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“Sourced” bourbon elicits a wide range of reactions from whiskey drinkers. Some still think it’s a dirty word (or practice) in the industry, others look down on brands that don’t create their own mash. In reality, sourcing whiskey is commonplace and has been going on as long as we’ve been making whiskey for commerce in this country. Period.

Also, much of it is incredibly good. Ask any whiskey judge, reviewer, or aficionado.

One of the biggest sources for bourbon (and rye) in the U.S. is MGP of Indiana in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, just over the Ohio River from Kentucky. MGP juice ends up in a lot of bottles of whiskey on your local shelves — just look for “Made in Indiana” somewhere on the label. In part, this is because they allow distillers to come into their facility and contract distill their own whiskey without having to spend millions on a facility. On top of that, distillers at MGP make a long list of mash bills and aging/finishings that are ready to be blended and proofed by master blenders (also known as non-distiller producers) — giving creative upstart brands a ton of flexibility.

It’s kind of like the chance to set up a micro-distillery inside a massive industrial distillery. A chance to be legit (and even content for awards) without having to start from scratch.

With all of that in mind, we’re calling out 20 MGP bourbon whiskeys that we love drinking. The only real litmus with the list below was whether or not the bourbon tastes any good. For those who really get bourbon and the power of blends, that’s all that should matter.

Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of 2021

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• Every Winning Bourbon From Our 2021 Taste Tests, Blind Tasted And Re-Ranked
• The Best Value-Per-Dollar Bourbon Whiskeys, Ranked
• All 19 Brands From The Buffalo Trace Distillery, Ranked

20. Brother’s Bond Bourbon

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $44

The Whiskey:

This celebrity whiskey comes from Vampire Diaries actors Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder. The juice is from an “undisclosed” source but from Indiana (so, that’s all you need to know). 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 super easy to drink, which is the point. It’s accessible, even for the casual bourbon fan, and affordable, which makes it a pretty good candidate for highballs.

19. Cathead Old Soul Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $45

The Whiskey:

This is a blend of two bourbons. The base is a five-year-old, high-rye mash bill bourbon from MGP. That’s cut with a four-year-old bourbon distilled in Mississippi that’s also has a high-rye mash bill.

Tasting Notes:

Caramel and vanilla greet you in classic bourbon form. Then the sip veers into an old library with a pall of tobacco smoke and the lingering presence of old leather. Ripe cherries take you in another direction altogether before the caramel sweetness returns along with the rye spice to finish things off.

Bottom Line:

I can’t overstate how classic this feels from top to bottom. The slightly higher ABV makes this a great candidate for bright and citrus-forward cocktails as well. It might be time to start shaking up those whiskey smashes and sours.

18. Oak & Eden Bourbon & Spire

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $44

The Whiskey:

This Texas whiskey is planning on being fully and truly from Texas very soon. For now, the juice is primarily sourced from MGP. Oak & Eden ships those barrels down to Texas where they blend their whiskey and then add the oak spire to recreate a sort of double-barrel finish in the bottle.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a Red Hots cinnamon-sweet opening, with plenty of oak, hints of caramel, and a slight touch of woody vanilla and pine. The extra oak creates a dry mouthfeel with a continued spicy/sweet edge that’s welcoming, while hints of orchard fruits mingle with butterscotch and a hint of bitterness. The finish is fairly short, dry, oaky, and resurfaces the Red Hots note for a warming end.

Bottom Line:

I know this feels like a huge gimmick, but the whiskey 100 percent delivers on the taste and mouthfeel. That all being said, I’d still say we’re squarely in cocktail mixing territory with this one. It’s fine over the rocks but a little sweet vermouth and bitters help it really shine.

17. Savage & Cooke The Burning Chair

ABV: 44%

Average Price: $58

The Whiskey:

This whiskey marries Napa Valley winemaking to Ohio Valley whiskey. Winemaker Dave Phinney sources four-year-old bourbons from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana and brings those to Napa. Once there, the bourbon is filled into Cabernet barrels for final maturation. Finally, the bourbon is cut with pure spring water from California’s Alexander Valley before bottling.

Tasting Notes:

Those barrels come through with a note of a dry lumber yard next to caramel apples, butterscotch candy wrappers, and a sliver of vanilla bean. That vanilla drives the palate and comes creamy and thick as apples stewed in eggnog spices kick in with a slight woody maple syrup sweetness and sweet red grapes. That sweet note drives the mid-palate towards a finish that warms with the holiday spices and almost hot apple cider next to a vanilla cookie with a dusting of maple brown sugar.

Bottom Line:

This is a solid example of what a master blender can do with a unique finishing. It’s complex, easy-drinking, and clearly built. It works pretty damn well in a cocktail but is also a nice end-of-the-day pour over some rocks too.

16. James E. Pepper 1776 Bourbon

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $34

The Whiskey:

James E. Pepper whiskey has a long and tumultuous history as a brand that was on top of the whiskey world until the late 1950s when everything started falling apart for bourbon. The brand was resurrected in the 2010s and currently sources its high-rye bourbon — 60 percent corn, 36 percent rye, and four percent malted barley — from MGP in Indiana and Bardstown Bourbon Company in Kentucky. That three to four-year-old juice is vatted and then proofed with water from the old James E. Pepper limestone water well.

Tasting Notes:

The nose draws you in with hints of dry cloves soaked in fresh honey with touches of vanilla bean, cinnamon-stewed pear, a hint of popcorn, and mild chocolate powder. The palate adds a nutty base to the chocolate as more warming spice kicks in and leads towards an echo of wet grain, damp wicker, and old vanilla pods. The finish sweetens again thanks to that chocolate-nut vibe as a spice kicks back up with plenty of cloves, a hint of orange marmalade, and vanilla-laced tobacco.

Bottom Line:

This is an excellent old fashioned bourbon. It has a nice spice and orange hint that pairs perfectly with the old-school cocktail.

15. Pinhook Bohemia Bourbon High-Proof

ABV: 57.25%

Average Price: $53

The Whiskey:

Pinhook’s contract distilled bourbon is all about refinement. The expression is made from 100 barrels that are matured for 34 months before being small-batched by Pinhook’s Master Taster Sean Josephs. The juice is barely touched with that soft Kentucky limestone water to take the edge off.

Tasting Notes:

This opens with a lemon curd vibe with a buttered bread — nearly croissant — feel next to a mild dose of spiced fruits. The taste is toffee sweet but is countered by a powdered dark chocolate bitterness, marzipan smoothness, and plenty of that creamy citrus. The sip ends quietly and fades quickly, leaving you with a nice touch of lemon oils next to dark chocolate powder and a hint of spicy stewed oranges.

Bottom Line:

This, again, is so unique. It’s a little young but the breadiness you get from that youth is well-layered into the overall vibe of the sip and makes perfect sense. Regardless, try it on the rocks and then start mixing up some killer cocktails.

14. Nulu Single Barrel

ABV: 52.1%

ABV: $56

The Whiskey:

Nulu is barreling hand-selected barrels from MGP for barrel clubs, retailers, and their own brand. Their single barrels — which tend to be four to five years old — are bottled at cask strength with no fussing or filtering whatsoever.

Tasting Notes:

Expect a nose that’s nutty, full of oatmeal raisins cookies with plenty of cinnamon and nutmeg, and a spicy cedar vibe that leans towards peppery tobacco leaves. The palate really amps up the oatmeal raisin cookie vibe with plenty of almost sweet cinnamon, brandied raisins, dark Caro syrup, and a rush of dried tobacco leaves jammed into a cedar box. That dried tobacco adds a layer of cherry on the mid-palate and leads towards a finish that has a layer of suede next to firewood bark with a hint of black soil as it fades away, leaving you with that cherry tobacco and a hint of peppery spice.

Bottom Line:

This is a great example of how beautiful a single barrel from MGP can be. These single barrel picks tend to have serious depth, layered flavor profiles, and almost always go in interesting directions. Just make sure to add a rock or a few drops of water to really dig into this one.

13. Penelope Bourbon Barrel Strength

ABV: 57.6%

Average Price: $66

The Whiskey:

Penelope Bourbon is another great example of what a master blender can do with MGP whiskey. In this case, three barrels were blended — aged three to five years — to create a barrel strength expression that highlights the quality of those casks. The final product ended up being a four-grain bourbon with a mash bill of 74 percent corn, 16 percent wheat, seven percent rye, and three percent malted barley.

Tasting Notes:

The nose on this bursts forth with peaches, red berries, blueberry, and an almost savory gooseberry next to cotton candy, a touch of toffee, and very light-yet-sweet oak. The palate shines as the peaches and berries combine to make a sort of summer fruit crumble with plenty of butter, dark sugar, and spice alongside a thin line of soft leather, rich vanilla, and more of that sweet oak. The mid-palate sweetens with more cotton candy before diving into a warming and spicy finish that keeps the spice sweet and subtle.

Bottom Line:

The fruitiness of this bourbon is outstanding (even neat). I dig this on two or three rocks, but will easily drink it from a Glencairn with a drop of water. It also makes a hell of a Manhattan.

12. Old Elk Wheated Bourbon

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $70

The Whiskey:

This whiskey — bottled in Colorado — takes the idea of wheated bourbon to the very edge of its limits. The mash bill carries a whopping 45 percent wheat, pushing this very close to being a wheated whiskey. The sourced juice is then aged for an undisclosed amount of years before it’s batched and cut down to proof with that soft Rocky Mountain spring water Colorado is known for.

Tasting Notes:

You’re drawn in by a big bowl of vanilla ice cream drizzled with salted caramel sauce next to a very faint hint of dried florals. The palate builds on that ice cream, creating a sundae with crushed almonds, creamy toffee brittle, and a hint of eggnog spice. The end is medium-length with a touch of that buttery sweetness carrying the sip to a warm end.

Bottom Line:

I think the best description of this whiskey is that it is just “nice.” It’s so nice to sip, mix, and enjoy. There are no rough edges whatsoever and it feels warming without being “spicy.” It’s just … really nice.

11. High West American Prairie

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $50

The Whiskey:

American Prairie is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after sourced whiskeys. The whiskey in the bottle is a blend of two to 13-year-old barrels rendered from high-rye, low-rye, and undisclosed source mash bills. The release supports the American Prairie Reserve by highlighting the project and supporting it financially.

Tasting Notes:

This opens with caramel apples next to new leather, vanilla pudding, and sweet buttered corn with a touch of salt. The palate has a nougat svelteness next to creamed corn and Southern biscuits dripping with butter and honey. The mid-palate to finish starts to dry out with vanilla husks and cedar bark but then veers into apple candy.

Bottom Line:

This is a very direct and easy-to-drink bourbon that feels both bold and classic. I really dig this on the rocks to let the leather and buttery underbelly shine through, especially when I’m looking for a corn-forward and mildly sweet bourbon.

10. Smoke Wagon Uncut Unfiltered Bourbon

ABV: Varies

Average Price: $75

The Whiskey:

Smoke Wagon’s meteoric rise can be attributed to their crew masterfully sourcing and blending some of the best barrels from MGP of Indiana that were made available in the modern era. Case in point, the latest batch from the company was a high-rye bourbon (60 percent corn, 36 percent rye, and four percent malted barley) that was an instant hit and was filled into bottles with no fussing at all.

Tasting Notes:

Based on Batch 29, expect a nose full of classic bourbon notes of orange oils, cinnamon stewed apples, caramel with a touch of salt, and peachy wood chips. The palate really embraces the fruit and moves from that peach vibe towards a blackberry crumble that’s just kissed with nutmeg and clove that leads towards a hint of old leather, singed cedar planks, and a late hint of cherry-touched tobacco. That leather, berry tobacco, and cedar drive the finish towards a dry end.

Bottom Line:

I tried this again last week and it’s just freaking delicious. Drink it neat, on the rocks, or mixed into your favorite cocktail. You will not be disappointed.

9. Stellum Bourbon

ABV: 57.49%

Average Price: $55

The Whiskey:

The juice in this bottle is a cask-strength blend of whiskeys from Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. This whiskey is all about the blending process that Stellum employs to make this special and award-winning juice. Basically, the process is a sort of hybrid reverse solera technique where the blend gets more juice to keep the proof high and consistent in flavor as the batch is drained off. It’s a delicate balance of mixing great whiskeys to make something better than the individual parts.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is a holiday cake with fatty nuts next to woody spice barks — think anise, clove, and cinnamon — with a nice dose of dried red fruits and honey-dipped over-ripe Granny Smith apples. The palate edges away from the spice towards a powdered sugar sweetness with a hint of dry vanilla. Then a counterpoint bursts onto the scene with a hit of spicy, dried chili pepper flakes next to blackberry pie with a nice dose of cinnamon and nutmeg. The end lingers for just the right amount of time as the spice fades back towards the honeyed sweetness and a final touch of vanilla tobacco buzz lands in the back of the throat.

Bottom Line:

This is a damn near-perfect everyday bourbon. It’s just complex enough to keep your attention while being so easy to drink, you’ll keep coming back for more. All that spice also makes it perfect for Manhattans or Sazeracs.

8. Smooth Ambler Old Scout

ABV: 49.5%

Average Price: $41

The Whiskey:

Old Scout is MGP’s classic high rye bourbon — 60 percent corn, 36 percent rye, and four percent malt barley — that’s aged for five years. The juice is batched in small quantities and proofed down with West Virginia’s Appalachian water.

Tasting Notes:

The nose draws you in with a soft masa vibe with a mix of Tex-Mex spices (think chili powder and a hint of cumin and garlic powder) that’s countered by cedar park and chocolate-laced tobacco leaves (the nose takes me straight back to my favorite childhood Tex-Mex joint). The taste veers more towards a classic bourbon with cherry tobacco and bales of damp straw next to a smooth vanilla foundation cinnamon-infused dark chocolate and a touch of dry oak. The finish lingers for a bit as vanilla toffees, a smidge of marshmallow, and spicy cherry tobacco round everything out.

Bottom Line:

That nose! It blows me away every time. I’ll admit that the palate is very classic, spicy, fruity bourbon (that’s perfectly good), but that Tex-Mex nose really does it for me as being both unique and nostalgic.

7. Redemption 10 Year Barrel Proof High Rye Bourbon

ABV: 57.2%

Average Price: $102

The Whiskey:

Redemption has a knack for sourcing some of the best barrels from MGP. This multi-award-winning bourbon starts off with a base mash bill of, you guessed it, 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.

Tasting Notes:

There’s woody vanilla and floral honey vibe on the nose with a touch of almost burnt toffee and worn leather. Espresso beans mix with a dab of smoky bacon fat that leads towards a slightly bitter black peppercorn. Slight creamy vanilla leads towards a hint of soft cherry sweetness as the pepperiness edges towards lemon pepper soaked in honey, with a slight note of green reeds at the end. The finish dries out and amps up the spiciness as a hint of dark chocolate lingers on the very finish.

Bottom Line:

This is so drastically different to the other barrels/blends on this list of the exact same mash bill that’s it almost feels like magic. That aside, this is one of the easiest sipping bourbons on the list. Add a rock or drop or two of water and really dig in.

6. Belle Meade Single Barrel

ABV: 54.65%

Average Price: $89 (Limited)

The Whiskey:

This expression is all about the prowess of the team at Nelson Green Brier. Each of these barrels is hand-selected for its beauty and then bottled at cask strength to let that barrel shine through in the finished product.

Tasting Notes:

The nose opens with deep vanilla that mingles with hints of dark chocolate sugar cookies with a touch of mint. The palate centers the creamy vanilla while adding in a cinnamon bark vibe with notes of black pepper and floral honey moved into the background. The end is long-ish and carries more of that vanilla cream while that cinnamon becomes slightly chewy with a dried choco-mint tobacco buzz on the tip of the tongue.

Bottom Line:

This is a bottle you save for special occasions (if you can find one). It’s an incredible sipper that, again, is so unique. That chocolate-mint vibe is delectable.

5. Widow Jane Aged 10 Years

ABV: 45.5%

Average Price: $77

The Whiskey:

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.

Tasting Notes:

This has a matrix of rich vanilla pudding next to oranges infused with mulled wine spices and … Irish Spring soap. It definitely works and draws you in. The palate is all marzipan and dark chocolate-covered brandy cherries that lead towards a dry maply syrup mid-palate. The finish dries out a bit more while still holding onto the cherry, bitter dark chocolate, and almost woody maple syrup.

Bottom Line:

Every time I taste this I wonder where’s it been all my life. It’s such an easy-drinking bourbon with nice, approachable complexity. Pour some over some rocks and just enjoy it.

4. Joseph A. Magnus Cigar Blend Bourbon

ABV: 50.35%

Average Price: $230

The Whiskey:

This sourced bourbon is built from eleven and 18-year-old bourbons. The real star of the show with this whiskey is that those bourbons were finished in Armagnac, Cognac, and sherry casks before vatting and bottling as-is.

Tasting Notes:

This opens with sticky toffee pudding that really amps up the cinnamon and nutmeg next to black-tea-soaked dates next to some stewed prunes wrapped in chili-chocolate-laced tobacco leaves and dripped in honey and then walnuts. A savory fruitiness opens the palate with figs and pumpkin that leads towards an apricot jam with a hint of clove and cinnamon next to light touches of old library leather and cobwebs. A faint hint of dark berries arrives on the mid-palate before the finish luxuriates in burnt toffee, almond shells, more of that leather, and dried-out apricots.

Bottom Line:

These releases are consistently delicious. They will challenge your palate while expanding it, all while tasting damn near perfect. Make sure to add a little water to really let this one bloom in the glass.

3. Nashville Barrel Co. Single Barrel Bourbon #1114, Selected by Fred Minnick

ABV: 59.32%

Average Price: $125

The Whiskey:

Nashville Barrel Company is going some of the most interesting work with barrels “from an undisclosed distillery in Indiana.” In this case, the single barrel was a seven-year-old bourbon that was bottled as-is. The hook here is that the bottle was personally selected by famed bourbon expert Fred Minnick to support the Spina Bifida Association, which is helping families deal with the condition nationwide.

Tasting Notes:

Expect classic notes of brown sugar and cherry crumble with light vanilla, hints of leather, and a touch of baking spice. The palate is velvety with a ride through soft spices (think nutmeg), a light toffee brittle, hints of spicy tobacco, and a very light echo of marshmallow. The spice, vanilla, and brown sugar drive the finish towards a light but warming end that lingers on the senses.

Bottom Line:

Having tasted through tons of barrels at Nashville Barrel Company, I can attest that their crew is pulling some of the best barrels available on the market. This barrel pick is no different and will make a great addition to any home bar (plus, it tastes damn good).

Also, if this sells out (which it is likely to do very soon), keep an eye on Seelbachs.com for more Nashville Barrel Company picks.

2. Remus Repeal Reserve Series V Straight Bourbon

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $94

The Whiskey:

Last year’s Remus Repeal Reserve V is a hell of a whiskey. The MGP of Indiana (now Ross & Squibb) signature bourbon is comprised of nine percent 2005 bourbon with a 21 percent high-rye mash, five percent 2006 bourbon with a very high-rye mash of 36 percent of the sticky grain, 19 percent 2006 bourbon with the same 21 percent high-rye mash, 13 percent 2008 bourbon with that 21 percent rye mash, and 54 percent 2008 bourbon with the 36 percent high-rye mash.

Tasting Notes:

The nose on this is brilliantly fruity with touches of fresh raspberries, strawberries resting in dry straw, candied cherries, freshly peeled mandarins, apple cores and stems, and a touch of caramel malts. That caramel sweetness merges into a fresh honeycomb next to Dr. Brown’s Cream Soda vanilla flavor and pep while the fruit dries out, leaving you with meaty dried figs, dates, and prunes driving the midpalate toward the finish. A touch of candied ginger spices things up as a fruity but dry tobacco leaf rounds out the end with the faintest touch of walnut shells.

Bottom Line:

Okay, this isn’t “sourced” since it is MGP’s own brand. Still, this is an MGP whiskey and a delicious one at that. This is so easy-drinking while also being perfectly complex and palate expanding.

1. Barrell Craft Spirits Bourbon Aged 15 Years

ABV: 52.5%

Average Price: $250

The Whiskey:

Barrell Craft Spirits is another craft blendery that’s sourcing some of the best barrels in the game and expertly marrying those barrels. This expression blends 15-year-old bourbons from Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennesse into a final product that reaches new heights for blended bourbon.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a lot to draw you in with this nose of rich tobacco spiciness next to soft cedar, tart cherry pie filling, saffron stewed pears, salted toffee, and what almost feels like the salted water left after boiling artichokes (seriously). The fruitiness really builds as the cherry leads towards a bowl full of ripe raspberries swimming in cream with a dusting of dark spices and brown sugar that’s countered by a dose of floral tea leaves, culminating with a mildly bitter coffee bean. The end is long and really holds onto the cherry and raspberry fruit while a note of that soft cedar dips back in with a hint of menthol tobacco buzz.

Bottom Line:

These silver label drops from Barrell Craft Spirits are always going to wow. This is a perfect whiskey, full stop. Pour it neat, add a drop or two of water, and enjoy the ride.

The Gilded Age (HBO, 9:00pm) — Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes heads into (as the title suggests) the American Gilded Age with Christine Baranski in a dramatic role and Cynthia Nixon making us all imagine how Miranda Hobbes would fare in Old New York. This story takes place in the highest society of 1880s New York, where old and new money collide, as do the wigs and costumes on familiar faces. Those include Carrie Coon and Morgan Spector, oh and also, Louisa Jacobson happens to be the daughter of Meryl Streep, so you’ll want to hop on that bandwagon early.

Snowpiercer (TNT, 9:00pm) — Somehow, this TV adaptation of the 2013 Bong Joon Ho movie began on a procedural note and then gained momentum in Season 2 before it did the unthinkable: decided to cast Sean Bean and not kill him. Well, Bean’s Mr. Wilford must be hellaciously angry over the split-train thing, and fortunately, Jennifer Connelly will return after Melanie pulled a fast one. This week, Wilford is stressing rules while the pirate train looks for warm spots on Eartg,

4400 (CW, 8:00pm) — The government’s doling out obstacles while Bois Blanc is nervous, and there’s shocking information heading toward Jharrel.

Ordinary Joe (NBC, 10:00pm) — James Wolk’s still playing three Joes, including a cop and a nurse and a rock star. Music Joe is not doing well while Nurse Joe is on a road trip, and Cop Joe is desperate to impress.

Kenan (NBC, 8:00pm) — Kenan has a new secret girlfriend, and he’s at odds with Mika, all while she’s being accused of being a workaholic.

The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon — Tiffany Haddish, Paris Hilton, Earl Sweatshirt

Late Night With Seth Meyers — Milo Ventimiglia, James Austin Johnson, Larnell Lewis

In case you missed this recent pick:

Servant: Season 3 (Apple TV+ series) — M. Night Shyamalan wraps up his current showrunning and directing duties with his cult-focused series that should wrap up what’s going on with that spooky nanny. Baby Jericho’s returned, and the tension’s all the way up to eleven, but the horror still has another round to go before either releasing or destroying this entire cast of characters.

As Jackass Forever prepares to hit theaters next month, Steve-O is pulling double duty as the wild stuntman also kicks off his new comedy tour, The Bucket List, which he hopes will bring him towards the final evolution in his career, where his life will still be in imminent danger, but at least Marc Maron will finally respect him. Maybe. It’s a lot.

In a lengthy profile that goes all the way back to his misadventures in the sixth grade, Steve-O (real name: Stephen Glover) opens up about his whirlwind life of working in carnivals, starring in Jackass, and his well-document struggles with substance abuse and recovery. While Steve-O openly admits that his career until now was never part of a grand design and was mostly him flying by the seat of his pants, he does have an oddly specific plan for moving past his Jackass persona and going out in a blaze of glory as just Steve Glover, stand-up comedian. Naturally, it involves getting breast implants and having a gun fired at his face. Via Men’s Health:

To get to this oasis, Glover has mapped out what he calls a “delusional vision.” First, Jackass director Tremaine will watch The Bucket List and agree to help him present it to Netflix, which will buy and distribute it, enabling Glover to play his next shows in arenas. “That felt grandiose and kind of crazy, but I can’t help it,” he says of dreaming aloud of something on that scale. His final outing will be the Gone Too Far tour and will feature, among other stunts, Glover receiving breast implants (“huge, hairy man titties,” as he says); getting a penis tattooed over his eyebrow; and having a bullet shot through his open jaw, which will cause comedy “purists” like Marc Maron to take him seriously as a stand-up. Then he will finally be free from the blessed trap of being Steve-O: generating enough attention to fulfill his primal need but in a way that keeps him from garnering the esteem he truly craves.

Later in the interview, Steve-O reveals that he’s been concerned about his stage name going all the way back to 1996 and was afraid the nickname would stick. Clearly, he was right, so we wish him the best of luck in untethering himself from the Steve-O moniker. And with the whole “bullet through the mouth thing.” Although, maybe he should reconsider that one. Maybe. Just think about it, Steve-O.

(Via Men’s Health)

Ever since the Bailey sisters, Chloe X Halle, got separate social media accounts, they’ve been distinguishing themselves in different ways. While Halle, the younger sister and the star of Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of the 1989 classic The Little Mermaid, has posted more wholesome content (sweet potato pies!) and acoustic covers of pop hits on her bass (check out her rendition of Radiohead’s “Creep“), Chloe has been promoting her upcoming solo album with snippets and high-fashion photoshoots. However, the one thing they still have in common is those covers, with Chloe taking on tracks like Adele’s “Easy On Me.”

Chloe’s latest cover, however, might be the most impressive one yet, as she takes on soul icon Minnie Riperton’s 1974 classic “Lovin’ You.” Along with its post-chorus “la la la” breakdown, the single is notorious for Riperton’s whistle-tone ad-lib, which few singers can hit. Well, we can now consider Chloe among those elite vocalists, as she reaches for the heavens, nailing the sky-high note the song is famous for and setting Twitter abuzz.

Even Chloe herself seems impressed by the achievement, commenting on Twitter, “when you hit a note you’ve been waiting to hit your whole life.” Just try not to think about this rendition being inspired by her rumored beau Gunna, with whom she was seen holding hands recently — although they’ve both denied being in a relationship. It’ll knock their recent collaboration on DS4EVER — and all their future songs — into a whole new, dizzying context.

Check out Chloe’s cover of “Lovin’ You” above.

Back in 2019, Netflix announced that Adam Sandler (whose moves have always been wildly popular on the streamer, regardless of quality) and Jennifer Aniston scored a home run with the very silly Murder Mystery. At the time, the streaming service sent out a Drudge siren-style tweet to celebrate how at least 30 million subscribers had watched at least part of the caper film. Netflix has slowly made motions to grow more transparent about how they measure “views,” but since this Sandler flick (and independent of Hubie Halloween), other movies have eclipsed the claimed number of watchers.

On Netflix’s relatively new Top 10-themed site, the total number of claimed views for their original movies is staggering. The star-studded Red Notice sits in first place with 364 million hours viewed. Don’t Look Up has attracted at least 349 million total hours while Bird Box is still going strong with 282 million, followed by Extraction at 231 million. Don’t count out The Sandman, though, because although he didn’t score a coveted Oscar nod for the dramatic Uncut Gems, he’s got more Murder Mystery juice coming. And although this sequel’s sure to be silly, there’s plenty of award-winning talent onboard. Via Variety:

As Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston get embroiled in another international caper for “Murder Mystery 2,” the Netflix sequel has rounded out its ensemble cast.

Mark Strong, Mélanie Laurent, Jodie Turner-Smith, Kuhoo Verma, Enrique Arce, Tony Goldwyn, Annie Mumolo and Zurin Villanueva have signed on for second installment, with Adeel Akhtar’s Maharajah and John Kani’s Colonel Ulenga returning.

If we’re going to run down the first three names alone, Mark Strong’s a Laurence Olivier Best Oscar winner while Melanie Laurent’s nabbed multiple César Awards, along with nabbing nominations for Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds. And Jodie Turner-Smith’s of Queen & Slim and the recent Queen Boleyn reimagining on AMC+. As of now, Murder Mystery 2 has no set release date, but one can expect that it will rack up the Sandler-inspired reviews, proving that he definitely never needed that Oscar nod at all.

(Via Variety)

There has been a rise in scams against the elderly during the pandemic. According to the FBI, American seniors were scammed for $1 billion dollars in 2020, up $300 million from the previous year.

To stay connected with friends and family during the pandemic, more seniors joined social media, opening them up to new avenues for fraud.

“The combination of online shopping and social media creates easy venues for scammers to post false advertisements,” the FBI report said. “Many victims report ordering items from links advertised on social media and either receiving nothing at all or receiving something completely unlike the advertised item.”

But when scammers came after 73-year-old Jean Ebbert in Long Island, New York, they had no idea they were dealing with a law enforcement veteran. Ebbert is a former 911 dispatcher, so she knows exactly what a scam looks like.

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Ebbert was texting with her son when she got a phone call from someone claiming to be her grandson who said he was in jail after being arrested for DUI. The problem was that Ebbert doesn’t have a grandson old enough to drive.

“I knew he was a real scammer. I just knew he wasn’t going to scam me,” Ebbert told CBS News.

Ebbert decided to play along with the scammer for fun. “It took about three hours of back-and-forth phone calls, maybe 15 phone calls,” Ebbert told Fox News.

The fun stopped when her family told her to call the police.

At that point, Ebbert was talking to someone posing as her fake grandson’s lawyer who said he needed $8,000 in bail money. “I told him I had the money in the house, and I figured, he’s not going to fall for that. Well, he fell for that hook, line, and sinker,” she said.

Scammer tackled by cops after grandmother, 73, lured him to her homehttps://trib.al/KH8QFAl

— Daily Mail US (@Daily Mail US)
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When a man arrived at the door claiming to be a bail bondsman, Ebbert handed him an envelope filled with paper towels and the police sprang out of nowhere to arrest him. They charged 28-year-old Joshua Estrella Gomez with attempted grand larceny in the third degree.

She attributes her 911 training to her success. “You have to think quick. You have to be able to multitask,” she told Fox News. “I had to come up with why I had money in the house.”

Local law enforcement are using the incident to remind people that scams against the elderly are rampant.

“Speak to your families. Speak to your neighbors. Visit those that are vulnerable. Let them know, don’t listen to these scams,” Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said. “These individuals sit at home and have nothing else to do but think of a way to take advantage of our elderly.”

Ebbert believes that elderly people should remain vigilant as well.

“I feel like gotcha, and I feel like, like you say, so many people fall for this and you only hear about it on the other end after they’ve lost $8,000,” she said.

It feels incredibly satisfying to see a senior citizen put one over on a scammer. But people should be careful when dealing with criminals and leave the dangerous job of law enforcement to the professionals.

Get ready to feast your ears on the baddest version of a bubble gum pop classic.

It’s always fun to hear gifted musicians completely reimagine familiar tunes, and bassist Charles Berthoud is no exception to that.

Berthoud delivers his masterful videos to more than 900,000 subscribers every week, with not only flawless precision, but wit and charm to boot. From playing the Seinfeld theme to turning Beethoven metal, seemingly no request is beyond his skill level.

Take a listen to his cover of “Barbie Girl,” by Aqua. With nine, count ’em, different variations—9.5 if you watch all the way through—and each one more intricate and complicated than the last.

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I’ve listened to this four times now, and I can confirm that it’s physically impossible to not bounce your head to the beat.

He even channels Bach for the seventh variation. Holy cow. Kids these days might not resonate with classical music as it was originally written, but therein lies the beauty of contemporary covers. When performed by remarkable artists like Berthoud, we can find new ways to appreciate the old.

If your jaw is on the floor after watching, you’re not alone. People were amazed, to say the least. As indicated by the influx of positive comments:

“Can’t wait to have this song stuck in my head all day, seriously impressive work!”

“Who knew Barbie Girl is one of the greatest music masterpieces ever created.”

“Well it’s going to be hard living with a melted face but I gotta admit that was pretty sick.”

I think one person summed up everyone’s reaction with this:

“Dude… How? How does a person get this good at anything? Incredible. It’s like seeing something supernatural.”

If you’re curious to hear even more of Berthoud’s bass-tastic tunes, you can check out his YouTube channel here.

And for fun, you can remind yourself of what the original Barbie Girl sounded like below. Yeah, it’s quite different.

Damon Albarn has made a lot of friends in the music world over the past few years with all the collaborations Gorillaz have done as part of the Song Machine series. Today, though, he has made an enemy: Taylor Swift.

In a recent Los Angeles Times interview, Albarn insisted that Swift “doesn’t write her own songs” and added, “[Co-writing] doesn’t count. I know what co-writing is. Co-writing is very different to writing. I’m not hating on anybody, I’m just saying there’s a big difference between a songwriter and a songwriter who co-writes.”

Now Swift has caught wind of that and she seems pretty bothered by it, as she took to Twitter today to note that she was previously “such a big fan of” Albarn before he said what he said. Swift wrote, “@DamonAlbarn I was such a big fan of yours until I saw this. 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*cked up to try and discredit my writing. WOW.” She added in a follow-up tweet, “PS I wrote this tweet all by myself in case you were wondering.”

This actually wasn’t the first time Albarn has thrown shade at Swift, as in a 2015 interview, he gave her a bit of backhanded praise, describing her as “remarkable, but not unique.”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

There’s no way to watch Rory Kennedy‘s Downfall: The Case Against Boeing (which premiered this week at the Sundance Film Festival) and not come away absolutely enraged. It’s not just that Boeing knew it had a problem before the first of two 737 Maxs crashed. And its not just they knew they had a problem after the second plane crashed. Its that they knew, over this design’s lifetime, a projected 15 would crash, yet they still sent them up every day. Then, instead of taking responsibility, decided instead to blame the pilots. (It’s so bad that there’s a scene of Ted Cruz, of all people, dressing down the then CEO of Boeing and I found myself actively rooting for Ted Cruz, a man I do not like.)

In a nutshell, the problem was a new system introduced by Boeing for the 737 Max called the MCAS (pronounced “em-cass”). Because the 737 Max has bigger engines for better fuel efficiency, they had to be placed on a different spot on the wings. The MCAS exists to automatically course correct the plane due to errors that might come out of the engines being in a different location. But, when new systems are introduced, that means new pilot training, which means money is lost, which means airlines might not buy these planes. So instead of training pilots on this new system, Boeing decided to not even mention it exists.

So when the system went haywire, the pilots on the first plane literally did not know why the computer on the plane was literally forcing it into the ocean. The pilots on the second crash by this point did know, but they did everything right and it still didn’t matter. The computer on the plane was literally trying to ram the plane into the ground. And as the film shows us, Boeing knew all of this and decided, as a business decision, to still send these planes in the air.

Ahead, Kennedy talks about this eye-opening film that, again, will enrage you.

This film is infuriating.

Excellent.

It was so infuriating I found myself rooting for Ted Cruz. And I don’t like Ted Cruz.

Ted Cruz is in the film. We have Trump in the film. I think the truth is that there was really a bipartisan congressional effort to get to the bottom of this story and what happened. And I think when we learn what we learned from the film that Boeing was trying to cover up this MCAS system as far back as 2013. They knew that if pilots didn’t respond within four to 10 seconds, that the result would be catastrophic. Meaning that the plane would crash and everybody on the plane would die. And they still let this plane go up into the air, knowing that. And then the thing where Boeing is told the FAA knows that this plane is projected to crash 15 times in its lifetime.

Right. And they make a business decision that it probably won’t happen again before we fix it. And it did.

Right. So then you’re rolling the dice on people’s lives. And in the first plane, the pilots didn’t even know the MCAS was on the plane and had no idea why the nose of this plane was being pushed down over and over again. And they were fully unequipped on how to deal with that. And, honestly, even with the second plane crash, it was a memo that Boeing sent out. There was no simulator training. There was no mayday situation. “Every pilot needs to understand what’s going on here.” Or better yet, “let’s ground this plane until we know it’s safe.”

I am curious, I mentioned the Ted Cruz scene earlier, I really enjoyed watching him yell at then Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg. Did you use the Cruz footage on purpose because it would get a reaction?

I mean, listen, it’s part of the record. And it was a moment. So it seemed deserving to be included in the film. And I also think that this is not a partisan issue. This is not an issue of Democrats versus Republicans. This is a concern that goes much deeper than that. And in fact, this bill that Congressman DeFazio spearheaded to create changes and substantive changes in the airlines industry and the regulations that happen as a result, very heroic. This was one of the few bills that passed during one of the most divisive terms in our congressional history. And I think it speaks to the fact that this is an issue that transcends Democrats or Republicans and goes much deeper than that. Because listen, the truth is we all fly. Right?

Right.

I have three children. I send my children on these airplanes, and they walk down that jet-way. And I want to trust that when they get on that plane, the airlines is looking after them, the manufacturer is looking after them, the regulators are looking after them, Congress is looking after them. And I was really shocked in the making of this film to find that pretty much all of those folks failed us.

Do you remember the movie The Rainmaker? There’s a scene where a letter is read from the company on trial telling a policy holder, “Are you stupid, stupid, stupid?” And Boeing is literally sending emails calling Lion Air stupid. It’s unbelievable.

Well, I need to see that movie again, it’s been a while. I mean, I remember reading that memo where Boeing had called the Lion Air pilots stupid for wanting to have pilot training on on this new airplane. And of course, that plane went on to crash, in large part, because they didn’t have that pilot training. It’s heartbreaking on some fundamental level because, as I say, it’s beyond corporate malfeasance, and it is profit over public interest, but I think about all the people who died on those planes. And that’s where you just think, gosh, are there people who really need to make this much money? Do they really need this much money? I mean, at this cost? Really?

But then Boeing, knowing what they already knew, knowing what the problem was, then started a PR campaign to blame the pilot. And obviously, you have the pilot’s widow in the movie. It is heartbreaking what she had to go through and fight this company.

I mean, can you imagine?

No.

And for them to have known that it was an airplane that was retrofitted to accommodate these new engines that was built very quickly, that skirted around a lot of the safety issues and safety concerns that were voiced, and the slew of decisions, and knowing that this plane had a high chance of crashing, that they blamed the pilots. I mean, can you imagine being the wife of the pilot and her knowing how much this pilot committed his life to the safety of his passengers? And that was his highest priority, and that’s what he lived for. And then it trickles down, and people blame him.

I felt like I kind of had a grasp on what happened. And then you watch this movie, and it’s just like, no, the computer is literally trying to kill everyone on board. You have that line in the movie.

I think it reminds me of Captain Sullenberger’s line in the film, “It was maniacal. It was trying to kill them,” I think is his quote. And that’s the reality of what was happening to these pilots, which is why we really committed some time and energy and resources to doing CGI recreation of the perspective of the pilots and to really get into that cockpit.

Which looks great and is horrifying.

Well, I appreciate you feeling like it worked for you, because it was really important to me in part to respect these pilots and to really help people. Because I read so many of the articles. I would read the articles and say, “Well, what actually happened?” And it was very hard to translate it, because it’s complicated. And so I really wanted to make a film where people could understand it and walk out of the theater, or of whatever screening device that they’re going to watch this on, and be able to explain it. And I felt like getting into that cockpit and helping people understand it from that perspective was a part of that process. But also, I think emotionally, it helps you really understand what these pilots went through. And I wanted to respect that.

Going into making this, what did you think you kind of had a grasp on that still wound up shocking you?

Well, I think what was the most was shocking to me was really having a deeper understanding of what Boeing knew very early on in the process before these planes went up. I think understanding the degree to which Boeing was aware of how vulnerable this plane was, still put it up in the air. And then after the first crash, I mean the prediction was that 15 planes would crash like this in the course of its lifetime. I just don’t understand how somebody knows that, like a human being knows that, and makes the choice to send that plane up into the air. I just don’t understand it. I don’t understand how you can sleep at night with that kind of calculation

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

Early in the new year, rapper Denzel Curry released a spaghetti Western-influenced trailer for his upcoming album, Melt My Eyez See Your Future. Stylized like a film preview, the credits promise a loaded list of guest vocal appearances from 6lack, Bridget Perez, 454, Buzzy Lee, JID, Rico Nasty, Slowthai, and T-Pain, plus production from Boi-1da, Cardo, Dot The Genius, Jpegmafia, Karriem Riggins, Kenny Beats, Powers Pleasant, Robert Glasper, Thundercat, and Curry himself. The new video for “Walkin” is a continuation of the trailer that expands into a deeper visual aesthetic well beyond the Western.

In the “Walkin” clip, Curry is coursing through a post-apocalyptic desert in a different galaxy. It feels like a barren planet from Star Wars, complete with incredible sand dunes, blasters, and nefarious villains trying to put the rapper to rest. “Keep on walkin, aint no stoppin, in this dirty, filthy, rotten, nasty world that we call our home,” he raps on the hook. Both the music and the visual give rise to a desperado mentality from Curry, and a story is clearly bubbling for the release of Melt My Eyez See Your Future.

Watch the video for “Walkin” above and check out Denzel Curry’s 2022 North America tour dates below.

04/01 — Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom
04/02 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Complex
04/04 — Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
04/05 — Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
04/07 — Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
04/09 — Sacramento, CA @ Ace Of Spades
04/10 — San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
04/17 — Indio, CA @ Coachella Festival
06/14 — Denver, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
06/15 — Denver, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
06/17 — Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Festival
04/24 — Indio, CA @ Coachella Festival
06/18 — Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
06/21 — Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
06/22 — Miami, FL @ Fillmore
06/24 — New Orleans, LA @ Fillmore
06/25 — Houston, TX @ Bayou Music Center
06/26 — Austin, TX @ Stubb’s
06/28 — Dallas, TX @ Southside Ballroom
06/30 — Albuquerque, NM @ El Rey
07/01 — Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.