When The View returned on Monday morning, the first thing Joy Behar addressed was the calamitous situation on Friday where co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro received positive COVID tests results on the air and were whisked off the set just moments before Vice President Kamala Harris was about to make a live appearance, which was quickly pivoted to a remote interview. It was an all-around chaotic scene, but by Monday, it was being presented as an unfortunate mix-up as Hostin and Navarro tested negative several times over the weekend. Producer Brian Teta apologized, and Behar thanked Harris’ staff for being so gracious and helpful. The end, right? Not so much.
According to a new report, the Vice President’s office is “vexed” with what went wrong on The View, and there are concerns that the daytime talk show may not have been forthcoming about when the co-hosts were tested. In order for Harris to appear live on the show, the co-hosts were required to take PCR tests within 24 hours of the interview. Harris’ team was led to believe that requirement was fulfilled, until it wasn’t. Via CNN:
That night, a representative for “The View” gave the “all clear” to Harris’ office, suggesting that the show had satisfied the requirements to proceed with the taping, one of the people familiar with the matter said.
After it was suddenly revealed Friday morning that was not the case, Harris’ team was left puzzled and seeking answers about what happened. But, according to a person familiar with the matter, “The View” has not been forthcoming with the vice president’s office, leaving Harris’ staff “deeply concerned” about what happened.
According to CNN, ABC and The View have refused multiple requests for comment. However, a source said that ABC News president Kim Godwin was “irked and embarrassed by the whole fiasco.”
In a couple weeks, we’ll have a new Courtney Barnett album, Things Take Time, Take Time. That drops on October 12, but what was released today is the latest single from the album, “Write A List Of Things To Look Forward To.”
Barnett spoke about the song in a July interview with Rolling Stone, saying of its origins, “I was just really sad. I was in a really dark place, and a friend […] said, ‘Why don’t you try to write a list of positive things in your life that you’re looking forward to?’ At the time, I was like, ‘Nothing. There’s nothing I’m looking forward to.’”
However, Barnett eventually came up with “like 25 verses” worth of items. She also noted, “I love that the song feels so fun. It sounds like you’re driving across a highway and it’s sunny. I love the juxtaposition of those things.”
She also said of the album more broadly, “On the one hand, nothing was happening to me last year. But at the same time, so much was happening! There’s that lyric in ‘Turning Green’ about flowers in the weeds — as in, finding beauty in a place where you least expect it. That’s my ongoing lesson for myself.”
Watch the “Write A List Of Things To Look Forward To” video above.
Things Take Time, Take Time is out 10/12 via Mom + Pop Music/Marathon Artists. Pre-order it here.
The Oklahoma City Thunder started the 2020-21 season with a 10-12 record. Even with every caveat about outperforming their statistical baseline, it was an impressive start to the Mark Daigneault era, and the Thunder were pretty feisty. Over the next 50 games, though, the Thunder posted a 12-38 record that was more fitting when considering their roster makeup and obvious priorities.
Along the way, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander experienced a breakout and the Thunder won seven more games than their point differential (-10.6 points per 100 possessions) would project. As the 2021-22 campaign nears, things aren’t that much different in Oklahoma City, but they have a deep bench of intriguing youngsters and they should be, at the very least, an entertaining watch.
Roster:
Darius Bazley
Charlie Brown
Gabriel Deck
Luguentz Dort
Derrick Favors
Josh Giddey
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Ty Jerome
Vit Krejci
Theo Maledon
Tre Mann
Mike Muscala
Aleksej Pokusevski
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl
Isaiah Roby
Paul Watson
Aaron Wiggins
Kenrich Williams
Projected Vegas Win Total: 23.5 wins
Biggest Addition: Josh Giddey
Derrick Favors is probably the best present-day player added by the Thunder in an offseason that saw considerable churn in Oklahoma City. However, Favors isn’t likely to be a part of the long-term future, and the Thunder invested a lottery pick in Giddey. It might not be great as a rookie for the teenager with shooting problems, but OKC’s claim to fame is its chest of draft picks and Giddey presumably slots behind only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the team’s asset rankings.
Biggest Loss: Al Horford/Kemba Walker
Horford was traded for Walker, who was then flipped to New York. Oklahoma City does have Favors to act as a veteran leader of sorts, but the Thunder aren’t exactly overflowing with established talent at the moment. That isn’t the biggest deal for their short-term goals, but they didn’t lose much else.
Biggest Question: What does OKC have to flank Shai Gilgeous-Alexander?
Even a pessimist would admit that Gilgeous-Alexander is a budding standout, and he was excellent last season at a young age. The questions begin after him, where the Thunder could really use a breakout from another youthful player or two. Perhaps it is Giddey. Perhaps it is Dort or Pokusevski. But they need something to go along with Gilgeous-Alexander and future picks.
What Makes This Season A Success
This is a two-pronged answer, much as it would be for many rebuilding teams. Oklahoma City should be looking for development of young pieces, particularly with Gilgeous-Alexander, Dort, Pokusevski, Giddey, Bazley, Maledon, Robinson-Earl, and Mann. That is certainly a priority, and real growth from those young pieces would move the needle. From there, the Thunder probably need another high-lottery pick. They got unlucky last year to land at No. 6 overall, and losing a bunch of games is likely the best outcome.
What Makes This Season A Failure
At present, Gilgeous-Alexander is the only young piece that is remotely proven. If it stays that way a year from now, that would be suboptimal for the Thunder in the simplest terms. On top of that focus, Oklahoma City likely needs to avoid winning too many games and outperforming their point differential in a way that would negatively influence their position at the top of the 2022 NBA Draft Lottery.
Rifle Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) loves Twitter, but Twitter does not love her. Her absurd “Tylenol” tweet continues to make waves, not long after her hysterical tweet about the U.S.-Mexico border situation. She’s full of backfired toilet jokes, too, and now, Boebert is back with more tweets on subjects that she doesn’t really understand. So, people are letting her have it after she came for top U.S. defense generals.
“Milley and Austin should be testifying in military court,” Boebert wrote on Twitter. “[N]ot at a Senate hearing.”
Milley and Austin should be testifying in military court, not at a Senate hearing.
Sadly, Boebert has proven that she (as a non-high-school graduate who passed the passed the GED shortly before being elected to the House) doesn’t know much about U.S. government branches or how they work (checks and balances and so on). She made this declaration during the Senate Armed Services Committee’s hearing on the Afghanistan withdrawal. While assessing the situation (and as CBS reports), Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley described the rushed withdrawal as “logistical success, but a strategic failure,” although he claimed that U.S. troops had evacuated over 124,000 out of Afghanistan within weeks. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin followed up by saying, “Was it perfect? Of course not.”
Milley added that he saw “no intel assessment that says the government’s going to collapse and the military is going to collapse in 11 days,” and he contradicted the Biden administration by saying that the military recommended that he leave a few thousand U.S. troops in the country. Well, Boebert isn’t listening to any nuance. She believes that Milley and Austin deserve a military trial, straight away, rather than the legislative branch doing its thing to evaluate what the executive branch is doing. And in the face of Boebert’s suggestion, people have some suggestions (including remarks about her actions surrounding the MAGA insurrection) for her, too.
The insurrectionist says Austin and Milley need to be testifying in a military court. That’s rich! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!
You do realize the military answers to the federal government, right? How is it even possible to live as many years as you without any understanding of how anything works?
The top spot on the Netflix top 10 has lately been dominated by Squid Game, a Korean series about cash-strapped contestants competing in a mysterious competition of children’s games to win the grand prize of 45.6 billion Korean won (or $38.5 million in U.S. dollars). The losers are killed. Think: Battle Royale or The Hunger Games, but with red light, green light. Squid Game has an intoxicating premise, but I don’t think anyone expected it to be the worldwide — and TikTok — sensation that it’s become.
The addictive, violent survival drama, which premiered September 17 on Netflix, has transcended cultures and language barriers to reach No. 1 in 90 countries in 10 days — from Qatar and Oman to Ecuador and Bolivia… Fueled by word of mouth, Squid Game entered the U.S. Top 10 list on September 19 at No. 8. It climbed to No. 2 the next day, and hit No. 1 on September 21 — the first Korean original series ever to do so — where it has stayed since, crossing the one-week mark [on Tuesday]. Its staying power in the top spot is comparable to such Netflix global hits as Bridgerton.
Speaking of Bridgerton, the Shonda Rhimes series is currently the most popular Netflix show of all-time (based on internal metrics), but Squid Game might soon overtake it. “Squid Game will definitely be our biggest non-English-language show in the world, for sure,” Netflix’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos said this week. “It’s only been out for nine days, and it’s a very good chance it’s going to be our biggest show ever.”
There are a lot of parallels between the careers of Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp, and now, the two legends have come together for their first-ever collaboration, a new song called “Wasted Days” that’s set to appear on an upcoming Mellencamp album.
On the track, Mellencamp and Springsteen contemplate mortality and the nature of life, with Mellencamp opening the song, “How many summers still remain / How many days are lost in vain / Who’s counting out these last dramatic years / How many minutes do we have here?”
In June, Springsteen said of working with Mellencamp, “I worked on three songs on John’s album and I spent some time in Indiana with him. I love John a lot. He’s a great songwriter and I have become very close [with him] and had a lot of fun with him. I sang a little bit on his record.” The previous month, Mellencamp confirmed the collaboration and revealed the song had just recently been completed: “Bruce is singing on the new record and is playing guitar. I finished the record a week ago today.” This all came after the pair was spotted together at a Bloomington, Indiana restaurant in April.
While this is the duo’s first time together on a studio recording, they previously performed together at the New York City’s Beacon Theater in 2019.
The words “boogie nights” are never said in Boogie Nights. Same with “there will be blood” in There Will Be Blood and “phantom thread” in Phantom Thread. Paul Thomas Anderson is not one for titular lines, but I hope he makes an exception for Licorice Pizza. It’s the best way to ensure two standing ovations: one when the film is over (Adam Driver better be in the audience, and he better be smoking a cigarette), and another when halfway through the film, Bradley Cooper’s character looks down at his dinner and says, “This sure is a good slice of licorice pizza.” The theater crowd goes wild.
Or at least I would, because as a fan of the Favorite Movie Lines Twitter account, I turn into the Leo pointing meme every time someone says the title of the movie in the movie. “Looking back, that Addams family really did have values.”
The words “licorice pizza” will likely be said in Licorice Pizza, PTA’s nostalgic new movie starring Cooper, Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman (Philip Seymour Hoffman’s son), Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Benny Safdie, and Maya Rudolph. It’s the name of a Southern California record store chain from the 1970s, when Anderson grew up and his film is set. “The store tried to lure local music fans with commercials aired during American Bandstand and Soul Train. They offered a money-back guarantee on records and heavily promoted local concerts, drawing fans in to buy the music before or after a big concert,” according to Los Angeles Magazine. Blondie’s Debbie Harry was a fan.
It comes from a throwaway joke on the album Bud & Travis… In Concert recorded live at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in 1960. The comedy/folk duo are on a self-deprecating roll about how unsuccessful their record was, remarking that it had “sesame seeds on the other side” and could be played on a Waring blender. Just before going into their version of La Bamba, they mention that the platter was being sold at feed stores as a “licorice pizza.”
Here’s a taste of Bud and Travis:
Speaking of taste: following the release of the Licorice Pizza trailer, I wanted to know what licorice pizza tasted like and report my findings to the hungry boys out there. Because it sounds… I believe “terrible” is the word. I pride myself on being open-minded, but not when it comes to pizza. There’s a reason pepperoni is the non-cheese default option: it works. Chicken and meatballs are great, too. But pineapple? Anchovies? Mushrooms? Get out of here. Whoever put “Dill Pickle Hamburger Pizza” number one on this list of 25 Deliciously Weird Pizzas You Should Definitely Try doesn’t deserve pizza — or even worse, they can only order pizza from Papa John’s. But because PTA is one of my favorite directors, and pizza is one of my favorite foods, and Alana is one of my favorite Haim sisters, I gave pizza with licorice a shot. I learned two things:
1. Red-colored Twizzlers aren’t technically licorice. The candy is “usually fruit-flavored by artificial or natural means, and do not contain licorice flavoring,” Kelila Jaffe, Food Program Coordinator for the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at NYU, told the Huffington Post. The word “licorice” does not appear on the brand’s packaging, with the exception of black Twizzlers which do, in fact, count as licorice. I ate the black Twizzlers.
2. Licorice pizza is pretty good. OK, maybe that’s overstating it, but the licorice (which I’m generally not a fan of) doesn’t take too much away from the superior pizza. For this culinary experiment, I went to three locations where I live in Austin, Texas: Home Slice (cheese), Giovanni’s Pizza Stand (pepperoni and basil) and my favorite local pizza joint, Domino’s (cheese). I happily finished all three, and in the case of the pepperoni pizza, I found the sweetness to be a nice compliment to the greasy cups.
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It may surprise you that Robert Elswit did not do the cinematography for these photos.
Anyway, the New York-style slices worked better than the Domino’s pie because they were easier to fold; it trapped the licorice like a pig in a blanket. Honestly, I couldn’t even taste the candy after the first bite. Chewing something rubber-y while eating pizza was slightly unpleasant, but Twizzlers are soft enough that it wasn’t a huge deal. Would I eat licorice pizza again, though? No, of course not. I respect pizza too much to do that.
But licorice pizza wasn’t the nightmare that I was expecting it to be. The real nightmare is having to wait until November 26 to see Licorice Pizza (the wide release isn’t until December 25). Also: candy corn pizza. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
CL is one of the most OG artists in the K-Pop sphere, racking up attention and accolades as a global force long before BTS hit the scene. Born Lee Chae-rin, the South Korean rapper and pop star is finally back and gearing up to release her debut studio album, Alpha. After a lengthy hiatus, she returned earlier this year, first with a touching recollection of her late mother for the sweet tribute “Wish You Were Here,” and then with the ferocious new single “Spicy.”
That single introduced her album, Alpha, which was originally slated for release last but was pushed to this year, and it’s a return to form her CL recalling her past work like “Hello Bitches” and “The Baddest Female.” Tonight, she’s shared another new cut off Alpha, which falls somewhere between sweet and spicy. “Lover Like Me” has the braggadocio of “Spicy” but it’s undercut with some of the softness of her pop sound. That softness doesn’t stop her from going into full-on rap mode for a Nicki-level verse toward the end of the track, though. Check out the new song above and look for more updates on the quickly-approaching Alpha — it’s shaping up to be one of the year’s most important releases.
Disney fans are insane (don’t check the headline, you’re reading the right article). They’ll shell out up to a grand to visit Disneyland whenever they want, they’ll embrace Kingdom Hearts at face value, they’ll drop $30 to stream a live-action remake of Mulan or watch a backstory movie about Cruella De Ville that literally no one asked for, they’ll spend close to $50 just to buy a new set of mouse ears to wear on their heads every time they visit Disneyland, and they’ll gather up in gangs with other Disney adults around the world, wear matching jackets, and cruise Main Street like they’re the fucking T-Birds.
Make fun of them all you want — clearly we’re keen to help. But know this: if it weren’t for fanatic Disney heads eager to buy anything the company throws at them, we wouldn’t have Doritos.
I know, it sounds ridiculous, but according to Business Insider, The OC Weekly, and even Disneyland themselves, Doritos were invented at Fronteirland’s Casa de Fritos in the ‘60s after an Alex Foods salesman (the company that supplied Casa de Fritos with tortillas) noticed the restaurant throwing out stale unused tortillas at the end of the day. “Why not cut them up into triangles, deep fry them, and season them like Zapotec totopos?” the salesman suggested to the chef. And just like that — Doritos were born.
Predictably, because Doritos are delicious and Disney fans will eat anything the parks gives them, they were a hit even stale tortillas, the Frito Lay company scooped them up (they should’ve gone to Mexican-owned Alex Foods but that’s another conversation) and the rest is hist— wait a second. Is Disneyland really trying to take credit for making f*cking seasoned tortilla chips? I bet they believe Marty McFly invented rock-n-roll, too. It’s a cute story, but we find it highly dubious that not a single Mexican chef thought, “Hey, maybe I should season these fried tortillas with some paprika and a touch of cumin.” Because you know Mexicans, we are notorious for hating flavor.
First to market does not mean “invented,” but okay Disney, we’ll let you have this one. What don’t you own at this point?
Origin story aside, and rant over, we’re here because we love Doritos. But even if you’re a hardcore Dorito head there is a high chance you’re only familiar with a handful of flavors. Nacho Cheese and Cool Ranch are without a doubt the most popular flavors, but what about all the others? Your Salsa Verdes, your Taco Flavored Originals, whatever the heck Doritos 3D are — do they taste good?
We set out on a quest to rank every single Doritos flavor currently available on the Doritos website. This way the next time you’re at the market with room for just one bag of chips in the budget, you’ll make the right decision with no regrets. Let’s dive in!
14. Doritos Tangy Pickle
Dane Rivera
After trying every Doritos flavor currently on the market, I’ve never found a flavor to be offensive. Until I tried Tangy Pickle. I just flat out don’t like this flavor, it smells so sour that it actually makes me wince when I reach into the bag. It tastes, unsurprisingly like pickle juice. Definitely the most intense Dorito on the market.
The Bottom Line
If you like pickles, you’re going to love this.
13. Doritos Tapatio
Dane Rivera
Doritos has a lot of spicy options: Flamin Hot, Spicy Sweet Chili, Flamin’ Limon, Dinamita, Flamas, Spicy Nacho, and now here we are at Tapatio. All of these flavors rely on red chili peppers for an extra kick of flavor, but the Tapatio is the least spicy of the bunch.
Tapatio Doritos features a pepper forward flavor with a lingering sour aftertaste and a vinegar hot sauce smell.
The Bottom Line
Smells like you dribbled Tapatio all over your Doritos, but doesn’t hit with the same pronounced kick.
12. Doritos 3D Crunch Chili Cheese Nacho
Dane Rivera
I’ve always wondered what 3D Doritos were ever since they first hit the scene and it turns out this is Doritos’ version of Bugles. They’re bite-sized, light and crispy but there is no way anyone was asking for these. The flavor here features the slightest hint of heat over Doritos’ famed Nacho Cheese flavor. They’re not quite as intense in flavor as a traditional Dorito and aren’t even really worth indulging your curiosity for this form factor.
The Bottom Line
Don’t give into the novelty, these are forgettable.
11. Doritos 3D Crunch Spicy Ranch
Dane Rivera
Doritos 3D Crunch Spicy Ranch is surprisingly not just a puffy version of Doritos’ Cool Ranch. A definite improvement over the 3D Chili Cheese Nacho, the Spicy Ranch looks and tastes like your typical mozzarella stick batter with gentle notes of spice. If you really want to try the 3D form factor, this is the flavor to do it with.
The Bottom Line
It’s less onion-heavy than Cool Ranch, with a subtle spicy aftertaste.
10. Doritos Flamin’ Hot Limon
Dane Rivera
As we mentioned before, there are a lot of redundant flavors in the Doritos Universe (we call it the DU for short). Flamin’ Hot Doritos are a Flamin’ Hot spicy version of Doritos Nacho Cheese, and Flamin’ Hot Limon is a lime-infused version of the Flamin’ Hot flavor, and aren’t cheesy at all. If that sounds confusing, it’s because it is, this isn’t the MCU we’re dealing with here, the DU is like the J.J. Abrams Star Wars movies, a mess of jumbled nostalgia and falls points of intrigue.
That’s all a really long way of saying Doritos Flamin’ Hot Limon isn’t good.
The Bottom Line
A blast of chemical lime flavor settles into back of the throat burning spice. Yes, you’re right to assume Flamin’ Hot Limon is a more flavorful version of Flamin’ Hot Doritos, but you’d be wrong to assume that means it’s better.
9. Doritos Spicy Nacho
Dane Rivera
If you love the Nacho Cheese Dorito but think it’s a bit tame, Spicy Nacho might be just what you’re looking for. It tastes, predictably, just like Doritos Nacho Cheese but with a little bit of heat. Not so much that it’s going to make you salivate and need a glass of water to wash it down, but spicy enough that it keeps that nostalgic Nacho Cheese flavor a little surprising and different.
The Bottom Line
Yes, it’s just Doritos Nacho Cheese with some spice. Not enough to qualify as Flamin’ Hot, but hot enough to taste.
8. Doritos Flamin’ Hot Nacho
Dane Rivera
Why is there a Flamin’ Hot Nacho and a Spicy Nacho? I can’t tell you, but they all do indeed taste different.
The Spicy Nacho is a subtly spicy rendition of Doritos famed Nacho Cheese Flavor, but the Flamin’ Hot version is anything but subtle. You get a lot more heat here, and it burns in the back of your throat. This chip is also considerably less cheesy, taking a backseat to that distinct Flamin’ Hot flavor that tastes like it’s about to burn a hole in your stomach.
Because it is.
The Bottom Line
Hotter than Spicy Nacho but not as cheesy.
7. Doritos Dinamita Chili Limon
Dane RIvera
This is Doritos’ response to Takis. Before I tried this I struggled to understand why we needed this flavor. You’d think we already had this one covered with Flamin’ Hot Limon but the form factor here makes all the difference. All of the flavors from the lime to the spice are more subtle here and because of the folds, you get more of that plain tortilla chip flavor.
The Bottom Line
Perfect for dipping, Doritos Dinamita is a more subtle take on the Flamin’ Hot Limon flavor.
6. Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili
Dane Rivera
I was hoping I was going to fall head over heels in love with this flavor, but it doesn’t quite hit the way I want it to. The letdown is that this flavor isn’t all that spicy, it’s plenty sweet, but sweet is the onlyt flavor here. The flavor hits you with a BBQ-esque burst of deep brown sugar complexity and settles into a sort of cheesy aftertaste. There is the tiniest amount of heat in the backend, but mostly in the way BBQ can sometimes have a kick to it.
The Bottom Line
It’s not Doritos version of Kettle Brand’s Korean BBQ Chip like you’d hope, it’s more like a BBQ chip with fewer spices.
5. Doritos Flamas
Dane Rivera
If Darth Maul could look like a chip, he’d look like Doritos Flamas. These chips look downright threatening and are colored a menacing red. Despite the fact that it looks exactly like five other Doritos flavors, this one is different. The flavor hits you with a subtle dose of lime that quickly turns into a pronounced and burning spice. This is hands down Doritos spiciest chip.
The Bottom Line
Redundant? Absolutely, but Flamas nails the perfect balance of lime and spice.
4. Doritos Taco Flavor
Dane Rivera
If you’re looking at Doritos’ Taco flavor thinking this is going to be some kind of bland throwback flavor, you couldn’t be more wrong, this stuff is intense. Taco flavor features a blend of garlic, onion, and paprika, creating a flavor that tastes like a dead ringer for Taco Bell’s ground meat seasoning.
It’s a bit strange for a chip to taste like meat, but Doritos has done it!
The Bottom Line
Grind this up into fine dust and bread your next fried chicken with it. Your mind will be blown.
3. Doritos Nacho Cheese
Dane Rivera
Nacho Cheese is Doritos’ flagship flavor. It’s the one that instantly comes to mind when someone says the word “Doritos,” and there is a reason for that: it’s damn good. If you’re part of the rare group that has never had a Nacho Cheese Dorito, imagine a Cheeto crossed with a corn tortilla chip. It’s cheesy and has an initial sharp cheddar intensity that settles into a neutral corn tortilla chip flavor.
The Bottom Line
Doritos most popular flavor. If you’ve never had Doritos, start here.
2. Doritos Cool Ranch
Dane Rivera
If Nacho Cheese is the face of Doritos, Cool Ranch is the brains. It’s Doritos connoisseur’s choice. Just as people-pleasing and easy to love as Nacho Cheese, but with a deeper complexity of flavor. This is the most visually appealing Dorito, with an eye-catching blend of herbs dusted on the surface of each chip.
Cool Ranch will greet you with an intense sour smell with strong notes of onion, garlic, and buttermilk.
The Bottom Line
If Nacho Cheese tastes a little juvenile and one-note to you, give Cool Ranch a try. Each chip packs an intense flavor reminiscent of sour cream and onion chips.
1. Doritos Salsa Verde
Dane Rivera
I get that everyone loves Doritos Nacho Cheese, but if I had to choose a favorite, it’s going to be the Salsa Verde, hands down. This flavor is strong and lingering, with notes of salt and spices that somehow mimic, in taste, the way a roasted green chili pepper smells.
On the back end, a pleasing sour flavor lingers that makes the whole experience mimic dipping a tortilla chip in green salsa, and at the end of the day, isn’t that what Doritos is trying to achieve? A chip that captures the complex and inviting flavors of Mexican food?
The Bottom Line
Powerfully flavor, Doritos Salsa Verde tastes as close to a tortilla chip dipped in fresh green salsa as any chip has ever gotten.
Collecting rare Scotch whisky is a life-long (and very expensive) endeavor. Whereas collecting rare and expensive bourbon unicorns can still be about actually drinking the stuff, buying the Scotch whiskies below is often more about trading commodities, making sound investments, and signaling your status. Still, since I get to dip my toes into that exclusive world every now and then, I thought I’d drop a few bottles that I’ve added to my personal collection as investment bottles and a few that I’d like to.
Eight out of the ten bottles below are pretty widely available and cost anywhere from $200 to $1,000. They’re unique, rare, old, and very collectible. I also added one bottle that inches towards $10,000 and a final bottle that costs as much as a luxury car. Just to be clear, I’ve not tried the last bottle on the list — just heard about it ceaselessly from my whisky-collecting pals (I have included tasting notes from the distiller).
It goes without saying but this list barely scratches the surface of the bazillion bottles of scotch worth collecting out there. This is an introduction and not meant to be comprehensive in any way. Click on the prices if you want to dive in to the whiskey collecting game.
This is the mountaintop of Johnnie Walker’s whiskies. The blend is a marriage of ultra-rare stock from extinct Diageo distilleries around Scotland. That’s cooler than Brad Pitt wearing work boots and aviators on his motorcycle. This expression is all about barrel selection and the mastery of a great noser and blender working together to create something special.
Tasting Notes:
Dried fruit with a plummy sweetness mingle with a very soft and almost dry waft of smoke. The palate then veers in a completely different direction — folding in orange oils, marzipan, rose water, honeycombs, and even a dusting of bitter cacao once a drop of water is added. The end is slow, smoky, and full of dry fruits, nuts, and has a malty nature.
Collectibility:
These are truly bespoke limited yearly releases that you have no reason to open — just grab a regular Johnnie Blue to sip. The Ox expression will 100 percent go up in value. It’s also a freaking beautiful piece to have.
Talisker’s seaside vibes are on full display in this beautiful bottle. The last limited release was only 3,186 bottles, making this a very rare expression from the Isle of Skye distillery.
Tasting Notes:
Based on the 2017 release, the nose is shockingly subtle and soft with velvety notes of smoldering dried nori next to matchsticks that have been dipped in a buttery and rich dark chocolate with sea salt gently sprinkled all over. The palate leans into the dialed-back peat by bringing about a smoked cream with fire-seared peaches next to a hint of wet cedar, very old tobacco leaves, and a touch of almond or oat milk touched by salt. That salt drives the mid-palate towards a finish that’s like getting kissed by merfolk on a beach next to a campfire that’s heating a cauldron full of spicy stewed peaches in more of that cream.
Sound interesting? It is!
Collectibility:
These are very rare drops that you can still find pours of in the best whisk(e)y bars in the world. Our advice: Order a pour at the bar and save the bottle in the vault.
This is the first of four releases in Octomore’s 11.x “Super Heavily Peated” line. The juice is fermented from 100 percent Concerto and Propino malted barley grown in Scotland. The whisky then spent about five years in ex-bourbon barrels from Jim Beam, Heaven Hill, and Jack Daniel’s before it went into the bottle at cask strength with zero fussing.
Tasting Notes:
These are peat bombs and that’s apparent from the first whiff of green moss and wet firewood bark smoldering over a campfire on a rainy day while notes of Windex mingle with honey apples and a touch of ginger spice. The taste dances between dried and smoked red chilis preserved in honey and a peaches-and-cream vibe that leans more towards buttermilk tartness with a dash of salt and a sprinkle of wet brown sugar. The honey and vanilla last into the mid-palate until the peat takes over the finish with a deeply charred bitterness that’s kind of like throwing burning coal in your face and then chewing on it (some people really like that).
Collectibility:
There were about 30,000 of these bottles released with a much smaller number actually making it across the pond. These aren’t the rarest whiskies on the list but they’re fought over in the U.S. because there’s nothing quite like them. They are unique and we’ll never see this exact expression released again.
This was Diageo’s first Orphan Barrel from Scotland (they usually focus on long-forgotten bourbons). The juice in this bottle is a 26-year-old single malt from the long-shuttered and now-demolished Pittyvaich distillery. So not only are you getting a super rare and old whisky, you’re getting something that we’ll never see again.
Tasting Notes:
The nose draws you in with sharp green apples nestled in loose straw in wicker baskets in a sunny orchard with a throughline of light vanilla cream. The apple and vanilla mellow out into an almost cream soda note on the palate, as a rush of orange oils and wet cedar spice things up. The end adds in a dry cedar and apple tobacco vibe with a hint of silken maltiness.
Collectibility:
This is a very rare release from a dead distillery. We literally will never see this again. And when it’s gone, it’s gone forever. That’s reason enough to squirrel one of these away.
Malt Master David Stewart hand-selects these Balvenie barrels for bottling. He searches through refill ex-bourbon barrels that are 25-years-old to find one that’s exactly right according to his legendary abilities. The whisky is then touched with a drop of water to help highlight the flavors and textures Stewart is looking for.
Tasting Notes:
This draws deeply from woody holiday spices that are stored in an old cedar box that once held honey-dipped cigars. A flourish of orchard fruit arrives by way of spicy stewed pie filling and a honey tobacco sharp-yet-sweet buzz that leads towards a silky — almost … calm — mouthfeel. The finish holds onto the honey as notes of vanilla husks, dried wildflowers, stewed pears, and more of that velvet honey slowly fade away.
Collectibility:
There’s a lot of great collectible bottles from The Balvenie. While their Tun drops and 30-year-old are a little more flashy, this 25 year is a touch more accessible to the casual collector and will certainly be something to hold onto for a while as people drink them, thereby making them rarer.
Mortlach is a Dufftown icon. The juices in this bottle are single malts that are small-batched and then refilled into former Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso sherry seasoned casks for final maturation. The whisky was then bottled at cask strength, allowing you a full vision of what was in the barrel.
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a holiday cake feel with plenty of candied fruits, spices, dried fruits, and nuts next to a touch of cream soda and a line or two of rich toffee syrup. The palate builds on the holiday cake vibe with chili-infused dark chocolate next to hints of ripe cherries and plums with a light echo of dried tobacco and cedar. The end is not too long and leaves you with a silky mouthfeel and a spicy warmth.
Collectibility:
Anything from Mortlach that has an age over 20 years is pretty damn rare and collectible. This 21-year age statement is very unique and we will not see it again outside of this 2020 limited edition release.
This is Ardbeg’s yearly release of special batches of 19-year-old peaty malt. The whisky is Ardbeg’s signature peated whisky that’s bottled during a “haar.” That’s a thick and briny foggy morning on Islay, which imparts that x-factor into the whisky as it goes into the bottle.
Tasting Notes:
You’re drawn in with a super subtle waft of soft smoke with hints of sour cream, fennel, and cold-smoked salmon on a pine cutting board that’s been washed in the sea. The palate holds onto that briny seaside vibe as it veers towards sea salt-laden dark bricks of fudge bespeckled with dried orange zest and lavender. The end circles back around to a sooty smoke that feels like a warm granite rock that’s been dipped in the sea and then rolled around in the dying embers of a fire.
Collectibility:
Ardbeg is great at releasing limited editions we’ll never see again. This is a special release that’s worth holding onto as long as you can, as people really love drinking Ardbeg at the moment
This masterpiece from Glenlivet is their iconic whisky that’s left to mature for 25 years. That whisky is then finished in an Olorosso sherry cask for that final chef’s kiss before going in the bottle at an incredibly accessible 86 proof.
Tasting Notes:
Imagine the best, most bespoke dark chocolate-covered raisins from a ridiculously expensive chocolate shop and you’ll be on the right track. Those sweets are the foundation for burnt orange peels, Almond Roca candies, and sweet caramel malts with zero edges. The finish is so long that you might still be thinking about it on your death bed thanks to an orange/spice/nutty matrix of silky-whisky-smoothness (also my favorite TLC album title).
Collectibility:
This is another whisky that you see getting poured a lot at whisky clubs, high-end bars, and amongst collectors looking to try something magical from the iconic shingle. That means these releases tend to dwindle pretty quickly, leaving the leftover bottles looking very attractive to collectors.
The whisky from The Dalmore is very old with unique aging. The juice spends about 25 years in used American oak before it’s finished for almost five years in Metusalem Oloroso sherry casks. Those barrels are used to age sherry for 30 years before they head to Scotland to be filled with whisky. Moreover, the finishing on this whisky is longer than most whiskies are aged in general.
Tasting Notes:
This leans heavily into cedar chips that have been touched by droplets of orange oils, lavender oils, and then mixed with dried potpourri. Those dried florals lean into eucalyptus, Earl Grey tea, and a touch of rose perfume filtered through a pack of Pall-Mall cigarettes. The palate leans away from the dried florals and essential oils towards bitter orange-infused marzipan with dark chocolate covering next to a hint of salted ginger candies and eggnog spices (clove and nutmeg especially) and some nice creaminess. The mid-palate really lets the marzipan and nutmeg peak as the finish leans into the creaminess of the dark chocolate with a silken brandy-drenched chocolate orange vibe.
Collectibility:
There were only 787 bottles of these produced. Need we say more as to the collectibility of this very rare bottle of scotch?
This bottle is a little like time travel. Released in 2012, this juice was distilled in 1957 and spent 54 years chilling, untouched, in Bowmore’s warehouse. When it was released, it was the oldest Islay malt ever released on the open market.
On The Eye: Glistening warm gold. Breathe In: An elixir of blueberries and wild figs with mellow almonds, tropical fruit, and rich oaky overtones. Sip: Layer upon layer of sweet and refined ocean tastes with soft blueberries, cassis and figs, sea salt, and fresh eucalyptus. Savor: Long and whispering finish of cassis, bergamot, and star anise.
Collectibility:
The MSRP on this was $155,000 and only available at the distillery. And, well, it’s the oldest Islay malt you can buy. Enough said.
*Uproxx is not offering investment advice and cannot be held accountable for fluctuations in the Scotch whisky market.
As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive a commission pursuant to certain items on this list.
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