On the day I heard my grandmother laugh so deep and so precious it made my stomach quake, I am sitting on the edge of my wooden kitchen table, staring out the window as the sun beats against the seals. The morning is hot, a bit of the southern stuffiness that happens in Georgia during the summer months, and the wind blows pages out of order as they sit on the table. Just a few moments ago, I am pouring my coffee into my dinner mug, setting it on the table, raising the windows a bit so that the warm breeze can enter my house. Ten minutes later, the red mug that I got from the bookstore some months ago is empty, the contents of the cup have warmed my insides. I close my ends. I take three long, deep breaths in. I take three long, deep breaths out.
And I hear the sound of morning birds.
I have made it a practice of late to raise the windows in the morning time to be greeted by their song. The chirping, swift, sharp and high-pitched echoes from one bird to another. For a few seconds, I pause, gazing upward from the green grass to the trees that sway in the distance. For a few seconds, I pause long enough to notice that no one bird interrupts the others. Each bird, one by one, makes a noise and then another and then another. My grandmother told me that when birds sing, if you listen close enough, you can tell that their melodies are never drawn out. It doesn’t take much to be heard, I guess. In one simple sound, overheard through the glass window, their presence is felt in my world. There is no pressure. There is no stage. There is no timeline. There is only a small animal doing what it has been created to do, reminding me that in life, I too take up space and whatever space I crave in this world is enough to make another pause and pay attention.
This reminds me, strangely enough, of the times as children where we would be in the church on Sunday mornings. For us, children of the black rural South, Sunday mornings were much like Friday nights around time. See, on Friday, the days the town would shut down because of high school football games in the fall, hardly anything moved. As the football time made their way to the altar between the lines, the miracle was the fact that under these lights even the most public of failure demanded intentional presence. Mothers, fathers, cousins and friends would make their way to the bleachers to experience what could only be called “baptism”—experience being enveloped by the simple yet powerful gaze of the body’s movement under pressure. That moment, much like Sundays at church, feels divine and sacred, I guess. Or maybe that’s too much. I do know that from a child, both Fridays and Sundays made such an impression that I too ran up and down the field; I too ran up and down the church.
I don’t think I know the age of birds or even if, from their perspective, their songs are sung again and again, but I do know that every morning, when the windows of my house are raised, I remember how much of a gift it is be alive together.
I called my grandmother a few days ago and asked her if she remembered the time she, sitting on the porch a few weeks ago, told me about the solace she has found by being wrapped in the silence. Every morning, like me or me like her, she makes her coffee, says her prayers, read her Bible and then sits on the porch. “Do you like think or you just sit,” I asked her, wondering if we were more alike than I remembered. “I just sit,” she said. “I remember how as kids, we would just love to come on the porch and sit and listen to the birds.” I asked her if she still does this. She said yes. “I love it,” she told me. “Ohhhhhh, I do.”
A few months ago, after having sat on the porch for years with my grandaddy, sharing laughs and coffee along with the sound of birds and the cool South Carolina breeze that would touch their cheeks, grandma said her final goodbyes to him. That moment too was wrapped in silence. Grandaddy had dementia. Every time I saw him, at least for the last few years, he repeated the same story over and over, again and again, until I got proficient at telling the story to him before he started talking. “There was El Paso, Texas,” I would say. “And then there was the poetry,” I would say. “And then …. Let me see …” At that moment, he would laugh, pop me three times in my chest with the black side of his hand, before giving me the type of hug that was gestured by one minute of heavy laughter. “You on the good foot,” he would ask, mimicking James Brown the best way he could. “Of course grandaddy,” I would say. “You already know.”
That morning, the morning coronavirus made his heart beat faster than my legs ever ran on the football field or across the floors of the church, and then ultimately making it beat so hard that it finally gave way to a singular line, grandma looked at his body, clothed in the white gown with blue streaks, through the glass barrier. She could not touch him. She could not kiss him. She could not touch the top of his head nor grasps the depths of his feet. The next time that would happen: the day of the funeral. I’ll never forget that day or the sound or the picture of her rough hands touching him and sitting as still as the trees that surround their house. I’ll never forget it.
I’ll also never forget that afternoon, the house smelling like perfume, chicken, sweet potato pie and grief, the moments grandma and I shared on the porch. We didn’t say much. We just sat there. Together. Cars lined the concrete road, dirt and rocks mixed; loud voices were heard faintly through the shut door. Her hands rested in her lap. She still had on the two-piece suit she wore to the funeral. Blue, with a white blouse, the pink flower resting on the left side of her chest.
The dawn chorus is said to be the song of blackbirds, robins, Eurasian wrens and chaffinches. It is said to mark the magical beginnings of a new day. It is said that it is an explosion of life bursting out of the Earth that makes the heart leap. It is said that whether you are in the city or in the country that you can hear this sound. It is said that this sound is most noticeable in spring.
Well, grandma said when she sits on the porch every morning, she hears less and less birds singing. I guess she meant that with grandaddy being gone, the birds are lot less happy like her and that like Toni Morrison’s Shalimar in “Song of Solomon,” grandaddy has learned how to fly and has found his rest. I guess when she said that less birds are around and then started talking about climates changing, she was talking about our lack of pausing to care for the Earth and noticing how things so precious aren’t around anymore. I guess she was saying that we too are like the birds, we have survived so much and have found a way to greet each other in the morning with something that makes the heart softer. I guess she didn’t mean any of that, but to remind me the power of our presence together in grief: it weds what we lost to what we remember and lets us know that so much love remains.
The birds of the morning turn a song into a memory, an ordinary porch into an altar. What else can we give to one another in these moments of sadness but something that reminds each other that there are two of us here? What else can we give to one another but the assurance that stories don’t always when bad things happen?
The birds greeted me this morning. My windows were up. Grandma sat on the porch. We sipped coffee together.
After years of speculation, John Krasinski melted Marvel fans’ minds when he finally appeared as Reed Richards in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. However, there was a pretty significant catch. Krasinski played the Fantastic Four patriarch in an alternate universe where he was gruesomely murdered by Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch. Granted, this doesn’t mean Krasinski’s version of the classic character isn’t still roaming around the Marvel Cinematic Universe (or Earth-616 as its designated in the film). However, it does leave the door open for Mr. Fantastic to be played by an entirely different actor, which might be the direction Marvel is heading.
While promoting the third season of Jack Ryan, Krasinski seemed to heavily suggest that his Reed Richards cameo was a one-time thing. According to the actor, there’ve been no further discussions outside of his quick one-day shoot on the Doctor Strange sequel. Via The Wrap:
“There aren’t any discussions at all, the only discussion I had was actually in the second-to-last week of ‘Jack Ryan,’” Krasinski said. “Kevin Feige called and said would you ever fly to L.A. and play in our sandbox for a day? I was honored to do it. I flew right from Budapest when we wrapped and went right to the ‘Doctor Strange’ set. I’m a big fan of all those characters and that world, so to get to play in that sandbox for one day was a real thrill.”
Obviously, Krasinski could be employing some of that age-old Marvel secrecy as the studio prepares to officially unveil the cast for its upcoming Fantastic Four movie. That said, he could be telling the truth and Marvel was having a bit of fun with fans with the cameo. Fan speculation is already running wild after William Jackson Harper recently joined the cast of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The Good Place star has also been floated by fans as a possible contender for the MCU’s version of Reed Richards.
Not for nothing, Kristen Bell would also make a heck of a Sue Storm. And come to think of it, Manny Jacinto would be a pretty kickass Human Torch. (Is Marvel writing this down?)
The White Lotusseason two finale ends with a great tragedy, and we are all recovering in our own ways. The ever-paranoid Tanya, played by the always iconic Jennifer Coolidge, is (correctly) convinced that the gay men she’s been hanging out with while on her vacation in Italy are trying to kill her. After some wine, a stumbling, shaky Tanya manages to steal a gun. Like me playing GoldenEye in 1997, Tanya shoots at the gays at random, with her eyes mostly closed. Her aim? Somehow perfect, unlike me playing GoldenEye in 1997.
HBO
Tanya approaches a dying Quentin and instead of saying what most people would ask him in this unique situation (“why???????”), she asks, “is Greg having an affair?” Quentin, more shocked by the question than the fact that this woman shot him, stares at her befuddled, blood pouring out his mouth. Moments later, Tanya tries to jump into a boat to escape in platform heels. Her critical thinking skills fail her, and she falls to her death.
hbo
I just described all that even though if you’re reading this, you probably know what happened, for dramatic effect — it gets funnier every time. Tanya’s death is not only one of the funniest death scenes ever committed to a visual medium, but one of the funniest scenes ever committed to a visual medium; right up there in the hall of fame of scenes that should be depressing but are deeply funny like Chris Moltisanti’s intervention on The Sopranos or the death of Mrs. Blankenship on Mad Men. It’s nearly high fantasy in that it forces the audience to believe that someone like Tanya could be capable of such a shootout. Then, once she saves herself in a heroic act, she dies because she isn’t clever enough to simply … walk to the bottom of the yacht so it is easier to get inside the boat. Also, she doesn’t think to take off her heels. It’s sad on the surface, but knowing Tanya for two seasons makes it a little bit better: of course this is how she would die.
HBO
Also, Jennifer Coolidge shooting a bunch of gays is some sort of meta-commentary for a celebrity who is so revered by the gay community in real life: turning the people who love her most into her villains is the ultimate twist, and the ultimate test not only for the audience but for Coolidge, too, who plays it brilliantly: Tanya is not hurt that she is going to be killed, but that she is going to be killed by the gays. And what upsets her even more than that is that Greg might have been having an affair.
HBO
Tanya’s death is a tragedy, of course. The more you think about how funny it is, it gets sadder. Tanya was her own worst enemy, unwilling to face consequences or to really think things through. She did, after all, go to a second location with a group of strangers she barely knew who were, if you think about it for more than a few seconds, incredibly suspicious from the beginning. Tanya was a nervous, sad, lonely, and incredibly anxious woman who kind of behaved like a toddler despite having all the money in the world. As a result, she got taken advantage of not only by a group of sinister money-hungry gays but by her own husband. Her own helplessness led to her death. Tanya’s shooting success and subsequent pratfall off the yacht represent what makes The White Lotus and Mike White’s writing so great: it is a sharp commentary on culture and human nature, both deeply sad and deeply funny in its honesty.
Argentina are 90 minutes away from lifting the World Cup. Thanks to a pair of otherworldly performances by the attacking duo of Lionel Messi and Julián Álvarez, the Argentinians defeated Croatia, 3-0, in the World Cup semifinal on Tuesday in Al Khor, Qatar.
Messi and Álvarez’s fingerprints were all over both of Argentina’s goals in the first half. The first came via a penalty earned by the young Manchester City forward, as Álvarez was played in by a ball over the top of Croatia’s defense. He ran right past the center back duo of Joško Gvardiol and Dejan Lovren, which caused Dominik Livaković to come out of his goal to try and challenge him. Álvarez’s effort to chip him was for naught, but a collision between the forward and the goalkeeper led to a penalty
Messi stepped up to the spot, and even though Livaković guessed right, the penalty could not have been any more perfect.
It took less than five minutes for the Argentinians to find a second. Messi got a touch on a ball off of a Croatia corner kick and got wiped out. Unfortunately for the Croatians, it landed right at the feet of Álvarez, who ran straight through their defense, remained composed despite the ball taking a few deflections, and scored arguably the best individual effort we’ve seen in Qatar.
Argentina got a third in the second half, and unsurprisingly, the same two players combined to put the game away. Messi was marked by Gvardiol, who has been the best center back at the World Cup, near midfield. The greatest to ever play the game took off towards the box, and despite Gvardiol’s best efforts, there was nothing he could do to prevent Messi from finding a window of space to pass the ball right into Álvarez’s feet. The rest was easy, and in the blink of an eye, the ball was in the back of the net.
The win puts Messi one win away from lifting the World Cup, marking the second time he’s made it to a final on the sport’s biggest stage. The last time he was in this spot was 2014, when Argentina took on Germany in the final and were beaten in extra time, 1-0. Argentina won its only World Cup back in 1986, and will face either France or Morocco in the final this time around.
Ellen Pompeo has been on Grey’s Anatomy since season one, episode one in March 2005. What else was happening that month? The Office premiered and Doctor Who returned; “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” by Green Day was the number-one song in the country; and some YouTube star was born, probably. Point is, Pompeo has been playing Dr. Meredith Grey for a long time, but she’s finally ready to be discharged from the most drama-filled hospital since Cook County General Hospital.
“Listen, it’s just I gotta mix it up a little bit. I’m 53, my brain is like scrambled eggs… I gotta do something new or I’m literally gonna turn into like, you can’t do the New York Times crossword puzzle every single day. I mean 19 years — that’s more than people keep their kids in their house, like people keep their kids in their house until they’re 18 and then they send them off to college.”
Pompeo added, “This is like me like going away to college,” except instead of having to give the college a lot of money, the college gave her A LOT of money.
You can watch The Drew Barrymore Show interview above.
It has been over a year since the death of Young Dolph and his death still looms large over hip-hop. However, fans haven’t heard the last from him musically, as his estate announced a posthumous album, Paper Route Frank, on the anniversary of his death last month. Today, the estate has shared more details about the project, including its tracklist and release date: this Friday, December 16.
The album will include features from Dolph’s Paper Route Empire signees Big Moochie Grape, Key Glock, and Snupe Bandz, as well as trap mainstays 2 Chainz and Gucci Mane. Meanwhile, production on the album will be handled by frequent collaborators Bandplay and Drumma Boy,
along with CEOO, Dun Deal, and Sosa 808.
Along with the announcement, the estate shared a second track from the upcoming project, “Old Ways.” Featuring a jazzy Bandplay instrumental, the song finds Dolph in a reflective mood, detailing his success in the rap game and the longstanding consequences of his past life on the streets. You can check it out above and see the full tracklist below. Paper Route Frank is due 12/16 via PRE/Empire.
1. “Love For The Streets (Prod. by Dun Deal)”
2. “Blind Fold (Prod. by BandPlay)”
3. “Woah (Prod. by Sosa 808)”
4. “Uh Huh (Prod. by BandPlay)”
5. “That’s How ft. Key Glock (Prod. by BandPlay)”
6. “Old Ways (Prod. by BandPlay)”
7. “Roster ft. Gucci Mane (Prod. by BandPlay)”
8. “Smoke My Weed (Prod. by Drumma Boy)”
9. “Always (Prod. by CEOO)”
10. “Beep Beep ft. 2 Chainz (Prod. by DJ Squeeky)”
11. “Hall Of Fame (Prod. by BandPlay)”
12. “Infatuated With Drugs Feat. Big Moochie Grape & SNUPE BANDZ (Prod. by BandPlay)”
13. “Get Away (Prod. by Sosa 808)”
Ozzy Osbourne — who said he regrets his recent move back to England after living in America for 20 years — revealed in an interview with SiriusXM that he had a pretty extreme surgical procedure six months ago that’s still giving him a lot of problems.
Back in June, NME reported that the operation “would determine the rest of his life” and Osbourne has now elaborated on the lead up to the now completed procedure. “That surgeon told me if I didn’t have the surgery there would be a good chance I would be paralyzed from the neck down.” He added, “It is so f*cking tough because, I mean, I want to be out there. I want to be doing it. This f*cking surgery this guy did. F*cking hell, you have no idea.”
The spinal procedure has put Osbourne’s 2023 tour plans up in the air. The tour had already been postponed more than once due to the recent Grammy nominee’s health issues. Osbourne performed at halftime of the NFL’s season kick-off game in September and he was visibly held up by a back brace that looked more like a guitar stand for a human. While largely immobile at the performance, Osbourne was nonetheless fiery on stage.
“The thing is my head is all right, my creativity is OK, my singing OK, but I just can’t f*cking walk much now,” he added.
Brandy — and its relatives Cognac, Armagnac, Weinbrand, Applejack, Schnapps, etc. — is a great spirit for winter, especially if you’re looking for a break from whiskey. The generally sweeter, dry, and fruitier juice (usually made from a range of fruits) is also a nice pick to keep around during the holidays. It’s ideal for pouring with friends, a great way to mark the season, and a nice surprise for giving as a gift.
To that end, I’m calling out 20 bottles of the brown juice that rule. I’m pulling in brandies from all over Europe and the U.S. with grapes and apples as the main source for fermentation and distillation. Multiple regions are covered and all the price points are below $100. For the most part, you should be able to find these pretty easily as well.
If you’re looking for that perfect last-minute gift or bottle to bring to a holiday party, this list is full of options. Naturally, I did rank these bottles according to taste. I’m lucky enough to get to taste a ton of brandies every year and even judge them at multiple spirits competitions, so… my well of options to draw from was pretty deep.
Alright, let’s dive in!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
Ol’ Henney Lo. This entry point to the wide world of Hennessy is a blend of over 40 brandies (or eau-de-vie) that were aged a minimum of two years. The grapes are exclusively Ungi Blanc and grown in the core regions of Cognac.
Tasting Notes:
Rich chocolate and marzipan lead the way on the nose with a good line of ripe red fruits leaning toward black cherry and blackberry. The palate is lush but light with those bright fruits leading your senses toward a hint of cinnamon and clove wrapped in old leather with a twinge of oak in the background. The end brings back the choco-marzipan vibe with a whisper of red berries sourness.
Bottom Line:
This is a great place to start. Standard VS Henney isn’t the best brandy in the world, but it’s a really good one for $45. Plus, this will have instant name recognition thanks to being a tried and true classic.
This is a shockingly decent brandy at this price point. The Gran Reserva expression is aged in used Amontillado sherry casks for around three years under the Spanish sun in Jerez, Spain.
The Taste:
Orange, coconut oil, oak, vanilla, toasted almonds, and baking spices lead the way. There’s a real sense of freshly ground nutmeg and allspice that leads to a rich buttery fruit cake full of sun-dried fruits. Espresso and dark chocolate bitterness cut in and highjack the spices, sending them to a warm and sunny end with a hint of dry Spanish grass.
Bottom Line:
Lustau is so well revered in distilling circles that Ireland’s iconic Redbreast Irish Whiskey uses their used barrels to age one of their best high-end expressions. That makes this a great pairing for Redbreast Lustau if you want to grab two bottles to drink this month!
Germany’s Asbach is the closest you’ll get to “cognac” outside of France. The brandy was re-designated “weinbrand” (wine brandy) after the French dialed in their appellation designations for cognac and prohibited anyone outside the region from using that term for their brandy back in 1892. The grape distillate is made from German-grown grapes but aged in French Limousin oak (like cognac) for up to three years. The end result is a blend of two to three-year-old brandies.
Tasting Notes:
Aspach starts off with nice woody vanilla, buttery caramel, and notes of ripe and almost juicy apricot. Warm pepper spiciness comes into play with a rush of dark, sweet fruits, light and dry nuts, and a touch of light but acidic wine. The end is heavy on the alcohol with a slightly creamy vanilla edge.
Bottom Line:
This is a classic German brandy that’ll hit high marks for any cognac fan. It’s also a great cocktail brandy, especially for Brandy Alexanders or eggnogs.
This apple brandy is made in Indiana from mostly locally-grown apples from the Huber farms. The on-site pressed juice is fermented and then distilled in an old 80-gallon copper pot still. That juice is then left to mellow in charred new American oak barrels until it’s just right.
Tasting Notes:
The nose on this one bursts with freshly picked sweet apples with a hint of woodiness, core, and stem next to bright summer flowers and a dash of honey sweetness. The palate follows the same path while really leaning into the essence of a fresh apple with a lovely sweetness and a hint of spiced apple butter over an English muffin with a bit of cinnamon butter on the finish.
Bottom Line:
This is distinct and delicious, especially if you’re looking for a bit of summer apple orchard that slowly darkens toward buttery winter spices in your glass.
Ciroc is a “French Brandy” since it’s not made in Cognac. The distillate is made from French grapes and follows classic French brandy traditions otherwise from fermentation to distillation to aging.
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with a creamy sense of Nutella that leans a little nuttier than chocolatey with a hint of soft orchard wood, grape skins, and a whisper of vanilla husk. The palate is full of lush dark chocolate with a layer of dried red berries swimming in vanilla cream with a flake of salt and a hint of wet oak. The end leans into red fruit leather with a final dusting of dark chocolate just kissed with vanilla.
Bottom Line:
This is always a surprise. It’s good brandy that’s very affordable. I tend to use it more for cocktails, but it’s perfectly fine over some rocks too.
HINE Rare is a masterfully crafted cognac. The juice is a blend of eaux-de-vie (water of life) made from wines from the Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne growing regions. That spirit then is barreled in oak where it spends six to 12 years maturing. The results are then married, proofed with soft mineral water from local springs, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Old oak barrels are tempered by rich and almost creamy notes of vanilla that lead towards a burst of summer wildflowers on the nose. The taste embraces those flowers with hints of jasmine next to violet next to lavender that’s counterpointed by plum pudding nuttiness, woody spice, and a hint of that vanilla cream. The end is long-winded and really leans into the brightness of those florals as the woody spice warms your senses.
Bottom Line:
This is a classic that’s not overly done, which makes it great for passive brandy fans looking for an easy-drinking experience.
This brandy from New Jersey harvests its apples from the misty Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. 30 pounds of apples go into each bottle of brandy. The juice then rests in American oak for 12 years before it’s blended, proofed, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
You’re greeted with apples stewing in butter, spice, raisins, and brown sugar. Hints of vanilla and oak join the party and a sense of salted caramel arrives to drive all those stewed and spicy apples toward a nice sweet/savory feel. The end isn’t too long but leaves you with a warm apple pie vibe.
Bottom Line:
There’s a lovely sense of real apples on the profile that merge with a mild spiciness. This is another easy sipper that’s perfect for a change of pace from heavy dark liquors.
St-Rémy is a classic French gateway brandy. Their newest expression aims to get new folks into brandy with an accessible entry-level expression. The juice in this case is aged in new oak casks for a short spell before going into used casks for a final, short maturation. That brandy is then blended, proofed, and bottled for the “new” brandy consumer.
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with a hint of old wood that’s wet and somehow slightly grainy (there’s no grain in this, obviously) countered by a minor note of grape must and vanilla. That wet oak carries onto the palate and mixes with light winter spices, a hint of raisin, and green orchard leaves. The end is light and touches on a whisper of orange and lemon citrus oils.
Bottom Line:
This is another great option for a great price. It really shines in a cocktail, try it in a brandy old fashioned.
This fairly new Cognac comes from the famed Maison Fondée Cognac, which has been producing great brandy for over 200 years. The juice in the bottle is made from grapes harvested in the Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Fin Bois, and Bons Bois regions of Cognac and built to suit a modern, American palate.
Tasting Notes:
Hints of tannic oak mingle with vanilla candies and a dash of winter spice in a plum jam on the nose. A twinge of dried roses leads the palate as layers of orchard fruit skins mix with apricot jam, woody cinnamon sticks, and a hint of sour cherry. A minor note of salt arrives to counter that sour cherry late as gooseberries and warming spices round out the finish.
Bottom Line:
This is getting into complex sipping territory with a bourbon vibe. If you know someone who loves bourbon but wants to get into brandy/cognac, then this is play.
This brandy is hewn from grapes grown in the Petite and Grand Champagne regions of Cognac. Once fermented and distilled, the juice spends years resting in old oak until it’s just right for batching, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a soft butteriness to the nose with a lush creamed vanilla sauce next to singed cinnamon bark and apple bark with a fleeting sense of burnt toffee. The palate leans into the butter toffee with a flake of salt next to blooming orchard trees and orange marmalade over scones with thick cream and a whisper of Earl Grey soaked in dry white wine on the finish.
Bottom Line:
This is just nice. It’s straightforward but has a nice depth thanks to that butteriness and bright floral fruits.
This Spanish brandy has some serious pedigree. The juice is made from Airen grapes grown in Jerez. That then goes into former Pedro Ximenez sherry casks where it rests for 15 long years. The result is a deeply flavorful snifter that’s second to none.
Tasting Notes:
Roasted nuts, orange-infused dark chocolate, espresso beans, and brown bread greet you. The sip embraces the oak, nuts, and coffee as the body of the brandy feels like sharp beams of golden light flooding through darkly colored stained glass. The fruit is fairly dried and plummy and the sweetness edges ever-so-slightly toward molasses. The end is dry, bold, and leaves you warmed to your soul.
Bottom Line:
This is a quintessential Spanish brandy and a bar cart must-have. It also makes a mean old fashioned or sidecar cocktail.
This high-end offering from Remy really does shine. The brandy is a blend of ultra-refined “Fine Champagne Cognacs” that are hand-selected and small-batched, adding a unique vibe to the expression.
Tasting Notes:
Dark red grapes mingle with sharp Christmas spices, musty oak, rich vanilla, and creamy toffee sweetness. A Christmas cake full of dried and candied fruit, spice, nuts, and buttery rum leads towards a whisper of fallow lavender fields. The end lingers just the right amount of time, touching on the fruit, spice, wood, and velvet texture.
Bottom Line:
This is rich and complex yet still accessible on the palate as a refined cognac with classic flavors. That makes this one a great sipper to have on hand.
Omage XO is as close as American brandy can get to being Cognac. The process is essentially the same but made from grapes grown in Central California that are fermented, distilled, and aged locally in that region to the same standards as brandy in Cognac.
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a hint of floral honey next to apple and pear and maybe some vanilla sauce with a hint of poppy seed. The palate is lush and layers in woody spice with an even warmth next to soft red berries, a tad more pear flesh, and a little green tea. The end sweetens and fades out pretty quickly leaving you with a touch of oak and toffee.
Bottom Line:
This American brandy is delicious and worth seeking out. It’s complex and has a great depth that works equally well in cocktails as it does poured neat and sipped slow.
This French apple brandy is made from a slow fermentation and single, slow continuous distillation in old copper stills. The juice then is blended with their fruitiest cuvées and filled into barrels made from 100-year-old+ oak trees for a long rest.
Tasting Notes:
The nose on this one is like walking through an apple orchard in full bloom on a summer day with a cup of winter-spice-spiked apple cider in one hand and an apple hand pie in the other. The apple pie vibes continue on the palate with a stewed tart apple cut with cinnamon and clove and smothered in brown sugar and molasses with a whisper of oily vanilla lurking in the background. The end lightens considerably toward a fresh apple cider juice with the pure essence of a woody and sweet apple freshly picked from the tree lingering on your senses.
Bottom Line:
This is just freaking delicious. While it’s great on its own in a snifter, it also makes one hell of a hot toddy.
This is classic Martell Cognac taken up a step. The old-school French juice is finished in Kentucky bourbon barrels for a final rest before batching, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a real sense of stewed apples and pears with saffron and cinnamon sugar next to gingerbread and vanilla cake with a fresh almost pine resin darkness next to plump raisins and roasted almonds. The palate has a sense of candied ginger and vanilla cream with more of that stewed apple and singed cedar bark. The end is creamy and lush with a feel of vanilla tobacco wrapped up in cedar bark.
Bottom Line:
This is a great cognac for a bourbon fan. It’s deep, familiar, and very easy to drink neat or on the rocks.
This Spanish brandy is a throwback to centuries-old brandy making. The juice starts off with Parellada and Ugni Blanc grapes that are fermented. That wine is then distilled twice in old copper stills before it’s loaded into French Limousin barrels for a long, 20-year rest.
Tasting Notes:
This is pure holiday cake on the nose with plenty of dark spices next to rich dried fruits, candied cherry, orange oils, and fatty nuts with a hint of creamy vanilla. The palate delivers on those notes while folding in a light sense of musty cellar beams and the smoothest cinnamon and clove-spiked vanilla pudding you can imagine — it borders on light eggnog with a little water added. The finish arrives with a subtle push towards the spice and dried fruit and leaves you with a dry sense of orange-infused tobacco and dry walnut shells.
Bottom Line:
This a great pour that just needs a little time to fully enjoy, especially after a big holiday meal.
Château de Laubade is a vine to glass experience in Armagnac, France. The Maison uses primarily Ugni Blanc and Folle Blanche grapes to make their spirit. The juice then goes into the barrels for anywhere from six to 12 years. The barrels are then hand-selected and small-batched with no more than 20 barrels going into a single batch.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a creamy caramel and vanilla underbelly that leads toward bright and ripe cherries on the nose. That cherry sweetness counterpoints notes of old oak and dark spice as the sweetness edges towards creamed honey. The sip is perfectly-rounded, with zero rough edges. It lingers on your sense as the sweet fruit ends up slightly tart and spicy.
Bottom Line:
This is the cognac behind one of my favorite bourbons of the year from Bardstown Bourbon Company, which makes it the perfect pairing bottle for cognac and bourbon lovers out there.
This California brandy is made from locally-grown Colombard grapes. After fermentation, the juice is distilled in bespoke Pruhlo Charentais Pot Stills and then aged in French Limousin oak barrels until it’s just right for batching, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is full of winter spice barks and berries with a sense of pear candy and apple pie over cherry blossoms and apricot jam. The palate follows that path with a sense of peach compote over brioche with butter and woody spices, brown sugar, and orchard florals. The end has a mix of rich vanilla pods with a cinnamon-spiced tobacco vibe next to more apple and pear with a touch of old oak staves.
Bottom Line:
This is nice stuff that’s worth adding to your bar cart asap. It’s refined, so easy to drink, and really hits that sweet spot of fruity and spicy that only great brandies can.
This was Jay-Z’s signature brand. The juice in the bottle goes way back to Baron Otard from the famed Château de Cognac. The new line was re-crafted to suit American palates and includes a blend of Cognacs that are aged at the château for four to eight years before blending, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
This starts off very similarly to the last pour with dark and rich chocolate and marzipan but carries on toward old soft leather and mild Christmas cake spices with a hint of vanilla and candied fruit. The taste mingles soft vanilla pods with buttery toffee and woody spices as the fruitiness shines a ray of sunshine through the whole sip. The end has a good sense of dark chocolate and almond with a hint of black tea bitterness rounding everything out.
Bottom Line:
This is another solid cognac from top to bottom. It’s a great sipper that works wonders in cocktails, making it as versatile as it’s delicious.
Delord is a single-house operation where grapes are grown organically and sustainably by the family. The grapes are pressed and twice distilled before going into the barrel for long resting periods of up to 25 years before blending, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a deep oak nature to this one. That vanilla spice is supported by bright orange zest, sweet prunes, old bouquets of dried wildflowers, and whispers of allspice. Next, a rush of ripe fruit comes into play: Bright grapes, dark red cherries, juicy plums, peach stones, and zesty oranges all play a role here. It feels like you’re sipping from a fruit orchard in full bloom on a warm summer day in France. Then that’s all counterpointed by this deep and dark woody spice and vanilla tobacco that just pops on the finish, leaving your senses buzzing.
Bottom Line:
This brandy from Armagnac has a lovely level of nuance that makes it worth seeking out. The 25 years of aging gives this a depth that’s just astounding on the palate. And that’s before you get to the amazing price point for such a well-made and long-aged brown spirit.
Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.
While we’re at it, sign up for our newsletter to get the best new indie music delivered directly to your inbox, every Monday.
Paramore — “The News”
Some people are calling “The News” Paramore’s best song yet, and they wouldn’t be wrong. The Bloc Party-inspired banger has one of their most infectious, headbanging-worthy choruses with vivacious guitars and Hayley Williams’s unrelenting vocals: “Every second our collective heart break / All together every single head shakes / Shut your eyes but it won’t go away,” she belts.
Blondshell — “Veronica Mars”
From the sparkling “Kiss City” to the addictive “Olympus,” Blondshell’s songs have been distinctive, powerful fragments of indie rock. “Veronica Mars” is the latest release and it’s her most cathartic yet, digging into the grit she merely approached in her earlier tracks, exploding into an unabating guitar solo that feels like transcendence.
Sparklehorse — “It Will Never Stop”
“It Will Never Stop” was released by the Sparklehorse estate and it’s a fuzzed-out, endearing gem. Mark Linkous, who tragically passed in 2010, sings poetic lines with distorted vocals: “Oh please don’t go away / Captain blowed me astray / Oh please don’t vaporize into the sun my love.”
Samia — “Sea Lions”
Samia effortlessly grabs the listener’s attention within the first few lines of “Sea Lions“: “Screaming porn kills love / Outside your window with the Adventists / I know it’s wrong / Can’t remember how I got like this.” Her vocals sound as light as a feather despite the emotional weight; the admission of being wrong in the first few seconds of the piano ballad is a testament to her compelling honesty. It only gets better from there, transforming into an electronic experience halfway through.
White Reaper — “Fog Machine”
In a statement, White Reaper vocalist and guitarist Tony Esposito mentioned that this new single “Fog Machine” is the band’s favorite song to play live. It’s no wonder why; the track is invigorating, encapsulating the energy and exhilaration of a mosh pit. Taken from their forthcoming album Asking For A Ride, “Fog Machine” is an exciting snippet.
Florence And The Machine, Ethel Cain — “Morning Elvis”
A Florence And The Machine and Ethel Cain collaboration feels inevitable, and it’s the perfect way to top off 2022. Ethel joined Florence onstage at Florence’s show in Denver and their performance of “Morning Elvis” was thankfully recorded and released, capturing their stunning, haunting voices and captivating harmonies.
Pile — “Poisons”
Pile is preparing for the release of their new album All Fiction, and this latest single “Poisons” is a bewitching preview. It broods and seethes with an alluring, off-kilter energy that the band is known for, digging into unorthodox instrumentation that puts the listener in a disoriented haze.
Whitney — “Other People” (Beach House Cover)
Beach House is not an easy band to cover. They’re known for making music that is unmatched in its sense of tranquility and poignance, yet Whitney, who unveiled their new album Spark earlier this year, did their song “Other People” justice. Whitney made it their own, adding a peppy feel to it and imbuing it with their own tastes.
Buggin — “Attitude”
Buggin’s 2020 EP Buggin Out was nothing short of compelling chaos. The hardcore group go all in with brief spurts of unrelenting mayhem, and they’ve done it again with “Attitude,” which doesn’t even reach the one-minute mark yet is completely packed with explosive breakdowns and infectious energy.
Gorillaz — “Skinny Ape”
Gorillaz rarely do anything normally — so the release of “Skinny Ape” has been no casual affair. The tame, soothing song serenades its listener, quietly building into a bombastic electronic anthem that should be expected from Gorillaz. They’ll be bringing it to life in New York City and London with immersive experiences this weekend.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
It looks like manifestation isn’t just the latest buzzword for the mental wellness girlies. Singer and actress Selena Gomez can attest to the spiritual practice firsthand. The former Disney star earned her first Golden Globe nomination for her role in Hulu’s Only Murders In The Building.
The series, co-starring Martin Short and Steve Martin, currently working on its third season, could very well bring Gomez her first Best Actress in a TV Series, Musical, or Comedy award. Although she is facing some stiff competition in Quinta Brunson (nominated for her role in Abbott Elementary) and Jenna Ortega (nominated for her role in Netflix’s Wednesday), Gomez is ready to slug it out as she’s been working on this moment for her entire career.
Gomez shared a throwback video on TikTok of her manifesting this with the caption, “Dreams do come true! Guys, I’m nominated for a Gloden Globe. Brb gonna scream.”
The clip was from a 2011 interview with entertainment reporter Sam Rubin of KTLA Morning News. While appearing on the program, Rubin asked Gomez about future Grammy nominations, to which she replied, “I think it would be an honor, of course, but I’m more of a Golden Globes or Oscar girl.”
Gomez isn’t the only musician nominated at the upcoming ceremony. Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and her industry bestie Taylor Swift are also nominated for other projects.
The 2023 Golden Globes will air on NBC and their streamer, Peacock, on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, starting at 8 pm EST.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
