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I’m going to let you in on a little secret about why the cocktails at high-end cocktail bars are always better than your favorite dive or the drinks you mix at home. While I’d like to say it’s about some special motion of mixing or touch of magic in the atmosphere (those are important, don’t get me wrong), it’s really all about the quality of the spirit in that cocktail.

Shitty bourbon means shitty cocktails. Great bourbon means great cocktails. I promise that it’s really that easy.

If you’re paying $8 t0 $12 for a cocktail, it’s going to be fine. But because of the way pricing works in bars, that cocktail has to be made with a $15 to $20 bottle of bourbon (at wholesale). That’s why $15 to $20 cocktails are just better. They’re made on the back of a much better bourbon. The great thing is, you’re not constrained by having to turn a profit off every single pour at home. So if you want to try and reach the heights of the best cocktail bars, just start pouring $30 to $60 (and sometimes up to $100) bourbon whiskeys in your cocktails.

Below, I’m calling out ten bourbons I love to mix with. Some of these will elicit gasps from bourbon geeks out there who are (in my opinion) often far too precious about “how” you’re supposed to drink whiskey. If you buy a bottle of whiskey, you can enjoy it however you want. And sometimes that’s in a dope AF cocktail.

To make the process even easier, I paired each pick with its ideal mixed drink. Click on the prices if you want to try them for yourself!

Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of 2021

• The Single Best Bottle Of Whiskey From Each Of The 50 States
• The Best Bottles Of Bourbon Whiskey For Under $20, Ranked
• Our Favorite Bourbon Whiskey From Every Price Point Between $10-$200
• All 19 Brands From The Buffalo Trace Distillery, Ranked
• Here’s Who Won Our Big Barrel Proof Bourbon Whiskey Blind Taste Test

Eagle Rare

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $45

The Whiskey:

Eagle Rare is a marriage of at minimum ten-year-old Buffalo Trace whiskeys. Each barrel is hand-selected to bring in classic bourbon flavors that also feel deeply rooted and unique to the brand.

Tasting Notes:

This one opens boldly, with orange rind and maple syrup next to touches of honey, worn leather, and toffee. Then the oak char and vanilla kick in, giving it a classic old-leather-chair-in-a-smoky-library vibe, as hints of mint lead back towards the toffee.

When you add a little water, there’s a dark chocolate bar with almonds note that arrives. The finish is short but sweet in all the right ways.

The Cocktail: Old Fashioned

This whiskey is killer on the rocks or in an old fashioned. The orange, leather, and nutty dark chocolate all shine with a little bitters, sugar, cherry, and orange oils.

Check out our recipe here!

George Dickel Bourbon Whisky

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $30

The Whisky:

This whiskey was a special release from Nicole Austin and a new direction for the brand. The whiskey is the same Dickel that makes their famed Tennessee expression, simply pulled from barrels that leaned more into classic bourbon flavor notes. The barrels are a minimum of eight years old before they’re vatted. The juice is then cut down to a manageable 90 proof and bottled.

Tasting Notes:

This opens with classic bourbon notes of vanilla, caramel, dry wood, and a touch of apple crisp with brown sugar, spice, and butter. The taste holds onto the Dickel corn vibe as the sweetness leans into caramel and toffee with a buttery backbone, more eggnog spice, and a pear/apple vibe with a dusting of orange oils. The finish isn’t overly long but has a nice dose of creamy vanilla next to an apple tobacco chewiness.

The Cocktail: Eggnog

Eggnog spices, creamy vanilla, and dessert vibes? That calls for a dessert cocktail.

Check out our recipe here!

Bulleit Bourbon 10

ABV: 45.6%

Average Price: $49

The Whiskey:

This is classic Bulleit Bourbon that’s aged up to ten years before it’s blended and bottled. These barrels are hand-selected to really amplify and highlight the classic flavors that make Bulleit so damn accessible in the first place.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a lot going on, with butter and spicy stewed apples, maple syrup, Christmas cakes full of nuts and dried fruit, and a hint of savory herbs all pinging through your olfactory. The palate brings about smooth and creamy vanilla with plenty of butter toffee, sourdough crust, more X-mas spice, cedar bark, and a hint of dried roses. The finish is long, warming, and really embraces the toffee and spice.

The Cocktail: Old Pal

This very refined take on the Negroni is perfect for a subtly spiced yet slightly funky bourbon like this one.

Check out our recipe here!

Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 44%

Average Price: $44

The Whiskey:

This small-town craft distillery is making some of the finest grain-to-glass whiskey on the market. Their signature bourbon is a wheated bourbon that utilizes grains grown within 100 miles of the Wyoming distillery. The juice is aged for at least four years before it’s small-batched, proofed with local water, and bottled.

Tasting Notes:

The vanilla and caramel on the nose are creamy to the point of feeling like a stiff pudding with a hint of wildflowers. The palate holds onto those flowers and pudding while adding cinnamon sticks warming in browned butter with a note of cedar. That spice broadens out to a Christmas spice vibe, as a buttery toffee sweetness and mouthfeel lead you toward a finish that’s just the right length.

The Cocktail: The Brown Derby

There’s just something about the florals in this whiskey that feels like a great match for the sharpness of grapefruit in this drink.

Check out our recipe here!

Legent Bourbon

ABV: 47%

Average Price: $40

The Whiskey:

This bottle from Beam Suntory marries Kentucky Bourbon, California wine, and Japanese whisky blending in one bottle. Legent is classic Kentucky bourbon made by bourbon legend Fred Noe at Beam that’s finished in both French oak that held red wine and Spanish sherry casks. The juice is then blended by whisky blending legend Shinji Fukuyo.

Tasting Notes:

Plummy puddings with hints of nuts mingle with vinous berries, oaky spice, and a good dose of vanilla and toffee on the nose. The palate expands on the spice with more barky cinnamon and dusting of nutmeg while the oak becomes sweeter and the fruit becomes dried and sweet. The finish is jammy-yet-light with plenty of fruit, spice, and oak lingering on the senses.

The Cocktail: Whiskey Sour

The Whiskey Sour is a beautiful cocktail. The velvet texture thanks to the eggwhite helps highlight the nuance of any bourbon you use, so be sure to use an expression as brilliant as this one.

Check out our recipe here!

Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $19

The Whiskey:

This is a “small batch” in theory and name more than practice. The expression is a marrying of 200 barrels of bourbon from Heaven Hill’s warehouses. That juice is then proofed down to 45 proof and bottled as is.

Tasting Notes:

The whiskey pulls you in with a touch of cornbread dripping with butter next to bourbon vanilla and hints of oak. The taste adds a drop of honey to that buttery cornbread as fruitiness takes on a tart caramel apple edge. The end is short, sweet, full of corn, and a little oaky.

The Cocktail: Horse’s Neck

Evan Williams 1783 really feels like the ultimate highball bourbon. While it’d be easy just to splash some fizzy water over ice and bourbon, the Horse’s Neck adds serious depth to the highball game with a touch of Angostura, ginger ale, and plenty of lemon oils.

Check out our recipe here!

Nelson’s Green Brier Tennessee Whiskey

ABV: 45.5%

Average Price: $30

The Whiskey:

Nelson’s Green Brier is a heritage brand that has a great comeback story. The family’s shingle was killed by Prohibition until descendants of the former owners stumbled upon the old distillery. Now they’re making one of the finest wheated Tennessee whiskeys at one of the most accessible price points of any whiskey on the market.*

*By fulfilling all the requirements for a bourbon, this could technically be bottled as such tomorrow with no tweaks — so we’ve included it.

Tasting Notes:

Cinnamon stewed apple mix with oily vanilla and a sweet edge of caramel. The spice carries through the taste with buttery cinnamon toast feel next to more tart apples, plenty of that caramel, wet brown sugar, and a small dusting of dark cacao and cherries. The end takes its time as it dances back through the cinnamon, cherry, chocolate, spice, and brown sugar towards a final note of wood.

The Cocktail: Boulevardier

This whiskey has some big notes that can stand up to big botanicals. That makes it a great candidate for a big cocktail like this.

Check out our recipe here!

Wild Turkey Rare Breed Barrel Proof Bourbon

ABV: 58.4%

Average Price: $50

The Whiskey:

This is the mountaintop of what Wild Turkey can achieve. This is a blend of the best barrels that are married and bottled untouched. That means no filtering and no cutting with water. This is a classic bourbon with nowhere to hide.

Tasting Notes:

Crème brûlée greets you with a nice dose of Christmas spices, mild pipe tobacco, orange zest, and a distant hint of fresh mint sprigs. There’s a pine resin nature to the woody flavors on the palate that accent the orange oils, spices, vanilla, and sweetness. The sip takes on a Christmas cake-feel late, with a velvet end that is just the right amount of everything you want from a bourbon.

The Cocktail: Sazerac

You really want a fantastic bourbon if you’re making a Sazerac. I can’t think of a better bourbon at this price point that’s also a phenom in cocktails.

Check out our recipe here!

Old Forester 1897 Bottled in Bond

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $56

The Whiskey:

Old Forester 1897 Bottled-in-Bond is the brand’s throwback bottle that celebrates the 1897 act that brought the world bottled-in-bond whiskey. The juice in the bottle is a mid-rye bourbon mash that’s aged, proofed, and bottled in accordance with the bonded laws and regulations.

Tasting Notes:

This drips with caramel on the nose — the kind that’s a bit tacky and chewy — alongside a touch of orange blossom and maybe a vanilla latte. That vanilla and bitter espresso bean note carry on through the palate as a bowl of red and stone fruits soak in a bowl of brandy with plenty of cinnamon sticks and allspice berries thrown in too. The finish marries all those notes while leaning heavily into the caramel sweetness as it fades away at a good clip.

The Cocktail: Whiskey Smash

The beauty of the Whiskey Smash is in the simplicity. This is basically just quality bourbon that’s accented with sugar, lemon, and mint. That means that base bourbon has to be damn good to start with.

Check out our recipe here!

Michter’s Single Barrel 10-Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon

ABV: 47.2%

Average Price: $350

The Whiskey:

Michter’s is currently distilling and aging their own whiskey, but this is still sourced. The actual barrels sourced for these single barrel expressions tend to be at least ten years old with some rumored to be closer to 15 years old (depending on the barrel’s quality, naturally). Either way, the juice goes through Michter’s bespoke filtration process before a touch of Kentucky’s iconic soft limestone water is added, bringing the bourbon down to a very crushable 94.4 proof.

Tasting Notes:

The nose opens with subtle notes of soft wood and worn leather next to light touches of dark berries, orange oils, egg nog spice, and slight toffee sweetness. The palate starts off equally soft with something more akin to maple syrup sweetness which then leads into a rush of berry brambles. The mid-palate hits on a bit of dark spice, vanilla tobacco, and dark cacao and espresso bitterness. The finish leans into a dry-yet-almost-sweet oak with a touch of an almond shell and dry grass coming in at the very end.

The real beauty is in the softness of the taste. There are no rough edges whatsoever and the whole sipping experience is like a silken dream. The soft limestone water does help the drinkability without making it feel thin. And while this isn’t an ABV bomb that’ll leave you burning, it’s not meant to be.

This is the epitome of a slow-sipping bourbon with real depth, even when mixed into a drink.

The Cocktail: Manhattan

I know, some of you think you can’t use premium bourbon for cocktails. That’s just … crazy. Sorry, but it is. I like to break this out for special occasions Manhattans (usually between now and the end of the year). We call them $50 Manhattans around my home bar. They, of course, rule. I’d argue that this is one of the best bourbons you can use for a Manhattan due to all the dark fruit, spices, and woody sweetness. It just ties perfectly to good sweet vermouth, bitters, and orange oils.

Check out our recipe here!

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As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive a commission pursuant to certain items on this list.

Dexter Morgan is back, baby, and that means that Michael C. Hall is returning in the role that landed him an Emmy. This should all be good news, yes, because Dexter delivered an absurdly beloved serial killer to a legion of fans. And we’re receiving what is, in effect, a ninth season from Showtime through a limited series. Yet there’s a significant question at hand: Is the new season good enough that it justifies its own existence as a revival?

Before we address that question, here’s an unavoidable reality: there’s a ton of water, literally, under this bridge. That unnatural disaster sources directly from the hurricane in the original series finale. And everyone who watched the original show realizes that the entire show jumped the shark during that episode. Dexter had planned to flee from Miami to Argentina with Hannah, his soul mate (and, conveniently, also a serial killer who adored poison), and his young son, Harrison. Instead, he chose to spare Harrison from his influence (to supposedly break the “born in blood” cycle), so he sailed out into the storm, dumped the body of his sister, Debra, into the ocean, and then he sailed to his presumed death but surfaced as a freaking lumberjack in the Pacific Northwest.

It was, to be blunt, a very unsatisfying ending, arguably even more so than that of Game of Thrones, and to this day, the word “lumberjack” is enough to set off Dexter fans. Original showrunner Clyde Phillips knows it. Michael C. Hall knows it. A score needed to be settled. The fans wanted blood in the worst way. So, if the powers that be were going to proceed with this revival, they damn well were bound to try as hard as possible to not repeat past mistakes and (eight real-time years later) compound the problem.

Well, I’m here to tell you that New Blood goes a long way — at least in the first four episodes screened for critics (out of ten planned for the season) — to set about redeeming itself and providing something fresh. I’ll discuss this without spoiling plot points that haven’t already been revealed by Showtime:

– Dexter’s new life: Cue a shiny identity. Dexter is now Jim Lindsay, a sales clerk at a hunting/gun/tackle/etc. shop. He’s concocted quite a reality for himself in a fictional community called Iron Lake. It’s all a morbidly beautiful take on the cliché that one can always pick up and retire to a nice farm in upstate New York. And Dexter’s doing well for himself, a decade after that hurricane. He’s putting his knife sharpening skills to benevolent use, and scratching his violence-loving itch to a degree. In fact, every indication seems to be that he could maintain his new equilibrium — having ingratiated himself with the town’s residents and even dating a cop, providing an “in” for murder cases, should he ever needs that — on an indefinite basis. This is both a help and a hindrance to him as circumstances begin to change.

– The series seems committed to honoring past characters: Yup, you will see some familiar faces, as previously promised. That’ll include John Lithgow as the Trinity Killer, for example, but first and foremost, there’s Jennifer Carpenter’s Deb. I’m fairly certain that we won’t be seeing any Hannah or Doakes during this revival, but Deb, man, she is a necessity. And the way that she appears, very early (and regularly) in this revival, is perfect. She might very well prove to be the lynchpin before all is said and done.

– Of course, Dexter’s little world gets shaken up: Does he have a rough time with the sight of blood? Sure. That’s not his main difficulty. He’s perfectly capable of treading water, but there’s a whiff in the air, the hint that the right set of circumstances could propel him into instability (hello, Dark Passenger) at any moment. A few things here:

(1) Dexter’s code is still intact, to a fault. He puts on a new mask, but he can’t keep it up forever. After all, and even more than being tempted by the sight of knives (he admires them both lovingly and resentfully), the dude’s got a code. And he can only withstand violations of that code for so long. Eventually, someone will be reprehensible enough to deserve Dexter’s particular brand of comeuppance. Yet Dexter is out of practice. He’s been off the murdering beat too long, and therefore, he’s lost a lot of his sharpness, his sixth sense. So, one should expect that vibe, which will be fun to play with.

(2) Dexter: The Next Generation is happening. In fact, that might as well be the title of this spinoff, and Showtime pointedly confirmed (as many, including myself, hoped) in a recent trailer that a teenage Harrison would return. This is not only a satisfactory development but necessary because the idea that Dexter could silence his Dark Passenger forever was ridiculous and runs against his character’s complex nature. It’s a conundrum, for sure, because Harrison did deserve a shot at a future without dad’s influence. Dexter even once declared, “It doesn’t matter what I do, what I choose. I’m what’s wrong.” Well, Harrison is fully in the picture, and it doesn’t feel forced. In fact, it feels overdue, and there’s a big question of whether nature or nurture will steer Harrison wrong, as this season progresses.

– Music remains an integral aspect of the series: This was a tough one to feel out, no doubt. Daniel Licht, the original series’ acclaimed composer, passed away in 2017. That leaves a huge void, given that Licht took an unconventional approach, stopping at nothing in what he would use (duct tape, knives, bones, you name it) to pull together the sounds to match the sights of the show. There’s simply no replacing Licht, so the show draws from popular music to partially fill that void. That includes Iggy Pop’s “The Passenger,” Leonard Cohen’s “Avalanche,” and Blondie’s “Heart of Glass,” the latter of which brings to mind Chris Evans’ contract killer in The Iceman. You’ll love what Dexter’s doing while that song plays during this season.

Actually, there’s plenty to love here, but I get it if you feel reluctant to let go of finale resentment. I felt the same way, but I would encourage O.G. Dexter fans to not be afraid of being excited about this revival. Clyde Phillips and Michael C. Hall (along with everyone involved) did not go into this endeavor lightly. They know their butts are on the line if they pull another lumberjack affair, and from what I’ve seen so far, they’re committed to making things right, all while putting the leading man on the hot seat, as he very well should be. Dexter Morgan couldn’t hide forever, so go take a look at what he’s doing these days. You’ll dig the new vibes, and the old ones as well.

Showtime’s ‘Dexter: New Blood’ premieres on November 7.

Just days before Kanye West finally released his tenth album Donda, it was revealed that the rapper would be packaging purchases of the album with a stem player that allows its users to “customize any song.” The product’s features let users control vocals, drums, bass, and samples, isolate certain parts of a song, and add effects. It also supports Bluetooth capabilities and features a headphone jack, volume buttons, speakers, a haptic engine, and 8GB of storage. Two months after it was made available, the stem player is finally being delivered and it appears that the device certainly lives up to the hype. Furthermore, Kanye uploaded three more songs, in addition to the entirety of Donda, to the stem player.

The first song that was added is a censored version of “Life Of The Party,” featuring Andre 3000. For those who remember, the song was thrown into the middle of West and Drake’s beef after the latter leaked it during a late-night radio broadcast. Andre spoke out about the song being leaked in a statement, writing, “It’s unfortunate that it was released in this way and two artists that I love are going back and forth.”

The other two songs that were added are the official version of “Up From The Ashes” — a track that was a last-minute scratch from West 2019 album Jesus Is King, according to HipHopNMore — and a final and complete version of “Never Abandon Your Family.” Additionally, Kid Cudi appears on “Remote” with Young Thug after he was removed from the digital version of the track.

You can check out previews of the added songs as well as how the stem player works all together in the videos above.

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

As far as I’m concerned, all energy drinks essentially taste the same: awful. Or, I should say, as far as I was concerned. I’m not an energy drink guy — I’m more likely to grab an espresso or black iced coffee (hell, sometimes just a Coke) when I feel sluggish. So when I set out to blind taste test every energy drink I could find at the corner store and my local market, I was shocked to find that all energy drinks do not, in fact, taste like virtually identical cans of chemical sludge.

They taste like slightly different cans of chemical sludge!

It’s not like I was able to place which flavor belonged to which can, I definitely wasn’t. But I discovered that there is a legitimate, non-brand-loyalty-related reason to prefer Monster over BANG, or vice versa. Will I give up coffee for a can of the new Starbust energy drink C4? Probably not, but if I ever do find myself in a situation where I need the unique boost of chaotic energy that only comes from cracking a can of the strong stuff, I now know which brand to go with.

These are the best corner-store energy drinks, blind taste-tested and ranked by flavor.

The Line Up:

Taste-testing 10 different energy drinks in one sitting gives you the kind of high that makes you say, “let’s take a crushed can photo.” That’s embarassing. Here’s our lineup!

• Bang Blue Razz
• Celsius Sparkling Watermleon
• Starburst C4 Cherry
• G Fuel Peach Rings
• Kill Cliff Flaming Joe
• Monster Energy Original
• NOS GT Grape
• Red Bull Original
• Reign Melon Mania
• Rockstar Original

The Taste Test:

Taste 1

It’s purple. I fully expected each of these to be completely clear because why go through the trouble of coloring the liquid? Is someone besides me drinking this out of a f*cking glass? Weird.

Anyway, this is bad. It smells like grape medicine but doesn’t even pack that level of flavor. A slight hint of chemical grape is all I taste mixed with, I want to say, water? It tastes as if you grabbed an empty bottle of cough syrup and poured seltzer water in it.

Taste 2

A chemical blueberry blast on the nose with a rotten syrup flavor. It’s strangely bitter and wince-inducing. Just awful.

Taste 3

A great fizz on this one. From the smell to the taste, this exactly matches the experience of tearing open a fresh bag of sour peach rings. It’s highly artificial, but not totally unenjoyable.

I just can’t see myself killing a whole can of this stuff, it’s overwhelmingly chemical.

Taste 4

Again with the colors. This one turned out strangely pleasant. It has a refreshing crisp scent and a lightly sweetened flavor that doesn’t taste like complete poison like the last few tastes. I tentatively like this one.

Taste 5

My girlfriend, who poured each of these samples out of my sight, must’ve been so shocked by the insane color of this one that she spilled it all over the plate. I was scared to get a taste of this one, it looks like an angrier version of Mountain Dew. But like the last taste, I think I like this one.

It has a light pineapple flavor with a slight spicy burn on the backend. It’s not overwhelming, it’s subtle and gently sweet. Maybe they’re onto something with these colors.

Taste 6

After the last two pleasant flavors, this was an absolute shock to the system. It’s sickly sweet with an awful melon flavor that sticks to your tongue and teeth.

I felt like I needed to brush my teeth after a single drink of this noxious brew.

Taste 7

This one smells familiar and has a flavor that bounces between orange and artificial cherry. I’m guessing this is the Starburst flavor, but it doesn’t taste anything like Cherry Starburst, so I can’t be sure.

Taste 8

The color on this one is just awful. It looks like the prop urine samples you see in hospital shows. An unhealthy yellow-brown glow. This one has some bite, with a spikey flavor that has subtle bubble gum notes.

It seems like a good choice to mix with alcohol, I’m going to guess this is the Red Bull.

Taste 9

It doesn’t have a clear flavor to it, kind of basic with a sort of cotton candy sweetness. It’s okay.

Taste 10

This one has a sort of balance to it that the others don’t have. It’s sweet, but not to the point of tasting like candy, and it has a great crispness to it. This is the only one that I feel is palatable enough to drink a whole can of, definitely the highlight of the lineup.

The Ranking:

10. Reign — Melon Mania (Taste 6)

Reign Meloon Mania contains BCAA Aminos and Coenzyme Q10 and I have absolutely no idea what any of that means. If you do, good for you, but don’t let that tempt you into trying this energy drink. It tastes absolutely awful and no promise of energy is worth that.

The Bottom Line:

Melon Mania is right. Reign goes absolutely nuts with the flavors here and the way the smell sticks to your breath is offensive. This is bottom of the barrel stuff.

Find Reign here.

9. Nos — Gt Grape (Taste 1)

52 grams of sugar in a single can of NOS GT Grape and it tastes like absolute shit. It honestly tastes like dirty water. Just do yourself a flavor and drink a Coca-Cola. It’s less sugar, more flavor, and probably healthier for you. When can you ever say that about Coca-Cola?

The Bottom Line:

Not nearly as fun as an energy drink called Nos should be.

Find Nos here.

8. Bang — Blue Razz (Taste 2)

Bang features 180 mg of caffeine, BCAAs, B-Vitamins, and has absolutely no sugar, putting it at a nice zero calories. This energy drink has the stats to promise you a considerable jolt, but with no sugar in it, it hardly has any flavor.

It tastes sort of like an old White Claw that you left out in the sun.

The Bottom Line:

Keep looking, the name Blue Razz might lead you to believe this is packing flavor but it’s not.

Find Bang Energy here.

7. Starburst C4 — Cherry (Taste 7)

Who at the Starburst offices pitched the idea of an energy drink, and why the hell did they decide to call it C4? Starburst sounds fantastical, it conjures a delicious image but C4? That’s an explosive.

It almost feels like this energy drink is a Nathan Fielder skit. That said, C4 delivers 200mg of caffeine with zero sugar — which is saying something.

The Bottom Line:

It doesn’t taste quite as good as a Cherry Starburst, but it sort of tastes the way the Cherry Starburst wrapper smells. That’s something, right?

Find C4 here.

6. Monster Energy — Original (Taste 9)

Monster Energy was one of the first energy drinks to hit the mainstream. It’s a standard and eats up most of the shelf space at the corner store, alongside Rockstar and Red Bull. It’s easily the worst of the big three though. Monster Energy tastes overly candied, it’s practically a soda.

As far as energy drinks go though, this stuff is also pretty mild — only supplying 160mg of caffeine per 16 ounce can. It’s got a stronger kick than Coca-Cola, but it’s nowhere near as good.

The Bottom Line:

The Mountain Dew of energy drinks.

Find Monster Energy here.

5. G Fuel — Sonic’s Peach Rings (Taste 3)

Okay, maybe I should’ve picked a flavor of G-Fuel that wasn’t a limited-edition flavor, but how could I resist an energy drink with Sonic the Hedgehog on it? Gotta go fast, baby!

This brew features 300 mg of caffeine and zero sugar but packs a whole lot of flavor, making it our first flavor in the ranking that could actually be described as “good-ish.” A whole can might be overwhelming, but if you’re looking for a lighter boost I definitely recommend sharing a can of this peach-flavored energy drink.

The Bottom Line:

Flavorful, in a can big enough to share with a friend. Use it in a cocktail as a peach-flavored soda base. This plus your favorite gin is a winner.

Find G Fuel here.

4. Rockstar — Original (Taste 8)

As I mentioned before, Rockstar is one of the big three. It’s been around for seemingly as long as energy drinks at the corner store have been a thing and I don’t know how to describe its flavor as anything other than “energy drink flavored.” What did surprise me about this one was its sharp bite. It has a burn to it and I find that incredibly appealing in an energy drink.

It’s like this one isn’t trying to hide that it’s poison for your body. I respect that.

The energy here is supplied via 160 mg of caffeine and a blend of guarana, taurine, and B-vitamins, but is also packed with 270 calories and 63 grams of sugar, which means a can of this is a guaranteed crash.

The Bottom Line:

Sweet with a sharp bite that begs to be mixed in a cocktail.

Find Rockstar here.

3. Kill Cliff — Flaming Joe (Taste 5)

Of course there is a Joe Rogan branded energy drink and of course it has hemp in it and features can art that depicts Joe Rogan with a third eye. It’s so on the nose that it feels like a joke or proof that the world we live in isn’t real, but I’m actually surprised at how delicious this stuff is.

Made by Kill Cliff, Flaming Joe features 25mg of CBD per can, B-Vitamins, electrolytes, zero grams of sugar, and only clocks in at 20 calories per can. On top of all of that, it has a great flavor. I almost feel like this one deserves to be ranked higher.

The Bottom Line:

You shouldn’t be surprised there is a Joe Rogan branded energy drink, but you will be surprised at just how good it is.

Find Kill Cliff here.

2. Celsius — Sparkling Watermelon (Taste 4)

Celsius is clearly trying to do something different with its brand of energy drinks. They’ve reframed from the intense macho branding that most of the brands feel obligated to use and they double down on that with a flavor that tastes refreshing and sweet without delving into that chemical territory that so many energy drinks live in.

Each can of Celsius Sparkling Watermleon features a blend of ginger root, guarana seed and green tea extract, Vitamins B and C, and Chromium.

The Bottom Line:

It seems like Celsius is a little more dedicated to their ingredient sourcing than the other brands, whether that translates to a more or less effective energy drink, it’s tough to say (because I tasted ten of these things all together!). But it tastes great!

Find Celsius here.

1. Red Bull — Original (Taste 10)

I’m surprised that Red Bull took this competition, I assumed it would hit the middle of the list along with Rockstar and Monster. But I had by far the best experience drinking this one. Alongside its well-balanced taste and crisp gentle bite, I really love the form factor. It comes in a very drinkable 8.4 ounce can that is easy to finish but still gives you that caffeine and B-vitamin boost that leaves you alert and energized.

At 110 calories per can and 27g of sugar, it’s still dangerously sweet and in no ways healthy or good for you, so don’t think its number one spot is an endorsement of the thing. We just think it tastes the best.

The Bottom Line:

The Coca-Cola of energy drinks. It’s not offensively sweet but has that crisp familiar energy drink flavor that’ll satisfy your craving for a carbonated drink that also delivers a strong buzz.

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Lil Durk is fresh off completing his Back Outside Tour with Lil Baby, whcih were held in support of their album Voice Of The Heroes, as their own recent solo projects, namely the former’s Just Cause Y’all Waited 2 and The Voice as well as the latter’s My Turn. For his next performance, Durk brought his talents to Howard University’s homecoming for a concert in front of the school’s students. While everything may have went well at first, things were cut short after the rapper felt like things were a little off.

Thanks to a video provided by someone in the crowd, it appears that Durk cut his set short due to underwhelming energy from the crowd. “Aye look, we was supposed to do more songs but this sh*t sound so bogus I don’t even feel this sh*t for real,” he told the crowd. “But I appreciate y’all for f*cking with us one time in this muthaf*cka, man,” he added before walking off the stage.

Durk recently joined EST Gee in a video for Moneybagg Yo’s “Switches & Dracs.” He also connected with 42 Dugg in a video for their collaboration “Free Ric.” As for his own work, Durk released his latest single, “Pissed Me Off,” earlier this month, in which he addresses many of the dark moments that recently occurred in his life.

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After an MVP season in 2020-21, Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic has been excellent to begin the 2021-22 campaign. In three games, the 26-year-old center is averaging 27.7 points, 16 rebounds and four assists per game with impressive efficiency, and Jokic is the centerpiece of one of the league’s most intriguing teams. On Tuesday, the Nuggets traveled to Salt Lake City to face a Western Conference rival in the Utah Jazz and, for much of the first half, Jokic’s stellar play was the lead story.

Unfortunately, that changed late in the first half, when Jokic bumped knees with Jazz center Rudy Gobert and was forced to leave the game.

As seen above, Jokic was able to walk off under his power, though he was eventually listed as questionable to return with a knee contusion.

Before exiting, Jokic posted 24 points, six rebounds and six assists in just 15 minutes of play, shooting 8-of-9 from the floor, 3-of-3 from three-point range and 5-of-7 from the free throw line.

One of the hallmarks of Jokic’s tenure as the centerpiece of the Nuggets has been his durability. He has appeared in at least 72 games in each and every season of his career, including campaigns that did not feature 82-game schedules. Still, this is a developing situation, and the hope would be that this is simply a hiccup for Jokic, rather than a long-term issue.

Bill Murray famously doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to do. (Except for Garfield. And get sued by The Doobie Brothers.) The story is if you want him, you leave a message on his voicemail, which he rarely checks. He’s even said he’s missed out on projects he would have enjoyed. That could be one reason he’s completely avoided the main gig in town, which is to say comic book movies. But that may change — maybe.

As per Variety, the legendary actor, promoting his role in Wes Andersons’ new The French Dispatch, recently did an interview with the German-language outlet Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (or FAZ). They asked him about his penchant for working with the same directors over and over: Anderson, Sofia Coppola, Jim Jarmusch. And while answering, he seemed to drop a big secret.

“You know, recently I made a Marvel movie,” he said, then caught himself. “I probably won’t tell you, but never mind.” (FYI: The interview was translated by Google from the original German.)

What was the Marvel movie? He demurred. “In any case, some people were quite surprised why I decided on such a project,” Murray said. “But for me the thing was quite clear: I got to know the director — and really liked him very much. He was funny, humble, everything you want from a director.”

Murray didn’t name the director by name, but he did say he made “the cheerleader story, Bring It On,” which he said was “damn good.” That director, of course, is Peyton Reed, who went on to take over for Ant-Man last minute from departing filmmaker Edgar Wright. Reed has stayed with that wing of the franchise, and has its threequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, on the docket.

That film brings back stars Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly, as well as supporting players Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer, with Jonathan Majors tapped as the villain. Who will Murray play? Is he actually playing anything? Marvel has yet to confirm one way or the other.

Murray had one more thing to say, though. While he agreed to do the film for a director whose work he admired, he added, “I’m not interested in these huge comic book adaptations as an actor otherwise.”

Anyway, stay tuned!

(Via Variety)

R. Kelly will be able to keep his three Grammy awards, for the time being. The Recording Academy’s Harvey Mason Jr. spoke to the Chicago Sun-Times and addressed rumors that the singer would have the awards revoked as a result of his recent conviction on sex trafficking and racketeering charges. “I think it’s something that we’re going to need to take a good hard look at, have a lot of conversations about, work through and make a decision,” he said. “But right now, I think it’s something that is going to take a little bit more consideration before we can really dictate or decide.”

Mason Jr. added, “My initial feeling is we’re probably not a business that we want to be in of taking people’s awards back after they’ve been given. But we’ll take a good look at it and see.”

Kelly received his three Grammys came back in 1997, when he won in three different categories for “I Believe I Can Fly,” his hit song from the Space Jam soundtrack.

The singer was specifically convicted on one count of racketeering and eight counts of sex trafficking, with each accounting for his violations of the Mann Act, a law that makes it illegal to move someone across state lines “for any immoral purpose.” The sentencing portion of the case will begin on May 4, 2022, where he faces between 10 years and life in prison.

Kelly was reportedly put on suicide watch after his conviction. His lawyer, however, confirmed days later that he had been removed from the categorization.

Last month, the Korean Netflix show Squid Game arrived and quickly became the biggest series launch ever in the service’s history. Thanks to its popularity, Squid Game has become a talking point across social media and the entertainment world. Memes have flown wild. There have been parodies on SNL. And there’s been debates about the potentially dodgy subtitles. The latest example is when a Twitter user took an image from the show to create a scenario that involved French Montana. “For the next game, you need to name FIVE French Montana songs without features,” they wrote. However, French Montana was not amused.

The rapper caught wind of the tweets and demonstrated that the task was not hard at all. French rattled off a number of his songs: “Ain’t Worried About Nothin,” “Sanctuary,” “F*ck With Me Get A Bag,” “Don’t Panic,” “Everything’s A Go,” “Famous,” “Shot Caller,” “Devil Want My Soul,” “Henny And My 44,” “What It Look Like,” “Salam Alaikum,” “Hotel Bathroom,” and “I’m So Special.” He also left a harsh comment for the person who posted the tweet: “Now eat a d*ck,” he wrote. “I’m dropping a solo track this week.”

You can view the original tweet and French Montana’s response above.

For going on seven decades, Werner Herzog has done it all. One of the leading lights of the New German Cinema movement of the 1960s and ‘70s, he’s directed movies in jungles, over burning oil fields, on an island with an active volcano. He claimed to threaten to shoot Aguirre: The Wrath of God star Klaus Kinski when he tried to quit. He pulled Joaquin Phoenix from a car wreck. He’s reportedly the reason Baby Yoda was a puppet and not some charmless CGI vomit. But through it all, through thick and thin, he’s never had an action figure.

That all changes soon. As per ScreenCrush, Hasbro’s Star Wars line is set to add two new characters to its coffers. One is Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka, who bowed on The Mandalorian and is getting her own spin-off show. The other is “The Client,” the mysterious and ominous figure who seeks Baby Yoda (er, sorry, Grogu) in Season 1, played by no less than the director of Fitzcarraldo and Grizzly Man.

How would Herzog himself react to the news? Probably with a chuckle and one of his bizarre monologues about overwhelming and collective murder. Or maybe he’d remind you that he’s already got a Funko Pop. As for you, you can pre-order the Ahsoka and Client figures on October 27 for delivery sometime in 2022. You can use it to prop up your old Herzog box set that features Stroszek and the one where the entire cast performs while under hypnosis.

(Via ScreenCrush)