When it comes to the hierarchy of warm weather beers, American wheat beers are situated at or near the top of the heap. Lighter and closer to lagers or pilsners than their European counterparts, the American wheat beer is still often unfiltered and hazy, but tends more towards thirst-quenching and refreshing, less reliant on spices like cloves or coriander or the banana-like malt German hefeweizen fans are used to.
With summer weather already upon us, the time is right to stock up on these approachable, highly drinkable, hazy, refreshing summer beers. While you can go to your local beer or grocery store and ask a clerk for help, we prefer to use online experts whenever possible. That’s why we turned to BeerAdvocate and its massive index of beers to find the list of the site’s most popular.
Of course, we had to try them. We blindly tasted and ranked eight of the most popular beers of the style on the site (with the occasional retired beers removed for obvious reasons) and got to work nosing, sipping, and rating. Keep scrolling to see how everything turned out.
Bell’s Oberon (most popular)
3 Floyds Gumballhead (second most popular)
Samuel Adams Summer Ale (third most popular)
Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale (fourth most popular)
Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat (sixth most popular)
Leinenkugel’s Honey Weiss (ninth most popular)
Modern Times Fortunate Islands (12th most popular)
Breckenridge Agave Wheat (14th most popular)
Part 1: The Tasting
Taste 1
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
I was greeted by a nose of bright orange and lemon as well as bready malts, yeast, and slight banana. The flavor follows suit with tangerine, lemon curd, lime, banana bread, floral hops, and slight spices. The finish is dry and lightly bitter. Overall, this is a multi-dimensional, highly flavorful, summery beer.
Taste 2
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
The nose is filled with notes of earthy wet grass, freshly baked bread, floral hops, wheat, and slightly fruity aromas. The flavor continues this trend with sweet wheat, yeasty bread, lemon zest, ripe tangerine, and a slightly spicy finish that ties everything together nicely.
Taste 3
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, I found biscuit malts, lemon zest, tangerine, grapefruit, and earthy, grassy hops. The palate is centered on more grapefruit, lemon curd, orange peel, cracker-like malts, yeast, and earthy, herbal, slightly bitter hops at the finish. All in all, a very well-rounded wheat beer perfect for summer drinking.
Taste 4
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
I really had to try hard to find anything on this beer’s nose. Slight caramel malts and maybe some honey. Otherwise, nothing discernible. Luckily, the palate has a little more going on with it. There’s some sweet wheat, slight spices, and overly sugary, sweet honey. It’s not horrible, but it’s a little too sweet for my liking. Not the kind of beer I’d order twice.
Taste 5
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
The nose is all citrus peels, bready malts, yeast, tropical fruits, and bright, floral hops. Drinking it brings forth notes of biscuity malts, honey sweetness, orange peels, passion fruit, mango, and slight, floral bitter hops at the finish. When it comes to the style, this is a great beer.
Taste 6
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, I found slight wheat and some utterly indiscernible fruit flavors. Something tropical. Maybe mango? It’s very mild and bland though. Sipping it revealed a slightly sour, sweet beer with more mystery fruity flavors and a dry finish. Honestly, this beer was okay but weird.
Taste 7
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
The nose is light with some floral hops and citrus zest, but really not much else. Fairly bland overall. The palate has a lot of citrus with lemon, orange, and grapefruit, but mostly one-dimensional. Slight hops presence, but not enough to make up for the lack of balance. Overall, a very boring beer.
Taste 8
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
A complex aroma of yeast, lemon, orange peel, wet grass, and slight malts are prevalent on the nose. The palate is highlighted by bready malts, more citrus peels, earthy grass, wheat bread, and some lightly bitter, spicy hops. All in all, a well-balanced take on the classic wheat beer style.
A summer staple, Samuel Adams Summer Ale is a citrus-centric American wheat ale. It gets its zest, tart, citrus flavor from the addition of malted wheat, orange, lime, and lemon peels as well as a slight hint of spice from the addition of grains of paradise.
Bottom Line:
I can’t remember the last time I had a Samuel Adams Summer Ale. It’s still easy to drink and crushable, it just lacks the flavor I require in an American wheat beer I’d actually buy.
Leinenkugel’s seems like the kind of brewery that has a beer for any summer drinker. One of its most popular is its Honey Weiss. This award-winning beer is known for its slightly citrusy, refreshing flavor that’s highlighted by the addition of real Wisconsin honey (hence the name).
Bottom Line:
You know what you’re going to get when you crack open a beer from Leinenkugel’s. They’re easy-drinking, fairly muted beers. Besides the honey sweetness, this one is no different.
The light, refreshing flavor profile of American wheat beers is well-suited for the addition of other flavors. In this beer’s case, the flavor is agave. Specifically, it’s an unfiltered wheat beer with sweet agave syrup added to it to give it a unique, summery flavor.
Bottom Line:
I had no idea what to expect with this beer. It wasn’t horrible by any means. But it also wasn’t that good an idea. It rated a big “meh” from me.
Kansas City’s Boulevard is a well-known name in the US beer marketplace. It makes a ton of noteworthy beers, but one of the best summery offerings is its Unfiltered Wheat. Brewed since 1990, it’s known for its fruity, malty, slightly bitter flavor.
Bottom Line:
If you’ve been crafting the same beer since 1990, there’s a decent chance you’ve perfected it. Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat is well-balanced and has a nice hit of hops that will appeal to non-wheat beer fans.
Goose Island is well-known for its iconic IPA and its highly coveted Bourbon County Stout. But the Chicago-based brewery also makes a popular wheat beer called 312 Urban Wheat Ale. Brewed with 2-row malt and wheat as well as Millenium, Cascade, and Hallertau hops, it’s known for its crisp, fruit-filled flavor.
Bottom Line:
I didn’t know what to expect with Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale, but I was pleasantly surprised. It’s a very complex, well-balanced, flavorful wheat beer.
Modern Times Fortunate Islands is a complicated beer. It’s listed as a pale ale, but it’s listed as an American wheat beer on BeerAdvocate because it’s brewed with Citra, Amarillo hops as well as two-row and Caravienne malts, and wheat malt. The result is a crisp, tropical fruit-filled wheat-centric pale ale that bridges the gap between multiple styles.
Bottom Line:
It’s no surprise that Modern Times Fortunate Islands landed so highly on this list. It’s a complex, flavorful beer that splits the difference between a pale ale and wheat beer. Two great beer styles for summer in one isn’t a bad thing.
This is one of the most eagerly awaited beers each spring as it’s only available from March until September. Brewed with simple ingredients like water, barley, wheat, hops, and a house ale yeast, it’s known for its slightly hazy appearance with a nice mix of citrus, tropical fruits, and floral hops.
Bottom Line:
Bell’s Oberon is a highly coveted beer and it shows. It’s a great, balanced, flavorful summer beer that I’ll go back to again and again.
3 Floyds is a popular name in the craft beer world. While some of the Indiana-based brewery’s beers are difficult to find, that’s not the case with the summer wheat beer Gumballhead. This 5.6% ABV, year-round offering is brewed with white wheat and is dry-hopped with Yakima Valley hops.
Bottom Line:
After blindly trying 3 Floyds Gumballhead, I’m not surprised that it’s one of the most popular wheat beers. It’s fruity, filled with citrus flavors, but has a nice malt backbone and earthy hops presence to tie everything together well.
Part 3: Final Thoughts
After blindly tasting these eight American wheat ales it’s quite clear that I prefer well-balanced beers without any additional flavors. If I’m going to spend my summer drinking a beer, it better have a vast flavor profile, nice balance, and be crushable on a hot, humid, sunny day.
Young Thug has had a rough go of it in recent weeks. He was arrested and charged as part of a huge criminal conspiracy involving his Atlanta-based crew, YSL (Young Slime Life), and label, YSL (Young Stoner Life) Records, along with 27 others, including labelmates Gunna and Yak Gotti. Prosecutors called him one of the group’s commanders along with Gunna, despite mostly having lyrics by way of evidence. A search of his home yielded additional charges, though, and last week, a judge denied him bond, citing flight risk and potential witness tampering.
In spite of all that, though, Thug seems optimistic, according to one of his Atlanta-based contemporaries. Lil Baby, who has previously said he owes his entire rap career to Thug’s encouragement (and generous payments, which convinced Lil Baby to leave the trap behind for good), tweeted that he was recently in touch with his former benefactor and has good news to report. “I talked to @youngthug,” he wrote. “He in great spirits.” Unfortunately, he didn’t — and probably couldn’t — say much more than that, but it’s nice to hear that being stuck in jail hasn’t brought the “Ski” rapper down too much.
Meanwhile, the Fulton County District Attorney’s office has drawn criticism for its use of lyrics as evidence of crimes. Even rival rapper YFN Lucci’s lawyer called the application of the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act “racist,” despite those lyrics also suggesting that Thug had Lucci’s mother shot. That’s solidarity.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Apparently, Kid Rock and Tucker Carlson aren’t done bro-ing out. The two appeared in a new episode of Tucker Carlson Originals on Fox Nation where the rocker doubled down on his 2019 drunken on-stage rant that infamously blew up on TMZ. While Rock refused to apologize for the part of the tirade that targeted Oprah Winfrey, and Joy Behar, he did admit to feeling bad about including Kathie Lee Gifford because, as it turns out, that last part was an honest (drunken) (kind of hilarious) mistake. In Rock’s defense, Gifford’s name does sound a little similar to his intended target. (Again, kind of.)
“I was trying to go after Kathy Griffin you know, for holding up Trump’s head, but I’m so out of it I’m like ‘f— Kathie Lee Gifford.’” he said. “When it comes back on TMZ or whatever a few weeks later I’m like ‘oh man, I like Kathie Lee Gifford.’ We’ve been kind of friendly throughout the years… now I feel a little bad.”
Rock did not reveal whether he apologized to Gifford for the mix-up or not, but his declaration that “I don’t apologize to anybody” doesn’t bode well. In fact, Rock still seems proud of the whole thing.
“A drunk man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts, I own what I said,” Rock told Carlson. Like he said in the on-stage rant, he’s just a “cowboy” and a “honest guy,” and if a few names get mixed up when he’s had a few too many, them’s the breaks, apparently.
Uvalde native Matthew McConaughey delivered one of the first high-profile responses to the mass school shooting that happened a few weeks ago in his hometown. He had previously spoken up on numerous political issues, but this enormous tragedy obviously hit home for him. The Dallas Buyers Club star also followed up with an op-ed for USA Today, for which he advocated more “gun responsibility” than gun control, and on Tuesday, he spoke at a White House press conference about the unfortunate current event that’s reignited the gun debate.
Although one would expect such a speech to be emotional, McConaughey’s turn in the Brady Press Briefing Room was even more harrowing than one could have imagined. He paid tribute to the dead, numbering 19 children and 2 adults, and in the process, he asked his wife, Camilla, to hold up the shoes worn by one victim. Those sneakers were used to initially identify the child, given that her body was so riddled by bullets.
McConaughey paid tribute to more victims in this difficult to watch clip.
Matthew McConaughey is currently giving a powerful speech on the Uvalde school shooting at the White House….this is just a part of him talking about one of the children, Alithia Ramirez pic.twitter.com/0ncowRKPxs
— Wu-Tang Is For The Children (@WUTangKids) June 7, 2022
Via CNN, McConaughey urged America to finally pull together on the issue:
“We are in a window of opportunity right now that we have not been in before. A window where it seems like real change, real change can happen… I’m here today in the hopes of applying what energy, reason and passion that I have into trying to turn this moment into a reality. Because as I said, this moment is different.”
He further asked, “How can the loss of these lives matter?”
Uvalde, Texas native Matthew McConaughey joins the White House press briefing after holding meetings with lawmakers on gun reform:
Clearly, it’s an issue that cannot be easily settled (or America would have done so after other school shootings, including Sandy Hook, Parkland, and Columbine), but the situation seems primed for people to finally come together for a solution. One can hope.
Figuring out the best bourbon whiskey to buy is no easy task these days. The shelves are more packed than ever, and even with awards lists, internet hype, blind taste tests, and single bottle reviews from your most trusted critics, it can all be a little daunting. One other thing that might help is knowing what people are actually buying. To that end, we reached out to ReserveBar to find out their 25 best-selling bourbon whiskeys.
For the list below, I’m ranking the 25 best-selling bourbons from ReserveBar according to my own tasting notes. One reason for this is that ReserveBar doesn’t actually rank its sales (not publicly anyway). They only sent me a list of their 25 best sellers in no particular order. Secondly, this is a pretty diverse list of whiskeys, ranging from classics to ultra-rare special releases, which tracks if you know that ReserveBar tends to be the place to find rarer special releases, sometimes closer to their MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price). With no ranking or tasting notes, this would just be a list of bourbons you may or may not have heard of. I’m here to add context.
All of that aside, this is about finding you a bourbon for your home bar cart so let’s dive in!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
This celebrity whiskey comes from Vampire Diaries actors Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder. The juice is from an “undisclosed” source but from Indiana (gotta be MGP, obviously). The mash bill is a four-grain recipe of corn, rye, wheat, and malted barley that’s aged for an undisclosed amount of time before proofing all the down to 80 proof and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is light but distinct with hints of apple cider, soft caramel, a touch of singed oak, and plenty of vanilla. The palate leans into notes of marzipan with a fairgrounds caramel apple on a stick that’s just touched with salt and a distant hint of tobacco. The finish is short and sweet (and a bit thin) thanks to that low ABV, but does leave you with a nice sense of lush marzipan and applewood tobacco just touched by vanilla.
Bottom Line:
This is a good place to start. It’s also a testament to big-name celebrities (who actually care) being able to break through the static and get their bourbon in people’s hands. That aside, this is a perfectly good mixer for cocktails.
This whiskey is built from a batch of barrels that are a minimum of seven years old. Nearest’s Master Blender, Victoria Eady-Butler, builds the blend according to classic flavor notes first put into Tennessee whiskey by her ancestor, Nearest Green, back in the 1800s.
Tasting Notes:
Pecan Sandies and leather pouches that once held cinnamon sticks dominate the nose. The taste is more about the vanilla ice cream over a fresh piece of apple pie with plenty of brown spice and brown sugar with a hint of butter. The end brings about some walnut, cherry, and chocolate powder with a touch more of that cinnamon-infused leather but ultimately kind of peters out.
Bottom Line:
This is Uncle Nearest’s entry-point whiskey. It’s perfectly fine but a little washed out due to those low ABVs. That said, this is meant for mixing, so use it for that.
This new bourbon brand is killing it at the moment. The bourbon in this case was contract distilled in Ohio (but is now being made in Kentucky). The juice is a wheated bourbon that spent eight years mellowing before bottling. Each barrel was hand picked before being married into a single barrel strength expression that’s bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
A firewood pile opens the nose with apple crumble, lemon zest, plenty of creamy vanilla, and wintry spices rounding out the nose next to a hint of old saddle leather. The taste has a butterscotch vibe next to hints of Vanilla Coke, more of that apple crumble with the spice and brown sugar set to 11, and a touch of apple blossoms next to a hint of fresh ginger. The finish takes its time and leans into the sharpness of the spice, leaving you warmed to your soul next to a final note of that dry firewood stacked in dark soil.
Bottom Line:
This is a pretty classic bourbon for a “newbie” on the scene. Overall, this speaks to the crowd buying bourbon from ReserveBar. They seemingly know their stuff if they’re buying this.
This is the whiskey that heralded a new era of bourbon in 1999. Famed Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee came out of retirement to create this bourbon to celebrate the renaming of the George T. Stagg distillery to Buffalo Trace when Sazerac bought the joint. The rest, as they say, is history — especially since this has become a touchstone bourbon for the brand.
Tasting Notes:
Classic notes of vanilla come through next to a dark syrup sweetness, a flourish of fresh mint, and a raw leather that veers towards raw steak. The palate cuts through the sweeter notes with plenty of spices — like clove and star anise — next to a hint of tart berries underneath it all. The end is long, velvety, and really delivers on the vanilla and spice.
Bottom Line:
Again, classic. This bourbon is beloved but harder to find these days thanks to Buffalo Trace allocations. I really only use it for cocktails but some folks like it neat or on the rocks.
This new whiskey is a blended bourbon. The gist is that “rare” barrels are sourced and blended to create a rare bourbon experience in the glass. Beyond that, not much is known about where or what those barrels are.
Tasting Notes:
This feels like a classic bourbon on the nose with hints of almond mingling with rich vanilla, salted caramel, wet cedar, and a hint of spicy tobacco. The palate largely follows the nose’s lead while adding in soft toffee and hints of marzipan with an orange oil edge. The finish is standard, with vanilla giving way to winter spice, more nuttiness, and a dash of cedar and pipe tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This is fine and well-built. It’s easy drinking and complex enough to stay with you. I’m surprised to see it on a list of “best-selling” anything as I’ve only seen it at industry events. Plus, the price always seemed outrageous for what it is.
The mash bill on this bourbon is mid-range rye with 18% of the grain in the bill alongside the requisite corn and malted barley. It’s triple distilled utilizing both pot and column stills. The spirit then rests for six to seven years in a climate-controlled warehouse, taking time to mature before barrels are pulled for blending, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Vanilla comes through first on the nose with a good dose of caramel, soft oak, dark chocolate oranges, red berry tobacco, and the faintest hint of fresh mint. The palate delivers on those notes while layering in a soft toffee and silkiness with more dark chocolate, orange oils, and a cinnamon-forward tobacco leaf. The finish really holds onto the silken texture as the spice, dark chocolate, and vanilla linger the longest with a nice caramel sweetness.
Bottom Line:
This is one of the easiest drinking bourbons on the list. It’s also a great workhorse in that it works equally well as an on the rocks sipper as it does as a cocktail base.
This is the exact same whiskey as above but in a special one-off bottle. The bottle in this case is made exclusively for the Kentucky Derby. The bottle’s label was painted by Jaime Corum, who’s a noted equestrian artist. The label — titled “Dreams in Bloom” — depicts three thoroughbreds heading towards a photo finish with spring flowers and Derby Roses framing them. It’s a vivid scene for a classic bottle.
Tasting Notes:
See above.
Bottom Line:
Since this is the same juice as standard Woodford, I ranked them back to back. This wins out in that the bottle is a limited edition and has actual art on it.
This “high-rye” bourbon has a mash bill of 70% corn supported by 30% “small grains.” Basically, that’s mostly made up of rye with a dash of malted barley. The juice is then aged in new American oak for eight years before the barrels are blended into the bottle.
Tasting Notes:
This feels like a classic bourbon with notes of vanilla, bread, and oak up front, and is too basic to truly stand out. The sip edges towards a creamy vanilla essence with hints of stone fruit, like cherries, next to a slight spice. It’s very straightforward and drinkable with a long finish that leans into the spice, fruit, vanilla, and maybe a hint of chocolate.
Bottom Line:
This is another nice mixing bourbon for your cocktails. It’s fine on the rocks but better in an old fashioned.
This is a modern classic and helped relaunch the “barrel finished” movement in the U.S. The juice is made from sourced bourbon from undisclosed distilleries around Kentucky along with Angel Envy’s own-make coming out of Louisville. The whiskey is aged around six years before it’s reloaded into Ruby Port casks (French oak). No more than 12 barrels are then small batched, proofed with local water, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Blackberry jam mixes with salted butter, raw biscuit dough, and a hint of vanilla on the nose with a hint of winter spices and dried fruit. The palate has a sweet leathery vibe next to dried fruits, more of that winter spice, and a thin hint of black pepper. The finish thins out toward vanilla and peppery spice as the berry jam melds with the leather on the end.
Bottom Line:
This is a good “gateway to bourbon” pour. It’s not overly complex and pretty accessible when it comes to ABVs. That said, I’d mostly use this for whiskey highballs.
Jefferson’s Ocean is an experiment in finishing that’s pretty unique. The blenders pull in six to eight-year-old whiskeys sourced from four Kentucky distilleries. They marry those barrels and then re-barrel the whiskey, load them onto a ship, and sail those barrels around the world for almost a year. The best of those barrels are married again and bottled with a little Kentucky limestone water added.
Tasting Notes:
Vanilla pudding meets orange zest and kiwi as a hint of marshmallow drives the nose. Spicy tobacco leads the way on the palate as fresh mint lightens things up and dried roses counterpoint. The mid-palate is all about sweet spices with savory fruits leaning into figs and maybe even a touch of raw pumpkin flesh. Those figs take over on the end and create a sweet/savory fruity finish with a touch of kiwi skin.
Bottom Line:
This feels like it’s a pure gimmick, but it delivers. There’s nuance and balance that leads to a deep and satisfying sip. Overall, I like this over a few rocks or in a cocktail.
This expression amps up the already masterfully-crafted Woodford Reserve Bourbon. The juice is triple distilled in old pot stills and aged for six to seven years in deeply charred oak. Then the bourbon goes into a second barrel that has been double toasted but only slightly charred. After nine months of finishing, the bourbon is proofed and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
This is an interesting one — hints of marzipan and rose water hit the nose next to dark berries and honey-toffee with just a bit of dry firewood. The palate draws those flavors out as the berries dry out, the marzipan becomes nuttier and less sweet, and the woodiness becomes more like a soft and almost wet cedar. There’s a touch of apple and caramel with a slightly spiced edge near the end with a rich honeyed tobacco chew next to a whisper of vanilla.
Bottom Line:
This is just a good bourbon. It’s very easy to drink and complex enough to really make a cocktail shine while working wonders on a single rock.
This is a fascinating mix of sourced bourbon and good marketing. At seven years, it’s pretty young for such a pricey bourbon. The juice is hand-selected barrels that meet the specific taste and texture requirements of Saint Cloud’s team. That whiskey is then bottled at barrel strength with no other fussing, giving you a single barrel experience that’s one of a kind.
Tasting Notes:
You’re drawn in with a white cake slathered in buttery vanilla frosting next to a salted caramel waxy wrapper vibe. The palate is subtle, with hints of darkly roasted coffee beans covered in equally dark chocolate next to marzipan, light spices, and a touch of soft and maybe wet cedar. The end holds onto the spices (think clove and cinnamon) as a touch of dried apricot and dried cedar slowly fades towards a velvet-yet-warming end.
Bottom Line:
This is one of those bourbons I always forget exists. Then I try it again and really like it. Then I forget it again. That might just be the overwhelming about of bourbon I taste pushing it out of my mind. I don’t know…
Buffalo Trace’s Blanton Single Barrel is made up of hand-selected single barrels that meet the sky-high standards of former Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee, who created the expression back in 1984. The juice in the bottle was the first-ever single barrel bourbon release. It’s probably Buffalo Trace’s low-rye mash bill that’s aged until it’s just right. It’s then proofed with local water and bottled as-is from single barrels.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a clear sense of Christmas spices right away, leaning towards honey spiked with vanilla and an old cedar cigar humidor. The taste holds onto the spice, especially nutmeg, as caramel kettle corn, more fresh honey, fresh red berries, and vanilla husks dominate the palate. The end doesn’t overstay its welcome as hints of eggnog spice, dry vanilla, and popped corn surface on the fade.
Bottom Line:
This is a classic for a reason. It’s insanely easy to sip and, I’d argue, lives up to the hype. If this was closer to the MSRP, it’d be higher on this list.
This release from Hirsch is a refined pour. The whiskey is sourced from Bardstown with a mash of 72% corn, 13% rye, and 15% malted barley. The 57 barrels Hirsch selected were aged a minimum of six years before going into the bottle as-is with proofing or filtration.
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with hints of dark cherry, hickory bark, rich toffee, vanilla oils, and cinnamon sticks. The palate takes the cinnamon and boils it down to an essential oil as white pepper and dried roses lead to a hint of marzipan touched with orange oils. That sweet and nutty mid-palate leads to a warming and peppery finish with cinnamon-spiced tobacco wrapped in old leather and stuffed into an old cedar box with a hint of black soil lingering underneath it all.
Bottom Line:
This is a unique bottle that feels familiar yet refined. It’s complex, sure, but also understandable. It also takes you on a journey. It’s good stuff is what I’m getting at.
This is a very old whiskey, all things considered. The juice is from single barrels, aged 15 years or more, and the proof varies accordingly (sometimes it’s cut with water, too). The whiskey showcases Dickel’s vast warehouses and the gems they have hidden deep on those ricks.
Tasting Notes:
This is all about the cherry pie with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream next to a slight apple-tobacco vibe. It’s also light on the nose and on the palate with red berries leading towards a cherry-choco soda pop, more vanilla cream, and a light touch of bourbon-soaked oakiness. That woodiness leans into a musty corner of a cellar as a spicy cherry tobacco finish leaves you with a dry yet sweet mouthfeel.
Bottom Line:
The fact that you can get a 15-year-old single barrel for under $100 is wild. Yes, this delivers and should cost way more than it does, but here we are.
This whiskey is from Jack’s bonded warehouse. The mash of 80% corn, 12% barley, and eight percent rye is twice distilled before it’s run through Jack’s very long Lincoln County process of sugar maple charcoal filtration. The spirit then goes into the barrel for at least four years — per bonded law — before it’s batched, cut down with that Jack Daniel’s limestone cave water, and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Vanilla comes through next to cherry Jolly Ranchers, a touch of sweet oak, a hint of fresh leather, and an echo of orange peels on the nose. Going back in on the nose after a minute or two, a sense of potting soil and maybe the vitamin aisle at a health food store alongside more of that fresh leather, a bit of sweetgrass, apple blossoms, and a vanilla cookie with a touch of oat in the mix. Apple fritters and maple bars lead the way on the palate next to brown sugar and vanilla cream. The mid-palate adds in a little winter spice with a lean toward cinnamon and clove and a dusting of nutmeg. The finish arrives with brown sugar and butter mixed into Cream of Wheat as a minor note of wood and apple cider kicks in late and lingers the longest on the end.
Bottom Line:
This has no business being as good as it is for $35. This is also helping Jack Daniel’s become one of the most interesting brands of 2022.
The juice ended up being a blend of four to 11-year-old bourbons, with barrels sourced from an undisclosed distillery in Kentucky. Those barrels were blended by Rhea and McGuane to create a flavor profile that represented both Kentucky and Ireland.
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with a clear sense of fresh honey next to cinnamon toast, apple fritters, toffee sauce, crunchy peanut butter cookies, a smidge of new leather, and pine kindling. The palate bursts forth with butterscotch that leads to sticky and warm cinnamon rolls drizzled with caramel sauce and stuffed with raisins and walnuts while dark chocolate oranges and lightly singed marshmallows create a sweet mid-palate. The finish veers away from all of that toward huckleberry bushes and tart, almost woody berries while a vanilla tobacco leaf and more of that pine linger at the end of the taste.
Bottom Line:
This was one of the biggest surprises on the list. This felt like a gimmicky one-off that passed and faded away as soon as it dropped. But never bet against Kentucky Owl selling well, as this one-off expression proves.
Where the Single Barrel Select is cut with soft limestone water to bring it down to proof, this is the straight juice from the barrel. These barrels are all hand-selected from the vast Jack Daniel’s rickhouses. What’s left from the angel’s share then goes straight into the bottle. That means the ABVs and tasting notes for this bottle will vary depending on which bottle you snag.
Tasting Notes:
Expect an experience that’s full of rich vanilla, caramel, and toasted oak, next to a rush of cherry-spiked spice. The sip should have a mix of that vanilla, oak, and rich wintry spices with a nice dose of bright red fruits and a texture that’s more velvet than liquid. The end really holds onto that vibe as the mild spice, toasted oak, rich vanilla, and almost maple syrup sweetness slowly fade across your senses, leaving you with chewy cherry tobacco stuffed into an old cedar box.
Bottom Line:
This is a great whiskey for everyday pouring. It’s complex and lush while still feeling like something that won’t challenge you at every turn. It’s also crazily affordable for a single-barrel release.
This year’s first drop is a 12-year-old whiskey made from Heaven Hill’s classic bourbon mash of 78% corn, 12% malted barley, and a mere 10% rye. Those barrels are masterfully blended into this Barrel Proof expression with no cutting or fussing. This is as-is bourbon from the barrel.
Tasting Notes:
Based on the A122 release in January 2022: Caramel draws you in on the nose with a slight sourdough cinnamon roll with pecans, a touch of floral honey, and a soft and woody drug store aftershave with an echo of vanilla candle wax and singed marshmallow. The palate rolls through a soft leather and vanilla pie note as cinnamon ice cream leads to spicy oak. The mid-palate leans into a sweeter, almost creamy spice (think nutmeg-heavy eggnog) which, in turn, leads to a dry cedar bark next to a dry stewed-apple tobacco leaf folded into an old leather pouch for safekeeping.
The Bottle:
This is one of the most classic bourbons I’ve ever tasted. It’s refined and bold while feeling 100% nostalgic.
This might be one of the most beloved (and still kind of accessible) bottles from Buffalo Trace. This juice is made from their very low rye mash bill. The whiskey is then matured for at least 10 years in various parts of the warehouse. The final mix comes down to barrels that hit just the right notes to make them “Eagle Rare.” Finally, this one is proofed down to a fairly low 90 proof.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a lot happening on the nose here, with worn leather mingling with dried orange, fresh sage, butter toffee, and cellared oak. The taste turns towards marzipan covered in dark chocolate with a touch of honey, cherry, and a sprinkling of dark spices with a clear orange basket holiday vibe. The mid-palate leans into candied nuts and cherries towards a finish that touches on that marzipan, toffee, and the cedar-y oak while ending short and cherry-sweet.
Bottom Line:
This is another stone-cold classic. Though it is fairly allocated, it’s worth hunting down. It really does live up to the hype.
This is the mountaintop of what Wild Turkey can achieve. This is a blend of the best barrels that are married and bottled untouched. That means no filtering and no cutting with water. This is a classic bourbon with nowhere to hide.
Tasting Notes:
Crème brûlée greets you with a nice dose of Christmas spices, mild pipe tobacco, orange zest, and a distant hint of fresh mint sprigs. There’s a pine resin nature to the woody flavors on the palate that accents the orange oils, spices, vanilla, and sweetness. The sip takes on a Christmas cake-feel late, with a velvet end that is just the right amount of everything you want from a bourbon.
Bottom Line:
We’re basically into the splitting hairs section of this list. This is one of the best bourbons at this price point, full stop. The only reason it’s not number one is that the next four are all killers too.
Michter’s really means the phrase “small batch” here. The tank they use to marry their hand-selected eight-year-old bourbons can only hold 20 barrels, so that’s how many go into each small-batch bottling. Before it goes into the bottle, the blended juice is filtered and proofed with Kentucky’s famously soft limestone water.
Tasting Notes:
Buttery caramel and peaches mix with creamy vanilla and old oak on the nose as a hint of cherry tobacco and allspice berries provide a counterpoint. The vanilla really shines as the peach almost takes on a grilled edge as it gets sweeter and adds a whisper of smoke next to peppery spice and a big marshmallow. The wintry spice kicks up and warms the senses as the slow fade embraces leathery apricot, burnt toffee, and more vanilla marshmallow with a final kick of charred oak that’s nearly smoldering.
Bottom Line:
This is quintessential bourbon. It’s deeply nuanced while still feeling like something you can drink every day. That’s a rare talent.
The third drop from Bob Dylan’s famed brand is a rare whiskey. The juice is made from 13 to 15-year-old Kentucky bourbon barrels that are finished in Vino de Naranja casks, or “orange Moscatel” wine casks from Andalucia, Spain. That whiskey is then bottled with no filtering or proofing as-is.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a mix of those dark chocolate oranges and very woody cinnamon on the nose with a hint of grapefruit dipped in maple syrup, light notes of dried cedar bark braids, and a hint of soft and sweet smoke. The palate leans into a thick maple syrup with a note of old boot leather, bright red berries, white pepper, and light vanilla cream. The finish is sugar-encrusted orange peels next to old leather pouched full of spicy tobacco with old cellar floors next to honeyed oak and a whisper of orange tobacco.
Bottom Line:
There are only 3,949 of these bottles. While the price is steep, this is a very unique bottle of bourbon that hits high marks. If you do come across a pour, take your time and really dig into the flavor profile. You’ll be rewarded.
Frank Sinatra was one of Jack’s biggest fans. So much so that the crooner was buried with a bottle. The actual juice in this expression is a throwback to how Jack was made in Sinatra’s day. They use special “Sinatra Barrels” that have concentric grooves carved into the newly charred oak, giving the whiskey more surface area to do its thing. Once that’s aged, it’s blended with traditional Old No. 7 and proofed at 45%, as it also would have been back in Sinatra’s heyday.
Tasting Notes:
Peach cobbler, apple pie with a buttery crust and caramel drizzle, vanilla pods, old leather, and a hint of cherry tobacco inside an old wooden box build on the nose. The sip leans into the fruit next to woody spice and soft leather that mellows dramatically towards a soft vanilla cream along with a very distant echo of cherry tobacco chewiness. The mild spice (think nutmeg) arrives late and is tied to a cherry syrup vibe that just touches on dry wicker, faint almonds, and a touch more of that tobacco. Ultimately, the leather returns and builds towards a silken finish with just the right balance of woody apple, cherry tobacco, and oaky spice — all touched by the softest note of vanilla bean.
Bottom Line:
This is one of the best whiskeys from Tennessee. It’s also a testament to Jack Daniel’s that three of their expressions are in the top 25 best-selling bourbons at ReserveBar (yes, all Tennessee whiskey is bourbon).
This release from late last year is still one of the most sought-after bourbons of 2022. The juice is a blend of nine to 10-year-old bourbons chosen by Master Distiller Eddie Russell and 14-year-old bourbon barrels chosen by Eddie’s father, Master Distiller Jimmy Russell. Those barrels were blended and then re-barreled in toasted barrels for another final maturation. That juice was then just touched with that soft Kentucky limestone water and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Honey spiked with apple and orange blossoms lead the way on the nose as balls of caramel corn mingle with dry cinnamon sticks, black peppercorns, and salted caramel chews. The palate is pure butterscotch candies with a vanilla cream foundation and more of that floral honey. The mid-palate kicks up with candied ginger and black pepper spice next to cinnamon sticks dipped in cherry syrup with buttery toffee and the slightest echo of dried lavender. The finish amps up the spices to Red Hots, fresh ginger, freshly cracked black pepper, spicy tobacco with a hint of dark cacao, and a dry cedar box on the very end.
Bottom Line:
I was surprised to see this on the list. This is a very rare bottle that’s also truly a masterpiece. I can’t imagine this won’t sell out pretty quickly. So, move fast! It’s worth every penny.
Jenner’s 96-year-old mom, Esther Jenner, recently spoke to The Sun about her daughter not appearing in The Kardashians. “I don’t know if [Caitlyn] even cares. It’s something we haven’t even discussed. I think that Kardashian show is the most senseless thing I have ever watched,” she said. “But my two granddaughters, Kendall and Kylie, created it and I love them dearly… They’re my blood. And my four step-grandchildren – Kim, Kourtney, Khloé, and Robert – feel like they’re mine, too.”
Esther also told The Sun that “we have a very, very dangerous Democratic party in power now,” and that she wants Caitlyn, who ran for governor of California as a Republican, to “get a concealed permit because I think [she] should carry a gun.” Hmm, probably should have stopped after “that Kardashian show is the most senseless thing I have ever watched.” It’s a statement that has bipartisan support.
Skylar Grey has been part of some of the biggest songs of the past two decades: She sang and/or co-wrote Eminem and Rihanna’s “Love The Way You Lie,” Diddy’s “Coming Home,” Fort Minor’s “Where’d You Go” (as Holly Brook), and Zedd and Foxes’ “Clarity” (which Grey co-wrote but did not sing on). Now, though, she has no legal ownership over those songs: In a recent interview, Grey revealed she had to sell the rights to her catalogue due to a long and draining divorce.
“Since 2017, I was going through a divorce and lawsuit that was just wrecking me emotionally and financially. This past year, 2021, we finally resolved it, settled. I had to sell my catalog in order to afford the settlement, which was very sad in a way, because those songs, like ‘Love The Way You Lie’ and ‘Coming Home,’ those are my babies. But at the same time, nobody can tell me I didn’t write those songs just ’cause I don’t own the rights to them anymore. I didn’t want to sell them, but it was my only way to put the past behind me.”
She added of the songs, “They’re still near and dear to my heart and yeah, I will always treasure them, but it’s different now. Every time one of those songs get used in a movie or whatever, I don’t see any of that money anymore. But unfortunately, the majority of what I got paid for my catalog went to taxes and my ex-husband [laughs]. It’s like your life’s work, and then suddenly it’s like, ‘OK, I’ve got to give the majority of this away.’ But that was my only option. Luckily, I had the option of doing something like that, otherwise I may not have gotten out of the case.”
Not every game is a winner. While nobody wants to make a bad game, sometimes that ends up being the case and developers are forced to decide what to do. They can choose to release the game and hope to get something back for the time worked on it, rework the game internally and fix the problems plaguing it, or in some cases, shelve it altogether.
According to a report from Imran Khan of Fanbyte, that is the exact situation Nintendo is in right now with a reported sequel to the party game, 1-2-Switch. For those who might not remember, 1-2-Switch was a launch title for the Nintendo Switch meant to showcase the potential technology of their brand new console. While reviews on the game itself were mixed, most felt that it lacked content and was too expensive. As a result, it still sold really well, and reportedly, a sequel was in the works.
The problem is that when that sequel reached the hands of playtesters, it reportedly performed horribly. It is not a fun game and one group of localizers had a very choice way of describing just how not fun it is.
When playtesting groups received the game, the feedback to the development team was brutal. The target audiences Nintendo was hoping to hit — families with children — found the games boring; many didn’t even want to play through entire rounds. In the Bingo example, one player would use the joycon to mime digging out a number before reading it off the TV screen — a process that playtesters reported as tedious.
The main mode of the game, the Team Battle Mode, pit at least two teams of players against each other in various minigames. This mode prominently featured Horse, who would give color commentary during the games. During the localization process, sources started calling the game “Horseshit” as shorthand.
It’s never good when a game is performing so bad internally that members of the company are saying it would “harm their reputation” if it was released. Nintendo now has to decide how much of this game it wants to salvage and release, or if it will just shelve the sequel forever.
21-year-old San Antonio rapper Mike Dimes has come on strong this year with the release of his second album, In Dimes We Trust. He caught the attention of Earthgang, who tabbed him for their Biodeghettable Tour, which Dimes is currently on with the Atlanta duo. With standout tracks like “Home,” and “No Trends,” In Dimes We Trust is one of this year’s sleeper hits and the Dreamville connection is being cemented, with JID hopping on a new remix of “Home.”
JID delivers a lengthy and explosive second verse on the new remix version of “Home,” laying out how his hard-earned burn to the top is what a youngster like Dimes is looking at now too. He channels a Lil Wayne lyric as he spits, “G’s movin’ in silence, n****** deaf tone. Tone-deaf, my songs was being slept on. Fast forward I’m on, bumpin’ the headphones.”
Listen to Mike Dimes’ “Home” remix featuring JID above and check out Dimes’ remaining tour dates with Earthgang below.
06/07 – Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution Live
06/09 – New Orleans, LA @ Fillmore New Orleans
06/10 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues Houston
06/11 – Austin, TX @ Emos Austin
06/12 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues Dallas
06/13 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Tower Theatre
06/15 – Birmingham, AL @ Iron City Birmingham
06/17 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern
In the midst of Kanye West’s extended divorce from Kim Kardashian, fans were intrigued to note that one of the two women Kanye publicly dated during that time was a dead ringer for socialite turned mogul Kanye was splitting up with. Kanye’s new boo was a model named Chaney Jones, and for all intents, it appeared the two were dating seriously (whatever that meant for Kanye’s insistence that he wanted to save his marriage).
Well, it appears that this relationship is also now kaput. TMZ reports that “sources connected to the former duo” confirmed that they called it quits after a trip to Japan. Meanwhile, Kanye was recently seen at a showing of Top Gun: Maverick (seriously, it looks like everyone has seen that movie at this point) sitting with another woman. Prior to dating Jones, Kanye very publicly courted actress Julia Fox — in fact, the transition between the two was so abrupt that some fans were sure there was some overlap. Maybe Kanye just moves fast.
What this means for Ye’s state of mind is anyone’s guess. Is he finally moving on or actually avoiding doing so by cycling through companions so quickly? And who is this new woman taking in movies with the Donda 2 producer? I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
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