Donald Trump sure is in a whole mess of trouble. Since leaving the White House in disgrace — and no longer having protection the office afforded him — the former president has been hit with one lawsuit after another. So far he’s become the first U.S. president ever indicted on criminal charges and been found guilty of defamation and sexual misconduct. And that’s just the start. None of this has damaged his reputation with Republican voters. Quite the contrary. Indeed, one GOP lawmaker thinks all these legal woes make him a stronger candidate, if anything.
DANA BASH: Wouldn’t Republicans be better off with a candidate who is not facing multiple criminal investigations?
KEN BUCK: You know, it’s interesting — I think the multiple investigations and civil lawsuits that have been brought almost give Trump credibility pic.twitter.com/Ps5ruftuq1
As per Rolling Stone, on Sunday Colorado representative Ken Buck — who tried to block Joe Biden’s certification, was against COVID-19 restrictions, thinks abortion should be mostly banned, among other MAGA positions — went on CNN’s State of the Union. Host Dana Bash asked if being the subject of multiple criminal investigations makes him a dodgy candidate.
“You know, it’s interesting,” Buck replied. “I think that the multiple investigations and civil lawsuits that have been brought almost give this presidential candidate and former president credibility. He keeps saying that the world is against him because he’s trying to make these changes.”
Bash tried to be diplomatic, saying, “I know what you’re saying, it gives him credibility maybe with some of the electorate but for you, Ken Buck, does it give him credibility to you?”
Buck responded vaguely, saying, “I was in the House when he was president. I voted on his bills. I voted against his bills sometimes, his budgets and whatnot. So I have seen him personally. I don’t look at the actions that he has taken that are being investigated as much as his role as former president and what his policies were.”
Buck’s position isn’t rare among the GOP electorate. According to Rolling Stone, seven in ten Republican voters stand by Trump, even as the majority of Americans believe the investigations into his actions are “fair.” Fun times.
The singer, whose real name is Hayden Silas Anhedönia, is a beloved live performer. Seeing her on stage is a religious experience to her devoted fans, who often refer to her as “mother.” However, on Saturday, June 3, she collapsed at her show at the Sydney Opera House. She was one of the headliners at Vivid Festival and reportedly fell backwards during her third song.
Anhedönia addressed the incident in an Instagram Story. “Hi everyone,” she wrote, “so sorry I wasn’t able to finish the show last night but all this touring and traveling has finally caught up with me :/ am feeling better today though and am excited for the show tonight!! I promise I will make it up to those of you from last night whenever I can. Thank you much sydney, love u all.”
Fans on social media are wishing her a speedy recovery as well as asking those who were in attendance to not share footage of the incident out of respect. She has more performances scheduled in Australia within the next few days.
hi everyone, hayden is in stable condition but the show got canceled, with that being said, if you have a video of her collapsing on stage, please don’t post it. that’s extremely insensitive and disrespectful. wishing her a speedy recovery
Warning: This article contains spoilers about the final season of Succession.
Some actors, like Samuel L. Jackson, love watching themselves on-screen and get really excited about their work. Others treat it more clinically. Are you surprised that Brian Cox — hater of Method-esque acting and freethinker who speaks his mind — is of the latter category? And are you shocked to learn that the beloved thespian, who didn’t enjoy that his Succession character Logan Roy kicked the bucket prematurely into its final season, hasn’t even watched the show’s final episode?
“I’ve never liked watching myself,” Cox said in a recent interview with BBC (as caught by Insider). “Somehow or other, because of what happened to Logan, I’ve been disinclined to watch.”
Besides, it’s not like he’d be shocked by what occurred. “I knew how it was going to end because I knew that Logan had already set it up, and so I gather that ultimately, in the end, Logan’s won through even though he’s in the grave,” he said.
“It’s a strange situation,” explained Cox. “I don’t cling onto things. When I’m over, it’s over, and I go on.”
Cox may not know everything about what went down, but he’s heard everyone “rightly got their just desserts in the end.”
Succession streams on the service now known as Max.
Taylor Swift has imbued The Eras Tour with many surprises, especially special guests. New Jersey got Ice Spice; Nashville got her rumored boyfriend Matty Healy. On Saturday, June 3, Chicago was blessed with the presence of Maren Morris.
“Tonight I’m gonna play a song I’ve never played live before so that’s fun,” Swift said onstage. After talking a bit about re-recording her music, she continued, “So for these songs, when I was doing Fearless as a re-record, I thought it would be so cool to have one of my favorite artists sing on one of the songs that was from the vault. And we are so lucky Chicago, so incredibly lucky, because not only did that artist say yes, Maren Morris is actually here!”
The pair then performed “You All Over Me” for the first time. Fans in the audience sung along to the tame, emotional ballad, a nice reprieve in between so many bombastic, upbeat songs.
At the first Chicago show on June 2, Swift also gave a speech for Pride Month. “I’m looking out tonight, I’m seeing so many incredible, just individuals who are living authentically and beautifully and this is a safe space,” she said. “This is a celebratory space for you. One of the things that makes me feel so prideful is getting to be with you and watching you interact with each other, being so loving and so thoughtful and so caring.”
Watch fan footage of the performance of “You All Over Me” above.
Big movies are typically sold to the public in the same way: They’re screened in advance for reporters and critics, then their stars and filmmakers do the press and late night rounds. Not The Flash. Its star, Ezra Miller, has been AWOL from the public, and for many, manygood reasons. But that’s not all Warner Bros. Discovery has been keeping hidden away.
As per Variety, the company is going above and beyond to keep what is described as a “secret ending” under wraps:
The version that screened at CinemaCon in April ended abruptly, with a chunk of the final scene missing. At screenings on the Burbank lot this week, the final scene was intact, but Warners blurred out key elements. In fact, the final scene was changed multiple times pre-CinemaCon, the source adds. At the height of Miller’s PR problems, Warners was looking to keep its options open with regards to the future trajectory of the speedster.
Is the ending really so mind-blowing? It will likely have to pull off the feat of connecting the old DCEU — the one with Henry Cavill’s Superman, Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, et al. — with whatever new honchos James Gunn and Peter Safran have planned for their big brand-saving make-over. Or maybe, you know, it’s just a really cool ending.
In any case, The Flash will only have one premiere, a mere four days before its release date — a most unusual move for such a pricey picture.
Meanwhile, there’s its troubled star. Miller hasn’t been seen much since they agreed to stop doing…all that and seek some help. They won’t be chit-chatting with journos nor telling Jimmy Kimmel wacky stories about their attention-nabbing misadventures with Johnny Law.
“Ezra wants the movie to open and the conversation to be about the movie and not about Ezra,” explained a source close to Miller. “They are focused on their mental health and don’t want it to be transactional.”
Still, Miller https://uproxx.com/movies/will-ezra-miller-be-recast-as-the-flash/#:~:text=’The%20Flash’%20Director%20Has%20No,Miller%20If%20A%20Sequel%20Happens&text=Following%20a%20tumultuous%202022%20for,movie%20making%20it%20into%20theaters., says The Flash director Andy Muschietti. Will it have been worth keeping Miller while canning a bevy of performers who haven’t tried to start a cult? We’ll find out after the film opens on June 16.
Marjorie Taylor Greene may be the loudest and most prolific chaos agent in Congress right now, but she’s not the messiest. That would be her on-off pal Lauren Boebert. The Colorado representative doesn’t make news as often as Greene, though she’ll still do things like heckle President Biden while he’s talking about his dead son Beau. Her personal life, though, is a shambles. She’s in the midst of divorcing her junk-exposing, maybe process server-attacking husband. And now it turns out she’s not the daughter of a former wrestler.
The latest Mad Libs Boebert news comes from The Daily Beast, who revealed that her mother, Shawn Roberts Bentz, has for decades claimed that her daughter is the result of a fling she had with now-retired WCW wrestler Stan Lane. Not even a court-ordered DNA test performed ages ago, which came out negative, could persuade her. The Boebert side even claimed that the lab worker had switched the vials after taking a bribe.
Cut to last month and Boebert and Lane decided to put this tall tale to rest by taking another DNA test. Surprise! The two are still not related.
To her credit, Boebert never thought Lane was her dad. “I personally have never publicly claimed he was my father — but certainly, that allegation is out there,” she told The Daily Beast. She even joked about it. “The Toby Keith song ‘Who’s Your Daddy’ hits a bit differently now.”
Lane has not enjoyed spending decades linked to someone who would later become one of the poster children for the MAGA movement. Bentz even sought child support payments from him.
“This situation and the numerous false claims made against me over the years has been stressful for me and my family,” Lane said in a statement. “I feel my otherwise good reputation has been tarnished considerably. I and other close members of my inner circle have been dragged into this as well.”
Every single week, our TV and film experts will list the most important ten streaming selections for you to pop into your queues. We’re not strictly operating upon reviews or accrued streaming clicks (although yes, we’ve scoured the streaming site charts) but, instead, upon those selections that are really worth noticing amid the churning sea of content. There’s a lot out there, after all, and your time is valuable.
TIE: 10. I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson (Netflix series)
This show’s brand of chaos isn’t for everyone, but the people who love it tend to really love it, and they relish the act of meming it up during the process of watching. In other words, devotees are thrilled that their Emmy-winning leading man has returned with a new batch of absurdist comedy sketches, which will likely be ranked and reranked for many years to come. If you cannot help but adore Nathan Fielder’s painfully awkward variety of humor, do yourself a favor and get subversive with Robinson, too.
10: TIE. John Wick Chapter 4 (Lionsgate movie streaming on VOD and Amazon Prime)
Sure, you can probably catch a marathon of this franchise on cable while scrolling on any given weekend, but surely, you haven’t watched this fourth installment enough times yet? Vengeful, world-weary, fed-up, ass-kicking Keanu Reeves never gets old. At this point, the audience cannot tire of him or his dog-loving assassin, and it’s no wonder that this is a billion-dollar franchise now, and they will probably bring him back despite that, you know, thing that happened. Ana de Armas will soon take this franchise into Ballerina territory.
This might be the best show on TV right now that you are not watching. Why aren’t you watching it? Harriet Walter arguably has never had a bigger moment (with the Succession and Ted Lasso finales), and she’s in this Graham Yost series, too. Rebecca Ferguson is also fantastic as the hard-as-nails engineer who will either be the key to saving or destroying this silo where the last vestiges of humanity survive. Whatever apocalyptic event previously happened remains murky, but the silo’s secrets begin to parcel themselves out in this first season, which is based upon Hugh Howey’s self-published runaway literary hit, the Wool omnibus.
And speaking of catastrophic events that devastate humanity, this Icelandic series imagines a world where a real-life subglacial volcano (Katla, obviously) erupts, and the aftermath brings with it mysteries even more shattering than the ashes themselves. Twenty years later, the situation grows even muddier as the past literally reappears in various forms, and there might somehow be a meteorite involved in the entire mess. In our own reality, Katla once erupted for over 20 days, so this series was destined to transfix and holds up that end of the bargain.
Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen do their part to resurrect the raunchy comedy in this about two former best friends who reunite after a life-changing event. Their normal, responsible adult lives will never be the same again, due in part to too many shots and some horse tranquilizers. Rose Byrne is arguably at her best in comedic mode, and Seth Rogen is the perfect partner in crime to go there.
Gods and superheroes continue to captivate, even though people periodically wonder if the audience will burnout. Fortunately, this series feels fresh while following an “ordinary” American teenager who befriends a mythological god’s son. The story is based upon Gene Luen Yang’s same-named graphic novel, and sure, this is a twist on the coming-of-age theme, but it’s got a ton of Kung-Fu and a quest that brings plenty of existential questions about identity while staying funny as well.
5. The Super Bros. Mario Movie (Universal Pictures film streaming on VOD and Amazon Prime)
Chris Pratt’s controversial Mario voice continues to ride high on the home streaming circuit after crushing the box office and paving the way for a sequel. Anya Taylor Joy continues to ride her own wave here, and Jack Black needs to bring back “Peaches” while the world celebrates a year when video game adaptations are miraculously pleasing their audiences. Especially when generations of played Mario games, harnessing this brand of nostalgia was undoubtedly a personal journey for all involved.
Ghost Zeke appears to be making the most headlines so far as people gobble up the final leg of Flight 828’s doomed trip after NBC cancelled the voyage. Creator Jeff Rake was granted the privilege of finishing this sci-fi soap opera up in a fitting manner, albeit an abbreviated one, considering that he originally envisioned six seasons. Still, a supersized fourth season ain’t nothing to sniff at, so tune in to see if the Death Date business turns out as horribly as feared, and if Michaela manages to not get back with Jared. That’s important!
Well, I’m definitely not alone by already rewatching the finale because that “Meal Fit For A King” scene cannot be beat, and seeing it again while fully knowing what’s coming at the end makes it hit even harder. The Roy siblings shall be missed, even though they’re all pretty awful people. Go enjoy One Last Night At The Scorpion Party if you haven’t already, although I’m not sure how you managed to avoid spoilers at this stage.
Sydney Sweeney portrays Reality Winner, whose name once attracted as much Internet attention as the three-decade prison sentence that she received. The Air Force vet and former NSA translator is 25 years old and a yoga/CrossFit instructor when this movie begins with FBI agents having descended at her home. From there, two hours fill the audience in on what transpired between agents and the accused, and whether she presented information about 2016 election interference by Russia to the press. Sweeney’s skills are showcased here in a different way than you’ve seen before now, as a seemingly ordinary 20-something whose life will forever be transformed.
Never underestimate the power of the Dad-fueled component of the streaming audience. Arnold Schwarzenegger will probably “be back” since Netflix is now realizing how wise they were to bank on his action-star prowess, even decades after its heyday. This series is sort-of like Mr. And Mrs. Smith but with a father-daughter dynamic, and I’m guessing that this season will probably stick around in people’s minds until at least Father’s Day. Hey, Dads need something to watch while Yellowstone remains on hiatus.
Vintage bourbon — or “dusties” — are a huge part of the whiskey culture. Bottles from bygone eras offer a glimpse into the days of yore in American whiskey, often with incredible whiskey hiding in cobwebbed cellars. Part of the attraction to vintage bourbons is for investment, of course. As long as people are opening old bottles, the sealed ones will go up in value (in general).
Another part of it — and the part I care about most — is actually drinking the stuff when the moment is right. Opening up a bottle from the 1980s has something to teach us about that era, while also adding context to the bourbons being distilled today.
See where we’re headed here? It’s time for a big, blind vintage bourbon tasting. The sort that I never could have pulled off, had I not been invited to Justins’ House of Bourbon in Louisville, Kentucky, for a 10-pour, double-blind sampling of whiskeys bottled mostly in the 1980s and 1990s. That’s a prime era for one huge reason. Back then, the American whiskey industry was truly on the ropes. Vodka’s boom in the 1970s meant that by the mid-1980s and well into the 1990s, bourbon producers were basically forced to put very old whiskey into average-ish bottles because they literally couldn’t give the stuff away. That means that a lot of very standard stuff from that era was, well, pretty amazing.
At the same time, because the warehouses were brimming with long-aged bourbons, you also saw a lot of high-age statement labeled bourbons that you don’t really see anymore. Sometimes seemingly random labels of bourbon would be “Aged 15 Years” and that would be the minimum age of the barrels used in the batch. Wild times, right?
Luckily, we’re in an era where a fair few of these vintage bourbon bottles are still kicking around. And places like Justins’ — in both Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky — are still pouring them. It’s not just in KY, either. There are whiskey bars across the country that also specialize in dusty pours. Jack Rose Dining Saloon in DC or The Ballard Cut in Seattle both come to mind. And then there are online retailers like The Whisky Exchange in the U.K. that specialize in dusties from all over the world.
All told, anyone really looking to get into these bygone bourbons will find them fairly accessible in 2023. For a price.
WHY ARE DUSTIES SO INTERESTING?
So what makes a “dusty” or vintage bourbon special? Justin Thompson (one of the famed Justins and my tasting buddy on this double-blind journey) looks at it like, “getting a two-for-one bourbon experience.” I agree. First, you’re getting this sense of what bourbon was like 30, 40, or even 50 years ago. The oldest bottle in our tasting was a 43-year-old bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle 11-Year-Old Kentucky Bourbon — meaning we were sampling something that was distilled and barrelled in 1969 (likely with much older barrels in the blend). Some of those grains were probably grown in 1968, or throughout the 1960s. The trees that the barrels were made out of were likely alive in the 1800s. That’s an education for your palate that you cannot currently replicate. The second part is the fact that you’re getting to experience a good pour of whiskey in general. It’s a fun combo.
It also dispels the myth that bourbon is “supposed” to taste a certain way and always has. The 10 bourbons we blindly tasted had massive variations in taste. It’s good to remember that bourbon (rye, scotch, Irish whiskey, etc. too) had just as much range across flavor profiles 30, 50, or 100 years ago as they do today (some would argue there was far more variation in flavor the further you go back but that’s a chat for another day).
WHAT ABOUT THE MONEY?
Okay, let’s address the elephant in the vintage liquor store room before we kick off. This is not a cheap hobby. I’m not listing bottle prices in my ranking below because finding sealed bottles like these have such a malleable value that a price tag would be almost a complete shot in the dark. Just know this — they’re not cheap.
I did, however, list the pour prices for these whiskeys at Justins’ House of Bourbon in Louisville. They’re pretty standard prices and very similar to ones I’ve seen for very similar bottles at vintage whiskey bars around the country/world. That price point at the very least will give you an idea of how much capital you’ll need to get into this type of whiskey drinking (collecting these bottles is a whole different matter).
Okay, let’s just dive in to get a sense of what’s going with these bourbons (and one sneaky rye). I had no idea what was being poured and hadn’t seen any bottles beforehand. Still, I knew by the first pour it was going to be fun. Read my tasting notes and then browse the ranking to see which whiskeys ruled the day.
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
Nose: This has a classic nose with a hint of dried red chili and a literal sense of dustiness next to soft dark pitted fruits, old leather, and a hint of caramel that gives way to a fruity dark pudding creaminess.
Palate: The body is soft and smooth with a sense of old piles of cedar kindling next to sour red berries with a hint of cellar oak, dried red spices, and soft vanilla caramel cream.
Finish: The end is on the lighter end, likely due to lower ABVs, but delivers a hint of cedar and creamy dark orchard fruit with a hint of old vanilla husks.
Initial Thoughts:
This was old and felt it at first. Then as we went back to the pours after 5 and 10 minutes, it really turned into a soft and creamy lush pour of whiskey. It was a hell of a transformation.
Taste 2
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a rich and bright purple berry nose that really pops before hitting on dark yet soft winter spices and a hint of salted caramel that gives way to really fresh cedar bark braided with pipe tobacco.
Palate: There’s a sense of an old whiskey barrel on the palate with a twinge of tannic oak next to dark and rich caramel drizzled over a wild berry cobbler.
Finish: That berry vibe drives the finish back toward the fresh and vibrant cedar with a good hint of clove and anise-spiked tobacco vanilla cakes.
Initial Thoughts:
This had a little age to it but that dissipated as it opened up with a little air. The overall vibe was berry-forward with a good underbelly of classic bourbon sweetness just kissed with salt and wood.
Taste 3
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is a classic nose — dark cherry cola, salted caramel, vanilla pie, old oakiness, and a light sense of sharp dark winter spice.
Palate: The caramel and vanilla smooth out the opening of the palate toward a sharp and almost cutting clove, allspice, and cinnamon spice matrix that dries out toward barks and dried buds with a counterbalance of burnt orange zest and dried orchard fruits.
Finish: The end stays pretty sharp with a sense of old oak cellars and dry apple cider spiked with winter spice and dark and leathery figs, prunes, and dates.
Initial Thoughts:
This was a classic bourbon through and through. Dark fruit, sweet and creamy, and plenty of woody spice.
Taste 4
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a face full of old cellar floor dirt and a hint of fir bark next to soft white grits cut with buttercream vanilla sauce and brown sugar that’s just kissed with cinnamon and nutmeg.
Palate: The taste is a big bowl of those grits with a sharper sense of spice and a smooth sense of toffee and vanilla cake that’s almost like a modern-day craft bourbon.
Finish: A rush of dried orchard fruits — apricot, apple, pear, orange — come into play late and adhere to the earthiness of the old corn silos of soft grain and sweet brown sugar syrups.
Initial Thoughts:
This one threw me since it tasted so crafty thanks to that sweet graininess/porridge vibe. It was really tasty, don’t get me wrong.
Taste 5
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with an old sense of oak next to dried black cherry and apple chips soaked in cinnamon tea with a hint of creamy eggnog custard cut with plenty of vanilla and maybe even some salted dark chocolate.
Palate: The palate leans into spiced black cherry pipe tobacco with a hint of clove and allspice over gingerbread cookies, worn boot leather, and an old family room decked out for Christmas with fresh fir, plenty of decorations, and a hint of winter spice bundles hanging out in the corners.
Finish: The end leans into the dark cherry and spice with a light sense of spice barks and almost cherry cream cut with dark chocolate and vanilla sauces that are just touched by rose water and marzipan.
Initial Thoughts:
Well, this is great. It tastes pretty amazing. It’s also super nostalgic and pulls off that magic trick where you’re transported to your grandparent’s place on Christmas Day.
Taste 6
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Big bags of buttery and salted popcorn lead on the nose with a hint of Milk Duds underneath that move toward cherry-soaked oak staves.
Palate: Cherry Coke and corn husks drive the palate as soft caramel and old dried apricot with a hint of leathery Fruit Roll-Ups mingle with a sense of powdered winter spices.
Finish: The end really leans into that dry corn with a whisper of the salty popcorn speaking back in against the caramel and milk chocolate with a hint of cherry spice on the very end.
Initial Thoughts:
This was such a radical departure from the rest that I’m not really sure what to make of it. Going back after 5 and 10 minutes, the corn remains but more tart fruitiness arrives, only confounding me further.
Taste 7
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Dark cherry and deep winter spice mingle with super lush and creamy vanilla and date with a hint of leathery saddle soap, a twist of orange, and a flutter of smudging sage.
Palate: The palate leans into a super silky version of classic spiced cherry Kentucky bourbon vibes with a deep sense of vanilla malts and cherry pipe tobacco next to sharp and woody winter spices that run deep toward almost leathery tobacco leaves.
Finish: The end holds onto the spiced cherry vibe while layering in spiced apple cider and maybe even a hint of red mulled wine with a dash of spiced walnut bread on the side.
Initial Thoughts:
This is a great pour of whiskey.
Taste 8
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Tart berries and dry sweetgrass and smudging sage drive the nose toward a light sense of old oak staves and herb gardens.
Palate: Those tart berries get a tad creamy with the vanilla on the front end of the palate before giving way to a light backyard in the summer vibe with a sense of old wicker.
Finish: The end holds onto the now creamy tart berries before veering into dry sage and tobacco territory with a hint of cedar and a faint whisper of dry malts that almost starts to feel like an old dry scotch.
Initial Thoughts:
This is so completely different. It’s grassy and dry and really tasty.
Taste 9
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is pure buttercream vanilla that leads to a rich layering of spiced holiday cakes, rum raisin, black-tea-soaked dates, black walnuts, and dried cherries dipped in salted toffee and rolled in dark cacao powder.
Palate: The mouthfeel is silky and lush with a sense of that rich buttercream leading toward more of the dark cherry that attaches to winter-spiced tobacco packed into an old cedar humidor and then wrapped in old motorcycle jacket leather.
Finish: The finish takes that old leather-wrapped humidor and places it in a bed of sweetgrass braided with cedar bark and smudging sage before the luscious creaminess returns with a sense of old vanilla husks and cherry pits.
Initial Thoughts:
This is just delicious and so deep.
Taste 10
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a deep sense of vanilla and cherry before veering into a dank earthiness that’s part white moss and part old fir bark with a hint of black soil and dusty old cellars.
Palate: The palate dances between dark dried red berries and stewed apples and pears toward creamy and salted toffees with a hint of almond and chocolate that then mingles with spicy woody barks and tobacco.
Finish: The balance of fruit, spice, and buttery sweetness comes into crystal clear focus at the end as all of those notes are baked into a holiday cake with a sense of deeply salted caramel swirled through the richest vanilla ice cream and topped with the spiciest stewed cherry really brings this sip home.
Initial Thoughts:
If someone asked me for a quintessential Kentucky bourbon, this is the direction I’d point them.
Part 2 — The Vintage Bourbon Ranking
Zach Johnston
10. Willett Vintage Bourbon Handmade in Kentucky Aged 17 Years (2009) — Taste 6
This whiskey comes from the minds at Willett Distillery. That means that it’s going to be some extremely rare juice from the Bardstown area that the team at Willett took custody of and acted as steward over as it aged. Beyond that, Willett doesn’t say much besides buzzy marketing words like “Handmade” and such.
Bottom Line:
This is the only one I really didn’t care for. It was super earthy and grainy and the sweet and spiced fruit kind of got lost.
I know people lose their shit over these bottles because they’re kinda/sorta secret Willett releases. But I’d probably skip this one unless you’re a Willett acolyte.
9. Old Rip Handmade Kentucky Straight Bourbon 4 Years Old (1988) — Taste 1
This is Pappy (a wheated bourbon) when it was in a transition period between the Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Louisville (Shively), the Hoffman Distillery in Lawrenceburg which was renamed Old Commonwealth, and the eventual move to the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort. In the 1980s, Julian Van Winkle III was bottling at Hoffman from the Stitzel-Weller-made whiskey and released it as a sort of entry-point age statement to the heritage brand. In essence, that makes this the true poor man’s Pappy from the 1980s.
Bottom Line:
This was good stuff. It felt like classic and grassy Kentucky bourbon with some real depth. That deepness didn’t run too deep as the proofing was pretty high but still delivered a solid overall profile/experience.
8. Old Bardstown Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 12 Years Old (2002) — Taste 2
Today, Old Bardstown 90-Proof is Willett’s bottom shelf standard bearer that’s actually pretty good. 20 years ago, that was also very true of this brand from the famed Bardstown distillery/bottler. Except back then, there were much older barrels going into this mix before blending, proofing, and bottling, hence they had a big age statement with a budget price point.
Bottom Line:
First, Willett needs to bring back that black label ASAP. It’s much better than this beige wall nonsense they have now.
Overall, this is a damn fine whiskey with a nice balance. It’s a good and easy pour (that most of us can afford) that’ll give you a glimpse into really good cheap whiskey from 20 years ago. That said, this is pretty damn good whiskey for what was once a bottom-shelf pour.
This is the previous iteration of Wild Turkey branding back when “Austin Nichols” was still front and center at the brand. The whiskey in the bottle is the Russell family recipe that was made by Eddie and Jimmie Russell just over 10 years ago.
Bottom Line:
This is really good and it still is. Compared to a 2023 pour of the same bottle (essentially), it really does come across as more refined but only barely so.
6. Old Rip Van Winkle Very Special Stock Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 11 Years (1980) — Taste 4
This private bottle of Pappy is from the Old Commonwealth era when Julian Van Winkle III was still using Stitzel-Weller whiskey barrels to fill batches. These bottlings were for special clients, accounts, and friends of the brand and were distributed as yearly thank yous mostly, hence the name on the label. Still, there’s an 11-year-old Pappy wheated bourbon from the old distillery in this bottle, making it highly sought-after.
Bottom Line:
Yeah, this is a good bourbon. It lives up to the hype. In fact, this is better than some of the modern Pappy on the shelf right now (looking at you, 23).
In the end, this is an essential pour to understand where the brand came from and why people love it so damn much.
5. Anderson Club Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 15 Years (1996) –Taste 3
So there’s a lot going on with this bottle. One, it’s pre-fire Heaven Hill (short story, Heaven Hill had a huge fire in 1996 that destroyed a lot of stock and facilities and created a bifurcation point in the desirability of the whiskey from there). Two, this was a Japan-only release. Three, it’s an old whiskey from a long time ago that actually tastes like a time that is truly lost thanks to that aforementioned fire.
That’s the pitch anyway.
Bottom Line:
Yeah, this is a good goddamn whiskey. It does taste like something that’s really well-aged while also feeling like a classic profile that so many other distillers/producers are constantly chasing right now in 2023.
4. Joshua Brooks Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged Over 15 Years (1990) — Taste 10
This is a pre-fire Heaven Hill whiskey. The whiskey was distilled and aged in Bardstown and then sent to a bottler out in California to be bottled and distributed (yes, this is a sourced bourbon). The brand petered out and now these bottles are all that’s left.
Bottom Line:
Essentially, you’re getting whiskey made at Heaven Hill in the early 1970s with this one. That’s dope. Moreover, this is another example of that pre-fire Heaven Hill whiskey being pretty spectacular stuff. It feels like it should be a myth that it’d make that much difference but this whisky is a lot of proof that the whiskey was just better from back then.
This whiskey is from the old J.B. Dant Distillery which was shuttered during the last bourbon downturn in the 1990s after operating for over 150 years in Gethsemane, Kentucky (though the Dant family has since reopened it). The whiskey in this bottle is from that old distillery and a direct line to an almost lost heritage of bourbon making from one of the biggest names in all of Kentucky bourbon.
Bottom Line:
Yellowstone is part of Limestone Distilling now and is largely sourced via Lux Row (though it’s still made by a Dant descendant). This version is so drastically different in that it reaches into the brand’s origins and has a depth that’s incredible. This is a great pour of whiskey that’ll educate you on a whiskey that was kind of lost to time thanks to vodka taking over in the 1970s.
This whiskey is a throwback to the late 1980s/early 1990s of Wild Turkey’s history. The release was lovingly nicknamed “Cheesy Gold Foil” by the brand (at least they have a sense of humor about themselves). The whiskey in the bottle is classic Turkey 101 that was left to age for 12 years (at least) before batching, proofing, and bottling.
Bottom Line:
This is basically one of Wild Turkey’s first forays into higher age statements during a time when they had a ton of old barrels and couldn’t sell them. It was a true crisis meets opportunity moment. In the end, we got a fantastic version of Wild Turkey that reaches back into the 1970s. It also foreshadowed the massive success of Russell’s Reserve 13-Year which has been a whiskey nerd favorite for the last two years.
On and this is f*cking delicious. Buy a bottle if you can.
1. Old Grand Dad 114 Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (1989) — Taste 9
National Distillers was one of the first behemoths of Kentucky bourbon thanks to being allowed to stay open during Prohibition (wherein it started buying a lot of distilleries all over Kentucky, including the original Old Grand-dad Distillery at Hobbs Station). Eventually, National Distillers (which made Old Grand Dad at The Old Taylor Distillery, which is now Castle & Key) was bought by Beam in 1987. That means that this whiskey is pre-Beam Old Grand Dad from Old Taylor Distillery but bottled by Beam.
Today, the whiskey is made at Beam’s facility fully and these barrels are exhausted (much to the chagrin of the brand’s old fans).
Bottom Line:
This was the deepest and most interesting pour by far. This tasted like great whiskey in general, without the patina of it being a “dusty” bourbon. It’s also easy to see why Old Grand Dad fans were pissed when the Beam version hit shelves. This is a million times better in every way.
Overall, this is the one pour that I’d fully endorse you trying. It’s amazingly lush and just keeps going with a great flavor profile that truly stood out. I want this whiskey back.
Part 3 — Final Thoughts on the Vintage Bourbon
Zach Johnston
Yeah, a cheap old whiskey from the 1980s that your granddad probably kept hidden in the garage was actually freakin’ delicious.
In the end, it’s wild to look back at how diverse and varied (and longer-aged) so much of the bourbon was just a few decades ago. It’s also really easy to get caught up in all that and want to only drink bourbons from these eras. A lot of the regular stuff was just so much better. I’m sorry, but Old Grand-Dad is pretty mid to shit these days, and that’s without comparing it to what it was. That’s just a fact.
It kind of makes me sad.
But fear not. Not everything was better in the past. Both of the Pappy bottles on this panel didn’t even come close to a 2022 Pappy 15-Year that I can easily get right now. It’s all grey area and pour-by-pour dependent. Still, there’s some really good old whiskey out there that used to cost pennies on the dollar and we all kind of slept on it until it was too late. Now, we have some dusties to remind us but they’ll be gone one day soon too. Try them while you still can.
Baseball fans in Chicago were treated to a Saturday matinee between a pair of AL Central squads, as the Detroit Tigers visited the Windy City to take on the White Sox. The two pitching staffs did their jobs over the course of nine innings, and by the time the final out was recorded in the bottom of the night, the teams were level at one run each.
The Tigers went up first and didn’t do anything, and at the start of the bottom of the 10th, Romy Gonzalez was able to get Yoan Moncada over to third base. After a groundout, an intentional walk, and a hit by pitch, the bases were loaded against Tigers pitcher Jose Cisernos with Tim Anderson stepping up to the plate.
After the first pitch of the ensuing at-bat, Moncada was able to run home for the winning run. The catch: This did not happen because Anderson put the ball in play. Instead, Cisernos threw the pitch right off of the umpire’s mask, which made him go down in a heap while the Tigers struggled to find the ball.
It seemed like Tigers catcher Eric Haase was (understandably, to be clear) more concerned with the umpire than finding the ball once he realized he lost track of it, while Anderson didn’t even celebrate because he was busy helping the ump get up. Funny enough, the White Sox exclusively won this game via runs scored on wild pitches, as that was how they scored their lone run before extras.
Last week saw a fun little Ferris Bueller’s Day Off reunion happen: Matthew Broderick joined his old colleague Alan Ruck at the Succession finale party. Yes, the erstwhile Cameron Frye grew up to play one of the happier people on the HBO juggernaut. As it happens, it wasn’t the only Bueller news that happened last week: While many people loved his turn as the crafty school-skipper,Broderick revealed one person who didn’t was its director.
“I remember we did a costume test early on,” Broderick recalled on The Hollywood Reporter’s podcast It Happened in Hollywood. “We walked around the streets of Chicago in our costumes and they filmed us — me, Alan [Ruck], Jennifer Grey, and Mia [Sara].”
Alas, Hughes wasn’t happy with the results. “When the footage came back, he said none of us were ‘fun to watch.’ We were ‘boring’ in our tests,” Broderick said. “Actually, some of us he did like, but some he did not, and I was one he did not.”
Broderick was taken aback. In addition to the films WarGames and Ladyhawke, he had also done Broadway, including Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs and its sequel Biloxi Blues. (He later starred in the film version of the latter.)
“I was not a total newcomer,” he said. “So to have him say, ‘I’m not used to having somebody be so dead,’ or whatever he said to me. I wasn’t really ‘in it’ or something.
“That happened and I said, ‘So get somebody you like,’” he added.
Obviously Hughes did not get somebody else, though the two clashed at other points during the shoot. “He was somebody who could get angry at you,” he recalled. “Not outwardly angry, but you could tell. He would turn dead. Dead-faced. I would say, ‘What did you think of that?’ And he’d say, ‘I don’t know.’ Just nothing. ‘OK. John doesn’t like that.’”
Broderick did come to respect him, though. “He took the work very seriously, is what I mean,” he said. “[John] wasn’t a loosey-goosey person. But he also didn’t hold a grudge and knew how to get himself out of it.”
It all worked out in the end, though: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was the 10th highest grossing movie of 1986, and it’s endured as a classic with plenty of quotables and, pace Hughes, a fine lead performance — one of the very few break-the-fourth-wall turns that really works.
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