As one of the top-selling artists globally, Ed Sheeran takes his job seriously, but his music isn’t his only priority. After his wife gave birth to their first child, Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran, the singer says he completely transformed the way he thought about his career and allowed him to find a new purpose.
The singer sat down to talk about what he’s been up to lately in an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The conversation eventually turned to his daughter and Sheeran began talking about how having Lyra changed his perspective on his work and music:
“I really love being a dad. I started off my job being my hobby, and therefore I did it every day, and then one day I got paid for it and then it became my job. Then I did my hobby every day, but it was also my job, and then when I had time off, I would still do it. I’d stop tour and go into the studio. And then I stopped studio and go back on tour because I love tour, and I just found I didn’t have any purpose outside of that, because when I was giving myself fixed time off of no work, I wasn’t doing anything I enjoyed because I love music. But this has actually given me purpose and something in life that is actually more important than my job.”
Watch Sheeran on Ellen above.
Ed Sheeran is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
If there’s one thing creator Jay-Ann Lopez wants you to know about Black Girl Gamers, it’s that the organization is far too all-encompassing to dilute down to a single thing and too great in scope to be reduced. For example, you could say BGG is an agency and enterprise — a way for Black women to find opportunities and employment in the games industry — and you wouldn’t be wrong.
You can just as easily call the organization a business, focused on creating meaningful content, entertaining the world through its Twitch streams, and turning a profit. It’s also a place for learning, with workshops focused on instilling confidence and kind mentors aplenty.
The truth is, BGG is many things to many people. The best place to start when trying to define BGG, though, is with how it began: as a community.
When Lopez founded Black Girl Gamers in 2015, it primarily existed on a trio of community-driven platforms: Facebook, Discord, and Twitch. Over on Facebook and Discord, the BGG community established themselves as protected places where Black women could have conversations about gaming without fear of harassment and among people with similar lived experiences. The group’s Twitch channel, on the other hand, gave BGG a platform to looked outward and share their talents with the world.
Right from the start, Lopez was adamant BGG would be a group effort. Just as the Facebook and Discord groups could simply not operate with her as a sole member, Lopez knew the vision she had for BGG wouldn’t work if she were the only Black woman streaming under the Black Girl Gamers banner. Instead, she decided the channel would be utilized to uplift and foster a community of Black women who love gaming but did not love how gaming spaces sometimes made them feel.
“If you think about gaming now, it’s still bad, but it was even worse back then. There was less awareness and even less willingness to do anything,” Lopez tells Uproxx. “It started off with myself and three other black women, two of whom I’m still friends with now, just working and just looking after the community, essentially. And then it grew to have a Discord, grew to have a Twitch channel, and then from then on, it’s kind of turned into a community powered business as opposed to just a Facebook group … [but] the first thing is community and keeping the 7,000 to 8,000 Black women safe in the space. Then on top of that, it’s also providing opportunities.”
The list of opportunities at Black Girl Gamers grows nearly as quickly as the organization itself. It hosts external events, like a recent online summit that Lopez says went so well that the team is working to put together another. There are educational programs like a three-month mentorship course with Facebook Reality Labs designed to help Black women get involved in AR/VR spaces, workshops with various voice actors, and a workshop with Buildbox, a game development program that enables people to create games without coding. They’re upping the amount of consultation work they’re doing, which gives members the chance to work with AAA game publishers and build relationships with studios.
All these workshops and events are just the beginning. According to Lopez, Black Girl Gamers has also been hard at work creating their own “one-of-a-kind” internal talent agency that focuses on “specifically catering to the needs of Black women” and finding work for them that offers fair payment and doesn’t make them feel “tokenized.” While still fresh, Lopez says this arm of the organization is already thriving, with members landing paid opportunities with Anastasia Beverly Hills, Google, Netflix, Adidas, H&M, and more.
It’s part of Lopez’s larger effort to get more brands working with Black women and becoming leaders on the journey to create a more inclusive media landscape.
“I want [brands] to know they can be a part of that journey. They can work with us,” Lopez says. “You know, everyone needs to work and to improve, change, and progress. So, we are here to help. And I think that’s one of the main things to let go of, is the kind of hesitancy of thinking that you’ve done something wrong or have issues. Everyone has issues and everyone needs to work on them. So, why not consult with us or work with us in order to improve?”
Lopez knows there’s another hurdle to clear: Encouraging talented Black women to pursue their dreams and gaming career ambitions, something that has been historically difficult. Despite there being plenty of women and Black folks in the gaming community, both of those demographics have struggled with harassment, exclusion, and underrepresentation within the industry. As the intersection of these two identities, there’s no denying that Black women have faced even greater challenges when navigating gaming spaces, as well as a lot of fear.
Lopez, however, urges Black women not to deny this fear’s existence, but rather to acknowledge it and “do it anyway.”
“One thing I would say is that there’s a book — and it’s a really great book — called Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway,” Lopez says. “Even though fear exists, sometimes you have to push past it. And I’ve had to do it myself. Like, I’ve had times where I’ve literally been scared potentially for the business and the community because of racism and targeting, and just even myself. But you know, you just have to feel the fear and do it anyway. Because moving forward is the only option if I really want to make it. So I would say just feel the fear, and do it anyway.”
When I asked Lopez if she had a mantra or mission statement she kept near-and-dear to her to help aid her through all the challenges and fears she’s encountered since creating Black Girl Gamers, she replied no without so much as a moment of hesitation. Instead, Lopez is driven by “a need” to ensure Black women are never excluded or erased from gaming history.
“It’s a need that is driving me. I know where there is an imbalance, I need to try and do something to help balance that out,” Lopez says. “I wanna guarantee that we’re not forgotten, that we’re never excluded. And that gaming is never the same … I want it to be cemented that we drove a lot of this change and we are legacy makers in this space.”
All of these successes — and the bonds formed between the women making it all happen — have already begun to shape Black Girl Gamers. It is a legacy built on instilling confidence in Black women, on giving them the resources and strength to “shoot their shot,” and making a difference in what they “can do, what they’re taking home, and how they can spend their money and their lives.”
So, what is Black Girl Gamers? Simply put, Black Girl Gamers is a legacy in the making — an ever-expanding movement that is directly contributing to a bigger, brighter, and more inclusive games industry — and their story has only just begun.
In a week, Metallica is playing a pair of 40th anniversary concerts, two hometown shows at Chase Center in San Francisco on December 17 and 19. There will be two ways to watch that show as it happens: If you’re a member of the band’s Fifth Member fan club, you can buy tickets to be there in person. Otherwise, Metallica is teaming up with The Coda Collection to broadcast the events as a free global livestream via Amazon Music and Prime Video Channels.
The concerts will stream on Amazon Music, Amazon Music’s Twitch channel, and Prime Video at midnight ET each night. After that, the shows will be available for on-demand viewing via The Coda Collection/Prime Video Channel.
On top of that, as part of the SF Takeover Film Fest, fans will be able to watch a pair of Metallica films via The Coda Collection/Prime Video Channel, over that weekend: the 1998 concert film Cunning Stunts and the 2009 concert film Orgullo, Pasión, y Gloria: Tres Noches en la Ciudad de México, the latter of which was initially only released in Latin America.
Additionally, all of that is apparently just the beginning of Metallica and Coda’s relationship, as their partnership is set to “include a full slate of concert films, documentaries, and additional content spanning the band’s career arriving on the channel exclusively throughout 2022, alongside popular music films from the likes of Foo Fighters, Jimi Hendrix, Grateful Dead, and many more.”
Booksmart director Olivia Wilde covers the January 2022 issue of Vogue with a lot of the accompanying interview surrounding the future release of Don’t Worry Darling. That’s her followup effort, of course, which means the pressure is on after one critically acclaimed cinematic entry. In the piece, Wilde does admit that she hit up Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us) for advice on how to handle the resulting “anxiety,” and he confirmed that the sophomore process is “Oh, so terrifying, so much scarier than the first.”
With that ammunition firmly in place, Wilde went for it. She cast Florence Pugh as her lead and Harry Styles (who she does not mention by name as her current partner, although she makes it clear that she’s very happy) in (what she very pointedly describes as) a supporting role. She also makes a fair point about onscreen female pleasure in mainstream movies. One only need to remember how Blue Valentine had to lobby to overturn an NC-17 rating because Ryan Gosling’s character goes down on the character played by Michelle Williams. Wilde refers to “the thrillers of Adrian Lyne, like Fatal Attraction and Indecent Proposal,” which she looks at as inspiration (at least in the sex department). Here’s what Wilde had to offer to Vogue on the movie’s passionate scenes:
“I kept saying, ‘Why isn’t there any good sex in film anymore?’ I realize how rarely we see female hunger on film, and specifically this type of female pleasure.”
And here’s how Vogue‘s Alexandra Schwartz described how a relevant Don’t Worry Darling scene turned out:
About those scenes I watched. Let’s just say that one, featuring a hardworking Styles and a most gratified Pugh, is going to generate some serious attention — and, if the devotion of Styles’s fan base is any indication, hysteria — when Don’t Worry Darling is released. When I work up the blushing courage to ask Wilde about it, she gets technical, talking about overhead angles and wraparound shots, though she readily volunteers that she intends for her audience to “realize how rarely they see female hunger, and specifically this type of female pleasure.”
From the looks of the teaser that Wilde recently posted on Instagram, there’s delivery:
Another note about Styles: as with Chloé Zhao with The Eternals, Wilde was inspired to cast Styles after seeing him in Dunkirk, and she explained how his schedule initially led to Shia LaBeouf being cast (and that fell apart). Then Harry circled back around, and Wilde explained, “I cannot tell you how many men read the script and said, ‘Unless it’s a two-hander, unless I’m in as much — or more — of the script than she is, it’s not worth it.’” Harry didn’t play that game.
Don’t Worry Darling arrives on… September 23, 2022. That’s a long wait!
To say that we write about whisk(e)y a lot is a bit of an understatement. We do. But it wasn’t that long ago that the best-selling alcohol in the world was a clear spirit. Vodka dominated alcohol sales for decades until the most recent whiskey revival took hold and pushed the un-aged spirit to the background.
That’s a shame because as we’ve said, again and again, vodka is an incredibly nuanced spirit and worth your time, even as a sipper. The spirit is massively varied thanks to very different corners of the world making it and the recipe for its mash bill ranging from grains to root vegetables to fruits. There is a lot out there is what we’re saying and there’s a lot that is very sippable with a rock or even on its own.
To find these surprising sippers from small and large distilleries, we asked a handful of well-known bartenders to tell us the vodkas they’d actually drink straight or on the rocks. Check out all of their answers below.
WÓDKA [Vodka]
WÓDKA Vodka
Kimberly Schow, bar director at Hotel Dryce in Fort Worth, Texas
WÓDKA [Vodka] is great to drink on its own. It’s a well-made Polish rye vodka that isn’t distilled from pure GNS (grain neutral spirit), making it a clean vodka to sip and savor.
This Japanese vodka is distilled from 100 percent rice and is bamboo charcoal filtered. It’s a subtly sweet vodka with amazing smoothness and roundness and a peppery finish. Try this on the rocks with a twist of lemon or lime.
Absolut Vodka
Absolut
Josh Curtis, bar director at the Malibu Beach Inn in Malibu, California
Absolut vodka is one of the best on the market. Its Swedish roots from 1879 have a quality distillation process that makes for less of a hangover than other brands. Its light licorice and cream soda notes aim for ease of drinkability.
Stateside Urbancraft Vodka
Stateside
Jamie Shaw, beverage manager at Stella of New Hope in New Hope, Pennsylvania
I’d go for something super crisp and clean and put it on the rocks with a squeeze of lemon or lime. Stateside makes a really great clean, highly sippable vodka, and I love supporting local companies as well.
I really love Konik’s Tail. This is a premium Polish vodka that just arrived in the U.S. It’s made from a number of different grains — ancient spelt, golden rye, and early winter wheat. It has a creamy mouthfeel with caramel and raspberry on the palate.
Absolut Elyx
Absolut
Christopher Rodriguez, lead bartender at Lucy Restaurant & Bar in Yountville, California
One vodka I can drink straight or on the rocks is Absolut Elyx. It is made with single estate winter wheat and is distilled in copper. With a slightly higher proof than most vodkas, it has a nice body with light heat.
Ketel One Vodka is a delicious vodka. The wheat is pronounced and the citrus notes just make it so refreshing. The fact that they do a combination of pot still and Coffey still balances it out to be a crisp vodka and one that is oily with texture.
I started bartending in the late ’90s when vodka martinis were probably the top-selling drink at most bars, and Belvedere was the best of the best. Back then a slightly dirty martini with Belvedere and blue cheese olives was my favorite thing to drink, it’s still the first drink I order when I’m dining in a steakhouse. I love Belvedere even on its own for its creamy mouthfeel and touch of black pepper, it almost comes across as savory.
I don’t drink vodka but if I did, I’d probably defer to Chopin. I think vodkas distilled from potatoes are among the best. It’s crisp, clean, and surprisingly easy to drink neat or on the rocks.
The best albums of the year lists are definitely making the rounds on the interwebs. Maybe you saw Uproxx’s Best Albums Of The 2021 already? Or our genre-focused year end round-ups in hip-hop, indie, etc… They’re filled with killer releases from across the spectrum. Same goes for lists from other outlets that all highlight the prevalent music that marked this past year.
But damnit if there wasn’t some incredible music put out in 2021 that didn’t get the same shine as Olivia Rodrigo, Jazmine Sullivan or The War On Drugs. Below, you’ll find our picks for the best albums of the year that were slightly off the radar. Or maybe you’re just that in tune with things that you didn’t miss these at all? Regardless, these are positively ten of the best albums of the year and they deserve your attention.
Charlotte Day Wilson — Alpha
The Toronto-based singer and producer had put out two EPs in the past that yielded singles like “Work” and “Doubt” that effectively put her on the map. But Alpha is her proper full-length debut and it’s a stunning fully-formed collection of songs that sounds like nothing else. On “Take Care Of You” featuring Syd, Day Wilson morphs her voice on the hook to lay the groundwork for her and Syd to show why they’re two of the pre-eminent Queer vocalists today. “Lovesick Utopia” is one of the most intriguing productions of the year that flashes Day Wilson’s chops as more than just a singer. There are also appearances from fellow Canadians Daniel Caesar and Badbadnotgood, and Drake even picked up a sample of “Mountains” for his track,”Fair Trade,” off of Certified Lover Boy.
ALLBLACK — TY4FWM
Packing slick sports references in his bars at every turn, Allblack is a certified play runner who’s been killing the Bay Area street rap game. On “Ego,” he spits over Kenny Beats’ production: “Big bread, hero / Pressin n*****s, Deebo / At the bank more than Harden at the free throw / All this cash that I’m gettin’ f***in’ up my ego.” He raps about his past life as a pimp on “Life Of A P,” a hyped-up old-school G-Funk beat with Kossisko on a deft hook. TY4FWM is an album about gratitude though (heck, it’s in the title) and Allblack spends time shouting out the cats who’ve been there with him through thick and thin, and the ones who came up with him along the way. He’s on a French Montana level with the sheer volume of features, but they all pop off, like the 2Pac-inspired “War Stories” with Mozzy and Peezy, and the rough and tumble “We Straight” with Vince Staples over a sick beat by Cal-A.
Aaron Frazer –Introducing…
Easy Eye Sound, the label helmed by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, had an incredible year, with standout releases from Yola, Shannon Shaw, Robert Finely, and more. But none felt as true to its retro-minded aesthetic than the debut album by soul singer Aaron Frazer. For the uninitiated, Frazer is the drummer and high-pitched vocal yin to Durand Jones’ yang in The Indications. On Introducing…, Frazer more than holds his own as the singular focus on the classic soul vibes of “You Don’t Wanna Be My Baby” and the groovy R&B of the flute-inflected “Bad News.” Auerbach produced the album himself and it’s the little details he employs — the way the horns hit on “Can’t Leave It Alone” or the deliberate way Frazer’s voice is mic’d on “Bad News” and “Lover Girl” — that paint the perfect canvas for his label’s new star to sound like a reincarnated 1950’s heartthrob.
Alfa Mist — Bring Backs
The rise of London’s modern jazz movement cannot be understated and pianist, producer, and rapper Alfa Mist is among its most prolific products. This is jazz music for hip-hop heads that’s tailor made to both groove to, or burn to. On “Mind The Gap,” Alfa opens singing over an arrangement of his masterful keys, a shrewd drum beat, and hypnotic horns. “I take my time, so they only see me in the right state of mind… we all rise and decline,” he sings, before giving way to Lex Amor coming in like a young Martina Topley-Bird. There’s a lot to like on Bring Backs, from trip-hop soundscapes to jazz drum breaks, in a welcome journey of the mind all around.
Sam Evian – Time To Melt
Recorded at Evian’s Flying Cloud Studios in the Catskills, Time To Melt is a gorgeous expression of psychedelic pop music. It’s gentle enough to soothe, but built intricately to stimulate. Evian, who has produced albums for similarly trippy folk artists like Cass McCombs, Blonde Redhead, and Okkervil River, is dashing on his third solo release. The combo of sweeping strings, Rhodes keys, and unpredictable horns on “Knock, Knock,” make the existential jam flow like a pristine stream. “Dream Free” features vocals from his partner Hannah Cohen and is a celestial electric number that like the album, is built for those who want to ponder the intricacies of the cosmos and the constructs around us.
Glbl Wrmng — glbl wrmng vol. 1
Presented by rapper Pell as a compilation that showcases the strength of the New Orleans hip-hop community, glbl wrmng vol. 1 was all that and then some. It represents the diverse sound of New Orleans rap, from the syrupy “Well Sh*t” featuring Paasky, to the shimmering and hopeful “Technicolor” with LeTrainiump and Dominic Scott to the twisty, sticky production of “N95” by Malik Ninety Five and Bryant Keith Malonson. Pell appears on every track and is a confident and stoic facilitator throughout all of it, for a veritable discovery trove of collaborators. There’s 16 tracks on the album that each seem to scratch a different sonic itch, as the collective searches for hope and peace amid tumultuous times. None are more affecting than “Take Time” with Pell and Kr3wcial finding harmony in hip-hop, in more memorable fashion than just about any cut I spun this year.
Ross From Friends — Tread
The Brainfeeder-signed producer courses through the electronic music spectrum jumping from techno, to vaporwave, to drum and bass and more. Don’t let the name fool you, this is serious stuff fronted by British producer Felix Cleary Weatherall that understands both the nuances of big room bass and chill out. Samples under beats often call back to Detroit disco and techno, like the well-enacted tear down and build-up of “Life In A Mind.” It’s almost as if you’re witnessing the bones of a track’s construction as it’s being laid down.
LUMP – Animal
While Laura Marling is one of the best modern folk singers on the planet, her electronically-minded side-project with producer Mike Lindsay (of Tunng) is proof that her penchant for exploration sees no bounds. The second LUMP album represents the continuity of the vessel Marling has found for material that doesn’t necessarily fit into the tightly-wrapped warmth of her acoustic guitar. But she’s a dynamite lyricist no less and on “Bloom At Night,” she sings:
“I predict that this affliction lasts for life
I suspect that you’ll regret your lust for light
I suggest that you address your appetite
For to be seen to cast your beam across the night”
Animal is an album about escape and embracing your inner beast in the process, and Marling places another mighty feather in her cap over Lindsay’s entrancing production.
Larry June — Orange Print
Yes, it’s another Bay Area hip-hop album, because if there’s any scene that consistently falls beneath the surface, it’s Bay Area rap. June is from San Francisco and Orange Print illustrates the culmination of his never-ending hustle. This is a dude who consistently puts out multiple records each year and he’s finally made it, but is somehow only now getting on the same scope nationally as rappers from more prominent enclaves. On “Intercepted,” he relishes on finally starting to get his flowers “Hard times, we prevailed, spent years manifestin’ / ‘Nother day, another lesson, took it all as a blessin’.” There’s an aura about June on Orange Print that emanates comfort for where he’s at in life. He’s not concerned with what people are doing outside of his sphere anymore, and it lets him spit about success, wisdom, and his signature health conscious calling card with poise and couth.
Alice Phoebe Lou — Glow
The South African indie singer-songwriter put down one of the most beautiful and spacey releases of the year. Her staccato is unwavering on “Only When I,” her jazzy coo is reminiscent of Billie Holiday on “Dusk,” and she channels her inner-Angel Olsen on “How To Get Out Of Love.” When Lou sings, it always feels as if the stars are her audience and her voice just grows into infinite spaces. Her sweet delivery over a clarinet on “Lonely Crowd” will send you right into the night sky. Yet, Glow is a perfect companion piece for sleeping in, having breakfast at noon, and just spending your whole day at home in your sweatpants.
The only thing missing from Questlove‘s moving historical documentary Summer Of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (aside from the hours of footage that had to be cut to make a watchable documentary in the first place) was a soundtrack that could be played outside of watching the film itself. After all, the doc covered the weeks-long 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which featured free live performances from Black music legends like Gladys Knight & The Pips, Nina Simone, and Sly & The Family Stone.
That changes today, with the announcement of the official soundtrack coming soon to streaming and physical media, including CDs and vinyl. Like the film, Questlove curated the once-lost audio documentation from several of the original performances, compiling 17 tracks including Sly & The Family Stone’s “Sing A Simple Song,” B.B. King’s “Why I Sing The Blues,” and The Operation Breadbasket Orchestra & Choir’s rendition of “Precious Lord Take My Hand” with Mahalia Jackson and Mavis Staples.
In the press release announcing the soundtrack, Questlove said, “It goes beyond saying that you can’t have a monster music journey on film without an equally awesome soundtrack. The people demanded ‘more!’. So for the people, we bring you musical manna that hopefully won’t be the last serving. These performances are lightning in a bottle. Pure artistry! Enjoy.”
The Summer Of Soul soundtrack is due on streaming and CD 1/28/2022 via Legacy Recordings. Pre-save it here. The vinyl release will be announced at a later date.
When St. Vincent returned this spring to release her new album Daddy’s Home, it was dripping in references to the ’70s, both visually and sonically. For her new era, St. Vincent donned literal rose-tinted glasses and polyester blouses while her songs featured woozy sitars and referenced strung-out stars. But when asked to remix her Daddy’s Home single “Pay Your Way In Pain,” UK post-punk group Idles took things in a very different direction.
Idles’ version of “Pay Your Way In Pain” strips all the nostalgia and glamor from the song. Band member Mark Bowen transformed the track into a jazzy, soulful single into a harsh, industrial anthem. The new version features quick-tempoed beats, yelping vocal samples, and disorienting harmonies.
Speaking about taking the track in a new direction, Bowen explained:
“What I really enjoy about the Daddy’s Home album is using this camp energy in a really violent way. This embracing of the nostalgic even the kitsch but using it to make progressive futuristic music. It reminded me a lot of the energy of early house and techno but wrapped up in this early ’70s aesthetic. I wanted to ramp up the camp and the violence in the remix but still maintain the sentiments and sensibilities of the original track.”
Listen to Idles’ remix of St. Vincent’s “Pay Your Way In Pain” above and revisit our review of Daddy’s Homehere.
EA Sports College Football is one of the most highly-anticipated upcoming titles currently in development, and for good reason. We haven’t had a new college football video game to play since NCAA Football 14 released all the way back in 2013. Since then, the series has been shuttered due to legal issues from the NCAA’s refusal to allow athletes to make money off their names, image, and likeness.
However, we’ve seen some huge changes in college football since 2013. Not only are players able to make money off their NIL now, but the sport itself has added a playoff and a new round of realignment just took place. While plenty of people still pop in NCAA 14 thanks to the memories, the age in the game is clearly visible when. Thankfully, we won’t have to wait much longer for a new college football game, because back in February, EA officially announced that it would bring back its college football series under a new name … eventually.
Video game development is difficult, and predicting it is never easy, but if we take into consideration that development on EA Sports College Football began around when it was officially announced, we can safely ballpark a potential release date as 2023. That would give the team working on the game a little more than two years to develop and release the game. This timeline would also match up with a report from Matt Brown of Extra Points that the development team has been aiming for a 2023 release date.
On Thursday, we got confirmation that EA is aiming for that window from Cory Moss, the CEO of College Licensing Co. Moss told Brandon Marcello of 247 Sports that the hope is for a summer 2023 release date for the upcoming game.
EA Sports is aiming to launch its new college football video game in the summer of 2023. “That’s the hope,” says Cory Moss, CEO of Collegiate Licensing Co. #CFB#EASportspic.twitter.com/oQToo4Tfz9
Obviously, everyone wants a new game to come out as soon as possible, and the dev team is assuredly hard at work as we speak, but until the game is given an official release date, we probably want to be cautious on assuming that 2023 is locked in. Any number of things could happen between now and then that could delay the game beyond an expected release time — for example, finding a way to get all of the new real-life players into the game is a challenge in itself.
All of that said, let’s choose to be positive and hope that in 2022, we’ll get some more information from EA itself on an anticipated release date.
Honey bourbon usually elicits incredulity from me. I’m on the record as not really digging the flavored whiskeys out there. I like a few for cocktails, don’t get me wrong. They have their place. But a vast majority of the “flavored” whiskeys are overly sweetened sugar bombs that hint at their signature “flavor” with a whiskey-ish background, maybe.
Belle Meade Bourbon Honey Cask Finish is what I wish all flavored whiskey was. First and foremost, the folks at Nelson’s Green Brier don’t flavor their bourbon. This is a special cask finished bourbon. They coax honey from a barrel that aged honey instead of adding honey liqueur or syrup to the whiskey. This makes all the difference in the world when it comes to making a nuanced honey whiskey.
I was lucky enough to get to taste some of this year’s release and was, again, very impressed. Here’s my review of this much-sought-after special cask finished whiskey.
This whiskey starts off by seasoning used whiskey barrels (from Nelson’s Green Brier’s warehouse) with honey. The distillery sends their barrels to TruBee Honey Farm in Arrington, Tennessee where the barrels are filled with wildflower honey. After the honey has finished its rest, the barrels are emptied and sent back to Nashville. Once they arrive at Nelson’s, they’re filled with Belle Meade’s award-winning bourbon for a six to eight-month rest where the honey makes its mark on the whiskey.
Tasting Notes:
The floral honey notes from that honey really shine through on the nose. It’s supported by a slight woody yet sharp cinnamon that’s been stored in a cedar box with a hint of green tea lurking underneath that floral honey. The palate pushes the cinnamon to the foreground as a light touch of fresh brioche with butter and orange marmalade mingles with soft toffee and almost sticky honey cream, which creates a velvety mouthfeel. That honey and cinnamon combine on the mid-palate and lead towards a light note of vanilla pods and almond butter on the super-soft finish.
The Bottle:
Belle Meade bottles are weighty and classic whiskey bottles. Their stature is almost proud and really stands out on any bar cart. The label has two big bees on it with a golden and yellow theme. It’s immediately eye-catching while informing you exactly what this bourbon is about.
Bottom Line:
Once you get a taste of this, it’s really easy to see why so many folks clamor for it. It’s like what we all wish flavored whiskey actually tasted like. It’s clearly bourbon that’s just touched with real honey that accents and builds instead of takes over with an overly saccharine idea of honey. It’s delicious, subtle, and very drinkable.
All of that being said, you’re going to have to be awfully lucky to get your hands on a bottle this year (and spend some serious cash). The best play is to pay attention to Nelson’s social media around the start of 2022 for their announcement of the next lottery and sign up to see if you can get a bottle.
Ranking:
98/100 — If there’s a better honey cask finished bourbon out there, we haven’t tried it … yet.
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