Ryan Gosling surprised fans and critics with his turn as a song-and-dance-man in 2016’s Academy Award-winning “La La Land” opposite Emma Stone. Many doubted whether he could actually sing and dance, but he’s dabbled in music in the past and even belted out a tune or two on “The Mickey Mouse Club” as a kid.
Now, Gosling again shows his musical side with a song in the soon-to-be-released “Barbie” movie where he plays Ken to Margot Robbie’s Barbie. But, according to the song, Ken isn’t too pleased about playing second fiddle to the princess of pink.
In “Just Ken,” Gosling sings, “I just don’t know who I am without you” to Barbie. “You’re Ken,” Margot Robbie’s Barbie responds.
“But it’s Barbie and Ken,” he fires back. “There is no ‘Just Ken.’”
“Doesn’t seem to matter what I do / I’m always No. 2,” he sings as Barbie dances away, oblivious to his pain. “Is it my destiny to live and die a life of blonde fragility? / I’m just Ken,” he continues.
But eventually, Ken finds his strength and realizes that he’s more than just a piece of arm candy. “I’m just Ken, and I’m enough / And I’m great at doing stuff / So, hey, check me out / And I’m just Ken / Baby, I’m just Ken,” he sings.
Recently, Jack Black’s hit song “Peaches” from the “Super Mario Bros. Movie” has received over 47 million views on YouTube and was his first entry into the charts as a solo artist. Who knows, Gosling’s “Just Ken” may also be a hit with fans. The video should get plenty of views. Come for the fun song, and stay to see Ryan Gosling with his shirt off.
Shelters are consistently full of animals, especially since people have gone back to work out of the home. There has been a steady influx of dogs that gets compounded by puppy season so shelters have to get creative with their marketing. Convincing families to add a permanent fixture to their lives can be a bit tricky. So shelter staff has done things like photo shoots, have kids write about the dogs and make up elaborate back stories on the animals temporment.
But this TikTok video from Louisiana SPCA has to be one of the most creative pet adoption attempts out there. The shelter created a “Paw & Order” special which shows each dog and their alleged crime that they’re “in for.” It’s almost impossible to not want to go pick up one of the dogs after you see what kind of shenanigans they have been involved in.
The first puppy Mickey is apparently responsible for crimes in the local area. Not one crime, but all of the crimes. He’s adorable so it’s ok, right?
There was one dog who allegedly stole social security numbers just to have. She didn’t use them to steal people’s identities but just because she liked the smell of new social security numbers. A dog named Whoopsie Daisy was supposedly named “Accidental Manslaughter” before she came to the Louisiana SPCA. While the stories are obviously made up, giving these furry criminals elaborately funny backstories likely helps with adoptions and let’s be fair, it’s also pretty amusing to the staff.
PetSmart Charities National Pet Adoption Week is from July 10-14 and meeting a four-legged criminal from your local animal shelter at a PetSmart near you could be a great way to celebrate. They won’t mind if you make up a story about them, promise. Just check out the suspects on “Paw & Order” below.
It’s been a big year for Sam Smith. After releasing their new album Gloria, the artist has been reveling in the fame of their “Unholy” collaboration with Kim Petras, as well as teaming up with Madonna for the track “Vulgar.”
So it doesn’t come to much surprise that Smith ended up on the Barbie soundtrack, whose roster also includes Nicki Minaj, Dua Lipa, Lizzo, Charli XCX, Gayle, Haim, Ice Spice, and more. In an Instagram post, Smith wrote, “I cannot begin to express how incredibly excited I am to be a part of the soundtrack to this already iconic film. I was invited by the incredible @iammarkronson and Greta Gerwig to write a song from the perspective of Ken for one of the scenes and we honestly had so much fun with this. I cannot wait for you to hear what we’ve created together.”
They continued, writing that the song, “Man I Am,” is out July 21, the day of the movie premiere.
Yesterday, Billie Eilish shared a sneak peek of her song on the Barbie soundtrack called “What Was I Made For” in a teaser for the film. “absolutely over the MOOOOON excited for you to see this,” she captioned the post.
Donald Trump is currently trying to wriggle out of that case about mishandling classified documents, but there’s another he’s already lost: The lawsuit brought on by E. Jean Carroll. Back in May, he was found guilty of sexual misconduct and defamation — then promptly went on national TV and defamed her again. Late last month he also countersued Carroll, claiming that it was really she who defamed him…by claiming he raped her. But Carroll’s legal team doesn’t seem too worried.
In the counterclaim, Trump’s lawyers try to argue that Carroll “made these false statements with actual malice and ill will with an intent to significantly and spitefully harm and attack [Trump’s] reputation, as these false statements were clearly contrary to the jury verdict.” They also claimed Carroll caused Trump “inordinate” harm by claiming he used “not only used his fingers, but also his penis” in his alleged assault.
But as per Raw Story, Carroll’s lawyers slammed and dragged Trump’s legal move. “Trump’s ‘tit for tat’ counterclaim is nothing more than his latest effort to spin his loss at trial,” they said in a statement. “While that might read like an article penned by Andy Borowitz in the New Yorker or by a writer at the Onion, it’s actually the theory of the counterclaim that Trump now purports to assert in this action.”
Carroll’s legal team asked that the countersuit be tossed, saying, “here in federal court, where logic and reason rather than satire prevail, it is clear that Trump’s new counterclaim for defamation should be dismissed with prejudice.”
In the meantime, Carroll is suing Trump again because, well, he keeps defaming her. He also at least once let slip that he probably did at least grope her. Carroll is also suing him in a separate case about comments he made about her while in office, which Trump has tried to stall by saying his then-presidency protects him from legal action. But as per The New York Times, the Justice Department announced they were no longer sticking by that argument.
If you’re wondering where we’ll be this summer, well… it’s pretty simple. You can likely find us basking in the sunshine on some of the world’s most beautiful beaches. The thing about going to the beach is that as much as they are similar, none are exactly the same. Meaning that the art of beach-hopping is as much about becoming a connoisseur as say, savoring bourbon or wine.
With travel and tourism at an all-time high post-pandemic and with new measures in place to protect flight passengers, now is the perfect time to savor the sunshine, sand, and sea spray. So we asked some of our favorite travel writers and influencers to reveal their best-kept beach destinations around the world, so you can start prepping and planning your next beach getaway. From the idyllic and secluded Kalalau Beach to the softest sand in Siesta Key, let these recommendations leap to the top of your own tropical travel list.
Balos Beach is truly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited. Accessible only by foot via a walking path, the lagoon is tucked away on the northwestern side of the island of Crete, promising turquoise-hued waters, white sand beaches, and an unforgettable good time.
Pro tip: While snack stands are available around the beach, pack a heftier meal if planning to spend the day – and definitely bring sneakers for the trek down to the sand!
For my 24th birthday, I spent four days with no service (which I loved) and hiked the Nāpali Coast on the island of Kauai. Known as one of the world’s most dangerous hikes, the Kalalau Trail traverses 11 miles of lush valleys and towering sea cliffs that have killed quite a number of people who don’t watch their steps. While it was one of the hardest physical challenges I’ve endured, taking that first step onto Kalalau Beach is something I’ll never forget. It’s only accessible by foot and leads you to one of the world’s most remote beaches, surrounded and blocked by sheer, fluted pali.
Here you can do literally anything – including running across the beach naked, if you so desire – because it’s completely secluded. My friends and I spent my birthday morning here and I felt completely cradled by and in awe of Mother Nature. No wonder why Jurassic Park was filmed here, it truly looks like something out of a movie.
NOAMI GREVEMBERG (@irietoaurora): GRAND RIVIERE BEACH, TRINIDAD
As a proud Trinidadian, I can’t help but gush about my favorite beach destination—Grand Riviere. Nestled within this serene fishing community on the northeastern coast of the island lies a hidden gem that has stolen my heart—the annual arrival of leatherback turtles. Let me take you on a journey to this enchanting beach, where nature’s spectacle unfolds.
What sets Grand Riviere Beach apart is the overwhelming abundance of these gentle giants. It’s the only place on Earth where you can witness such a remarkable concentration of leatherback turtles.
But it’s not just about witnessing nature’s marvels. Grand Riviere offers a deeper connection. Guided by passionate locals and dedicated ecologists, folks can learn about the tireless efforts to protect these incredible creatures and their nesting grounds. This shared dedication to conservation and preservation resonates with my own values, amplifying my love for this beach and its inhabitants.
Grand Riviere’s beach is where my soul finds solace. It’s a place where I can escape the chaos of daily life and immerse myself in the harmony of nature. The leatherback turtles symbolize resilience and the timeless cycles of life and remind me of the interconnectedness of all living beings and the importance of cherishing our environment. It’s a beacon of hope and inspiration, of the power we hold as humans to protect and preserve the wonders of our planet.
Grand Riviere is more than just a beach—it’s a sanctuary of natural marvels.
OLGA MASLIANKO (@honest.trip): KAILUA BEACH PARK, OAHU, HAWAII
OLGA
Kailua Beach Park is hands down one of my all-time favorite spots to unwind and have a blast! Located on the eastern side of Oahu, Hawaii, it’s a total gem. The beach itself is like a dream, with soft, powdery sand that stretches on for miles and water so clear and turquoise it’s like a postcard.
The best part? It’s awesome for the whole family! You can swim, snorkel, or even rent a kayak and explore the gentle waves. The beautiful mountains and cool breezes make the scene even more magical. Whenever I’m there, I feel like I’ve found my own personal paradise. So, if you’re looking for a relaxed and exciting getaway with your loved ones, Kailua Beach Park is the place to be!
Punta Uva is a tucked-away beach on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. It is a beach as raw as it comes, a spot that’s mostly known by the local Costa Ricans. We love it for its pristine white-sand beach with palm trees that dangle over the clear blue waters. It’s a one-of-a-kind beach due to the wildlife spotted in this area, like sloths and macaws. Just pure nature!
At Punta Uva, it’s about pure relaxation and taking in the remote environment. Closeby is a kayak rental that you can take up the river to spot even more wildlife. Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica, is the nearest large town to Punta Uva and a fantastic place to spend your beach holiday.
In my career as a travel journalist, I’ve been so fortunate to have seen so many beautiful beaches all over the world. From the Cayman Islands and Central America, to Bermuda and Hawaii, there are incredible beaches with crystal clear water and amazing snorkeling. But one beach in particular will always hold a special place in my heart.
I’ve been going to Siesta Key Beach since I was a kid with my family, and my parents were going with friends way before my sisters and I were even born. What keeps my family and I coming back is not just the beach, but the sense of community in the village filled with tacky souvenir shops and oyster specials, live music, and bad karaoke coming from the dive bars. The laid-back beach village is a great place to unwind with family and friends.
In addition to the area itself being a vibe, the beach has turquoise waters and the softest sand. I think what really makes it special is the sand. Most beaches have sand consisting of coral, rocks, shells, and quartz. The sand at Siesta Key Beach is so soft it’s like stepping on cooking flour. It’s so light and fluffy, that when I posted a video of myself walking through the sand barefoot, I had messages asking why I was walking through snow barefoot. The sand is 99% quartz, which is quite unusual, giving it an incredibly smooth texture and keeping the sand cool despite the extreme temperatures during the summer. There’s a reason this beach has continuously received a top rating on the Best Beaches in America list by TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice awards. It’s truly one of the best!
My favorite beaches have not been one particular beach, rather every beach I visited in the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas. The glistening white sand, perfectly clear, warm blue waters, and abundance of wildlife were a dream. At many of the beaches I visited, it felt like I had stumbled into a hidden paradise as they were never overcrowded, many times with no one else around at all.
We have visited plenty of incredible beaches around the world, but our favorite beach is Playa Avellanas in Costa Rica. Despite being located in the Guanacaste region just south of the popular tourist hot spot of Tamarindo, Playa Avellanas somehow manages to keep its “off-the-beaten-track” feel. It’s an incredible stretch of sand with a very low-key vibe.
At high tide, you’ll spot lots of surfers in the water — Avellanas is home to Little Hawaii, a famous surf break, loved by pro surfers in the area. At low tide, it’s popular with families, there is plenty of space for kids to run around and build castles in the sand. But our favorite time is at sunset, you can grab a drink at Lola’s, a popular spot, named after their late mascot, Lola, the pig, or take a long walk along the beach, and watch the sun dip into the ocean. How could you beat that?
I’ve been to a lot of beautiful tropical destinations, but my favorite beach will always be Ventura Beach in California. I grew up 45 minutes from here, and I spent many summer days playing in the sand, boogie boarding, and grabbing post-beach burgers at Duke’s Griddle n’ Grill. I also love Main Street in downtown Ventura where you’ll tons of thrift shops, as well as lively restaurants, bars, and other local businesses.
I’ve probably been to over one thousand beaches all over the world, but my recent beach ventures in 2023 have left me completely mesmerized, impressed, and intrigued! They’re far from the typical popular or famous locations, like the Seychelles, Maldives, the Philippines, etc. and in countries where you wouldn’t expect crystal clear waters brimming with colorful sea life and white sandy beaches!
That being said, my top choice for the best beach in 2023 is Tokashiki Beach, located on Tokashiki Island which is part of the Kerama Islands of Okinawa. It takes a lot for me to start drooling at the sight of a beach, but when I stepped foot on the powdery sand, my eyes drenched in the electric blue colors of the water ahead, flanked by striking rocky cliffs on either side, I immediately fell in love. Extra perk; there was not a single person there, because I went in shoulder season just before the beaches actually opened.
Okinawa has dozens of beautiful beaches, but Tokashiki Beach was my top choice. To get to Okinawa in general, you fly into Naha (I flew from Malaysia but it’s pretty affordable to do roundtrip from Tokyo). Most people stay in Naha, but I’d recommend renting a car and venturing up towards the northern coast. To get to Tokashiki, you need to take the ferry like I did, which departs from a port in Naha, or you can schedule a tour to make it easier.
EDITOR’S PICK: STEVE BRAMUCCI (@steve_bramucci): WHITEHAVEN BEACH, WHITSUNDAY ISLANDS, AUSTRALIA
Steve Bramucci
What have I done? What a monster I must be to give this terribly difficult assignment. For those of us who obsess over sand quality, water clarity, and the like, picking a favorite beach is torture. In fact, I’ve gone so far out of my way to avoid this conversation while at Uproxx that I’ve written extensively about beaches without ever touching the “best beach in the world” framing.
The list goes on but there’s no “Best Beach On Earth” article. There are just so many elements to consider before landing on a best. And they weigh differently with you at different times. Some of my best memories are surfing and watching the sunset at Envision Festival in Costa Rica, where I spent one of the last weeks before the pandemic. My adopted hometown of Laguna Beach never ceases to amaze me in that even in peak summer, you can escape the crowds if you know where to go. There are beaches in Thailand, Nicaragua, Mexico (so so many in Mexico), Italy, Uganda (at an inland lake), Mozambique, Madagascar, and so many more that I’ll never forget. But for “best,” I’m thinking of the beach that left me the most euphoric; the most thrilled to be alive.
And that’s Whitehaven Beach, in the Whitsunday chain, Queensland, Australia — where the sand squeaks underfoot, the water feels like god’s own bathtub (to paraphrase Return to Paradise), and you can dance alone at sunrise (if you have the camping permits to stay on the sand). With truly crystalline water, a few roving monitor lizards to keep things interesting, and a miraculous mile of parched white sand, Whitehaven is truly incomparable among beaches. It’s a special spot and I recommend camping for a few days to anyone who wants to truly soak in the beauty of this planet.
Yes, you can also day trip to the island. But the chance to spend a sunset and sunrise on Whitehaven alone is what makes this incredible beach shine so brightly in my memory.
Most actors slow down as they get older. If they do action, they eventually pivot to…not action. Not Tom Cruise! He’s doing life pretty much in reverse: Having done mostly dramas and such (and the occasional Top Gun or Days of Thunder) in his youth, he now exclusively puts his life at risk to entertain. A few years back he announced he’d found the ultimate death-defying dare: He’d go to space with Elon Musk, all to make a movie. He’s still into the idea, though it’s unclear if the Twitter guy is still involved.
As per Variety, Cruise gave a brief but vaguely optimistic update about his outer space movie, and it sounds like it’s vaguely going well. “We’ve been working on it diligently and we’ll see where we go,” he told the publication at the New York City premiere of Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One.
Absent from Cruise’s terse update are the words “Elon Musk.” Back in 2020, when he was just the Tesla/SpaceX guy — and when he was “only” worth $38.7 billion before accruing far more than that, then losing a chunk of that over the whole Twitter fiasco that keeps getting worse — it was reported that Musk was teaming up with Cruise to make world’s first action movie in space. He very well still could be involved, or maybe he’s a little distracted getting ripped so he doesn’t get beaten up by the guy who co-created Facebook.
Since announcing the outer space action movie three years ago, there has been progress. It now has a studio (Universal), a budget (about $200 million), and a director: Doug Liman, who teamed with Cruise on Edge of Tomorrow and American Made.
Of course, it will still be some time before Cruise even heads to the cosmos. After all, he has another big project on his plate: He still has to finish filming Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part Two, which is on pause so they can promote Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One. According to director Christopher McQuarrie, they’re not messing around.
“We finish this tour, and on our way back to the U.K. we stop to scout along the way. We hit the ground running as soon as we get back,” McQuarrie informed Variety. “I get two days of vacation between here and Tokyo and I’m back on.”
But perhaps by the time Cruise is done swimming with actual sharks or eating pufferfish or going to grad school or whatever life-threatening things he does in Dead Reckoning Part Two, he’ll realize that going to outer space just to make a movie is kind of dangerous.
In 20 years, Top Chef has been to San Francisco, Texas, Chicago, Miami, Kentucky, NYC, and many more, but its next trip is one it’ll have to take without longtime host Padma Lakshmi. In her place, Season 10 winner Kristen Kish will take on hosting duties as the show sets up shop in Wisconsin. Chef Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons will return as judges, presumably with a rotating spot for special guests.
“Top Chef is where I started my journey – first as a competing chef, then a guest judge and now as host I have the honor of helping to continue to build this brand,” Kish told Variety. “I’m thrilled to sit alongside Gail and Tom as we get to know new incredible chefs and see what they cook up. It feels like coming home.”
Hope she packed her knives.
Since winning in 2012, Kish was head chef at Boston-based Menton and opened up the Arlo Grey Restaurant in Austin. She’s also authored cookbooks, and has hosted several TV foodie shows, including 36 Hours, Restaurants At The End of the World, and Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend.
Meanwhile, Lakshmi fans can find her crisscrossing America for Hulu’s Taste the Nation and in old reruns of Star Trek: Enterprise. Be on the lookout for the 21st season of Top Chef next year.
Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville is still struggling to deliver an appropriate response to questions over whether he supports white nationalism. During an on-air interview with CNN, the Alabama lawmaker was asked point-blank about past comments he’s made defending white nationalists’ rights to serve in the military. The easy way out for Tuberville would’ve been to string together a couple of words that amounted to “white nationalism bad.” But of course, he couldn’t do that.
Instead, Tuberville spent his time arguing with CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins over the very definition of white nationalism, claiming Democrats were just trying to insult patriotic Americans with their tired game of “identity politics.”
“My opinion of a white nationalist … is an American,” Tuberville responded when Collins tried to define the term. “Now, if that white nationalist is a racist, I’m totally against anything they want to do because I am 110% against racism.”
Phew, glad that cleared things up.
Despite Tuberville insisting multiple times that he was “totally” against racism, the senator seemed to chafe at the idea that white nationalists — a group of people whose ideology centers around the belief that white people are superior and should rule over all others and also not be forced to live among non-whites — are, in fact, racist. In fact, at one point during the argument, Tuberville equated all white people with white nationalists.
“If you’re going to do away with white people in the military, we got huge problems,” Tuberville began before Collins tried to explain that “it’s not people who are white, it’s white nationalists.”
“You see the distinction?” she asked.
Tuberville didn’t. In fact, he argued white nationalists simply had a few different beliefs. But again, if those beliefs were in support of racism, he’s totally against that, y’all.
Watch the full clip below:
Tuberville: My opinion of a white nationalist.. it’s an American. If that white nationalist is a racist, I’m totally against them.
And, if you’d like to watch Tuberville do more mental gymnastics in front of a group of reporters who once again pressed him on the white nationalism topic Monday, there’s this:
Tuberville: I’m totally against racism. If the Democrats want to say that white nationalists are racists, I’m totally against that, too. pic.twitter.com/3wOqwc1W2I
I went deep for this list. There are truly some once-in-a-lifetime whiskeys listed below. That also means that there are some mind-boggling price points — you’ve been warned.
Before we dive in, the throughline of this list is two-fold:
These are new whiskies that were bottled and released this year or very late last year and are on shelves now. This is about the present.
Secondly, this is all about taste. That means this is a list of the 50 best Scotch whiskies that I’ve had the pleasure of tasting since January 1st, 2023. Between my day-to-day job reviewing whiskey, judging international spirits competitions, attending industry events, and consulting on whisky, I’ve tasted a lot.
Let’s dive right in!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Scotch Whisky Posts of The Last Six Months
This new release from Ardbeg is their first-ever barbecue-inspired release. Ardbeg’s Master Distiller Dr. Bill Lumsden teamed up with DJ BBQ (Christain Stevenson) to build a three-cask whisky. The casks, in this case, were double charred oak, Pedro Ximénez sherry, and “BBQ” casks. The blend was then vatted and bottled as-is at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a creamy essence to the nose kind of like the fat on a smoked brisket that leads to an espresso and winter spice rub deep in a charred fattiness with marmalade hints and whispers of smudging sage and singed provencal herbs with this light sense of smoldering hickory ash underneath.
Palate: The taste is creamy as well with a sense of fatty pulled pork smothered in a chili-spiked gingery bbq sauce with creamy honey and plenty of winter spice layered with grilled steak fat flaked with salt and dusted with white pepper as a fainter twinge of black licorice and that smoldering hickory draw a line from the nose to the back of the palate.
Finish: The end leaves you with fatty smoked meats, soft spices tied to burnt orange, and a sense of chili creamed with espresso pudding next to the ashes from a 24-hour smoker smoke session.
Bottom Line:
This is a great place to start since it’s summer and this whisky is all about those sizzling summer vibes. If you’re smoking or barbecuing meat in the backyard this summer, this is an essential whisky to have on hand.
49. Mossburn Blended Malt Scotch Whisky Island Smoke & Spice
This blended malt (that means only single malts are in the blend and not single malts and single grain whiskies) is made from a mix of whiskies aged in American oak. Those barrels came from the “Island” region of Scotland which is very wide-reaching. Mossburn vatted those barrels and then re-barreled the whisky into ex-bourbon barrels that were refitted with toasted new European oak heads for a final rest.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose feels like it’s almost salted with a sense of smoked apples and plums next to vanilla cream cut with fresh lemon zest.
Palate: The citrus turns into lemon meringue pie on the palate as caramel malts sweet toward digestive cookies with a hint of chocolate lurking somewhere deep in the palate.
Finish: The end kind of thins out the lemon pie toward a soft sweet grain roundness and a hint of salted vanilla sauce.
Bottom Line:
I’ve come around to this whisky this summer. It’s light but delivers a nice balance over a glass full of ice. It also works well in a highball format with a nice fizzy water and a bold floral/herbal garnish.
48. Glenmorangie A Tale Of The Forest Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
This new expression from Glenmorangie’s mad scientist Master Distiller Dr. Bill Lumsden is a total departure. Dr. Bill kilned the barley (the drying process during malting) with a very old-school method using local botanicals from the Highlands. The kiln was accented with a bushel of juniper berries, birch bark, and heather flowers which layered their flavor notes into the malted barley that was used to ferment the juice that eventually was distilled, aged, and bottled in the Highlands.
Tasting Note:
Nose: This lives up to its name from the jump with a nose full of dank pine resin, fresh juniper, and dry coriander with a hint of malted rye cakes and the faintest whisper of wet campfire smoke.
Palate: The palate leans into bitter burnt orange rinds with a sense of clove buds and chinotto leaves next to oolong tea leaves cut with eucalyptus and a kiss of old oak.
Finish: That old oak and tea vibe drives the finish toward a hint of spiced malt cakes and a drop of fresh honey cut with wild sage and Scotch broom flowers with a fleeting sense of that dank pine from the nose reappearing briefly.
Bottom Line:
This is a funky and fresh whisky that rules in a highball with sage or rosemary as your garnish.
47. Aberfeldy Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 15 Finished in Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Casks
This year’s Aberfeldy 15-year Limited Edition takes classic unpeated Aberfeldy malt and marries it to California wine country. The whisky is filled into Napa Cabernet Sauvignon casks that were hand-picked. Once that whisky is just right, it’s vatted, proofed, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is jammy whisky on the nose with a sense of blackberry pie, blueberry muffins, and fresh raspberries in cream with a light summer floral vine — kind of like sitting under a wisteria tree on summer’s day.
Palate: A lush and creamy cinnamon cake drives the palate toward dark chocolate-covered espresso beans and floral bunt cake with a dollop of berry compote.
Finish: The end leans into the cinnamon bark as dark chocolate and dark berry mingle and sweeten toward a soft and delicious finish.
Bottom Line:
This feels like eating wild berry crumble in the backyard after a barbecue with a glass of whisky as a chaser. Who doesn’t want that?
This bespoke whisky is made from special Andalucia sherry casks that are blended with malt aged in ex-bourbon casks. The final product is then finished in fresh Olorosso sherry casks before proofing and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sharp marmalade over scones with a hint of cream drives the nose toward ginger candy and soft vanilla.
Palate: That orange bitters toward chili pepper spice in the creamy malts with a hint of salted caramel and floral honey.
Finish: The sharp spice gets a little woody at the end with a hint more of vanilla and orange rounding things out.
Bottom Line:
This is classically rendered unpeated malt. It’s so clearly cut that it hits every note perfectly. It’s just nice. Drink it over one big rock.
45. Macbeth Bloody Sergeant Household Series Act One Blair Athol Aged 10 Years
This expression from the new Macbeth series celebrates Blair Athol whisky — a true whiskey nerds distillery. The actual whisky is a blend of ex-bourbon and red wine casks that are vatted and then bottled at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Subtle winter spices and apple hand pies drive the palate toward rum-macerated blackberry, cloves stuck in orange peels, and cinnamon-heavy raisin bread.
Palate: The palate is classically sweet malt dipped in toffee and vanilla sauce with a counterpoint of star anise and clove wrapped in black tea leaves with a whisper of fall briskness.
Finish: The end has a nice honeyed malt vibe with more rich toffee, caramel malts, and mossy bark in a winter apple orchard feel.
Bottom Line:
This feels like a great after-dinner pour. It works very nicely in cocktails too.
44. Tobermory Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 12 Years
This unpeated malt from the Isle of Mull spends 12 years aging in first-fill ex-bourbon barrels (those are barrels that haven’t had anything but bourbon in them so far). Once that whisky is just right, the malt is transferred to new American oak barrels for nine more months of mellowing before bottling at cask strength with no fussing whatsoever.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Bourbon vanilla comes through on the nose with a deep creaminess that’s punctuated by orange zest, woody cinnamon, and a light hint of granite.
Palate: The palate leans into warm and soft malts as soft hints of orchard fruit lead to pencil shavings and a touch of chili-chocolate tobacco.
Finish: The end is a mix of winter spices with a woody edge next to soft suede, more vanilla cream, and soft maltiness that’s nearly chocolate custard.
Bottom Line:
This is one of those whiskies that can ride under a lot of radars. It’s one of the better 12-year-old whiskies out there and makes for a great workhorse. That means it’s good for on the rocks pours, highballs, and cocktails.
43. BenRiach Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky Malting Season Second Edition
The second edition of BenRiach’s Malting Season series is also made with barley malted fully in-house at the distillery in Speyside. The barley in this case is Concerto barley grown for this release. Once distilled, the hot juice went into 30 first-fill bourbon barrels and was rested for around nine years before batching and bottling as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a nice sense of rich caramel malts on the nose with a sense of distiller’s beer from the washback next to fresh tangerine skins, almond shells, and a touch of macadamia nut cookies.
Palate: The palate leans into fresh and lightly piney honey with a sense of apple bark and orange oils next to creamy caramel malts and vanilla malts.
Finish: The end leans into marzipan laced with lemon oils next to plums and apricots dipped in that fresh honey and spun with thin lines of apple tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This late 2022 release is on shelves now and worth checking out to get a sense of how important malting is to the whisky-making process. That aside, it tastes pretty damn good too.
42. The Glenturret Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky Triple Wood 2022 Release
This is unpeated malt that’s aged in both bourbon and sherry barrels alongside new American oak barrels, adding a bourbon-iness to it all. Those barrels are then vatted and proofed down before bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rum raisin and Turkish Delights drive the nose toward rose water and orange zest with a hint of honey.
Palate: That honey drives the palate toward classic Christmas spiced nut cake and dried leathery fruits with a hint of burnt toffee.
Finish: The rum raisin returns on the finish with a good dose of winter spices and vanilla cake with a hint of leather and spiced tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This is a great option if you’re looking to dip your toes into single malts and are wary. There’s a nice bourbon vibe that comes through and will make you feel at home. Try it in cocktails first and then go from there.
41. Kingsbarns Balcomie Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
This new blood from the Lowlands of Scotland is a quality single malt. The vat of whisky here is from 100% ex-Oloroso sherry casks. Once vatted, that whisky is bottled completely as-is at cask strength, letting the whisky in the barrel shine on through.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet caramel malts draw you in the nose with a mincemeat pie and nutty fruit cake aura with a solid toffee sweetness.
Palate: The taste leans into grilled pineapple with plenty of nutmeg and cinnamon that edges toward sharp ginger and maybe some rum raisin.
Finish: That ginger really pops on the spicy end with a rock candy feel as this Nutella lushness takes over at the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is a bold whisky and a great introduction to Lowland whiskies. Give it a shot neat and then mix it into your favorite whisky cocktails.
40. Glen Moray Single Malt Scotch Whisky Elgin Limited Edition Aged 10 Years
This limited edition whiskey is made from 10-year-old Glen Elgin. The twist here is that this batch was finished in Chardonnay casks and then bottled as-is with a dash of proofing water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a lush lemon creaminess next to stone fruits and stewed apple with a hint of spiced oak.
Palate: The palate leans into the spicy apple with a cider vibe before the stone fruit sweetness and the spiced oak leans into vanilla and light leather.
Finish: The end has a spiced nut holiday cake vibe with candied lemon and orange peels and a hint of rum raisin.
Bottom Line:
This award-winning whisky is essential unpeated malt. There’s a nice lightness to it that helps it feel like a good food pairing whisky.
39. Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch Whisky Solera Aged 15 Years
This unique Glenfiddich has its own vibe. The whisky is aged in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks for 15 years. Those barrels are then vatted in a special large-format solera barrel that’s never fully emptied as new whisky goes in. The whisky from that vat is proofed down and then bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Dark dried red fruit mixes with old vanilla on the nose with a hint of orange and maybe some light winter spice.
Palate: Soft plummy fruit mingles with marzipan and vanilla with a light oaky spiciness that’s part spicy mulled wine and part mincemeat pie.
Finish: The holiday sweetness drives the finish with a sense of raisins, marzipan, and gingerbread cookies.
Bottom Line:
This year’s edition of Glenfiddich 15 feels special. It’s a really good sipper that makes a mean cocktail.
38. Macbeth Act One First Murderer Ledaig Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 18 Years
Ledaig — a tiny distillery on the tiny Isle of Mull — makes some serious whisky nerd whiskies. This special bottling from an independent bottler is an 18-year-old peated malt that was aged right on the sea. Then Elixir snagged the barrels, vatted them, bottled them, and added the Macbeth-inspired artwork.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this one feels like fresh olive oil and balsamic dusted with white pepper and salt next to Ace bandages, burnt wild sage, and fatty smoked pork wrapped in nori.
Palate: Oyster liqueur and white pepper drive the taste toward lemon marmalade, sourdough crusts, more nori, and a sense of old brick whisky barrel warehouses by the sea.
Finish: That briny seaside vibe mixed with what I want to call an aspirin pill next to a soft oyster shell, salted butter, gently smoked pork fat with sage, rosemary, and pepper, and a fleeting sense of smoldering fruit orchards in the late fall.
Bottom Line:
This is really getting into the good stuff. This is a funky and almost weird seaside sipper that will keep drawing you back for more. Make sure to add some water or ice to really plumb the briny and fatty depths of this one.
37. Glenkinchie Single Malt Scotch Whisky 2023 Distillers Edition
This limited edition expression of this year’s Diageo Distiller’s Editions is expertly crafted Lowland whisky. The malt is finished in a specially made barrel that is constructed from used and new American oak that’s then filled with Amontillado sherry for a month. Once that fortified wine is dumped, the whisky goes in for its final maturation.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is a soft mix of cedar, red berry, and vanilla pods next to a bowl of fruity candy with a hint of caramel and raisin.
Palate: The palate starts off watery but then explodes with flavor — black pepper, brie rinds, sour candy, a dirt cellar floor, smooth malts, and a hint of sour apple tobacco all make appearances.
Finish: The finish continues to build with a cheese cellar vibe next to fresh cream touched with winter spices, dried red fruits, soft cedar, and vanilla on the back end.
Bottom Line:
This is probably the best Lowland whisky that is actually on shelves right now.
36. Laphroaig Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky Càirdeas Warehouse 1
This year’s Càirdeas release celebrates the Friends of Laphroaig and how they keep the brand going. The whisky in the bottle is made from Laphroaig’s high-phenol peated malt right next to the sea on Islay. The hot spirit was then filled in first-fill limited edition single barrel Maker’s Mark bourbon barrels. The barrels were then stored in the famed four-story Warehouse 1 right next to the crashing sea until they were just right and then bottled as-is after vatting.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a huge note of smoked grainy malts next to an un-opened box of Band-Aids, peppery smoked brisket with plenty of smoked fat, and smoked sea salt counterpointed by vanilla sheet cake with a honey icing and dusted with cinnamon and nutmeg.
Palate: The palate opens with burnt yet buttery toffee next to white wildflowers, dried fennel, and rich and creamy honey smoothness and sweetness.
Finish: The end gets a little woody with a fatty smoked peppery vibe next to more toffee and a dash of seawater-washed granite.
Bottom Line:
This is an excellently made peated malt from Islay. It’s not going to be for everyone though — it’s very medicinal and funky. My advice is to try it at your local whiskey bar and then make a decision whether to buy it or not from there.
Yes, Scotch whisky has celebrity white-labeled brands too. This one comes from Outlander star Sam Heughan. The whisky’s recipe/build is under wraps so there’s not much more to say besides that Sam Heughan is not simply slapping his name on a bottle. He’s fully involved in the process as a deeply caring whisky fan who wants to put something special on the shelf.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Lemon drops and Almond Joys drive the nose with a hint of honey, bourbon vanilla, and dried apricot.
Palate: That apricot gets leathery on the palate as the malts arrive with plenty of honey and cinnamon-forward spice next to a hint of eggnog nutmeg.
Finish: The finish is concise with a little cinnamon, honey, and almond rounding things out.
Bottom Line:
This is a concise whisky that keeps winning tons of awards. It makes a great on the rocks pour.
34. The Singleton Single Malt Scotch Whiskey 18 Years Old Glendullan Distillery
This Speyside whisky rests mostly in ex-bourbon casks. The final product adds in a few finishing barrels from Europe to mellow out the heavier bourbon barrels. That blend is then cut down to a low 80-proof for bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with hints of cedar and winter spice underneath caramel candies, roasted almonds, and a hint of stewed orchard fruits.
Palate: The palate largely carries on those flavors with a subtle hint of bourbon vanilla and spicy tobacco warmth attached to the maltiness, with an echo of dark chocolate-covered hazelnuts.
Finish: The finish leans into the cedar and tobacco with a slightly mineral water base.
Bottom Line:
This is another release that just hit better this year. It’s a quintessential single malt that feels like a great bridge between bourbon and Scotland. It’s also amazingly easy to drink thanks to those low ABVs.
33. Oban 2023 Distillers Edition Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
This expression is a love letter to the tiny town of Oban on the western coast of Scotland. The whisky is standard Oban that’s finished in Montilla Fino sherry casks to add an extra dimension to the already finely crafted whisky from the distillery. Those casks are then vatted and proofed before bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: A small billow of smoke greets you on the nose next to notes of sea brine, orange zest, and a hint of vinous fruit that feels a little like saltwater taffy and a little like old Fruit Roll-Ups with a sense of soft winter spices lurking under it all.
Palate: Sweet caramel malts form on the silky palate as stewed pear and apple mingle with salted toffee and a light sense of oyster shell and toasted seaweed barely breakthrough on the back end.
Finish: That hint of the sea fades on the finish as you’re left with soft caramel maltiness and even softer stewed pear just kissed with saffron, clove, and anise next to a whisper of plum pudding.
Bottom Line:
If you buy one Oban this year, make it this one. It’s a great sipper that’s so beautifully subtle yet deep. Make sure to add some water or ice to really let it bloom in the glass.
32. Highland Park Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky
This yearly drop has become a cornerstone of the Orkney Island distillery. The whisky is a blend of single malts that are aged exclusively in old American oak that previously held sherry. The barrels are married and bottled as is, to assure you’re getting all the nuance and flavor of their malts meeting that oak.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a light sense of wildflowers on the nose with a rich vanilla husk that leads towards a touch of peaty-smoldering nori, soft vanilla cakes, and a rich and vibrant caramel.
Palate: The taste is silken with rich and buttery toffee next to honeysuckle, eggnog spices and creaminess, and a small dose of orange zest with a supporting act of salted caramel, apple pie tobacco, and a whisper of pine dank.
Finish: The end holds onto the creaminess and spices as the peat just edges in with a whisper of resinous pine smoke, soft caramels, and dark chocolate pie sprinkled with dried berries, pears, and citrus rinds.
Bottom Line:
This is a bold AF whisky. It’s rich, bourbon-adjacent, and really packs a punch. You’ll definitely want to pour this over a big ol’ rock and take your time with it.
31. Dalwhinnie 2023 Distillers Edition Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky
The Dalwhinnie is a tiny distillery that whisky nerds love, and for good reason — they make amazing whisky. This yearly edition of the iconic peated malt is double cask matured with Port wine cask before batching, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a very Highland sense of floral honey next to soft minerality — kind of like walking on slate after the rain — before dark plums and figs mingle with caramel malts and a fleeting sense of smoked pears dipped in clove and anise syrup.
Palate: The palate follows that smoked pear toward old honey jars with plenty of crystallization and a faint hint of a rainy forest next to winter spice cakes full of fatty nuts and dried fruits with a note of bourbon vanilla and burnt orange lurking far in the background.
Finish: That burnt orange leads to more holiday spices with a creamy maltiness on the end that’s pure silk as a whisper of that floral honey returns with a spiced maltiness.
Bottom Line:
This is a subtle peated whisky. It’s so well-balanced and nuanced that you can’t help but fall in love from the first sip.
30. Benriach Speyside Single Malt Whisky The Sixteen Triple Cask Matured
This new Benriach is all about the barrel blend. The 16-year-old single malt was aged in ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, and new oak casks. Those barrels were vatted, proofed with local water, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Classic Speyside apple orchards with plenty of herbal honey mingles with fresh ginger and dried apricot on the nose.
Palate: That apple turns into spiced apple pie filling on the palate as the honey leans toward nuttiness with a touch of candied orange.
Finish: Honeyed malts with a twist of burnt orange dance with grassy spice and soft and creamy nutty chocolate.
Bottom Line:
This is just good. Drink it however you like to drink your whisky.
This new peated malt from Islay’s bespoke Kilchoman Distillery is a masterpiece of blending. The whisky is hewn from 22 casks: eight 2013 barrels, six 2014 barrels, and eight 2015 barrels with a mix of European and American oak. The vatted whisky is just touched with local spring water before bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Black Forest cake with a moist sponge and spiced black cherry compote drives the nose with a lush vanilla that feels like it was smoked in the husk before baking into the cake.
Palate: Fire-roasted hazelnut arrives with very dark and salty chocolate next to smoked plums and dates with a whisper of old brisket smoker lurking in the background.
Finish: The salinity from the chocolate acts up on the finish with the dark red fruits taking on more smoke and a twinge of creamy vanilla custard with hints of poppy seed and pipe tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This is just freaking delicious. When you add a little after or ice, this gets super creamy and the chocolate veers toward woody espresso and dark winter spiced layered into mulled wine, making it even tastier.
A quick note, this is where we launch into the stratosphere with the amazing 2023 bottles.
28. Cragganmore 2023 Distillers Edition Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Cragganmore is an iconic Scottish distillery. This yearly whisky release is matured in sherry casks for 12 years. It’s then transferred into port-seasoned American oak casks for a final maturation phase before proofing and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Fennel leads to dried fruits — sultanas, prunes, dried fig — and fresh apples on the nose with a hint of tartness and skin next to savory (almost oily) herb branches and leaves.
Palate: The taste, on the other hand, leans into sweet oak, pear candies, fresh figs, and a softness that’s almost hard to believe while this medley of caraway, fresh fennel, and sweet cardamom dance together on your palate.
Finish: The end is full of sweet fruits — think ripe pears, green tomatoes, and star fruit — and has just the right touches of soft oak, oily vanilla, and savory green herbs as it fades towards a final note of wet wicker right after a rain storm.
Bottom Line:
This is a phenomenal pour of fruit-forward malt. It’s so easygoing that you can drink it neat all day (responsibly of course).
27. Johnnie Walker Blue Label Blended Scotch Whisky, Limited Edition Year of the Rabbit
This is the mountaintop of Johnnie Walker’s whiskies. The blend is a marriage of ultra-rare 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.
Beyond what’s in the bottle, the actual bottle is also really freakin’ cool. This year’s Chinese New Year design was created by rising fashion star Angel Chen. Chen interpreted the Chinese rabbit Zen sign for a stunning bottle and box design that hinges on the ethea of mercy, elegance, and beauty.
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:
It’s always a good idea to get a Johnnie Blue. This year’s gorgeous bottle art adds so much more. This is just a beautiful bottle to have around that also happens to have great whisky inside.
26. Ardbeg Heavy Vapours Limited Edition Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
This Ardbeg committee release is one of the more esoteric in a while. The whisky was distilled without the purifier in the still. Without getting too lost in the weeds, the purifier softens some of the harsher edges of the distillate. Since that didn’t happen, this whisky was built to be a deeper and darker version of the classically already deep and dark whisky.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rich and dark is a good way to describe a nose full of fresh asphalt, burnt rope dipped in seawater, muddy barnyard after a fresh rain, I want to say jet fuel, and this deep counterpoint of dark dried red fruit and the darkest of dark cacao nibs tossed with salt.
Palate: The taste starts off subtly with mild cinnamon bark and cardamom pods next to really dark salted chocolate, spicy and fresh peppermint, and crushed oily espresso beans with a bitter sense of a mouthful of really expensive Japanese charcoal (binchōtan).
Finish: The finish is oddly numbing — it’s not hot at all — while coal and espresso bitterness wane as the chocolate, peppermint, and spice settle on your senses for a patient fades out.
Bottom Line:
This is another bold AF whisky that you should probably try at a bar first because it’s a whisky that you’ll immediately love (or hate). That aside, this one runs so deep and really takes you to the edges of where peated malt can go. It’s a wild ride.
25. Lagavulin 2023 Distillers Edition Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
2023’s Distillers Edition is a prime example of the heights Lagavulin can reach. The whisky was aged for 15 years in the core Lagavulin barrels (ex-bourbon and ex-sherry) and then finished for around six months in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks that were specifically made and held specific sherry before the whisky was loaded into the barrels. The result is a 15-year-old Lagavulin that’ll help you fall in love with the brand and style.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This feels like all the subtle notes across the Lagavulin range have come together in the best way. You’re drawn in with hints of honeyed smoke, salted caramel apples, mild hints of vanilla, and smoldering coffee grounds.
Palate: The taste ties the honey to a soft oakiness next to vanilla chocolate coffee, seaside salted taffy, and a touch of fish oil.
Finish: The end is very long and pure velvet on the tongue as the sweet oak fades towards a sweet smokiness, with a hint of salty roasted almonds and burnt vanilla husks.
Bottom Line:
This is on the subtle side of Islay’s peated whisky. It’s so nuanced that it feels like the sea is whispering to you through a beach campfire. It’s lovely.
24. Bruichladdich Port Charlotte Heavily Peated Islay Barley 2014 Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
This brand-new release from Bruichladdich is all about Islay and local malt. The mash bill (recipe) is hewn from 100% Islay Concerto and Propino barley malts (grown in 2013) that are heavily peated. In 2014, the whisky was made and filled into a first-fill bourbon cask (84% of the final blend), second-fill new oak (8% of the final blend), and second-fill Bordeaux wine casks (8% of the final blend). After seven years, those barrels were vatted and just proofed with local water for bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Old pear and apple orchards mingle with singed vanilla pods, salted toffee, rum-raisin, and grapefruit pith next to smoked peach and melon over cinnamon bark dipped in seawater.
Palate: That grapefruit leads to burnt orange with a deep smoked plum, cherry, and apple vibe next to grilled peaches, toasted coconut, and burning wild sage with a slight sense of moist marzipan and apricot tobacco.
Finish: Apricot jamminess and chewy malty spice drive the finish toward smoldering coals in a barbecue and a bit more of that smudging sage.
Bottom Line:
This is back on that hardcore peated jam. There’s so much more here than just peatiness though and it’s super rewarding, especially when you add a rock or some water to let it bloom.
23. Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 14 Years
Glenmorangie’s 14-Year expression spends 10 years resting in used American oak casks. Those barrels are vatted and the whisky is re-barreled into Quinta Ruban port wine casks from Portugal for another four years of mellowing before batching, proofing, and bottling as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose draws you in with a sense of burnt orange layered into dark chocolate and then melted over a singed marshmallow with a hint of malted vanilla cookie tying it all together.
Palate: That dark chocolate drives the palate with a hint of waxiness and woody winter spice next to whole black peppercorns, fresh tangerine, and a whisper of mint chocolate chip ice cream.
Finish: The dark chocolate, woody spice, bright orange, and sharp spearmint all collide on the finish with a sense of soft malted sweetness and faint old oak staves.
Bottom Line:
This is a standard release that just keeps getting better year after year. The new branding feels fresh and the whisky in the bottle is quintessential unpeated malt.
22. The GlenDronach Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky Cask Strength Batch no. 12
This brand-new batch from Dr. Rachel Barrie at The GlenDronach is all about long aging. The whisky is left to mellow in Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry casks from Andalucía, Spain. The age statement is on the bottle, but the blends tend to lean over a decade. The final mix is then bottled at cask strength to really highlight that Spanish oak.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Scoops of decadent dark chocolate powder draw you in with a hint of espresso cream, burnt orange, and marzipan with a moist sticky toffee pudding vibe next to a faint whisper of dried rose.
Palate: The palate is lush with a roasted and rich espresso bean vibe with salted dark chocolate, chinotto orange, and more rich and moist marzipan with a dash of ginger candy dipped in clove and allspice tea.
Finish: There’s a rich vanilla underbelly that smooths everything out on the end with a sense of rum raisin and faint bourbon cherry tobacco layered with soft cedar and mocha lattes.
Bottom Line:
This is a great whiskey for both bourbon drinkers and high-proof acolytes. I love it with one big rock but usually save it for the holiday season.
This brand-new release from Compass Box came off the bottling lines in December of 2022 and is hitting shelves right now. The blend in the bottle is a mix of single malts from the Imperial Distillery, Miltondu Distillery, and Glen Elgin Distillery with a single grain whisky from Cameronbridge Distillery.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a stewed pear with a deep sense of orchards in the sun next to bright pineapple, burnt orange, and a lush sense of vanilla buttercream.
Palate: Tart berries lead to macadamia nut cookies with a hint of floral honey, oolong tea, and savory guava with a touch of honeyed malt.
Finish: That honeyed malt drives the finish with a creamy nuttiness and a touch of spiced and creamy chai.
Bottom Line:
This is just good. It’s an excellent example of Compass Box’s prowess as one of the best blenders working today.
20. Springbank Aged 15 Years Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky
This is made with Springbank’s mildly peated malts and then aged for 15 years in ex-sherry barrels. The whisky is then blended and proofed down with local spring water before bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is a funky and savory nose with hints of teriyaki beef jerky next to powdery stock cubes with a hint of smoked brisket fat next to hydrogen peroxide before turning sweet with stewed prunes with a hint of cinnamon and honey.
Palate: The palate is like a marriage between a nutty and spicy Christmas cake and a low-and-slow brisket with tons of sea salt and fat and a whisper of smoke.
Finish: The finish arrives with a walnut dark chocolate crumble with minor notes of old leather and fireplace ashes next to a thin line of rocky beach after the rain.
Bottom Line:
This year’s Springbank 15 hit a little harder and deeper. It’s so well-balanced and just kind of keeps giving you more and more flavor notes the more you back to it. It’s pretty awesome.
This new 2023 Benromach release was 10 years in the making. The batch is made from a mix of first-fill ex-bourbon barrels (that means that this whisky was the first thing to go into the barrel after the bourbon was dumped) and ex-sherry casks. Those casks were vatted and then the whisky was bottled 100% as-is at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Stewed plums and mulled wine-soaked cinnamon sticks mingle with dark salted chocolate-covered espresso beans, vanilla husks, and creamy toffee rolled in roasted almond.
Palate: Sticky toffee pudding with a hint of black tea and plenty of nutmeg and cinnamon drive the palate toward a moment of burnt orange that’s just kissed with smoldering cacao nibs.
Finish: Smoked plums and black-tea-soaked dates lead to old winter spice barks and more musty orange on the finish with a hint of buttercream.
Bottom Line:
This is a pretty goddamn tasty whisky, especially for an American whiskey drinker. Add some ice or water to really let this get eggnog creamy in the glass (and then save the rest of the bottle for the holidays).
18. Talisker 2023 Distillers Edition Single Malt Scotch Whisky
The 2023 Distillers Edition is a classic Talisker that’s aged by the sea and finished for six months in Amoroso sherry casks. The whisky was distilled in 2012 and bottled at 10 years old. It was then finished in another Amoroso sherry cask, making it “double cask” matured.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose runs deep on this whisky with mild hints of beachside campfire smoke whispering in the background as hints of red fruit, wet driftwood, and green peppercorns draw you in.
Palate: The palate embraces the red berries with a slight tartness next to the sweetness as the peat remains dry and distant and tied to the brine of the sea with an almost oyster liquor softness.
Finish: The finish lingers for just the right amount of time as sweet berries and dry peat lead towards soft dark cacao powder with a tiny note of vanilla and one last spray from the sea.
Bottom Line:
This is the best mainstream bottle of Talisker that’s under 25 years old.
17. Bowmore Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aston Martin Masters’ Selection Aged 22 Years
This is the next step in the much-lauded high-end Aston Martin series from Bowmore. The whisky is batched from special barrels of Bowmore’s famed barely-peated whisky into a final product that’s refined and just kissed with that iconic Islay spring water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Gently smoked cherries and smoked orange come through on the nose with a mild sense of smudging sage ash next to bourbon vanilla and apple fritters with a soft powdered sugar glaze.
Palate: That sweetness presents on the palate with a smoke chocolate powder vibe next to spiced malts, singed vanilla husks, and more of those smoked cherries but this time they have a twinge of tartness with a pinch of salt.
Finish: The finish combines the tart yet salty smoked cherries with the dark chocolate next to a deep sense of oak and spicy malts.
Bottom Line:
This is another very subtly peated Islay malt. It’s just so nuanced and delicate. This is a great sipper for the peat curious.
16. Scapa Single Malt Scotch Whisky Vintage Edition 19 Years Old
This special edition of Scapa was bottled exclusively for The Whisky Exchange. The whisky was distilled back in 2003 and bottled in August 2022. During the 19 years between those dates, the whisky rested in first-fill American oak barrels before bottling 100% as-is at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Tart yet stewed green apples swim in vanilla buttercream on the nose as apricot jam and marmalade mingle with soft winter spices, lemon cream, raisin bread, and a hint of oyster shell.
Palate: Pear orchards and apple hand pies drive the palate as more lemon cream folds into a coffee cake (with a lot of cinnamon and nutmeg) with a dollop of marmalade, thin lines of honey, and raw brown sugar cubes next to a fleeting hint of wood wax.
Finish: Rye crackers with salt and sesame dipped in honey arise on the finish with a soft sense of salted black licorice, more of that raisin bread, vanilla buttercream, and spicy apple butter.
Bottom Line:
This is a great introduction to the wonders of Scapa, a true whisky nerd’s distillery.
The annual Fèis Ìle release from Islay’s Bunnahabhain is here! The whisky is an unpeated single malt that was aged exclusively in rare Canasta sherry casks. Those casks were vatted and bottled as-is for this annual release.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Old-school creamy sherry comes through on the nose with caramel-soaked pears and peach next to roasted almond, plenty of cinnamon stick, and a hint of mushroomy earthiness.
Palate: Those caramelized pears lead to stewed figs and orange-laced dark chocolate on the palate as vanilla cream and maple syrup add some serious sweetness and lusciousness.
Finish: The end is sweet with a sense of maple syrup, candied orange, sweet apple candy, and vanilla buttercream with a light touch of winter spice and roasted chestnut.
Bottom Line:
Delicious. You know what to do.
14. Caol Ila Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 13 Years Fèis Ìle 2023
This year’s Fèis Ìle special release combines Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry butts that were left next to the sea in Islay for 13 years. Once the barrels hit the right mark, they were vatted and then bottled 100% as-is at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Dark smoked cherries tossed in smoked sea salt drive the nose toward fresh green peppercorns, rips of cinnamon bark, and stewed stonefruits with a twinge of moist pipe tobacco and cedar bark.
Palate: The fruit sweetens and takes on more winter spice as the smoked salt and smoked chili pepper move the palate toward a subtle dryness with. a hint of rock beach stones and nori sheets.
Finish: The end leans into the minerality, nori, and spice barks as stewed plums and smoked cherries merge with the malted tobacco on the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is a high watermark for Caol Ila this year (so far). It’s just great.
13. Loch Lomond Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 22 Years The Open 151st Royal Liverpool 2023 Limited Edition
This year’s The Open 151st Royal Liverpool Limited Edition is a 100% organic whisky. The juice is made with unpeated organic barley that’s mashed and then distilled in a combination of straight neck and swan neck stills. That whisky then goes into organic American oak casks for a 22-year rest before cask-strength bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Mellow honey cut with ginger and mango drives the nose toward a sense of peach orchard, savory melons, and salted lemons pickled with anise and clove.
Palate: Sharp grapefruit pith and seared pineapple skins open the palate toward buttery bourbon vanilla and salted caramel with a hint of dark chocolate ganache cut with dried mango and ginger.
Finish: That ginger really rears its head on the finish with a lush cinnamon cake vibe that leads to old oak with a touch of tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This is a very good pour of whisky. If you’re spending a summer day golfing, take this bottle along.
12. The Balvenie The Tale of the Dog Aged 42 Years
This whisky was named after a famed whisky thief — or “dog” — that was flattened to stop too much whisky being thieved back in the day. The actual whisky in the bottle is from two casks that were put on the racks in 1974 and 1978 and left alone.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a classic sense of old and sweet malts on the nose that leads you to sweet and floral perfume that’s so subtle and enticing before a hint of sticky toffee pudding and geranium bound toward old mint rolled into chocolate malts.
Palate: The palate has a soft and salted toffee with honey nut cluster dusted with light notes of sweet winter spice and floral orchard blossoms before a hint more of honey and sweet old oak arrives.
Finish: That sweet oak drives the finish toward nutty creaminess, old orchard wood, and a sense of soft summer flowers with a hint of malt cookies cut with raisin and cinnamon.
Bottom Line:
Find a pour of this in a whiskey bar. It’s fantastic and will expand your palate.
11. Macbeth Act One Lady Macduff Linkwood Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 31 Years
This whisky is from a super whisky nerd distillery, Linkwood. If you know, you know. The whisky in the bottle was chosen by Elixir for its Macbeth lineup this year. The whisky is hewn from four ex-bourbon barrels that held the malt for at least 31 years (it’s a small miracle that any survived). Those barrels were vatted and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a beautiful sense of ripe apricot (fresh from vine clarity) with creamy lemon curd, fresh spearmint, lavender lemonade, soft saddle soap, buttery brioche, and … I swear … freshly washed sheets hanging out on a line on a sunny day.
Palate: Fresh pears and sweet apples counter the apricot on the palate as buttery scones just touched with rose water smeared with vanilla brandy butter with a light toward of floral honey and very dry champagne.
Finish: The pear layers into the champagne while the floral honey creates a luxurious mouthfeel next to soft moments of winter spice barks, marmalade, apricot leather, and creamy salted buttercream just kissed with vanilla and summer flowers.
Bottom Line:
This feels like spending a long summer day in the French countryside with the one you love.
10. World Whiskey Society 31-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky Distilled by Macallan Distillery
The World Whiskey Society bottled this amazingly rare whisky this year. The whisky in this very bespoke bottle is from a single 31-year-old sherry cask that The Macallan had in its warehouses. It was bottled at cask strength, which means only 71 bottles were filled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with the softest marzipan (Niedderegger) dipped in fruity and beautiful brandy next to almost savory pear, apple taffy, and pomelo skins over Sicilian cannolis filled with orange-kissed cream and touched with pistachio and brandied-cherries.
Palate: That malted oak cake gets soaked in cognac with a floral fruitiness and a bright summer’s breeze as a hint of rye bread crusts just kissed with sweet anise brings the taste back toward clove and nutmeg sweet Christmas mincemeat pies and a twinge of dark mulled wine.
Finish: That rye and anise counter the soft malted spice cakes with a deep almond marzipan nuttiness that’s accented with pear brandy, orange oils, and vanilla cream with a deeply old wine cellar echo lingering underneath it all.
Bottom Line:
This is so incredibly rare and a true must-have for The Macallan fans.
9. Glenglassaugh Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 46 Years Old
Glenglassaugh is a reborn distillery in Scotland — having operated from the 1800s to the 1980s before getting mothballed for over two decades before its resurgence in 2008. This is important to know in that the whiskey in this bottle was made in 1975 during the last years of the distillery’s 20th-century heyday. Living legend Master Blender Rachel Barrie found this barrel (a bourbon cask) in the stocks, and by some sort of whisky miracle, there was juice in the barrel.
That whisky was bottled as-is at barrel strength and sent exclusively to the U.S.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is almost … fresh on the nose with a sense of tart and woody black currants, fresh plum, mango juice, and red grapes that then veers into the abyss with a sense of old boot leather, maple wood dipped in varnish, and waxy sense of ambergris (I swear) — think boot cream, fresh tobacco, and sandalwood with a hint of salt.
Palate: The taste takes the fruit and tosses it into a fruit salad that’s cut with seawater and nori that’s then countered by menthol tobacco and sharp citrus oils with a whisper of cherry-flavored cream soda.
Finish: A twinge of grapefruit oil drives the finish toward this fleeting sense of cellar dirt, more ambergris, and mint chocolate chip ice cream that’s laced with pipe tobacco and black currants.
Bottom Line:
This is a super rare whisky that was actually made for this market. At the very least, take a taste of it at a whiskey bar.
8. The Singleton of Glen Ord Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 40 Years
This new release from The Singleton of Glen Ord is a well-aged masterpiece. The malt spent 12 years aging in old bourbon casks before being re-barreled into fresh used oak for another 37 years. Finally, those barrels were vatted and that whisky was re-filled into a mix of rum casks which were ex-solera rum casks of Zacapa XO Rum and Zacapa Royal Rum. Finally, the whisky was vatted and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Soft orchard fruit — plums, pears, quince — mingle on the nose with a light sense of roasting sage, thyme, and rosemary — all fresh and oily — before a mild note of old cellar oak and dried prosciutto skins arrive.
Palate: The taste leans into the orchard fruit before curing everything with salt, creating a tart yet salted plum/apricot/pear vibe that leads to soft yet dry cacao with a hint of spice barks.
Finish: Those spice barks get sharp and peppery on the finish as the chocolate mellows toward salted figs, plums, and pears that have just been kissed with cherry smoke.
Bottom Line:
This is deep into the whiskies where I’m not really sure what else to say besides something like, “It’s amazing. Duh.” Okay, okay, I actually would hold onto this one until Christmas. It’s a great holiday pour.
7. The BenRiach Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky The Forty
The legend Master Blender Rachel Barrie assembled this from a few select barrels that survived to 40 years. The peated malt rested in both bourbon casks and Port casks. Those barrels were batched and just kissed with water for this amazingly rare bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Old fruit leather — think dried plum and fig skins — mingle with burnt grapefruit pith, caramelized orange sauce, and salted dark chocolate covered dried cranberry with a deep sense of buttery walnut cake cut with cinnamon and clove and drizzled with spiced cherry syrup.
Palate: That spiced cherry drives the palate toward apple pie filling, grilled white peaches drizzled with honey, and lychee with a hint of kiwi and star fruit leading to spice barks and tobacco boxes.
Finish: The chocolate comes back on the end with more of that walnut cake and cherry driving the finish toward a moist and soft finish full of spice, orchard fruits, and soft tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This is a fruit bomb that just keeps going. It’s kind of like walking through an exotic fruit produce section in a specialty shop in the most delicious way.
6. Talisker Forests of the Deep Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 44 Years
This is one of the more unique Taliskers to hit shelves. The 40-plus-year-old juice is made finished in casks made with staves that were charred with Scottish sea kelp and stave wood shavings. The staves are then used to finish the whiskey before it’s vatted and bottled 100% as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a sense of classic fruit orchards with a hint of blossom next to briny smokiness from a distance that slowly fades in toasted seaweed salad tossed with roasted sesame seeds and chili oil with a fleeting sense of mild soy sauce lurking way in the background.
Palate: The taste leans into orange zest and maybe even lime leaves with a twinge of old and sweet oak before a twinge of soft rope dipped in seawater leads to a thin line of a beach campfire surrounds by grey stones and spitting rain.
Finish: A mild note of chili pepper arrives late with a mild waxiness tied to chocolate, plum, and pear with a final flourish of a fruit orchard in full bloom.
Bottom Line:
From here on out, we’re talking about number-one whiskies. The ranking is almost arbitrary. This is amazing. Period.
5. Mortlach Midnight Malt Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged for 30 Years
This is 30-year-old Mortlach from a couple of barrels that actually made it that long without drying out or becoming undrinkable — it’s kind of a miracle in that sense. The vatted whisky was finished in a trio of barrels — Bordeaux wine, Calvados, and Guatemalan rum — before bottling completely as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a lovely hint of malt dipped in honey with a touch of apple stewed with cinnamon and saffron that leads to roasted pork skin and fat cut with a sense of rosemary and singed sage before a honeyed oaked sweetness arrives again
Palate: The taste is like a creamy, apple-forward, malty lush elixir cut with hints of black pepper, burnt orange, and marzipan that leads to a sense of honey-soaked cinnamon sticks floating in apple cider.
Finish: Another rush of that black pepper late leads to woody apple cores and wintry barks that eventually fade towards a mildly spiced apple-cinnamon tobacco leaf packing into an old cedar box.
Bottom Line:
This is another one that’s just f*cking amazing. What else can I really say…?
4. Tomatin Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 36 Years Old
This is 100% malted barley malt whisky that spends a lot of time in the warehouse. The whisky in the bottle is a blend of a minimum of 36-year-old barrels — both ex-bourbon and ex-Oloroso sherry casks. Those barrels are vatted and allowed to rest before the whisky went in the bottle with a touch of water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a deep sense of apple and cherry trees in full bloom on the nose with a hint of mango skins, white peaches, and mulled wine spices that leads toward dark plum jam over buttery scones with a hint of brandy butter lurking in the background.
Palate: The palate is immediately lush and silken with a sense of pear pudding and mincemeat pies next to fire-roasted almonds, dried apples, and raw honeycomb with a light lavender vibe.
Finish: The spices rear their head on the finish with a mild eggnog and spiced Christmas nutcake feel that leads to figs and prunes with a hint of pear pie and soft vanilla rounding out the end.
Bottom Line:
This was just named the best whiskey in the whole world by the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. So there’s that.
3. Springbank Aged 25 Years Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky
This is a very rare whisky aged in 60% sherry casks and 40% bourbon casks for 25 long years in the tiny and very old Springbank Distillery in Campbeltown. After that whisky is touched with a little local water, and it’s filled into only 1,300 bottles per year (there are insane lines to get it at the distillery when it drops).
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a soft marriage between fresh raspberries and subtle rose petals with old cellar beams, cobwebs, and a dirt floor rounding things out, with a whisper of seaside air lurking in between.
Palate: The palate veers from that nose pretty drastically with hints of rum-soaked overripe bananas next to wet brown sugar, rock candy, and a hint of large salt flakes.
Finish: The end builds on that saltiness with a rush of malted barley and sweetgrass after the rain.
Bottom Line:
This year’s revamped Springbank 25 is a life-changing pour. If this doesn’t get you hooked on peated whisky, nothing will.
2. Glenfiddich Grand Yozakura Aged 29 Years Single Malt Scotch Whisky
This brand-new limited edition from Glenfiddich is their first foray into Japanese barrel finishing. After 29 years (!) in American oak and re-fill oak, the whisky is vatted and refilled into an ex-Awamori cask — which is an Okinawan rice spirit of sorts — for another nine months of mellowing. Those barrels were then batched and bottled with a hint of proofing water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is immediately amazing with deep notes of caramelized orange and grapefruit peels rolled in roasted almonds, allspice, and salt with a hint of confectioner’s sugar leading to this toffee maltiness and dark leathery fruitiness just kissed with creamy vanilla/chocolate before a hint of dried savory herbs sneaks in with a touch of old oak.
Palate: That ultra creamy vanilla and toffee lean into that soft oakiness and caramelized maltiness with a hint of green apple tartness and old wicker baskets full of tree barks next to date tobacco and salted caramel chocolate ganache.
Finish: That tobacco takes on a sticky toffee pudding and mincemeat pie vibe as the creaminess just keeps getting creamier on the long spice malt finish.
Bottom Line:
This is one of the best pours of new whisky I’ve had in a while.
1. Talisker Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 30 Years
Talisker’s seaside vibes are on full display in this beautiful bottle. The 2023 limited release (the 30-year is on a random release schedule) was around 3,000 bottles, making this a very rare expression from the Isle of Skye distillery. Those bottles were pulled from both ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks and masterfully blended right next to the sea at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is shockingly subtle and soft with velvety notes of smoldering dried nori next to matchsticks that have been dipped in a buttery and rich dark chocolate with sea salt gently sprinkled all over.
Palate: The palate leans into the dialed-back peat by bringing about a smoked cream with fire-seared peaches next to a hint of wet cedar, very old tobacco leaves, and a touch of almond or oat milk flecked with salt.
Finish: That salt drives the mid-palate towards a finish that’s like getting kissed by merfolk on a beach next to a campfire that’s heating a cauldron full of spicy stewed peaches in more of that cream.
Bottom Line:
2023’s Talisker 30 drop is the whisky to beat this year.
July is here, and if there’s one thing about summer, we’re meant to have fun! This week saw a bunch of new K-Pop releases, between another Barbie-themed drop and a collaboration between two extremely-popular generational bands. Turn the tunes on, take in the sunshine, get out, and just truly have a blast — no matter where you are or who you’re with.
Continue scrolling for Uproxx’s Best New Pop from this week.
Taylor Swift — “Timeless”
Anyone close to me knows I haven’t kept quiet about my love for “Timeless” since Taylor Swift unlocked it as part of the vault for Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) on Friday. Out of the six new songs, it is far and away the best of the bunch. She muses about the concept of feeling like she knew someone in a past life, after finding old photographs at an antique store. And, by the time the soaring “You still would’ve turned my head even if we’d met / On a crowded street in 1944” line kicks in, Swift puts you right there beside her.
NewJeans — “Super Shy”
NewJeans are gearing up to release their sophomore mini album, fittingly titled New Jeans, later this month. As another teaser, the girls dropped the energetic “Super Shy,” where they discuss coming to terms with their feelings — despite being nervous.
Fifty Fifty — “Barbie Dreams” (feat. Kaliii)
As the latest drop from the Barbie movie soundtrack, Fifty Fifty released “Barbie Dreams” — a lighthearted pop track with Kaliii that lyrically focuses on aspects of the movie. “Ken gon’ spend ’cause I’m a ten / Pink Corvette, let’s paint the rims,” Kaliii points out later in the song, with the rest of the lines shining just as bright.
Anne-Marie — “Trainwreck”
“The song is about being with someone who’s not good for you, but you stay with them because you’re scared of what will be afterwards,” Anne-Marie described about “Trainwreck,” her latest in a strong string of singles this year, as it follows up her Shania Twain collab.
Rauw Alejandro — “Si Te Pegas” (feat. Miguel Bose)
For Rauw Alejandro’s new album, Playa Saturno, he brought in Miguel Bose to feature on “Si Te Pegas.” The summer anthem contender finds the duo jamming out in a car together in the music video. As he described on Instagram, he had missed the beach while on tour — wanting to capture those feelings on the recently-released record.
Tomorrow x Together, Jonas Brothers — “Do It Like That”
Bringing together two impactful groups of boys, “Do It Like That” finds Tomorrow X Together and the Jonas Brothers enjoying the highs of a new relationship. The two bands vocally unite during the third part of the track. And, as their first collaboration, it feels like a pairing that definitely shouldn’t end here.
Gus Dapperton — “Phases”
“Everything on the album [represents] the battle between seeking out chaos, freedom, and change, and then also having that part of you that wants safety, routine, and monotony,” Dapperton told Uproxx in a recent interview. Recently dropping his new album, Henge, these themes impact “Phases,” which finds Dapperton hoping for a way out of the darkness.
NMIXX — “Roller Coaster”
NMIXX‘s “Roller Coaster” pulls inspiration from classic tales like Alice In Wonderland and Romeo And Juliet to portray the ups-and-downs of love — which also explains the title. As for the music video, it finds the girls breaking out some super sweet dance moves on a football field.
Siena Bella — “Are You Still Here”
Opening with a gentle piano, Siena Bella starts “Are You Still Here” with an emotional “Hello,” as she deals with the struggles of missing someone. “Why can’t I see your face in all my memories?” she asks in the chorus.
Nell Mescal — “Punchline”
“I wrote ‘Punchline’ in my bedroom last year about a friendship ending before it needed to and the heartbreak that comes with it,” Mescal shared about the backstory behind her powerful latest single. “It’s about trying to ‘win’ the friendship breakup by pretending it doesn’t hurt you that much, but still having that sick feeling you get in your stomach because you miss the other person.”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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awards. It’s truly one of the best!
