Any time conversations about wealth and poverty come up, people inevitably start talking about boots.
The standard phrase that comes up is “pull yourself up by your bootstraps,” which is usually shorthand for “work harder and don’t ask for or expect help.” (The fact that the phrase was originally used sarcastically because pulling oneself up by one’s bootstraps is literally, physically impossible is rarely acknowledged, but c’est la vie.) The idea that people who build wealth do so because they individually work harder than poor people is baked into the American consciousness and wrapped up in the ideal of the American dream.
A different take on boots and building wealth, however, paints a more accurate picture of what it takes to get out of poverty.
Author Terry Pratchett is no longer with us, but his writing lives on and is occasionally shared on his official social media accounts. Recently, his Twitter page shared the “Sam Vimes ‘Boots’ Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness” from Pratchett’s 1993 book “Men At Arms.” This boots theory explains that one reason the rich are able to get richer is because they are able to spend less money.
If that sounds confusing, read on:
u2026 He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of okay for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollarsu2026n2/5
“The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.
Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.
But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that’d still be keeping his feet dry in ten years’ time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.”
In other words, people who have the money to spend a little more upfront often end up spending less in the long run. A $50 pair of boots that last five years essentially cost you $10 a year. But if you can only afford $10 upfront for a pair of boots that last six months, that’s what you buy—and you end up paying twice as much over a five-year period.
There are so many areas in which this principle applies when you’re poor. Buying in bulk saves you money over the long run, but you have to be able to afford the bulk cost up front. A reliable car that doesn’t require regular repairs will cost more than a beater, but if the beater is all you can afford, that’s what you’re stuck with. You’ll likely spend the same or more over time than if you’d bought a newer/higher quality car, but without the capital (or the credit rating) to begin with, you don’t have much choice.
People who can afford larger down payments pay lower interest rates, saving them money both immediately and in the long run. People who can afford to buy more can spend more with credit cards, pay off the balances, build up good credit and qualify for lower interest rate loans.
There are lots of good financial decisions and strategies one can utilize if one has the ability to build up some cash. But if you are living paycheck to paycheck, you can’t.
Climbing the financial ladder requires getting to the bottom rung first. Those who started off anywhere on the ladder can make all kinds of pronouncements about how to climb it—good, sound advice that really does work if you’re already on the ladder. But for people living in poverty, the bottom rung is just out of reach, and the walls you have to climb to get to it are slippery. It’s expensive to be poor.
When people talk about how hard it is to climb out of poverty, this is a big part of what they mean. Ladder-climbing advice is useless if you can’t actually get to the ladder. And yet, far too many people decry offering people assistance that might help them reach the ladder so they can start taking advantage of all that great financial advice. Why? Perhaps because they were born somewhere on the ladder—even if it was the bottom rung—and aren’t aware that there are people for whom the ladder is out of reach. Or perhaps they’re unaware of how expensive it is to be poor and how the costs of poverty keep people stuck in the pit. Hopefully, this theory will help more people understand and sympathize with the reality of being poor.
Money makes money, but having money also saves you money. The more money you have, the more wealth you’re able to build not only because you have extra money to save, but also because you buy higher quality things that last, therefore spending less in the long run. (There’s also the reality that the uber-wealthy will pay $5,000 for shoes they’ll only wear a few times, but that’s a whole other kind of boots story.)
Thanks, Terry Pratchett, for the simple explanation.
The mullet haircut has meant many different things. In the ’70s it meant you were a cool rocker such as David Bowie or Paul McCartney. In the ’80s it was the preferred haircut for hockey players and baseball dirtbags. The hairstyle also has a rich association with Southern culture and country music.
The mullet fell out of fashion in the mid-’90s when the flamboyant business in the front, party in the back hairstyle began to be seen as the epitome of trashiness. The haircut has been known by many names throughout history but would forever be known as the mullet after Beastie Boys released a punk rock B-side in 1994 called “Mullet Head.”
You’re coming off like you’re Van Damme
You’ve got Kenny G, in your Trans Am
You’ve got names like Billy Ray
Now you sing Hip Hop Hooray
Since then, the hairstyle has been so maligned that it’s usually only worn with a sense of irony or a complete lack of awareness. However, 11-year-old Allan Baltz of Jonesboro, Arkansas has changed the narrative around the hairstyle, by showing that a mullet head can be a person of not only style, but decency, with his recent charitable act.
In 2013, Allan and his twin sister Alice were in foster care and went to live with Derek and Lesli Baltz of Jonesboro, Arkansas. The children were only supposed to be with them temporarily before being reunited with their parents, but they soon realized it wouldn’t be an option.
After living with the family for two years, the twins were adopted by the Baltz’s.
“We were really terrified that we weren’t good enough parents to keep them forever,” Lesli told Southern Living. “So, we really worked through that a lot, and it became obvious that they were meant to be ours whether we felt like we were good enough or not.”
During the height of the 2020 lockdowns, Lesli was looking for a way for the family to have fun. So they all began growing strange hairdos. Her husband grew a large mustache. Alice dyed her hair red and Lesli changed hers to teal. But Allan went the craziest by growing out a long, beautiful mullet.
He loved it so much that he took it up a notch by having it permed.
MULLET FINALISTS: Jonesboro, Ark., resident Allan Baltz, 11, is a finalist in the 2021 USA Mullet Championship. (Source: Lesli Baltz)nu25ba Hayden Henry, of Coushatta, Louisiana, also is a finalistnu25ba Voting ends Monday, Oct. 11. YOU CAN VOTE HERE u25ba https://bit.ly/3mENars?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=snd&utm_content=kslau00a0u2026pic.twitter.com/nrZw8gsM9Z
“He thought it was hysterical. It was hideous, and it embarrassed his sister. Everywhere he went, people were like ‘Nice hair, man.’ He thinks it’s the greatest thing, and he really owns it,” Lesli said.
Soon friends began to push Allan to enter the 2021 USA Mullet Championships competition. At first, he didn’t think he had a chance of winning the contest, but after learning there was a $2500 cash prize for winning the kids division, he was all in. Allan saw the competition as a way to pay it forward and help kids who are in foster care.
“He instantly was like ‘Oh, OK. I can do it, and we’ll give the money to kids in foster care,'” Lesli said. “He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t say, ‘I can get a bike, then give some money away.’ It was just instant that he wanted to give it away.”
Allan submitted a photo wearing his father’s mountain biking sunglasses and his best suit. Because, let’s not forget, a mullet means business in the front. After weeks of campaigning, Allan won a decisive victory, gaining more than 25,000 votes.
During his campaign, Allan was vocal about what he’d do with the prize money, inspiring others to donate to his two charities, Together We Foster and Project Zero. The campaign and prize money resulted in $7,000 being donated to foster care charities.
“People also started volunteering … and donating clothing, beds, and diapers,” Lesli said. “A few people that we know decided to start fostering because of Allan’s story. The way that people hear it and it inspires them to do something about the foster care crisis is really incredible. We’re just sitting back in awe and hoping that it continues to inspire more people to make a difference.”
Allan’s generosity has helped countless kids in the foster care system. But he’s also done something else that’s pretty special. He’s brought honor back to the mullet.
One DoorDash customer just received a roast beef sandwich with a side of justice.
“I know I’m not who you’re expecting, but your driver got arrested,” Sioux Falls police officer Sam Buhr (identified by Facebook group Tea Storm Chasers) told customer Anastasia Elsinger as he dutifully handed over her Arby’s order.
Officer Buhr, all smiles, offered a simple “take care,” and a friendly wave before leaving. Now that’s some high quality public service.
In the now viral TikTok video, we can also hear a clearly tickled Elsinger laughing (guffawing, really) as she thanks Officer Buhr and takes her order.
The surprise delivery inspired some pretty epic responses.
“Man went on a side quest,” one person commented.
Going the more savage route, many wrote that the real crime committed was ordering Arby’s. Ouch.
Others couldn’t help but notice a certain … aesthetic appeal Officer Deliveryman had.
“HOW DO I GET THIS HOT COP TO DELIVER FOOD FOR ME,” wrote one person. And yes, it was in ALL CAPS.
But then again … where is the lie?
The delivery driver had apparently been stopped for a traffic violation and unfortunately had been issued a warrant, PEOPLE confirms. There seems to be no public information regarding what the warrant was issued for.
A spokesperson for the Sioux Falls Police department added that where perhaps food delivery was not in the normal daily duties, “helping people is,” saying that “Sioux Falls police officers regularly go above and beyond the normal job and this is just one example of that. Little things like this happen on a regular basis and while most don’t receive the attention, we realize those little things can make a big difference.”
It certainly seems to be making a difference on social media, as the video now has 4.5 million views. It has even garnered some attention from Jimmy Fallon.
Now I’m left to wonder: will we ever not be disappointed by just a regular delivery? Dropped off by a mere civilian? How mundane, right?
Either way, thanks to Officer Buhr for giving us something to smile about.
The Inside the NBA crew is rarely afraid to give their unfiltered opinions about the NBA, and that at times can get them in some hot water with the league’s stars.
Shaq and Charles Barkley in particular have found themselves in tiffs with various players around the league, most famously Chuck and Draymond Green, who have gone from feuding to co-workers who heap praise on each other. Shaq’s most frequent punching bags have been big men, as the Hall of Famer is quick to offer his critiques of the center position and demand that the big fellas around the league dominate in the way he did.
On Thursday, Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers played in the early game on TNT and after an interview with Embiid by Allie LaForce, Shaq decided to take some time to compliment the big man for always taking that criticism in stride and using it to fuel his fire to be better and dominate. In doing so, Shaq took aim at Ben Simmons, who he refused to mention by name, simply calling him “the other guy” and ripping him for being a “crybaby” and sitting out the season amid a trade request rather than taking the critiques from last postseason and letting them motivate him to improve his game this summer.
The entire situation in Philadelphia has always been exasperated by the very different personalities of the bombastic Embiid and much quieter Simmons, and this case it’s no different. Not everyone takes criticism the same way, and Embiid’s incredibly blunt and vocal style of leadership sits in stark contrast to Simmons, who seems to not exactly enjoy such a spotlight — particularly when it comes to highlighting his mistakes.
Embiid himself has seemingly taken it on himself to try and prove that he wasn’t singling out Simmons last year, regularly calling out his teammates as they sit next to him at pressers for not shooting enough or not being aggressive enough — and then making a point to praise them when they follow through.
Simmons, even when not playing, manages to be a lightning rod for takes, and it’s safe to say Shaq is not a fan right now.
Grimes used the new year to officially kick off the rollout for her upcoming album Book 1. The upcoming project will be her first full-length release since 2020’s Miss_Anthropocene. So far, she’s released presumed lead single, “Player Of Games,” which arrived as what appeared to be her version of a breakup song after she and her ex (and father of her child) Elon Musk went their separate ways. More recently, Grimes released “Shinigami Eyes” which seemed to be the latest single from Book 1, but thanks to a new announcement, we now know that “Shinigami Eyes” will appear on a different project.
According to Pitchfork, the new song will appear on Grimes’ upcoming EP, Fairies C*m First. A release date for the project has not been confirmed yet, but it has been described as a “prelude” to Book 1 which signals that the EP should arrive before Grimes’ upcoming album.
During a recent interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Grimes spoke about Book 1 and what can be expected from it. “I made a bunch of stuff and I just want to make a bunch more stuff,” she said. “There’s just more kind of sonic, conceptual ideas that I think need to get done to make everything make more sense. And we kind of have two album covers and it seems like a waste to throw on one of them away.”
Actor Ezra Miller, who plays Barry Allen’s Flash in the DC Extended Universe, posted a video on Instagram on Thursday evening directed towards hate group Ku Klux Klan. “This is a message for the Beulaville chapter of the North Carolina Ku Klux Klan,” they said. “Hello, first of all. How are y’all doing? It’s me. Look, if y’all wanna die, I suggest just killing yourselves with your own guns, OK? Otherwise, keep doing exactly what you’re doing right now — and you know what I’m talking about — and then, you know, we’ll do it for you if that’s really what you want. OK, talk to you soon, OK? Byeee!”
It’s unclear what prompted the video.
On the Instagram post, Miller, who also appears in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, wrote, “Please disseminate (gross!) this video to all those whom it may concern. This is not a joke and even though I do recognize myself to be a clown please trust me and take this seriously. Let’s save some live now ok babies? Love you like woah.”
You can watch the video below.
Miller will next appear in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (April 15) and The Flash (November 4); they will also play young Salvador Dalí in Dalíland.
On Thursday night, the Inside the NBA crew announced the 10 starters for February’s All-Star Game in Cleveland, and there weren’t that many surprises since we knew what the fan voting looked like as of a week ago. While the fans only account for 50 percent of the vote now, nothing changed from last week’s fan voting tally, with LeBron James and Kevin Durant earning captain spots for the second straight year.
The biggest eyebrow raising selection was Andrew Wiggins holding onto the West’s third frontcourt starting spot, taking it over Rudy Gobert, Draymond Green, and Karl-Anthony Towns. The only other spots that figured to be up for debate were for the second backcourt spots behind Stephen Curry and DeMar DeRozan, respectively, and ultimately those went to a pair of the league’s up-and-coming stars at the point guard spot.
Ja Morant will make his first All-Star appearance and do so as a starter this season, while Trae Young will make his second All-Star start, as he edged out Zach LaVine for the honor. On the TNT broadcast, Charles Barkley immediately began stumping for LaVine as being deserving of the spot given the Bulls’ record compared to the Hawks in 12th in the East. Young was watching that, as this year the league had the All-Star results delivered in a briefcase to the TNT studio rather than alerting teams to the results early, and had a response for Barkley in his tweet thanking the fans for the honor.
Truly Blessed !! Thank you to the Fans ALWAYS LOVE !! 2X!!
Naturally, they quickly got that up on the broadcast and Chuck didn’t back down from his stance about LaVine deserving the starting spot, while Shaq and Ernie simply enjoyed Trae taking a crack at the Chuckster.
Damon Albarn earned some well-deserved criticism earlier this week after he questioned Taylor Swift’s songwriting during an interview in the Los Angeles Times. The Blur singer, who later apologized for his words, said that Swift “doesn’t write her own songs.” Shortly after the interview was released, Swift responded to his comments. “@DamonAlbarn I was such a big fan of yours until I saw this,” she wrote in a tweet. “I write ALL of my own songs. Your hot take is completely false and SO damaging. You don’t have to like my songs but it’s really f—ed up to try and discredit my writing. WOW.”
Days after Swift issued this response, Dolly Parton took a moment to share her thoughts on the matter during an interview with HollywoodLife. “I don’t care what other people say about my songs,” she said. “But with Taylor, she’s a great writer — with or without anybody.” Parton added that “when you co-write a song, you work just as hard. Sometimes you work harder with a co-writer because you want to be sure to do your part.”
“I really get rubbed wrong sometimes when people mistreat the artist. I don’t like that,” Parton continued before praising Swift and calling her “magnificent.” “I think she’s done great,” she added. “And that’s one of the things I admire about her because she’s never sold herself. She’s never felt like she’s had to sell her body. She’s always had good taste in how she’s presented herself and with her songs. And she’s very creative and very, very, very smart in the marketing of her life.” Parton concluded, “She knows who she is and what she wants. And I’m the same way. I’m going to fight if it goes against what I feel is not right for me.”
You can read Parton’s full interview with HollywoodLifehere.
Generally speaking, bourbon hits a sweet spot around ten years old. It’s sort of a demarcation point between the cheaper, small-batch, bottled-in-bond stuff and the single barrels, unicorns, and super old stuff (think 20-plus years). Bourbon whiskeys around ten years old (or maybe a couple of years older) are a little more expensive, a little more refined, and a little more extra but they’re not always harder to find.
In fact, great ten, 12, and even 15-year expressions are readily available.
To that end, I’m tasting ten bourbon whiskeys blind that are at least ten years old. Then, I’m going to rank those bourbons based on taste alone. While ten years is the baseline, there are a couple of bourbons on this list that hit 12 to 16 years too, and I threw on one bourbon that’s a blend of 12 and 16-year-old barrels to see how it stands up.
Our lineup today includes:
Knob Creek 12 Year
Redemption High-Rye Bourbon 10 Year
Blue Run 13 Year Winter Batch
Copper Tongue 16 Year
Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition 2021 (a blend of 12 to 16-yo bourbons)
This opens with clear notes of cherry, dark chocolate, winter spices, and a hint of menthol. The palate leans into a red berry crumble with a hint of chili flake spice, salted caramels covered in dark chocolate, and a spicy/sweet note that leads towards a wet cattail stem and soft brandied cherries dipped in silky dark chocolate sauce.
Taste 2
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
There are hints of soft vanilla and honey tempered by old toffee candies and a big leathery underbelly. The palate has notes of espresso bean oils, a hint of bacon fat, and a few cranks off of a black pepper mill that’s balanced by vanilla pudding topped with Cherries Jubilee with a hint of brandy and spice. The mid-palate leads towards a dry wicker chair next to a dusting of lemon pepper.
Taste 3
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This is a straight-up classic on the nose with hints of rich vanilla next to buttery caramel, old yet soft oak, and a touch of orchard fruit. The taste is all about that vanilla with a creamy softness next to an old leather tobacco pouch stuffed into an old cedar box. There’s a nice wintry spice mildness near the finish that leads towards pure silk and a hint of savory green herbs.
Taste 4
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
The nose on this one has this mix of health food store bran and multivitamins (hello, Dickel) that leads towards raw sourdough pancake batter with a touch of butter cornbread, cinnamon-apple toast, and leather tobacco. The palate has a soft and creamy eggnog vibe and spice countered by a cellar full of cobwebs and bowing beams and sticky tobacco notes that lead back to the health food store and a vanilla protein powder.
Taste 5
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a southern biscuit that’s just been popped out of a Pilsbury tube with a hint of honey and butter next to vanilla pods, red berries, and a mint by way of cedar on the nose. The taste is pure silk with a spicy plum jam next to orange oils, dark chocolate, and a wet reed-filled mid-palate. The finish dries out with some dried mint before clove and nutmeg-laced dark chocolate takes over.
Taste 6
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Well, here’s the other Dickel. The nose on this is almost identical to taste 4 with that pancake batter and multivitamin most prominent but then there’s more a cherry pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream vibe that has echos of apple tobacco. The palate has a Cherry Coke that turns into a red Flinstone’s Multivitamin before bourbon-soaked cedar planks, vanilla cream, and a cherry tobacco drive the taste towards the finish. A note of dry cedar and cellar funk round off the end.
Taste 7
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Dark stone fruits mingle with vanilla beans, applewood, cinnamon and clove spiciness, and a good rush of worn leather on the nose. The palate is pure sticky toffee pudding with plenty of toffee sauce, dates, and spice next to candied orange peels and cherries with a hint of an old cedar tobacco box rounding everything out. There’s a Graham cracker vibe that leads almond shells, dry firewood, and a hint of apple fritters on the end.
Taste 8
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
There’s that raw pancake batter note again. This time it’s tempered by mulled red wine with plenty of spice and orange next to a vanilla pudding and light mint wax. The taste has a mix of marzipan next to dark chocolate and real maple syrup. The finish adds some cherry to that dark chocolate and layers in woody birch water on the end.
Taste 9
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Dark yet soft cherry, worn leather, dried orange peels, rich toffee, cedar, and fresh sage mix on the nose. The palate has rich marzipan mingling with silky dark chocolate, candied almonds, fresh honey, more of that dark cherry, and a spicy holiday cake. A light cedar note kicks in and leads towards almost sticky cherry tobacco with more of that holiday cake and a light touch of dry reeds all countered by a velvety light touch that’s just … fantastic.
Taste 10
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Soft wood and worn leather mix with dark berry compote, a touch of dark spice, and a hint of maple syrup on the nose. That maple syrup drives the palate towards soft and creamy eggnog spices, a hint of espresso, and a distant echo of cherry cotton candy. Berry brambles arrive (stems and all) with a spiced vanilla cream floating on a creamy espresso with a dry grass and dry marzipan-laced tobacco leaf end.
Part 2: The Ranking
Zach Johnston
9. Redemption 10 Year Barrel Proof High Rye Bourbon — Taste 2
Redemption has a knack for sourcing some of the best barrels from MGP in Indiana. This multi-award-winning bourbon starts off with a base mash bill of 60 percent corn, 36 percent rye, and four percent barley. After ten years of maturation, the barrels are expertly vatted to make a highly sippable bourbon experience. That marriage of bourbons then goes into the bottle, uncut and unfiltered.
Bottom Line:
This is where things get hard … already. This was pretty freaking good. It was interesting. But something had to be last and there was a pretty big gap between this and number one, two, and three. However, the gap between this and numbers eight through four is pretty much paper-thin.
This release from Diageo’s Orphan Barrel program is from Cascade Hollow Distilling Co., better known as George Dickel. The juice is a marrying of two 16-year-old bourbon barrels that were hand-selected by Dickel Master Distiller Nicole Austin. The ABV is very low for a “barrel-proof” bourbon, which is what makes this an interesting bottle.
Bottom Line:
I really didn’t know where to put these Dickels on the list. I really dig that they are so damn unique. But I think that uniqueness wasn’t quite enough to stand up to the deeper notes in some of the other bottles in the blind taste today.
The juice in this bottle 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.
Bottom Line:
Since these two Dickels are so, so similar (in profile and age), I really couldn’t see not having them ranked as a tie. They’re both unique and, well, new tasting, which I really dig.
On another day, I could see one of these winning for those one-of-a-kind notes.
This is sourced from Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee bourbons. The hand-selected barrels are sent to New York where they’re blended in small batches (no more than five barrels), proofed with New York limestone mine water, and bottled. What you’re paying for here is the exactness of a whiskey blender finding great barrels and knowing how to marry them to make something bigger and better.
Bottom Line:
This ranked a little lower mostly because it sort of petered out late in the taste. Otherwise, it’s a solid pour that I 100 percent want to go back to as an on the rocks sipper.
This sourced juice (from an undisclosed Kentucky distillery) was hand-picked by Jim Rutledge and the Blue Run team for its brilliance. Rutledge, who brought Four Roses back into the mainstream, really dug in to find some of the best barrels still available in this higher age range to create this bourbon.
Bottom Line:
This, again, was pretty great. The only reason it’s slightly lower today is that it was only classic and not that little bit extra like the next few on the list.
5. 2021 Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch — Taste 5
This year’s LE Small Batch is a blend of four bourbons. Four Roses is renowned for its ten distinct recipes with two mash bills and five yeast strains. This whiskey marries four of those recipes with two from Mash B (very high rye) and two from Mash Bill E (high rye). The yeasts at play are “delicate fruit,” “spice essence,” and “floral essence.” The barrels ranged from 12 to 16 years old, making this a fairly old bourbon, all things considered.
Bottom Line:
This was another one that could have been anywhere from eighth to first on this list. There’s not a single fault in this juice.
This is classic Beam whiskey with a low-ish rye mash bill of 77 percent corn, 13 percent rye, and ten percent malted barley. The juice is then left alone in the Beam warehouses for 12 long years. The barrels are chosen according to a specific taste and married to create this higher-proof expression.
Bottom Line:
This was so easy and straightforward. This was another of the drams I truly wanted to go back to. Not because it was overly complex or challenging, but becasue it was exactly the opposite while still being very well built and damn tasty.
3. Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond 11 Year — Taste 7
The juice in this decanter is an eleven-year-old bourbon pulled from barrels in Warehouse EE. The wheated bourbon was loaded into the rickhouse back in the spring of 2010 and left alone until 2021. The whiskey was then vatted and proofed down to the bottled-in-bond proof of 50 percent or 100 proof, as per federal law.
Bottom Line:
This is just so damn tasty. Honestly, this could have been tied for second or first had the first place dram not hit so damn hard today.
The juice in this bottle is a little under wraps. Michter’s is currently distilling and aging their own whiskey, but this is still sourced. The actual barrels sourced for these single barrel expressions tend to be at least ten years old with some rumored to be closer to 15 years old (depending on the barrel’s quality, naturally). Either way, the juice goes through Michter’s bespoke filtration process before a touch of Kentucky’s iconic soft limestone water is added, bringing the bourbon down to a very crushable 94.4 proof.
Bottom Line:
This is the bottle I would have put money on me picking as my number one. In fact, I told myself that what did hit number one must be this. I was mistaken.
All of that aside, this was pretty much perfection.
This might be one of the most beloved (and still accessible) bottles from Buffalo Trace. This juice is made from their very low rye mash bill. The whiskey is then matured for at least ten 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.
Bottom Line:
Nothing came close to this today. It was like a safe port in a tumultuous storm.
Part 3: Final Thoughts
Zach Johnston
It’s probably not a surprise, if you follow my whiskey writing, that I picked Michter’s and Eagle Rare in the top slots in this blind taste test. I do drink a lot of those brands’ whiskeys and go on and on about them. But you know what? That’s because they’re some of the best out there right now. If you can find any of the three bottles at the top of this list, you’ll be in good hands.
As for the rest, there was so little distance between them quality-wise. Another day, another lineup, and any one of these bottles could have ended up on top. But not today.
I think the big outlier today was the two Dickel expressions (Dickel 15 Year and Copper Tongue). They’re so damn unique and tasty while really offering something different and new. I’m struggling with where to place those entries in the grand scheme of things. One thing I can say is that they’re really starting to grow on me and I’m starting to look for flavor profiles that aren’t afraid of breaking the mold, just like those two do.
The 2022 NBA All-Star Game is less than a month away, as the festivities in Cleveland are lined up for February 20 (pushed back a week from usual now that the Super Bowl is a week later with the NFL’s new 18-game schedule).
Over the next few weeks, we’ll learn what players will be making the pilgrimage to northeast Ohio to participate in the various events, from the revamped Rising Stars Game to the Saturday night competitions to the game itself on Sunday. Thursday brought word of the first 10 players who will be heading to Cleveland as the All-Star starters (albeit with at least one likely to be replaced due to injury).
The Inside the NBA crew unveiled the starters (delivered in a fancy locked briefcase to ensure no leaks) on Thursday night and there were few surprises. As a reminder, the starters are determined by the fan vote (50 percent), player vote (25 percent), and media vote (25 percent). We’ve gotten weekly fan voting updates throughout the process, so we were aware of who was in the drivers seat for spots, and there only seemed like one position of real question, with Andrew Wiggins holding the third West frontcourt spot with the fans.
Along with the questions about the final West frontcourt spot behind LeBron James and Nikola Jokic, there was some intrigue regarding potential first-time All-Stars landing spots, namely Ja Morant.
EAST
Kevin Durant (captain)
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Joel Embiid
DeMar DeRozan
Trae Young
WEST
LeBron James (captain)
Nikola Jokic
Andrew Wiggins
Stephen Curry
Ja Morant
Wiggins remained in that third frontcourt spot the fans had him in, as the West frontcourt picture beyond Jokic and James was muddied by injuries to the usual suspects (Anthony Davis, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green, etc.) and Wiggins’ career-year on one of the league’s best teams earned him the nod.
Wiggins is joined by fellow first-time All-Star Morant, who has jumped into not just All-Star position but a starting spot with his play this season. Young, meanwhile, earns a second starting nod (after missing out on the All-Star Game last year). The backcourts in both conferences are loaded with talent and securing a spot from the fan/player/media vote is important because there will undoubtedly be a player or two from each conference who felt they belonged as All-Stars this year who will miss out when the reserves are announced.
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