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We completely understand if the reason you haven’t gotten into Scotch whisky is that you feel overwhelmed. Sure, there are myriad great bottles on the market well-suited for palates accustomed to bourbon, rye, or various other whisk(e)ys. But diving into a whole new type of whiskey demands some commitment — both financially speaking and time-wise.

What better season to experiment with Scotch than winter break? And, as always, we’re here to help with suggestions. Samantha Montgomery, beverage specialist at Bardstown Bourbon Company in Bardstown Kentucky believes there’s one specific region perfect for Scotch whisky beginners.

“Any Highland Scotch is a great place to start,” she notes, “as the style uses less peat than others — which is what most people are afraid of.”

Nick du Mortier, lead mixologist at Bar Pendry in Chicago prefers to point drinkers toward Scotch whiskies that have similar flavor profiles to their favorite spirits.

“A lot of recommending drinks to folks, as far as I’ve experienced behind the bar, is getting a feel for what they already like and building upon that,” he says. “If I had someone tell me they really loved mezcal, I would be more inclined to offer them a small sample of some peaty-smoky Islay Scotch.”

Not having that sort of info on hand, we asked bartenders to tell us the one Scotch whisky they like to pour for novices sight unseen. Keep scrolling to see their picks.

Monkey Shoulder

Katherine Ball, mixology director at Black Button Distilling in Rochester, New York

ABV: 43%
Average Price: $32

Why This Bottle?

Monkey Shoulder blended Scotch is my pick. The vanilla and smoky notes lend themselves to a great intro Scotch. It’s best served on the rocks or neat. It’s also a great base for your favorite cocktails.

Laphroaig 10

Jeffrey Sacchet, food and beverage director at South Seas Island Resort in Captiva Island, Florida

ABV: 43%
Average Price: $65

Why This Bottle?

The richness and diversity in Scotch varieties demand that the novice tippler commits to educating themselves. So, I suggest stepping out of the shallows and diving into the deep end with Laphroaig 10. True to Scotches from the Islay region, this distillation has intense peat smoke flavors with a hint of salty sweetness.

Neat or one big cube. Sip and savor.

Oban 14

Aaron Ramirez, lead bartender at The Restaurant at Mr. C Beverly Hills in Los Angeles

ABV: 43%
Average Price: $79.99

Why This Bottle?

The best Scotch for a beginner would have to be Oban 14. This Scotch is the perfect single malt Scotch that turned me from a typical tequila drinker into a Scotch lover. The dark fruit flavor and sweet aromas opened the door for me to choose Scotch as my spirit of choice.

Glenmorangie La Santa

Christopher Devern, lead bartender of Red Owl Tavern in Philadelphia

ABV: 46%
Average Price: $55

Why This Bottle?

Glenmorangie La Santa is my pick. A sherry cask finished Highland Scotch that is aged for 12 years. This finish lends the Scotch a unique sweetness along with notes of raisins and dark fruit. It’s a smooth drinking Scotch that doesn’t have the peat and smoke that Islays do, these flavors can be a bit overwhelming for a novice drinker.

The Macallan 12 Year Sherry Oak Cask

Mark Phelan, beverage director at 16″ On Center in Chicago

ABV: 43%
Average Price: $65

Why This Bottle?

The Macallan 12 Year Sherry Oak Cask has a soft, balanced profile with a subtle sweetness from the sherry finish that is a great example of the category for a novice drinker. There’s a reason it’s one of the most popular beginner bottles.

The Balvenie DoubleWood 12

Nicholas Bennett, beverage director at Porchlight in New York City

ABV: 40%
Average Price: $65

Why This Bottle?

My pick for whisky novices is The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year. This is a wonderfully rich and complex whisky that really exemplifies the best of both worlds. It is first matured in refill American oak casks, so you get some bourbon characteristics like spice and a little vanilla followed by dried fruit and some nuttiness from the European oak Oloroso sherry butts they use to finish the aging.

This is the whisky my brother Henry and I have been gifting each other for years.

Aberfeldy 12

Robert Kidd, bar manager at Le Cavalier in Wilmington, Delaware

ABV: 40%
Average Price: $45

Why This Bottle?

Aberfeldy 12 Year is great for the novice Scotch drinker. I love to try people out on Highland Scotches when they are new to spirits. I think way too many people get tasted on some super peaty Scotch for the first time. That smokiness can be too aggressive and turn people off from trying other Scotches in the future. Scotch is one of the best spirits with incredible range and complexity and the soft dried fruits and caramel in Aberfeldy 12 Year are a great jumping-off point in my opinion.

Plus, the price is very approachable.

Glenmorangie The Original

Lee Noble, lead mixologist at Art in the Age in Philadelphia

ABV: 43%
Average Price: $40

Why This Bottle?

Glenmorangie The Original is a good intro to Scotch whisky. As it’s lighter and not peated, so it won’t turn up too many noses. Aged to perfection for ten years. Great as a mixer or in a dram.

Compass Box Artist Blend

John Tran, restaurant manager of BluSky Restaurant & Bar in Anaheim, California

ABV: 43%
Average Price: $39.99

Why This Bottle?

Compass Box Whisky Artist Blend is hard to bear for a beginner Scotch whisky. This whisky is complex and works for even the experienced drinker but it’s still very approachable with fruit notes and no peat.

The Dalmore 12

Zach Wilks, bartender at Anthony’s Chophouse in Carmel, Indiana

ABV: 40%
Average Price: $65

Why This Bottle?

Scotch whisky varies so much from one region to the next, so if I was trying to introduce someone to single malt Scotch, I would probably start them with something that tasted a bit familiar to them, I would likely start them with a whisky from the Highlands region as these whiskies tend to drink a bit sweet, fruity, and rich and taste similar to bourbons. Especially whiskeys from the northern highlands.

If this was a guest at my bar, I’d most definitely be reaching for a bottle of The Dalmore 12. It ticks all of those boxes.

Aberlour 12

Matthew Nathanson, director of restaurants at The Godfrey Hotel Hollywood in Los Angeles

ABV: 43%
Average Price: $40

Why This Bottle?

Aberlour 12-Year-Old Scotch is a wonderfully approachable and balanced spirit that has enough softness and fruit to balance its spice. I recommend adding a splash of water to it, which actually opens up the flavors beautifully.

The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask

Cassie Stockbridge, bartender at Lobby Bar at The Godfrey Hotel in Boston

ABV: 43%
Average Price: $79.99

Why This Bottle?

The Balvenie 14-year-old Caribbean Cask would be my first suggestion for novice Scotch whisky drinkers. This Scotch is finished in former rum casks, which gives it a sweeter taste. Even at first smell, you get scents of baked oatmeal raisin cookies.

Glenmorangie X

Federico Doldi, bartender at Gansevoort Meatpacking in New York City

ABV: 40%
Average Price: $38

Why This Bottle?

Glenmorangie X has to be my pick. This is a great mixing whisky, but you can also drink this single malt whisky on its own. A bottle is around 30 dollars and will never put you down.

Auchentoshan American Oak

John “Fitzy” Fitzpatrick, spiritual advisor at Warren American Whiskey Kitchen in Delray, Florida

ABV: 40%
Average Price: $45

Why This Bottle?

For friends that have never had a Scotch, I would recommend anything from Speyside or Lowlands. They tend to drink easier, with little to no peat or smoke and more notes of dried fruit and vanilla. Auchentoshan American Oak might be a great entry. It drinks almost as soft and easy as Irish whiskey.

Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves are in the midst of another up-and-down season that has them on the fringe of playoff contention in the West at 15-17, good for ninth currently.

Towns has made clear that he is all about winning this season in his postgame press conferences, going so far as to talk about how food tastes bad and it’s hard for him to be happy after losses. He recently doubled down on that by talking with Adin Ross about how he doesn’t care about stats if he doesn’t win, and called out Russell Westbrook as an example of a player who does the opposite and “chases stats.”

Towns is certainly not the first person to lob this critique at Westbrook, as it’s been following him since the early Thunder days when people used to complain he was taking key late shots over Kevin Durant and became a national topic of conversation during his MVP season when he averaged a triple-double. However, Towns’ record as a player certainly calls into question whether he’s the guy who should be making this kind of statement, and Draymond Green tried to put Towns in his place in the comments, recalling a time KAT certainly seemed to be trying to pad his own statline in a game that was long since decided between the Warriors and Wolves.

That’s quite the rebuttal from Green who has no real reason to defend Westbrook having never been his teammate beyond on All-Star teams other than wanting to humble KAT a bit.

Insecure: The End (HBO, 10:00pm) — Issa Rae’s brainchild and longtime block party came to an end with Sunday night’s series finale. This documentary-style wrap-up takes an intimate look back at the award-winning comedy’s process and cultural impact. Expect plenty of interviews from star and executive producer Rae as well as Jay Ellis, Yvonne Orji, Natasha Rothwell, Amanda Seales, Wade Allain-Marcus, Kendrick Sampson, and Christina Elmore.

Landscapers (HBO, 9:00pm) — Dream team-up Olivia Colman and David Thewlis lead this inspired-by-real-life story about a couple that apparently turns to murder. Director Will Sharpe (The Electrical Life of Louis Wain) doesn’t pull the straightforward vibe here, and this week, Susan and Christopher head towards trial while fantasy swirls around truth and their love takes a turn.

In case you missed these recent picks:

Reopening Night (HBO Max) — Before Omicron emerged, the New York City cultural scene roared back to quite a reception. Here, director Rudy Valdez (The Sentence) spotlights the return of Free Shakespeare in the Park to demonstrate the resilience of artists on the global stage.

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (HBO Max) — Take a deep dive into the beloved children’s program that’s been going strong for over 50 years, long before it pissed off Donald Trump Jr. and the far right. This documentary focuses upon the first two decades of moving and shaking of this visionary “gang,” who’s not afraid to tackle society’s most radical changes.

And Just Like That…: Season 1 (HBO Max) — Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) are back, along with the Big Apple, y’all. No Samantha will be found, given that Kim Cattrall declined to return, but here’s a non-newsflash: even in death, Mr. Big manages to be the biggest cad in the universe.

A new member has joined the Cardi B and Offset household — and no, I’m not talking about their second baby, who was born in September this year. It’s a new puppy that Offset gave Cardi for Christmas. Cardi showed off her new fur baby on her Instagram Story, walking him outside and asking Offset for the dog’s name.

“Its name is Walk?” she asks. However, as it turns out, the puppy is instead named for one of its new parents’ chart-topping hits. “No, Wap,” Offset corrects. “Not your Wap though.” In another video, the puppy follows Cardi around as she playfully warns it to “stop following me,” fearing retaliation from the puppy’s momma. “Then your mom is gonna think I’m bothering you. I don’t want no smoke with your momma.”

You can check out the video here.

Despite delaying the release of her next album until 2022, Cardi has still had a huge 2021, topping Pandora’s “most thumbed” tracks of 2021 list, racking up three diamond certifications for her 2018 singles “I Like It,” “Girls Like You,” and “Bodak Yellow,” and teaming up with Playboy to launch the new creator platform, Centerfold. Meanwhile, her song “Up” also appeared on Barack Obama’s list of favorite songs for the year, as well.

Disclaimer: While all of the products recommended here were chosen independently by our editorial staff, Uproxx may receive payment to direct readers to certain retail vendors who are offering these products for purchase.

Welcome to SNX DLX, your weekly roundup of the best sneakers to hit the market. We’re stranded between holiday weekends and that brings the lightest SNX roundup in the history of the series. But. We’re. Still. Here. Nothing is going to keep us from updating you on the best new sneaker drops. We’re like the US Postal Service — neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow will stop us. Even during the holidays!

If you’re doing some return-based shopping for the holiday season, we’re confident any one of these kicks will make for a great pick. If not, we’ve published multiple sneaker-focused gift guides this year featuring a little something for every sort of sneakerhead in your life.

Women’s Air Jordan 1 Atmosphere

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that this week’s big drop is a Jordan 1. In weeks this slow, the Jordan 1 is always going to rise above the rest, but also, what week hasn’t brought a fire new pair of Jordans? Nike is riding high on the best streak of its life.

The Atmosphere is a women’s size exclusive and features bubble gum pink accents on the toe box, outsole, and collar, over a classic white and midnight blue leather upper.

The Women’s Air Jordan 1 Atmosphere is out now for a retail price of $170. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT.

Women’s Dunk Low Primal Pink/Primal White

At this point in the year, Nike is basically doing victory laps with their most famous and best-selling silhouettes. The mightly Dunk Low is getting a double sneaker drop this week dubbed the “Primal Pack.” The collection features two low-top padded collar dunks with leopard print Swooshes over your choice of either a soft pink or white leather base.

It’s not the most imaginative Dunk that has dropped this year, but it still beats one of the normal stock colorways.

The Women’s Dunk Low Primal Pink/Primal White are out now for a retail price of $110. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or your favorite aftermarket website.

Nike Air Huarache Liverpool

Nike’s Air Huarache Liverpool would make a great gift for any hardcore fans of the Liverpool F.C. football club that you have in your life. In addition to being one of legendary sneaker designer Tinker Hatfield’s most imaginative constructions, this Air Huarache borrows its colorway from Liverpool’s checkerboard flag pattern, taking inspiration from the club’s support section inside of Anfield, also known as The Kop.

Nike totally could’ve — and we’d argue, should’ve — named this sneaker “The Kop,” but then non-football fans would probably just be left scratching their heads.

The Nike Air Huarache Liverpool is out now for a retail price of $130. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Offline Pack Enamel Green

This winter, your feet deserve some kicks that’ll keep your feet warm, comfortable, and above all else, stylish, and one of the only sneakers to achieve that is Nike’s Offline Pack in Enamel Green. Featuring a puffer jacket-inspired design, the Offline Pack features exposed stitching, a custom fit lacing system, a soft upper, and a durable rubber outsole.

It’s everything you love about slippers with all the functionality, support, and durability of a good pair of sneakers.

The Nike Offline Pack Enamel Green is out now for a retail price of $120. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Yeezy Boost 350 V2 MX Rock

If you’re hoping for a new Yeezy drop in these final weeks of 2021, you can go ahead and keep waiting but I’m sorry to report that it’s not happening. The brand is primarily focused on re-stocking some of their high sellers, this week that’s the moody and understated Yeezy Boost 350 V2 MX Rock.

Featuring a marbled design with shades of brown and grey over a black upper with a matching translucent midsole, the MX Rock sports an Oreo milkshake-esque design that puts it up there with some of the best Yeezy colorways of all time.

The Yeezy Boost 350 V2 MX Rock is out now for a retail price of $250. Pick up a pair via the Adidas webstore, Yeezy Supply, or aftermarket sites like GOAT and Flight Club.

Pharrell Williams Adilette 2.0 Slides

Pharrell has quietly been on a roll lately. This year, he has been dropping some of his most inspired designs since the days when he first unveiled the ICE CREAM, and this week he’s taking a shot at reimagining the Adidas Adilette.

The Adilette is one of the simplest and most recognizable sandal silhouettes of all time, so the idea of reimagining it is a bit like reimagining an Air Jordan 1. Where do you go with it? Pharrell took the shape and beefed it up with a chunky silhouette sporting a texture upper and footbed with a synthetic outsole and a reflexology diagram graphic on the footbed.

The Pharrell Williams Adilette 2.0 Slides are set to drop on December 23rd for a retail price of $100. Pick up a pair via the Adidas webstore.

It wasn’t that long ago that Jared Schmeck, the Oregon father of four who blurted out the coded Biden insult “Let’s go Brandon” to Biden himself, was swearing he wasn’t a “Trumper.” By “not that long ago,” we mean Sunday, when his first major post-incident interview was published. But life moves pretty fast, and Schmeck is already flip-flopping, and while speaking with Steve Bannon yet.

As per The Daily Beast, Schmeck — who uttered the conservative favorite phrase, which is code for “F*ck Joe Biden,” during a Christmas Eve call with the president and the First Lady — appeared on The War Room, Bannon’s podcast. In a previous interview with The Oregonian, Schmeck had painted himself as just an Average Joe who had some issues with Biden. He even claimed to be shocked by the backlash against him effectively telling the president to screw himself while on a festive call about a “Santa tracker.”

Now, a mere three days after the infamous call, Schmeck had gone all-in on Trump. He wore a MAGA hat and parroted election lies to his possibly jail-bound host.

When asked about the Oregonian piece that characterized him as someone who’s not a “Trumper,” Schmeck called it “absolutely false,” adding, “Donald Trump is my president, and he should still be president right now.” He declared that the 2020 election was “100 percent stolen.”

When speaking to The Oregonian not long before his chat with Bannon, a very different Schmeck emerged. “I understand there is a vulgar meaning to ‘Let’s go, Brandon,’ but I’m not that simple-minded, no matter how I feel about him,” he said. “He seems likes he’s a cordial guy. There’s no animosity or anything like that. It was merely just an innocent jest to also express my God-given right to express my frustrations in a joking manner… I love him just like I love any other brother or sister.”

Jump a day or two, and Schmeck was singing a different tune. “‘Let’s Go Brandon’ is more than just ‘F Joe Biden.’ ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ encompasses the entirety of our frustration with Joe Biden, the administration, the leftist mob, the cancel culture, the mainstream media,” he told Bannon. “They’re the ones who made this a thing.”

And it seems yet another far right superstar has suddenly emerged.

(Via The Daily Beast)

On Sunday, it was revealed Jean-Marc Vallée, the Canadian director of movies like Dallas Buyers Club and the shows Big Litlte Lies and Sharp Objects, had suddenly died. He was only 58. Initial reports did not reveal the cause of his passing. But multiple sources have told Deadline that it was a heart attack — a shocking development considering Vallée was reportedly a longtime health enthusiast.

According to Deadline, Vallée was “known as a fitness fanatic and a teetotaler, a practitioner of the Wim Hoff fitness method, which is not for the faint of heart.” He died while at his riverside cabin outside Quebec City, reportedly while awaiting guests who were to arrive on the 26th. It’s believed he passed away on Christmas Day and that his body wasn’t discovered till Sunday.

Vallée had an unpredictable, shape-shifting career. He started off making shorts in his native Canada before breaking through with 2005’s C.R.A.Z.Y. which won four Genie Awards (basically Canada’s Oscars), including Best Picture. He soon found himself in the U.K., directing Emily Blunt in 2008’s The Young Victoria.

He soon found himself in America. There, he hit his stride, directing Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto to Oscars with Dallas Buyers Club, directing Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern to Oscar nominations with Wild, and getting an excellent turn out of Jake Gyllenhaal in the grief drama-comedy Demolition.

Vallée reinvented himself again by heading to TV. He directed the first season of Big Little Lies, starring Nicole Kidman, Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, and Zoe Kravitz, and hung on as an executive producer for its second. He then helmed Sharp Objects, his take on Gillian Flynn’s novel, which scored Amy Adams some of her best notices.

The filmmaker’s unexpected passing prompted much mourning from his colleagues and others in the industry. “Beautiful Jean-Marc Vallee,” Dern wrote on Instagram. “The world has lost one of our great and purest artists and dreamers. And we lost our beloved friend. Our hearts are broken.”

(Via Deadline)

I hope I’m not dropping anyone’s jaw when I say this, but vegan baked goods are often good but rarely great. What can I say, eggs and butter make anything baked slap. I get that there is a whole group of people who for all sorts of reasons can’t or don’t eat dairy, but I can/ do — so when it comes to choosing to eat a warm and fresh cinnamon roll I’m going non-vegan every time.

Or at least that’s how I lived my life before I walked into a Cinnaholic. If you’ve never been to Cinnaholic but the name still sounds familiar to you, maybe you watched founders Shannon and Florian Radke pitch the concept of gourmet customizable vegan cinnamon rolls on Shark Tank, where the duo dared to promise the “world’s best cinnamon roll experience” on a planet where Cinnabon has existed for some 35 years. After flooring the panel with rolls that featured “half the calories” of their competition, Robert Herjavec offered a deal the duo accepted (though, ultimately, the brand went another direction).

Today, there are over 55 Cinnaholic locations nationwide, and it looks like the brand isn’t stopping expansion efforts anytime soon. Its big selling point is that each cinnamon roll is made from scratch, with over 20 frosting flavors to choose from, as well as a whole host of fresh, decadent, and increasingly wild toppings — all 100% vegan and cholesterol-free.

The 100% vegan and cholesterol-free bit is awesome, of course, but if humanity’s consumption habits have proved anything over the decades it’s that health and the environment take a back seat to pleasing customers. For better or worse, all that matters is what these rolls actually taste like. To find out, I hit my local Cinnaholic to try their new holiday specials as well as a few brand favorites and local specialties. Let’s get into some rolls!

The Winter Lineup

Sweater Weather Roll

This is the roll that totally dispelled any notions I had about what a vegan cinnamon roll could be. It’s packed with wonderful textures and flavors, combining freshly baked banana bread bites, slices of banana, walnuts, powdered sugar, and maple and cream cheese frosting. It’s an explosion of delicious sweetness that captures everything great about a banana split in a form factor that matches perfectly with the colder winter weather we’re experiencing.

I know “Sweater Weather” evokes a certain sort of season and vibe, but Cinnaholic would be crazy not to add this flavor to the permanent menu.

The Bottom Line:

Cinnabon who? The Sweater Weather roll may be the best sweet snack I’ve eaten all year.

Spiced Apple Cobbler Roll

Cinnamon and apple are a classic winter flavor combination, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that this roll’s flavors work so well together. The Spiced Apple Cobbler features baked apple cobbler, cinnadoodle cookie dough, crushed graham cracker cookies, cinnamon sugar, and chai and caramel frosting.

The cardamom and bouquet of spices from the chai frosting really make this roll something special, it’s refreshing and inviting, while still delivering on the sweetness you expect from a cinnamon roll. The inclusion of fresh and crisp apple slices serves as a nice counterbalance to what this decadently sweet roll offers.

The Bottom Line:

Of the two winter classics, I’d say the Sweater Weather is a must while this one is a little bit more forgettable. But if you’re all about warm apple pie, this is definitely worth a try and that chai frosting is a must-taste.

Year-Round Rolls

Caramel Apple Pie

While I loved the Spiced Apple Cobbler roll, I’m way less enthusiastic about this Caramel Apple Pie flavor that enjoys permanent menu status. This roll features fresh apple chunks, pecans, pie crumbles, and caramel sauce with a matching caramel frosting.

To my palate, it’s just way too sweet and the inclusion of apples didn’t do anything to balance out the sweetness like with the previous roll. Instead, this just struck me as a mishmash of flavors with little focus.

The Bottom Line:

If you love apple pie, it might be worth giving this flavor a try. But if you’re not thrilled by sweet apple flavors, this one isn’t going to win you over. Skip it.

Cookie Monster

If you can’t decide between ordering a cookie (which Cinnaholic has) or a cinnamon roll the Cookie Monster attempts to satiate your appetite for both, and it manages to be way more enjoyable than the sum of its parts. This roll features cream cheese frosting peppered with bites of cookie dough, chocolate chips, and a generous portion of chocolate sauce.

It tastes less like the lovechild of a cookie and a cinnamon roll, and more like a piece of well-crafted cake. Be warned though, this cinnamon roll is very sweet and decadent, so don’t end your night by grabbing this roll as an after-dinner dessert. It is the dinner.

The Bottom Line:

It’s a cookie merged with a cinnamon roll, and somehow better than both.

Campire S’mores

The Campfire S’mores is Cinnaholic’s version of a s’more, obviously, but where the Cookie Monster excelled, the Campfire S’mores sadly fails. It’s not that this cinnamon roll is bad, it’s not, but while you’re eating it it’s a little hard to not want to actually have what it is so desperately trying to mimic.

This isn’t quite as good a s’more but it does have all the same ingredients: marshmallow frosting over graham cookie crumbles, marshmallows, and chocolate sauce. It just never comes together right. It doesn’t have the same mouthfeel as a s’more, it’s way mushier and the chocolate sauce, while delicious, isn’t enough to capture the magic of melting a milk chocolate bar between two graham crackers.

The Bottom Line:

It sounds like a good idea but doesn’t hold up quite as well as you’d imagine.

Local Favorites (exclusive to Long Beach location)

Each individual Cinnaholic has a handful of location-exclusive flavors. Theoretically, these flavors can be recreated at your nearest Cinnaholic by ordering a custom roll. So while you might not find these rolls on the menu, if they sound good to you, build ’em! My tasting was at the Cinnaholic Long Beach, which offered up these four custom rolls slightly inspired by the city.

Shoreline OG

I love the Shoreline, it features textured-filled crushed pecans, banana bread bites, and pie crumble, over cream cheese frosting with a caramel drizzle that comes together and manages to taste almost exactly like a slice of good pecan pie. This roll is a bit like the Sweater Weather but with better texture and less sweetness. You lose the decadent-dessert quality of the former, but gain a crunchy mouthfeel with earthy and nutty flavors.

The Bottom Line:

Sweet and earthy, the Shoreline boasts great texture and a nutty flavor that captures the magic of pecan pie in cinnamon roll form.

Cookies And Cream

In my review of the Campire Fire S’mores roll, I mentioned Cinnaholic wasn’t able to pull off the magic of a real s’more, that’s not really the case for the Cookies and Cream. This is as it looks, a giant Oreo, it features vanilla frosting with a couple of cracked Oreo cookies on top and manages to capture the experience of eating an actual Oreo. On steroids.

The end result is a cinnamon roll that tastes like the best Oreo cookie you’ve ever eaten. This one leans on the decadent end, so order this one and split it with one or two friends.

The Bottom Line:

Yes, it’s essentially a giant Oreo cookie and it tastes even better than it looks and sounds.

Strawberry Cheesecake

I’m not the biggest fan of cheesecake, so this one was never going to win me over. It accurately translates the flavor and texture of a rich cheesecake into cinnamon roll form. If that’s your thing, more power to you, but for me, this was just too heavy on the sour tang.

I can see it being enjoyable during the warmer spring months but in the middle of a beachside California winter, I wasn’t feeling this one. I like the inclusion of the fresh strawberries and the crumbled graham cracker dust, but overall this didn’t offer anything that speaks to my palate.

The Bottom Line:

If you like cheesecake you’ll like this, if you don’t, this isn’t going to win you over.

Queen Berry OG

Why deal with the cheesecake cinnamon roll when you can have this refreshing and sweet berry-based roll. The Queen Berry features a generous portion of fresh-cut strawberries alongside whole blueberries that make each forkful an explosion of natural sweetness.

This is by far the most refreshing cinnamon roll I’ve ever eaten, the strawberry and blueberry blend adds a nice level of sweet tartness to the roll without being overwhelmingly bright. I’ve never thought of cinnamon rolls as breakfast food (they’re an after-dinner dessert!) but the Queen Berry is my new go-to on mornings when I want something that tastes like a leveled-up pancake.

The Bottom Line:

A perfect breakfast cinnamon roll that is refreshing and, dare I say, healthy. Okay, not healthy but maybe… healthier than your average cinnamon roll. Healthy adjacent.

Find your nearest Cinnaholic here.

When his modified 2013 Tesla started acting up after just 900 miles of use and left him facing a $22,000 bill to replace the electric car’s faulty battery, Tuomas Katainen of Finland decided to go a different route: Blow up the vehicle with a mannequin of Elon Musk inside.

In a video posted by Pommijätkät, a.k.a. the Bomb Dudes, the Tesla was towed to a quarry outside of Helsinki where it was strapped with 66 pounds of explosives before the Musk mannequin was choppered in just in time for the detonation, which makes for one heck of a viral video that’s already racked up over five million views. Via Insider:

In the video, a charge can be seen racing along the detonation cord, setting off a series of blasting caps that break the windshield and loosen several body panels. After a short pause, the 14 hotdog-shaped charges erupt into a blinding ball of fire, sending a massive shockwave rippling out from the car. Footage from a drone flying through the cloud of shrapnel and smoke shows a gray and black smudge where the car used to be.

Despite his extremely online presence, Musk has yet to react to the video of the exploded Tesla, but we’re guessing he’d probably just say something about Dogecoin or make a weird “pp” joke. He’s really into those lately.

(Via Business Insider)

Weed products are reaching new heights of potency, quality, and even absurdity. No place is this more evident than Hall of Flowers, a cannabis product conference and trade show held in Palm Springs over the weekend of December 8 and 9th.

As weed infiltrates the mainstream one brand at a time, large-scale events and conferences have emerged, each serving a different facet of the industry. While festivals like The Emerald Cup are all about the growers, the weed, and the deep, tangled roots of cannabis culture in the pre-legal era, Hall of Flowers is glitzy, buyer-oriented, and features entrepreneurs and creators all flush with cash. The current It Girl of weed conferences, the show reflects the future of cannabis branding and the savvy stoner it predicates.

Here are the wildest (and best) products we saw on the conference floor.

The Puffco Peak Pro Indiglow

The Puffco Peak is the seminal cannabis product of the past decade, responsible for revolutionizing concentrate consumption (dabbing) similar to the way Apple streamlined the aesthetics of technology. Prior to its conception, users would have to use a tortch and fundamentally freebase a condensed cannabis substance called concentrate or extract out of a bong-like device called a “rig,” which was sketchy-looking, and deemed inaccessible by most. The Puffco Peak elevated the experience of dabbing and made it as simple as the push of a button. Suddenly, consuming concentrate was as easy as sipping champagne.

Bottom Line:

The second iteration of the original Peak, The Peak Pro, is a perfect device. The Peak Pro Indiglow, a limited edition version inspired by sacred geometry, is almost too beautiful to look at directly. There is no object I own that I love more than this one.

Founder’s Blend Live Resin Aperitif by Artet x Aster Farms

Cannabis drinks run the gamut of quality. A dicey genre I am weirdly obsessed with, (I’ve tried literally every drink in the CA market), the new strain-specific Founder’s Blend live resin aperitif collab between Artet and Aster Farms takes the cake in terms of flavor, effect, and overall chic-factor.

Most cannabis beverages are made using a THC distillate, an isolated THC substance that gets you high but doesn’t necessarily make you feel good as it’s missing the spectrum of other joy-inducing chemicals like terpenes and other cannabinoids. This aperitif is made with live resin, a concentrate made from fresh cannabis flower that preserves joy-inducing chemicals, leading to a more nuanced, full bodied experience.

Bottom Line:

As opposed to mainlining THC, which inherently is not a social substance, you’re experiencing Honeydew Funk, a sungrown strain by Aster Farms that is effervescent, social, and party approved.

El Blunto’s Tiffany & OG Diamond-Infused Bluntitos

Everything about this product is mf baller. First of all, there are literal diamonds in these blunts, and not the kind that come with massive ethical concerns. These diamonds are much more high vibe, and come from weed instead.

El Blunto makes the highest quality blunts money can buy. Hand-rolled, hand-hewn, cured for 72 hours… the works. The weed they contain is whole nug broken down by hand, and comes from El Blunto’s collaborations with the best flower brands in the biz.

Bottom Line:

Available in singles or packs of four, each of the Tiffany & OG Diamond-Infused Bluntitos offer a languid, euphoric high, containing Tiffany & OG flower and a concentrate consistency called “diamonds,” which is made from the cannabinoid THCA and sparkles like the real thing.

Nug Pops

The psychoactive icicle sparkling from the A Frame cabin of your dreams, Nug Pops are Otterpops that get you stoned.

Bottom Line:

I already said “Otterpops that get you stoned” — need I say more?

Her Highness Cum on the Go Pleasure Packets

Her Highness is a fabulous woman-owned brand out of New York who have really hit the nail on the proverbial head with their new product “Cum on the Go.”

Bottom Line:

Single serving CBD lube packets for the woman who has it all, but always wants more.

TSUMO Snacks

Contrary to popular belief, not all edibles have to be candy! I think the fact that edibles exist almost exclusively in the realm of sweets reinforces the idea that cannabis consumption is something indulgent as opposed to something that could be part of your daily routine.

Bottom Line:

TSUMO is exciting because they offer a line of savory cannabis snacks that are just as nostalgic as their saccharine counterparts, from hot cheese puffs to ranch chips and everything in between.

Koan Cordials

Koan Cordials is taking a novel approach to the crowded beverage space with their beautiful effect based line of mini drinks that includes experiences like Play, Delight, Calm, Wonder… you get the point.

Bottom Line:

Each little beverage is concocted with a ratio of cannabinoids and blend of terpenes to deliver a specific and unique experience, allowing users to tailor canna-cocktails to fit their mood. The future is now!

Sweet Pee Diamond Badder by Fig Farms and Gold Drop

I included this Sweet Pee Diamond Badder because it’s a heady drop from two brands that normal people should know about but definitely don’t. Fig Farms is a grower-owned brand with beyond meticulous practices that turn out some of the most insane weed I’ve ever seen. Gold Drop is a concentrate brand that exists in the same stratosphere of excellence. Top shelf in every sense of the term, this diamond batter is an electrifying and uplifting sativa perfect for getting everything on your list done with a blinding, rainbow-like positivity that beams from deep within your soul.

Bottom Line:

The perfect extract to try out with your brand new Peak Pro Indiglow.

Highatus Gummies

Highatus is the new edibles line from Cannabiotix, a weed brand hot enough to have its own subculture of fans. They grow the kind of flower that makes you feel amazing on every level, not just stoned. Made from CBX flower, the Highatus gummies do not disappoint.

Bottom Line:

With exciting branding and effect-specific based copy that lets you know exactly what you’re getting into before you get in too deep, these gummies are sour, fun, and a real stand out in a conference awash with sticky-icky treats.

Green Lantern and Whitethorn Rose from Redwood Roots

These strains come to us from Redwood Roots, a Humboldt distro that brings the best weed in the world, from sungrown legacy, and family-run farms of the Emerald Triangle, all the way to customers like us. Truly, God’s work! Two of the standouts in their current craft roster are Green Lantern by Ridgeline Farms, and Whitethorn Rose by Huckleberry Hill Farms. Green Lantern is a juggernaut of deep forest euphoria that is one of the buzziest strains of the year, not to mention one of the best selling 1/8ths for Cookies right now (who also distributes Ridgeline’s flower).

Huckleberry Hill’s Whitethorn Rose has dark purple buds, tastes like a smoothie, and is my favorite flower I’ve ever experienced. The legacy genetics were originally cultivated by grower Johnny Casali’s mom, who passed them down to him. With a high that’s joyful, exciting, and deeply soul soothing, you can feel generations of love shine through this beautiful flower.

Bottom Line:

The two best flowers I encountered over the course of Hall of Flowers — a show where I smelled, tasted and smoked countless varieties of cannabis.