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Canadian rye whisky still isn’t getting the hype it deserves. That’s a shame. But the tide is shifting (slowly), as brands like Barrell Craft Spirits integrate amazing Canadian barrels into their bespoke releases. It also helps that WhistlePig now admits they use the stuff in their bottles too. But overall, Canadian rye is still a footnote to the wider whisk(e)y boom.

Becasue of that, killer bottles like Alberta Premium Cask Strength often languish on the shelf. Which, again, is too bad.

Alberta Premium put out a pretty great whisky with their Cask Strength expression late last year. It’s well-priced, easy to find, and, guess what? It tastes pretty freaking good. What more could you want in a premium whisk(e)y release?

Below, I’m giving you my professional opinion of what’s in the bottle. Overall, this whisky continues to slip under the radar for a lot of whiskey folks. That’s an advantage for everyone else in that you can actually find this for a good price. Good whiskey that’s not marked up on the aftermarket is always a good thing. Let’s get into it!

Also Read: The Top Five Rye Whiskey from the Last Six Months on UPROXX

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• The 100 Best Whiskeys Our Head Drinks Writer Tasted In 2021

Alberta Premium Cask Strength 2021 Edition

ABV: 63.7% (varies)

Average Price: $65

The Whisky:

The whisky starts off with rye grains grown on the Alberta plains. Those malted grains are then mixed with glacial water from the Rocky mountains before fermentation begins. The juice is distilled and loaded into ex-bourbon barrels for an undisclosed amount of time (a minimum of four years). The barrels are then selected for this expression, vatted, and bottled as-is with no proofing.

The Bottle:

The faceted bottle is a mid-century eye-catcher with a subtle label. The pebble effect plays nicely and stands out. The bottle also comes in a nice box that works as a good gifter. Overall, it’s a unique presentation for a unique whisky.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a hint of Cherry Twizzlers on the nose that leads to soft cedar tobacco boxes from the last century with a hint of used vanilla pods. The palate takes dark and tart currants and dips them in creamy yet dark chocolate with a dusting of nutmeg and clove next to vanilla-laced shortbread dipped in black tea. The mid-palate balances a hint of dark cherry tobacco with more of that old cedar as the creamy vanilla sneaks in and smoothes everything out. The end has a slight green peppercorn vibe that circles back to the nutmeg and clove with a tiny touch of woody cinnamon and more of those tart berries and a minor note of savory fig and… maybe melon (?) on the very backend.

Bottom Line:

This is complex and rich without being overpowering in the slightest. There is a tiny bit of spicy warmth on the mid-palate but it never overpowers the rich and creamy flavor profile. Moreover, this leaves you wanting another pour. It’s enticing yet sooting and a little refreshing.

Ranking:

91/100 — This is really solid. It’s an easy and rewarding sipper with hardcore ABVs that hides them well in a masterful build.

The Los Angeles Lakers filled their head coaching vacancy by bringing on board now-former Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham. According to a new report by Marc Stein, Lakers brass had another name very high on their shortlist of candidates and may have gone as far as to tell him the job was his.

Stein reports that Michigan coach Juwan Howard was the “preferred candidate” for the team among those who currently have head coaching gigs elsewhere, which includes a pair of names who were rumored for the gig throughout the process: Sixers coach Doc Rivers and Jazz coach Quin Snyder. In fact, Stein claims that the team would have given Howard the job if he wanted to pursue it, which ultimately ended up not being the case.

The Lakers, I’m told, made such strong overtures to Howard that the implication was clear: The job was his if he wanted it. As covered here on May 2, Howard made it clear in turn throughout the Lakers’ 47-day search that — despite his long associations with both James and Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka — he had no interest in leaving behind the college game at Michigan and the opportunity to coach sons Jace and Jett next season.

Howard was a teammate of James’ with the Miami Heat before spending a year as one of the team’s assistant coaches while James was in town — he ended up spending six years on staff before taking the gig at his alma mater. His ties to Pelinka are even stronger, as the two were teammates in Ann Arbor.

For someone who is so rich she could easily stay out of the spotlight for several years and still be rich, Kim Kardashians just keeps…saying things. This time, she is defending her controversial decision to lose weight before stepping into Marilyn Monroe‘s iconic gown (a move that was already highly criticized).

In a new profile with The New York Times, Kardashian defended her decision to lose 16 pounds in three weeks by saying that people gain and lose weight for roles all the time. She is of course referring to movie roles, not walking down a red carpet for less than 15 minutes, so it doesn’t quite apply. But her logic was…there.

“To me, it was like, ‘OK, Christian Bale can do it for a movie role and that is acceptable.’ Even Renée Zellweger gained weight for a role. It’s all the same to me.” Kardashian was referring to the multiple times Bale has gained and lost weight for movie roles, though, to be fair, that was never really acceptable either. He even admitted that he just “doesn’t eat” which is literally the worst thing you can do.

Kardashian then explained that she wasn’t encouraging her fans to follow in her footsteps. “I wasn’t saying, ‘Hey everyone, why don’t you go lose this weight in a short period of time?’” she said, adding that if she couldn’t lose the weight, she “just couldn’t have gone, which wouldn’t have mattered. It was just important to me to reach that goal.” As it turns out, the dress didn’t even zip up all the way, which is why she wore a fur coat to hide the back.

Even if she isn’t explicitly encouraging her fans, she is saying that it’s possible to lose that amount in such a short amount of time, even though it should not be, especially for people who don’t have access to the most expensive trainers and dieticians. The moral of the story is this: don’t follow anyone else’s advice, especially people who have more resources at their disposal than most normal people ever will.

A lot of people out there like Harry Styles’ new album Harry’s House and there’s plenty of quantifiable data to back that up: “As It Was” is No. 1 for a fourth week, three other songs from the album are in the top 10, and Harry’s House debuted at No. 1 with far and away the biggest sales week of the year. The LP has itself a fan in Lizzo, too, who found a creative way to express how terrific she thinks the album is.

During a recent Instagram Live session, the conversation got to Harry’s House, about which Lizzo proclaimed, “[Styles] put his… Harrussy [laughs]… he put the whole Harrussy into that album. I love his new album.”

The linguistics of that feedback are funny but not unprecedented coming from Lizzo, whose own current hit single “About Damn Time” includes the lyric, “Feelin’ fussy, walkin’ in my Balenci-ussies.”

Of course, Lizzo and Styles have become friendly in recent years: They put on a joint concert during the weekend of the Super Bowl in 2020 and more recently, Lizzo popped up as a surprise guest during Styles’ set at Coachella this year.

Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Recently, CJ McCollum joined ESPN as an NBA analyst and made his debut during Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday. Early in the broadcast, Magic Johnson asked McCollum how he intends to grow his relationship with his New Orleans Pelicans teammate and young star, Zion Williamson.

McCollum is president of the NBPA and has played in 63 playoff games, including four Western Conference Finals contests. Both of those traits likely carry cache on a youthful, talented Pelicans club, particularly for someone like Williamson, who is still navigating all that comes with NBA stardom.

“I took him under my arms. I’m gonna make sure he’s right. We’ve been communicating this summer about times we’re gonna meet up and link,” McCollum said. “I’m gonna get him out here in New York, get some work in with me during Draft week. If he’s not watching this, he’s gonna see this clip. I’m getting him out to Vegas with me. We’ll get some time together.”

As his answer progressed, he also noted that he’s seeking some tutelage from Johnson about the complexities of being an NBA point guard. During McCollum’s time with the Portland Trail Blazers, he sat shotgun alongside Damian Lillard as the lead ball-handler. Now, in New Orleans, he’s the de facto point guard, so he’s aiming to grow that part of his game with some tips from an all-time great playmaker in Johnson.

“I need some pointers on how to run the show. I gotta make sure (Williamson is) happy, gotta feed (Brandon Ingram). I gotta make sure (Jonas Valanciunas is) getting what he needs to get,” he said. “I gotta take it to the next level. I know you can help me get there.”

Comedian Louis C.K. has unveiled the first trailer for his secret indie movie, Fourth of July, in hopes that his fans will request that it play at their local theaters. The project is C.K.’s first major attempt at a comeback since he was accused of sexual misconduct by several women during the height of the #MeToo era.

According to Deadline, Fourth of July is getting a very limited release. Specifically, only three theaters at the time of this report. However, in a letter posted to fans on his official website, C.K. is hoping to expand those screenings through word of mouth:

Fourth of July will premiere at New York’s Beacon Theater on June 30, with screenings to follow at Boston’s Shubert Theater on July 1, and The Vic in Chicago on July 2. Additional plans for exhibition have not yet been disclosed.

“We are still compiling and constantly adding to the list of theaters which I will post on the web page for the movie which is on my website,” shared C.K in an open letter to fans. “Also if you would like Fourth of July to play at a theater near you, please contact the theater directly and ask for it.”

Despite still being mired in controversy, C.K. has been performing regularly in comedy clubs, although nothing like the headlining tours prior to the sexual misconduct allegations. He’s also continued to release comedy specials on his website, too, one of which recently won a Grammy. That accolade sparked debate over whether or not “cancel culture” is even a real thing. It looks like this movie will spark another round of that conversation. So that’ll be neat.

(Via Deadline)

Syd recently released her sophomore album Broken Hearts Club, whose title off the bat hints at the headspace she was in while working on the record. The artist told Uproxx that the main difference between this LP and her debut was the increased sense of vulnerability, which a listener can notice immediately in the songs. She explained more about that in a new interview with Rolling Stone, discussing how she approached songwriting after going through a breakup.

“There’s one song in particular on the album that I wrote while I was really still in it,” she said. “I wrote it, like, sobbing, probably. But everything else… I actually took a few months off to heal from the heartbreak before I started writing anything, because the first few songs that I wrote sounded really bitter because that anger was still in there so I had to lift some weights. Get that out and revisit it. Once I revisited it, I honestly started off trying not to write songs about it. And so I wrote a lot of random stuff. A lot of practice songs. And I let what come out come out. I think that’s the best way to do it — keep it organic.”

Check out the full Rolling Stone interview here.

(SPOILERS for The Boys Season 3 will be found below.)

Amazon’s The Boys has launched debut episodes for Season 3, which is perfectly depraved and stunningly deep at the same time. Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy is great satirical fun, but at the moment, it’s time to talk about The Deep and his tan lines.

The Deep’s full spectrum of strange appears later this season, and it’s enough to say there that Chace Crawford wasn’t subtle about wondering whether he’ll work again after what his character does this season. And he also revealed that Aquaman fans don’t like him that much, which makes a lot of sense, especially in light of Zack Snyder’s fish-talking joke and James Gunn’s Peacemaker finale joke about Aquaman doing everything with water-bound creatures.

An Entertainment Weekly interview with showrunner Eric Kripke and Crawford digs into The Deep’s raunchier doings this season. There are some spoilers here, but the gist is that Kripke didn’t take as much inspiration from Aquaman’s fish-loving as from a Netflix documentary called My Octopus Teacher, and Crawford says that he responded, “I know where this is going.” Here’s what Kripke, who was well aware of how that documentary followed a close bond between filmmaker and female octopus, offered to EW:

“No spoilers for the season, but the thing about My Octopus Teacher when I watched it… I watched that whole thing and the whole time I’m like, ‘Is he gonna f— that octopus?!’” Kripke says, immediately breaking into laughter. “And then in the writer’s room, we just kept laughing about that documentary. And it’s a great documentary… but it’s weirdly sexual.”

If you’re interested in watching My Octopus Teacher, it’s available on Netflix. And as for what that film inspired in The Boys, let’s just say that things get, well, Deep.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

For weeks now, we’re been hearing about the long awaited pilot for the new series, The NBA Finals, from showrunner Adam Silver (The Orlando Bubble, NBA Draft 2014-2021, All-Star Weekend Los Angeles/Chicago/Cleveland, etc.). While it did not disappoint in terms of tension and establishing initial character dynamics at play, it left a lot of questions.

In the lead up to the series — a spin-off of NBA Conference Finals — there were concerns about pacing, given the lulls and occasional dragging action of its predecessor. One recurring criticism over Conference Finals was it never being especially clear to viewers who was good, not in the sense of protagonist or antagonist, but who “had that dog in them.” The shifting representations in that show was a topic of heady, obsessive discussion amongst its fans, to the point where it was never especially clear whether fans actually enjoyed watching it. So far, that doesn’t seem to be a problem for NBA Finals, which pulled in 8.1 million viewers and had fans unanimously agreeing many of the characters, even this early on, “were a bucket.”

Silver is known for some pretty memorable characters and Finals is shaping up to be no different. Within its opening minutes we got a clear sense of its protagonists, antagonists, and the characters who will no doubt straddle the line.

Steph Curry (Steph Curry) made a definitive case for being the show’s clear main character. The decision to put up six three-point shots within the first 12 minutes and record zero points within the following twelve was an interesting, if a little blatant use of underscoring that we’re going to get the trope of a hero’s journey in the following episodes. It’s a tool that one of Finals joint directors, Steve Kerr, likes to utilize but the hope here is he doesn’t get too heavy-handed with it.

Other notable characters in the supporting cast behind Curry include Klay Thompson (Klay Thompson), with some late-episode fireworks that made up for his quiet performance early on; Andrew Wiggins (Andrew Wiggins), who seems to be taking a more cerebral approach; Marcus Smart (Marcus Smart) with a bold costume decision by Finals other director, Ime Udoka, in a green wig without any additional context (fans of Silver will note that costume has had something of a renaissance in his work in recent years).

There were plenty of standout performances in last night’s pilot, most notably from the evocative body language of Kevon Looney (Kevon Looney) whose character dragged the ball down from the basket again and again to the delight of the live audience. A quiet standout also came in the character of Al Horford (Al Horford) who, after initially dispelling the fears that this might be some kind of Benjamin Button rip-off, came alive in the final half of the show with the prowess and physicality of a much younger actor. And before you ask, no, there was absolutely no CGI involved.

Where the writing in Silver’s stories can occasionally be clunky (who can forget All-Star Chicago’s use of iambic verse from surprising casting decision, Common), or without any context (oftentimes characters are seen walking across the set, alone, shouting to no one in particular), a stirring line of dialogue came in one of the episode’s quiet moments from Smart.

“This isn’t the Heat series,” Smart stresses. “We can’t start back, you have to start up, especially if they setting it so high. You start up and drop because we’re chasing.”

The disorienting, zig-zagging notes on direction in the statement are intentional, meant to evoke memories, and possibly ghosts, of Conference Finals for fans paying close attention. “Now he goes down,” Smart says with an emphatic pause, “into the paint.” It’s an interesting choice by Smart to stagger his lines, but the result is captivating.

What needs work are the interludes between the action of NBA Finals main scenes. The “Halftime” portion of this episode saw five men sitting crammed around a quarter moon shaped desk, their spacing of no real significance.

“I saw a lot of Warriors players grabbing their shorts,” an enthused but somewhat lost member of the group (Magic Johnson) states at one point, seemingly to nobody. There’s also the interaction of the live audience with the show. At one point it seemed that a lackluster “LAWYERS” chant began, but on further inquiry it was meant to be “WARRIORS,” so either better instruction or studio equipment is needed there.

Tonally, there’s still room for a theme to emerge. Is this going to be a heist show? A series about bank robbers hailing from Boston out on one last score (don’t tell Ben Affleck, not because he’ll sue, but because he’ll want to be in it)? Or is this a saga where headbands simply collide?

In the end this episode was one of close conflict and action with plenty of excitement, sustainable character arcs and hooks for a pilot, and will more than likely be green-lit for a full season.

It’s early, but it could be Silver’s most marketable production yet.

Bikini Kill’s Erica Dawn Lyle and The Raincoats’ Vice Cooler have teamed up for their debut album that’s out today, Land Trust: Benefit For North East Farmers Of Color. The projects is full of collaborations, one of the quickest but most exciting of which is “Lost In Thought,” which they made with The Linda Lindas and Bikini Kill’s Kathi Wilcox. The song runs for just about 90 seconds, but it gets a lot of rocking done in that limited window.

The Linda Lindas’ Lucia de la Garza said of crafting the tune, “We all liked the idea of a call-and-response vocal thing in the verse, which really just took after the instrumental part. It’s about feeling overwhelmed by everything bottled up in your brain and getting so lost in yourself you become unaware of your surroundings.” Bela Salazar added, “In the bridge, there’s this chaos. It’s meant to represent how sometimes there are so many ideas or thoughts or just things on your mind, which gets so busy, and it’s supposed to feel like just the right amount of too much.”

Lyle said, “When we came up with the music for this one, it just felt like a rager and it brought to mind for me the pure exuberance of The Linda Lindas, so I suggested we invite them to sing on it. I thought of asking Kathi to add bass because I just remember how much we all enjoyed playing with and being around The Linda Lindas when they opened for Bikini Kill at The Palladium in 2019. Having them on a track with Kathi also really fit with the general theme of the record we were making which was shaping up as an intergenerational lineup of lady rocker badasses.”

Watch the “Lost In Thought” video above and stream Land Trust: Benefit For North East Farmers Of Color in full below.