bear Fight Whiskey American Single Malt Whiskey
Made in copper pot stills and utilizing 100% malted barley and spring water sourced from Raleigh, North Carolina, where the brand is based, Bear Fight Whiskey’s American Single Malt expression utilizes three different types of oak barrels: ex-bourbon for primary maturation, then finishing in sherry and smoked peat casks.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nosing notes open with classic American single malt aromas of hay, green apples, and honey, with some faint smoke, nutmeg, and caraway anchoring those light, sweet notes with an earthy base that’s easy to enjoy.
Palate: On the palate, this whiskey truly blossoms with black currants, honey, and stewed green apple notes cascading over the tongue and sticking to the back of your teeth. Chewing the whiskey unlocks those baking spices that grant it extra depth, gently brushing your palate and the roof of your mouth with nutmeg, freshly cracked black pepper, and faint whisps of sage before juicy orange tones initiate the transition into the finish.
Finish: This whiskey’s closing act reintroduces the smoky note that was first promised on the nose, with a touch of leather, fresh figs, dilute honey, and youthful oak in tow to balance things out. It’s a reasonably succinct finish that beckons repeat sips due to its crispness and distinct flavors.
Bottom Line:
Bear Fight Whiskey’s American Single Malt, adorned with an apropos tattered label, is far less rugged than its name would suggest. Instead, this whiskey’s delicate infusion of well-developed, sherry-tinged flavors makes for a mellow sipping experience that eschews the bite for a wonderfully approachable whiskey that should help the brand expand the American Single Malt category’s popularity.
The subtlety of the peated smoke in this one, in particular, is worthy of applause.
“American made. Japanese (whiskey) inspired. Wholly original.” So goes the tagline for St. George’s Baller expression. The whiskey itself is produced from 100% American barley, aged for at least three years in used bourbon and French oak wine casks, then filtered through maple charcoal. Finally, the whiskey is finished in house-made umeshu casks.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The aroma of apricots, figs, and candied lemon peels comes wafting out of the glass with St. George’s Baller whiskey poured. There’s a slight salinity and green notes reminiscent of cucumbers, with roasted malt gently washing it all away and resetting your senses before the first sip.
Palate: On the palate, the melange of flavors on the nose increases twofold, with honeydew, fried pickles, and honeysuckle joining the already loaded bunch. Despite the range of layers in this whiskey, it somehow all comes together and keeps you guessing as you suck your teeth and anticipate what the slot machine of flavors will kick out next.
Finish: The finish lingers with medium length and narrows the assortment of flavors down to fried pickles, dried apricots, seaweed, and white sugar before it slowly dissipates.
Bottom Line:
Perhaps the most unique Americanskey on this Single-Malt whi list, St. George delivers a bevy of bold flavors that will shake up folks delving into the category for the first time. This surprisingly delicious whiskey needs to be experienced to be fully enjoyed.
Wolves Whiskey has been producing some stellar and incredibly unique premium blends over the past few years, but this expression is the brand’s very first crack at creating an evergreen product. Aged for five years in California wine barrels before being finished in Cognac casks, this brand-new American Single Malt debuted in September this year.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with mocha, deep honey tones, and roasted Brazil nuts. After a few waves of the hand, cinnamon and doughy notes emerge from the glass, along with dried strawberries.
Palate: This whiskey is immediately supple and expansive on the palate, defying its modest proof to flood your tastebuds with the flavor of Manuka honey, crème brulée, clove, and fresh figs. There are additional layers of nutmeg, cinnamon, and half-baked pastries, complete with a slight doughiness and well-developed sweetness.
Finish: The finish is medium-length and just as silky as the liquid itself, causing it to gently recede, leaving a touch of black pepper and clove with cinnamon bark at the end.
Bottom Line:
Wolves Whiskey’s brand-new American Single Malt is definitely off to an auspicious start, launching just a few months ago, but already turning heads as the brand’s very first evergreen product. This whiskey showcases an impressive blend of finishing casks for a smooth, easy-sipping end result. While the Wolves brand has a ton of intriguing higher-end offerings, this entry-level whiskey is poised to capture a new audience thanks to its more affordable price point and approachable flavor profile.
7. Old Line Navy Strength American Single Malt Whiskey
Distilled from 100% malted barley, Old Line’s Navy Strength American Single Malt Whiskey is matured in heavily charred virgin American oak barrels before being bottled at near-cask strength as an homage to the traditional strength favored by America’s naval forces.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Butterscotch, malted barley, honey, and white pepper stand out on the nosing notes of this punchy whiskey. True to expectations, this noses like an amped-up version of Old Line’s stellar flagship American Single Malt, but with a few surprising notes around the margins, like star anise, to heighten the affair.
Palate: This whiskey has a heavy mouthfeel with lilac, dark chocolate, star anise, and honey featured most prominently at the front of the palate. The rich, floral note is perhaps the most surprising development in the transition from the nose to the palate, but the dense texture works well to display the flavors and temper the high heat of this one.
Finish: The lengthy finish is where the oak hangs out, and the lilac note fuses with lavender and honey in a major way. It’s an unusual but wholly welcome development that makes this one fun to sip slowly and savor at length.
Bottom Line:
This is my favorite expression in Old Line’s American Single Malt portfolio because it’s a straight shooter. While the brand’s double oak series features some truly fun riffs on its base spirit, by sticking to simplicity and simply offering its whiskey at an amplified ABV, Old Line has a hit.
Westward’s Cask Strength offering is the pinnacle of their core lineup in that it offers their flagship whiskey as unfettered as you can hope for, short of theiving it from a barrel yourself. Made with 100% malted barley using only Pacific Northwest grains, this whiskey is perhaps the truest representation of the region you’ll find.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Plums and cherries dance on the nose along with an undercurrent of malted chocolate, honey, and thyme. It’s a bold, fruit-forward bouquet that’s further buoyed by slightly burnt wheat toast and black pepper.
Palate: The silky mouthfeel of this whiskey leads to the introduction of black cherry, redcurrant, plum flesh, and black pepper on the palate. At midpalate is where honey sweetness simply bursts and fans out over the tongue with malted chocolate and oak, highlighting the transition to the finish.
Finish: The finish is full of fresh hazelnuts, more malted chocolate, and well-aged oak. Black pepper spice kicks in at the end as this lengthy finish slowly undulates away, making it a pour you’ll enjoy long after the last sip.
Bottom Line:
Westward’s Cask Strength expression is bursting at the seams with flavor, showcasing the nuance of barley and the blending prowess of Westward, which is one of the country’s preeminent American Single Malt producers. Simply put, this is a proof, pitch-perfect expression that will readily win over bourbon and rye drinkers to the nascent category.
For their inaugural ASM release, New Riff went way off the beaten track, utilizing five different types of grain and a combination of six different cask types. Those grain types include Barleywine style barley, Belgian quadruple, Golden Promise, Maris Otter, and Scottish Peated Malted Barley. As for the casks involved, they use ex-Brandy and ex-Oloroso Sherry, among other more common cask types. Lastly, this whiskey has been aged for at least 7 years.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Honey and malted barley open the door for some light cherry notes before the overall sweetness turns a tad bit darker, with vanilla pods and bright cherry emerging from the background.
Palate: On the palate, there are honey, allspice, and faintly floral notes to tickle the tip of the tongue, but as the whiskey travels to the back of the mouth, it’s the infusion of cinnamon bark, dried apricots, orange zest, and an undertone of Peated smoke that draws you into deep waters. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied and slick, which further enriches the impact of all those flavors.
Finish: The finish on this whiskey is medium length, and it closes out with some gentle vanilla and faint, bright cherry notes.
Bottom Line:
New Riff’s exhaustive process for creating a unique American Single Malt paid dividends here. As a first foray into the category, it’s a highly commendable result that indicates the inventiveness of producers in the field. That’s something that curious consumers will greatly appreciate.
4. Triple Eight Distillery The Notch 8-Year American Single Malt Whisky
Neatly tucked on Nantucket Island is Triple Eight Distillery, which has been quietly producing some of the country’s best single malt whiskey for north of twenty years. Made from 100% Maris Otter malt, a heritage barley cross-bred in 1966, The Notch is distilled twice through an Arnold Holstein hybrid pot still before being matured in ex-bourbon barrels for eight years, then finished in scrapped and retoasted wine barrels.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nosing notes open with gentle cloves, tobacco leaf, sweet malt, and Manuka honey tones, which will send your nose deeper into the glass to discover more aromas. Once fully plunged, additional notes of melon rind, golden raisins, and nutmeg continue to waft out of the glass for a well-integrated and balanced aroma profile.
Palate: On the palate, this whiskey is impressively creamy, with notes of hazelnuts, dried apricots, and cloves capturing your focus at first. From there, further notes of malted chocolate, vanilla, and a faint tobacco leaf aspect coat the palate as it transitions to the finish.
Finish: The finish is short-to-medium, but it has a slightly saline-inflected send-off that pairs nicely with the notes of dried stone fruits and hazelnuts, which makes it a treat down to the last drop.
Bottom Line:
While its expressions are famously on the spendy side, there’s absolutely no denying that Triple Eight Distillery is producing some of the best American Single Malt whiskey on the market today. With a combination of experience and a unique micro-climate, releases of The Notch deserve to be on your list.
If you can only splurge on one expensive ASM expression, this is the bottle you should chase down to experience one of the more elusive offerings in the category.
3. Cedar Ridge “The QuintEssential” American Single Malt Whiskey Portside Special Release
Since its founding in 2005, Iowa’s Cedar Ridge Distillery has slowly put the state on the whiskey-making map. For this “Portside” edition of The QuintEssential, the brand starts off with its 100% 2-row pale malted barley distillate aged in Cedar Ridge’s ex-bourbon barrels. Then it uses first-fill ruby port casks in conjunction with whiskey finished in a first-fill Amontillado Sherry Butt and a Virgin French Oak cask. The end result is matured for at least six years and bottled at full cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sugar cookies, candied ginger, sweet barley notes, and fresh berries dominate the nose on this whiskey at first pass. Allspice, pecans, a dollop of caramel, and gentle clove aromas are undulating just beneath the surface once you really begin taking deep inhalations and preparing for your first sip.
Palate: On the palate, the port influence is far more pronounced than it initially was on the nose, as raspberry compote, oily Brazil nuts, cacao, and hints of toffee stand out. Freshly cracked black pepper breaks things up a bit and introduces the earthier nutty tone of walnuts, while those jammy berry notes gain their second wind and bring some vanilla extract with them as they transition to the finish.
Finish: The medium-length finish on this whiskey features more Sherried notes than Port, as almond meat, dried cranberries, figs, and nougat begin to overtake the cooked fruit and dark sweetness found at midpalate. It’s a delightful closing impression that does well to balance the whiskey.
Bottom Line:
Cedar Ridge’s impressive Special Release, The QuintEssential “Portside,” does indeed boldly showcase port-led flavors, but by tempering those robust tones with sherry and virgin French oak, it delivers a level of nuance that will leave you in awe. At a relatively affordable price point, this is a great exploration of how the art of blending is crucial in creating a beautiful American Single Malt whiskey.
How does the highest-proofed nationally released Stranahan’s whiskey of all time sound? Pretty damn good to us, and that’s exactly what’s in this bottle. Aged for 12 long years in Colorado, this American Single Malt is made from 100% malted barley and aged in new American oak barrels. It’s worth noting that some of the barrels in this blend were finished for one to four years in second-use bourbon barrels and blonde ale casks.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Honeydew, golden raisins, and apricots come tumbling out of the glass almost immediately. Sweet barley notes and organic honey soon follow, with a hint of allspice, amaretto, and oak tying it all together. This is a truly lovely nose.
Palate: The heavy mouthfeel stands out immediately because I’m not used to Stranahan’s liquid being so dense. Oily and viscous, yes…but this is a different animal. Sweet malt, honey, plump coconut tones, and cinnamon over buttered biscuits make a striking first impression on the palate, and those notes only grow richer as they sit on your tongue. Brown sugar peaches, freshly cracked black pepper, torched lemon peels, and a faint dusting of chocolate truffle powder cap things off.
Finish: The finish is lengthy and concentrates the notes of honey, cinnamon, and sweet malt for an exceedingly satisfying conclusion.
Bottom Line:
With all due respect for Snowflake releases from years past, this just catapulted to the top of my favorite Stranahan’s releases ever. What it lacks in a variety of flavors, it more than makes up for with the richness of its limited notes, and that’s before you add points for its robust mouthfeel and extensive finish.
Whether you’re already on the American Single Malt train or not, this is a sweet release you’re sure to instantly fall in love with.
Westland’s Garryana expression represents the brand’s exploration of a species of oak found only in the Pacific Northwest: Quercus garryana. Utilizing the oak is Westland’s way of imbuing a sense of place in its whiskey, featuring a minimum maturation time of 60 months (5 years), a grain bill that utilizes five different types of malt, and three cask types: Virgin Quercus garryana, first fill ex-bourbon barrels, and first fill ex-Oloroso butts.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Waxy plums and Rainier cherries come leaping out of the glass to greet the nose at first, clear indications of the Sherry casks that played a part in this whiskey’s formation. Coconut flakes, vanilla beans, malted chocolate, and soft candied clementine notes follow those aromas. It’s a delightful aroma set that whets the palate for an initial sip.
Palate: This silky whiskey washes over your palate and instantly begins gently coating it in a blanket of mellow Sherry, Manuka honey, toasted almonds, peppermint tea, and cloves. It’s an enchanting melange made all the more impressive by its warm, viscous texture, enhancing the flavors’ richness.
Finish: The finish here is appropriately medium-length, giving the whiskey just enough runway to leave you enamored without overstaying its welcome and becoming astringent or cloying on the back end. A final kick of cinnamon, vanilla, and Brazil nuts really rounds it all out.
Bottom Line:
I’ve been over the moon about each of the top 5 whiskeys on this list, but Westland’s 9th Edition of Garryana quite handily takes the cake. This balanced and beautifully well-developed ASM expression ticks every box along the way to mesmerize you with its robust layers of flavor.
If you’re looking for just one American Single Malt whiskey to begin your journey into the category, or if you’re already familiar with the subset and looking for a knockout expression that will deepen your appreciation of it, Westland’s latest Garryana expression is the one for you.
Everybody has their ups and their downs, and when Lucy Dacus was feeling like she was in a rut recently, “new pal” Chappell Roan came through and told her what she needed to hear.
“I had kind of a bad week a couple of weeks back, where putting out music just feels worse, and it made me wonder if I should just skip to the part of my life where I live off the land and have a job that isn’t my name [laughs]. And she was just like, ‘No, what you make is important and makes a lot of people feel less lonely.’ […] I’m just grateful to have made a new pal with such a good heart.”
She also noted that Roan sent her flowers.
Dacus also explained how she and her Boygenius bandmates Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker were there for Roan, saying, “When [Roan] was feeling spread really thin, all of us in Boygenius were encouraging her and telling her that it’ll die down, and it is just a really spinny trip when everybody has something to say about you.”
Of dealing with hate, she added, “When people hate you, they don’t know you. On the flip side, when they love you, they don’t know you either. So it’s like, protect yourself from the hate, but also don’t let the love of other people replace the real love in your life. They might understand you, but they really don’t know who you are as a person.”
Wale is back. The former Uproxx cover star has a new record deal with Def Jam, and kicks off the rollout for his new album with a vulnerable new single, “Blanco.” Over a bluesy backdrop, Wale croons about how the pressures of life have sent him searching for solace at the bottom of a bottle, and admitting he knows this isn’t the best way to cope.
Wale’s been out of the spotlight a bit as he laid the foundation for his next career phase, but offered an explanation for the song in a press release. “Artists spend years hiding behind bravado,” he said. “‘Blanco’ strips all that away. It’s the beginning of a more honest conversation I want to have with my audience and how I feel, and I want to give people an opportunity to connect with a more vulnerable side of my artistry.”
The DMV native might have been lying low for a bit, but he’s never far from the center of attention. Last year, he finally got his collab with Nike, designing a cherry blossom-inspired colorway of the DC-favorite Foamposite shoe. Meanwhile, just a week ago, he was announced as one of the performers on T-Pain’s upcoming Wiscansin Festival.
You can listen to Wale’s new single, “Blanco,” above.
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