There are few beer styles that feel more like “summer” than a Saison or a farmhouse ale. These Belgian beers are most often known for their complex, fruity, and sometimes spicy flavor that’s often accented by funky, grassy, yeasty, and barnyard flavors. There’s something about that combination that just feels like the end of summer so here we are.
Before we dive in, let’s get a little footing on what we’re talking about. All Saisons are farmhouse ales, but not all farmhouse ales are Saisons. In fact, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a “farmhouse ale” in Belgium (and Europe in general) since they prefer the term “artisanal ale,” which muddies the water a little more. Basically, Saison is a single type of Belgian farmhouse ale specifically from Wallonia in Belgium. And then there are a ton of other farmhouse ales from all over as well.
Still, the styles are very similar since both Saisons and (most) farmhouses ales are brewed with local grains and hops with wild yeast strains that float in on the air from the farmlands surrounding the breweries along with some (good) bacteria here and there while being left to mellow in barrels before bottling. That makes these beers especially funky and fresh — think fresh-cut grass or dry hay, walking around a farm, and a sweet malted base all in one beer. All in all, it’s a great summer beer.
Since it’s so widely popular in Europe, it’s no surprise that American brewers love this style too. That’s why we asked a few brewers, craft beer experts, and brewing professionals to tell us their favorite Saisons and farmhouse ales to drink as summer winds down. Keep scrolling to see them all.
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Beer Posts Of The Last Six Months
Ommegang’s Hennepin is one of my favorites. It’s a Belgian-style farmhouse style ale spiced with coriander, ginger, orange peel, and grains of paradise that bridges the gap between American and European Saisons.
Tasting Notes:
Hennepin’s classic flavors include orange peel, yeast, ginger, coriander, and fruity sweetness. It’s spicy, sweet, and perfect for a late summer day.
Keeping Together Everything Glistened And Sparkled
I’m partial to the Saisons from Keeping Together. In particular, Everything Glistened and Sparkled is wonderful. As summer Saisons go, it’s difficult to beat this beer.
Tasting Notes:
There are orange and cranberry aromas with summer fruits like tangerine and plums. There’s also a bit of toasted bread and vanilla.
Jester Kings Saison Americaine is super crisp and refreshing with delicate and tight carbonation. It’s packed with flavors from several months in a foudre with mixed culture fermentation. And at only 5.2% ABV, it is very a sessionable beer indeed.
Tasting Notes:
Hoppy, slightly tart, and subtly sour, this is a unique and refreshing beer well-suited for the end of summer.
Blackberry Farms Saisons is fantastic. It’s usually available in Colorado where I live, and it’s a go-to that I don’t have to worry about being incredibly old or in rough shape from a journey overseas filled with questionable storage and transportation temperatures. That said, every Saison I’ve had from the brewery has been good. A few, like the 40th anniversary Saison, have been unforgettable. With Saison, it’s really all about the yeast, and the Blackberry Farm’s strain is one of my absolute favorites.
Tasting Notes:
That 40th-anniversary beer had a yeast-forward flavor that melded very well with the additional alcohol of the 8% ABV beer. Hops were subtle and balancing. The other part about Saisons is that they can vary quite a bit, from dry, yeasty, and hop-forward. Blackberry Farms has carved out its own unique offering and deserves to be mentioned among the greats.
Let’s face it, every time I brew a Saison or sample someone else’s, I compare it to Saison Dupont. Why? Because it’s the most widely distributed archetypal version of the style from the land where it originated. Add to that, it’s a damn good beer.
Tasting Notes:
It’s dry, peppery, spritzy, and quenching. The only negative is it can drink a little too easily for its ABV.
Speciation was founded by Whitney Ermatinger and her husband Mitch, who once brewed at Denver’s Former Future Brewing Company and helped create a few of the wild ales produced at Black Project (RIP). Genetic Drift is dry-hopped with Mosaic and Saaz hops.
Tasting Notes:
This “wild Saison” intertwines classic ground white pepper and pear aromas with mint-sprinkled strawberries, mown grass, and coriander. Green apple skin and dried mint float above the palate upfront. The swallow is like a bite of pear dusted with grains of paradise and wiped clean with wet hay. The yeast character is crazy expressive, vacillating between dried fruits and pepper while allowing neither to completely take over, while the beer’s body is like a silk kimono for the tongue.
Oxbow Farmhouse Pale is always my go-to for this style. It steers clear of trying to be a traditional Saison or farmhouse ale. It is in its own lane and stays there shining bright. Just to hammer the point, this beer is one of the finest within the style and in the modern beer world. It defines the style of modern Farmhouse Ales in my opinion.
Tasting Notes:
A nose of wheat, citrus peels, and ripe bananas moves into a palate of tart, funk, cloves, and more citrus fruit.
Hacienda Smallish
Hacienda
Garth Beyer, Certified Cicerone and owner of Garth’s Brew Bar in Madison, Wisconsin
ABV: 4%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Smallish is a petite barrel fermented Saison by Hacienda. It’s so delicate but at the same time complex. The low ABV, tight tartness, and stone fruit finish make it the perfect summer beer.
Tasting Notes:
You get slight oaky notes, tannin-forward white wine sweetness, and a deep cherry bitterness from the funky fermentation.
Honest Weight Gate 37
Honest Weight
Frederic Yarm, USBG bartender at Josephine in Somerville, Massachusetts
ABV: 4.8%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Gate 37 from Honest Weight is one of my go-to farmhouse ales that is rather flavorful yet light enough for summer.
Tasting Notes:
As a grisette, there is a delightful contribution from the grain aspect including a cracker malt elevated with elegance from the buckwheat. The yeast conjures up honey, floral, grassy, floral, fruity, and clove flavors that work so well with the season.
Gotlandsdricka from Jester King is my pick. Most of the farmhouse ales they release are bangers and this one is no exception. Based on Scandinavian farmhouse ales, it’s brewed with smoked malt, juniper, and myrica gale.
Tasting Notes:
The Juniper really comes through, lending a nice pop of freshness. There’s also a unique hint of the smoked malt coming through.
Ron DeSantis has made another drastic move to salvage his flailing campaign that continues to trail significantly behind Donald Trump.
Despite the former president now facing his third indictment for the January 6 attack, DeSantis has yet to make up ground. The Florida governor has been in the midst of a “reset,” which involved firing a sizable chunk of his campaign staff and assuring major donors that he does have a plan for beating Trump. According to a new report, that plan will involve DeSantis ditching his old campaign manager.
The Messenger reports that DeSantis has replaced former campaign manager Generra Peck. However, DeSantis isn’t bringing in an outsider to help right his campaign. Instead, he’s tapped his gubernatorial chief of staff James Uthmeier to take over the position.
Right out of the gate, Uthmeier has already adapted DeSantis’ new tough-talking approach and let it be known that his hiring is not a “reboot.” It’s a “reload” because why not add gun talk into the mix. Republicans love gun talk.
“People have written Governor DeSantis’s obituary many times,” Uthmeier said in a written statement to The Messenger. “From his race against establishment primary candidate Adam Putnam, to his victory over legacy media-favored candidate Andrew Gillum [in 2018], to his twenty point win over Charlie Crist [in 2022], Governor DeSantis has proven that he knows how to win. He’s breaking records on fundraising and has a supporting super PAC with $100 million in the bank and an incredible ground game. Get ready.”
Peck, who will reportedly stay on the campaign as “chief strategist,” which sounds a heck of lot like his old job, had nothing but praise for Uthmeier.
“Our organization welcomes the best of the best and James is one of my closest colleagues and friends,” Peck said. “We are better for his joining and providing day to day leadership. This team is built to last and built to win.”
Limited-edition bourbons are often considered the “good stuff” by whiskey fans. For one, they’re rare — it’s right there in the name. That makes them more desirable whether what’s in the bottle is good, great, or just okay. More often than not, what’s in the bottle is actually special. Limited edition bourbons tend to be smaller releases of the whiskey that the distillers and blenders think are truly special barrels of whiskey that deserve a little extra recognition. That specialness deserves our attention, so I’m going to blindly taste some new limited-edition bourbons below.
For this exercise, I’m blindly tasting limited edition bourbons that came out very recently for the first time ever or limited edition bourbons that recently released their 2023 batches of their limited editions. All told every whiskey on this blind-tasting panel is about rarity.
After the blind tasting, I’m ranking each of these bottles based on taste and depth. While all of these whiskeys are rare limited editions, they’re not all created equal and some slap more than others.
Before we do dive in, there’s one thing that should be addressed. While all of these whiskeys are available for a price, they’re not going to be cheap or easy to find. We’re talking about rare whiskey here that may already be sold out on its first retail run, meaning that the aftermarket or a whiskey bar is the only play to get some of these. Thems just the breaks, folks. Let’s dive in!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
Nose: There’s a light sense of old leather that gives way to dried chili spices on the nose with a sense of burnt orange, old oak staves, and light tobacco spiciness.
Palate: There’s a hint of peppery agave on the palate with soft apple butter, walnut bread, and old oak staves with a hint of winter spice and fruit orchard bark wrapped in leather.
Finish: White pepper just peaks in on the finish as apple and pear bread with cinnamon and walnut vibes with soft leathery tobacco and a whisper of clove and nutmeg rumminess with a light end.
Initial Thoughts:
A lot of chili pepper and light almost airiness drives this pour. It’s refreshingly different and very tasty. The end is a little light, but it doesn’t take anything away from the over vibe.
Taste 2
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Thick vanilla custard and walnut cake drive the nose toward musty sherry oak still in the cellar next to dark raw sugar syrup over a spiced fruit cake.
Palate: The dark winter spices from the nut cakes drive the palate toward large stretches of cinnamon bark, old oak staves, and dark cherry with a hint of Meyer lemon and tart currants.
Finish: Mulled wine and salted toffee round out the finish with a return to the walnut cake and plenty of sherry-soaked old oak.
Initial Thoughts:
This is a deeply quintessential Kentucky bourbon. It delivers everything you want plus so much more. It also feels like Christmas in a glass. This is a winner.
Taste 3
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet and dried fruits invite you on the nose as a touch of fresh, creamy, and dark Black Forest cake mingles with mild holiday spices, dried almonds, and a sense of rich pipe tobacco just kissed with sultanas.
Palate: That dark chocolate and cherry fruit drive the palate as a hint of charred cedar lead towards vanilla tobacco with more of that dark chocolate and a small touch of honey, orange blossom, and a whisper of dried chili flake.
Finish: That honey leads back to the warmth and spice with a thin line of cherry bark smoke lurking on the very backend with more bitter chocolate, buttery vanilla, nutty marzipan, and dark cherry all combining into chewy tobacco packed into an old pine box and wrapped up with worn leather thread.
Initial Thoughts:
Holy Shit! This is amazing.
Taste 4
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Ancho chili spiked dark hot chocolate opens the nose with a sense of dried ginger candies, old oak staves, and sweet cornmeal cut with buttery toffee.
Palate: That spicy dark chocolate creates a lush palate with a sense of clove-studded orange, soft vanilla cakes, and rich winter spice barks with a pipe tobacco edge.
Finish: The tobacco takes on some Ancho chili and salted dark chocolate vibes as espresso beans, oily vanilla, and woody spice draw out the hot finish.
Initial Thoughts:
This is really good too. I didn’t write “amazing” in my notes like I did for the last pour, but this is up there. It’s so deep and satisfying.
Taste 5
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Spicy holiday cakes dominate the nose before focusing on allspice berries, cardamon pods, and eggnog-heavy nutmeg creaminess with a hint of orange rind and vanilla as well.
Palate: The palate is very winter nut cake with a lot of pecan, almond, and walnut next to rum raisin, brandy-soaked berries, and tons of dark winter spice with a touch of buttery toffee.
Finish: The end is warm and leans into the winter spice barks with a sense of hot chewing tobacco and chili-spiced chocolate sauce.
Initial Thoughts:
This is very good too but falls more “classic” than “quintessential” as a sipper.
Taste 6
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Soft spiced stewed cherry cut with orange oils and covered in salted caramel and vanilla crumble mingles with soft oak on the nose with this fleeting sense of Cherry Dr. Pepper and cedar kindling.
Palate: Walnut bread with a whisper of orange and banana drives the palate toward dried cherries dipped in salted dark chocolate and piled high on a pecan waffle with salted caramel drizzle and whipped buttercream before a hint of white pepper sneaks in.
Finish: Orange-cinnamon syrup drives the finish toward leathery tobacco rolled with cedar bark and smudging sage on the slow and warm finish.
Initial Thoughts:
This is also pretty goddamn delicious.
Taste 7
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The sip draws you in with a slight note of anise and maybe even licorice next to old cellar oak, vanilla cream, and a touch of ripe cherry.
Palate: The taste warms on the tongue with dark spices, more of that old oak, and a touch of raw leather.
Finish: The end is long and touches back on those spices, building a real buzzing on your senses, and hitting back towards that oak and leather, with just a hint of cherry tobacco.
Initial Thoughts:
This is good and complex but, dare I say, average. It’s good bourbon. It’s just not that interesting.
Taste 8
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Old fruit leather and plum jam drive the nose toward zucchini bread, orange oils, and Sioux City Sasparilla with a hint of old dark chocolate bars stacked with cedar bark, dry pipe tobacco, and rum raisin.
Palate: Orange-infused hot chocolate with a touch of dried red chili mingles with anise and port on the palate as eggnog and buttercream smooth everything out toward pine-driven earthiness.
Finish: Hazelnut ice cream and Almond Joys arrive on the finish with a sense of rainwater, old rye bread crusts, and soft winter spice barks with a hint of Cherry Coke.
Initial Thoughts:
This is all over the place. It’s tasty but I feel like I need a good 30 minutes to figure it all out.
Taste 9
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Oak comes through with moments of firewood, cedar, and woody winter spice accented by vanilla pods, old pipe tobacco, and boot leather.
Palate: That oak stays bright and toasted on the palate as woody apples and unripe peaches lead to woody braids of cedar, tobacco, and sweetgrass are accented by soft vanilla and caramel sauce.
Finish: That cedar, tobacco, and sweetgrass braid starts to smolder on the finish as the toasted oak takes on a cellar earthiness late on the finish.
Initial Thoughts:
This is pretty oaky but very deep and easygoing.
Taste 10
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with brandy-soaked holiday cake with a deep layer of rich vanilla, candied orange, candied cherry, stewed pear, and deeply sharp winter spices.
Palate: The taste is winter nut bread forward and spiced with real clove, allspice, and nutmeg next to apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks, eggnog creaminess, and floral honey.
Finish: The end really amps up those spices with a very barky vibe as the orange turns to marmalade and just keeps going and going until the heat overtakes everything and then crashes down, leaving your tongue buzzing.
Initial Thoughts:
This is hot but very tasty. I need little water or a rock to really let it open up to judge it better. There’s a lot of good in this glass though.
Kentucky Owl is another resurrection brand by Master Blender Dixon Dedman, the great-great-grandson of the shingle’s original founder. Yes, this is sourced juice from an undisclosed distillery in Kentucky, meaning we don’t know a whole lot of what’s in the bottle, but that leaves the family story and the taste of the whiskey as our only touchstones.
Bottom Line:
This is perfectly good standard bourbon. It’ll make a nice whiskey-forward cocktail or on the rocks slow sipper. This is a good “I don’t have to think about it” bourbon pour.
9. Jefferson’s Reserve Twin Oak Custom Barrel Very Rare Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 9
This special single barrel from ReserveBar and Jefferson’s takes their classic bourbon and re-barrels it in a custom-designed “wave barrel” for a final maturation run. The “wave barrel” is toasted and then heavily grooved with wavy grooves to create more surface space for the whiskey to interact with the wood.
Bottom Line:
This leaned a little oaky but had some nice depth overall. I’d likely mix this into cocktails to calm down that woody nature.
8. Barrell Bourbon Cask Strength A Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys Batch #035 — Taste 8
This brand-new blend of bourbons from Barrell Craft Spirits is a masterclass in blending. The mix starts off with six, seven, and eight-year-old Indiana bourbons and then adds in seven and 13-year-old Tennessee whiskeys alongside an eight-year-old Kentucky bourbon. That blend is then bottled 100% as-is at cask strength.
Bottom Line:
This simply needs time and water to enjoy fully — there’s just so much going on. It’s excellent whiskey but does feel a little like homework.
7. Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series Straight Tennessee Whiskey Finished in Añejo Tequila Barrels — Taste 1
This new edition of the Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series (number 11) is a classic Tennessee whiskey with a special finish. Classic Jack was re-barreled into añejo tequila barrels for a finishing run for this limited release. Those finishing barrels were originally new oak that the Jack Daniel’s was aged in that were sent down to Mexico to age tequila and then sent back to Tennessee to finish this whiskey.
Bottom Line:
This is fresh and different and I really like it for that. The only reason it’s lower on this list is that the end is a tad light — but that’s me really reaching for something to nitpick. Overall, this is a great whiskey to reach for if you’re in the mood for something fresh and new.
The second batch of Booker’s has arrived. This batch is named after the relationship between Booker Noe (who helped define Beam in the 20th century) and his mentor, Carl Beam, back in the 1950s. The whiskey in the bottle is a blend of a lot of barrels from prime spots in several warehouses across the Beam campus. The end blend ended up being 7+-year-old bourbon that’s bottled completely as-is without proofing or filtering.
Bottom Line:
This simply needed a rock. It would probably be a top-three pour if it was cut a little with water to really let it open up. That said, this has a great depth that’s hard not to enjoy. You just need a machete to get there.
5. Lost Lantern Single Distillery Series Soaring Spice Frey Ranch Distillery Nevada Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 5
This new drop from Lost Lantarn celebrates a single distillery in a special small batch release. In this case, that’s a four-grain Frey Ranch bourbon. The mash is made with Frey Ranch-grown corn, barley, rye, and wheat. The hot juice spends four years aging in Nevada before Lost Lantern batched and bottled 900 bottles at cask strength.
Bottom Line:
This is where we get into the really good stuff all on its own. This is very good whiskey. It’s classic through and through and will likely make an amazing whiskey-forward cocktail too.
4. Kentucky Senator Bourbon Release #4: John Sherman Cooper Very Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 8 Years Old — Taste 6
That latest edition of Kentucky Senator honors one of Kentucky’s biggest names in the Senate in the 20th century. Senator Cooper was a dear friend of JFK and served as everything from a judge to foreign ambassador. The whiskey in the bottle is a Bardstown bourbon made with 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. That hot juice was aged for eight years before six barrels were chosen for this small batch. Once batched, the whiskey was just touched with water before bottling, yielding only 1,000 bottles.
Bottom Line:
This is better than just classic bourbon. It’s excellent. It has real depth while providing a wonderful sense memory with every profile note. This is the good stuff, folks. Drink it however you like to drink your whiskey.
This new Founder’s Collection release from Rabbit Hole is a doozy. The whiskey in the bottle is made from wheated bourbon, aged in well-charred Pedro Ximenez sherry casks from Spain’s renowned Casknolia Cooperage. Just 15 barrels were selected for this tiny small batch offering and bottled 100% as-is.
Bottom Line:
This is another excellent bourbon. It’ll truly take you on a journey as you nose and taste this one. It’s a great ride.
2. Lost Lantern Blend Series Far-Flung Bourbon Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskies from Nevada, Ohio, Colorado, & Texas — Taste 4
This new series from Lost Lantern highlights whiskeys from all over the American craft scene in one small batch release. The whiskeys in this batch are from Nevada’s Frey Ranch, Ohio’s Watershed, Colorado’s Boulder Spirits, and Texas’ Still Austin. All the barrels were three to seven years old and were all straight bourbons. Finally, once batched the whiskey was bottled as-is at cask strength.
Bottom Line:
This is another excellent whiskey. It’s so deep and rewarding from top to bottom. I can also see this making one hell of a Manhattan.
1. Russell’s Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrel Proof 13 Years Old — Taste 3
This whiskey was made by Eddie Russell to celebrate his 40th year of distilling whiskey with his dad, Jimmy Russell. The blend is a collection of a minimum of 13-year-old barrels that Eddie Russell hand-picked. Those barrels were married and then bottled as-is with no proofing or filtration.
Bottom Line:
This was miles above the rest of the pack — and there were some killers on this panel. This just exploded from the pack and offered a profile and experience that was singular and exceedingly delectable. This is a desert island bourbon, folks.
Part 3 — Final Thoughts on the Limited Edition Bourbons
Zach Johnston
Brass tacks, I wouldn’t skip any whiskey on this list. Each bourbon offers its own vibe and that’s okay. I would probably skip the Kentucky Owl just based on price. That said, it’s in no way an inferior product. If you’re looking for a good standard Kentucky classic, by all means, go with it.
That said, the top five of this ranking are all stone-cold killers. You cannot go wrong getting any of them.
In the end, we’re here for more than that, aren’t we? If you want to be blown away, then track down that Russell’s Reserve 13-year. It’s a true masterpiece.
USA Basketball had quite the tune-up on Monday night ahead of its appearance at the FIBA World Cup. After a less-than-stellar first half where the team took a 50-43 lead into the locker room against Puerto Rico, the American turned on the jets in the second half, picking up an emphatic 117-74 win in Las Vegas.
Seven Americans scored in double-figures, with Jalen Brunson leading the team in rebounds (12) and Tyrese Haliburton coming off the bench to lead them in assists (11). Those two were involved in an extremely fun incident after the game, as Brunson forgot his wallet in the locker room, Haliburton found it, and did what anyone in this situation would do: ran to the nearest vending machine and got some snacks for himself and Brandon Ingram.
Brunson left his wallet behind after the Team USA game so Haliburton and B.I. treated themselves with it
It appears that Haliburton got himself a bag of Funyuns, while Ingram got a bag of Ruffles and a cinnamon roll. Whether or not that Gatorade was part of his haul or something he grabbed in the locker room remains to be seen.
Based on my knowledge of how vending machines work, there is no way that this cost more than, like, $7, and last offseason, Brunson joined the New York Knicks on a 4-year deal worth $104 million. As such, I can very confidently say that he was able to foot the bill on this one, and the much bigger price that he paid revolved around getting lovingly made fun of by his teammates.
Back in 2021, Questlove wrote Music Is History, an encyclopedia of sorts of significant moments in music for every year since his birth. Now, with 50th anniversary celebrations for hip-hop going on, he is set to follow it up early next year with Hip-Hop Is History, which will use a similar format. In an interview with Variety about the new book, he said he’s writing and releasing the book (via his own AUWA Books publishing imprint) because “No one is else is writing it.”
His co-writer on the project will once again be Ben Greenman and will be the second book from AUWA following a memoir by Sly Stone due in October. (Quest is also directing a documentary about Stone and his legal fight to secure royalties for his work with The Family Stone.) “There was no nostalgia culture before the 1970s, so, my dad was the first generation of the oldies, doo-wop crowd,” Quest said. “I know everything about curating these types of events, working with everyone from Bowser from Sha Na Ha to Dick Clark.”
“I was 8 years old when ‘Rapper’s Delight came out,” he explained of his experience with the genre. “To be a living witness for every first in hip-hop and have an exact memory of it…” That near-photographic memory is what makes him the perfect person to write this 50-year retrospective. “No one asked me to, but I’m carrying that burden,” he said. “And for all those who are present and accounted for, there is something to celebrate with hip hop’s 50th.There may be a lot of water under that bridge. Our disdain for looking in the rearview mirror is entrenched in pain and trauma. But as a child of legacy and nostalgia culture, I want to be the GPS for people to celebrate that thing called hip-hop.”
Congratulations are in order, given that Ciara and Russell Wilson are expecting another child, as the musician unveiled the news on social media this morning.
“You look at me like that again, we make another kid… You my heart I’m your rib,” Ciara captioned the post, which included a video of her silhouette showing off her baby bump. The lyric was pulled from her recent song, “How We Roll,” that she dropped over the weekend — confirming that it referenced the couple’s own relationship.
Wilson also confirmed that he filmed Ciara’s black-and-white video pregnancy announcement, as the track plays in the background. In a separate tweet, he credited himself as “Daddy” and noted that “This is ‘How We Roll.”
This would mark Ciara and Wilson’s third child together, following the three-year-old Win and their six-year-old daughter Sienna Princess. Ciara also has an older child with the rapper Future.
“There’s nothing better than knowing that you’re giving back, but also good when you think about the babies and just how precious they are,” Ciara told Popsugar previously about parenting. “From day one, of course, I always wanted to love my babies as best as I can; that never changes.”
The official nominations list for the 2023 MTV VMAs is here. Taylor Swift leads the pack with eight nominations (Video Of The Year, Artist Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Best Pop, Best Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, and Best Editing). SZA is the second most nominated act, with a total of six (Video Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Best R&B, Best Direction, Best Art Direction, and Best Editing)
Meanwhile, Doja Cat, Kim Petras, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Olivia Rodrigo, and Sam Smith are all tied for third spot with five nominations. Blackpink, Diddy, and Shakira follow with four nominations each. The ceremony will be broadcasted live on Tuesday, September 12, beginning at 8 p.m. ET from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Fan voting for several of this year’s categories, including the newly formed Best Afrobeats, Video Of The Year, and Artist Of The Year, begins today (August 8) and will run until the day of the show (September 12). However, the voting from Group Of The Year and Song Of The Summer will be conducted at a later date. Find more information here.
View the full list of nominations for the 2023 MTV VMAs below.
Video Of The Year
Doja Cat – “Attention”
Miley Cyrus – “Flowers”
Nicki Minaj – “Super Freaky Girl”
Olivia Rodrigo – “Vampire”
Sam Smith & Kim Petras – “Unholy”
SZA – “Kill Bill”
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”
Artist Of The Year
Beyoncé
Doja Cat
KAROL G
Nicki Minaj
Shakira
Taylor Swift
Song Of The Year
Miley Cyrus – “Flowers”
Olivia Rodrigo – “Vampire”
Rema & Selena Gomez – “Calm Down”
Sam Smith & Kim Petras – “Unholy”
Steve Lacy – “Bad Habit”
SZA – “Kill Bill”
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”
August 2022: Saucy Santana – “Booty”
September 2022: Stephen Sanchez – “Until I Found You”
October 2022: JVKE – “Golden Hour”
November 2022: Flo Milli – “Conceited”
December 2022: Reneé Rapp – “Colorado”
January 2023: Sam Ryder – “All The Way Over”
February 2023: Armani White – “GOATED”
March 2023: FLETCHER – “Becky’s So Hot”
April 2023: TOMORROW X TOGETHER – “Sugar Rush Ride”
May 2023: Ice Spice – “Princess Diana”
June 2023: FLO – “Losing You”
July 2023: Lauren Spencer Smith – “That Part”
Best Collaboration
David Guetta & Bebe Rexha – “I’m Good (Blue)”
Post Malone & Doja Cat – “I Like You (A Happier Song)”
Diddy feat. Bryson Tiller, Ashanti, Yung Miami – “Gotta Move On”
KAROL G & Shakira – “TQG”
Metro Boomin with The Weeknd, 21 Savage, and Diddy – “Creepin’ (Remix)”
Rema & Selena Gomez – “Calm Down”
Best Pop
Demi Lovato – “Swine”
Dua Lipa – “Dance The Night (From Barbie The Album)”
Ed Sheeran – “Eyes Closed”
Miley Cyrus – “Flowers”
Olivia Rodrigo – “Vampire”
P!NK – “TRUSTFALL”
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”
Best Hip-Hop
Diddy feat. Bryson Tiller, Ashanti, Yung Miami – “Gotta Move On”
DJ Khaled feat. Drake & Lil Baby – “STAYING ALIVE”
GloRilla & Cardi B – “Tomorrow 2”
Lil Uzi Vert – “Just Wanna Rock”
Lil Wayne feat. Swizz Beatz & DMX – “Kant Nobody”
Metro Boomin feat. Future – “Superhero (Heroes and Villains)”
Nicki Minaj – “Super Freaky Girl”
Best R&B
Alicia Keys feat. Lucky Daye – “Stay”
Chlöe feat. Chris Brown – “How Does It Feel”
Metro Boomin with The Weeknd, 21 Savage, and Diddy – “Creepin’ (Remix)
SZA – “Shirt”
Toosii – “Favorite Song”
Yung Bleu & Nicki Minaj – “Love In The Way”
Best Alternative
Blink-182 – “Edging”
Boygenius – “The Film”
Fall Out Boy – “Hold Me Like A Grudge”
Lana Del Rey feat. Jon Batiste – “Candy Necklace”
Paramore – “This Is Why”
Thirty Seconds To Mars – “Stuck”
Best Rock
Foo Fighters – “The Teacher”
Linkin Park – “Lost (Original Version)”
Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Tippa My Tongue”
Måneskin – “THE LONELIEST”
Metallica – “Lux Æterna”
Muse – “You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween”
Best Latin
Anitta – “Funk Rave”
Bad Bunny – “WHERE SHE GOES”
Eslabon Armado & Peso Pluma – “Ella Baila Sola”
KAROL G & Shakira – “TQG”
ROSALÍA – “DESPECHÁ”
Shakira – “Acróstico”
Alicia Keys – If I Ain’t Got You (Orchestral)
Bad Bunny – “El Apagón – Aquí Vive Gente”
Demi Lovato – “Swine”
Dove Cameron – “Breakfast”
Imagine Dragons – “Crushed”
Maluma – “La Reina”
Best Direction
Doja Cat – “Attention” – Directed by Tanu Muiño
Drake – “Falling Back” – Director X (Julien Christian Lutz)
Kendrick Lamar – “Count Me Out” – Directed by Dave Free & Kendrick Lamar
Megan Thee Stallion – “Her” – Directed by Colin Tilley
Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy” – Directed by Floria Sigismondi
SZA – “Kill Bill” – Directed by Christian Breslauer
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” – Directed by Taylor Swift
Best Cinematography
Adele – “I Drink Wine” – Cinematography by Adam Newport-Berra
Ed Sheeran – “Eyes Closed” – Cinematography by Natasha Baier
Janelle Monae – “Lipstick Lover” – Cinematography by Allison Anderson
Kendrick Lamar – “Count Me Out” – Cinematography by Adam Newport-Berra
Miley Cyrus – “Flowers” – Cinematography by Marcell Rev
Olivia Rodrigo – “vampire” – Cinematography by Russ Fraser
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” – Cinematography by Rina Yang
Best Visual Effects
Fall Out Boy – “Love From The Other Side” – Visual Effects by Thomas Bailey and Josh Shaffner
Harry Styles – “Music For A Sushi Restaurant” – Visual Effects by Chelsea Delfino and Black Kite Studios
Melanie Martinez – “VOID” – Visual Effects by Carbon
Nicki Minaj – “Super Freaky Girl” – Visual Effects by Max Colt and Sergio Mashevskyi
Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy” – Visual Effects by Max Colt / FRENDER
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” – Visual Effects by Parliament
Best Choreography
BLACKPINK – “Pink Venom” – Choreography by Kiel Tutin, Sienna Lalau, Lee Jung (YGX), Taryn Cheng (YGX)
Dua Lipa – “Dance The Night (From Barbie The Album)” – Choreography by Charm LaDonna
Jonas Brothers – “Waffle House” – Choreography by Jerry Reece
Megan Thee Stallion – “Her” – Choreography by Sean Bankhead
Panic! At The Disco – “Middle Of A Breakup” – Choreography by Monika Felice Smith
Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy” – Choreography by (LA)HORDE – Marine Brutti, Jonathan Debrouwer, Arthur Harel
Best Art Direction
boygenius – “the film” – Art Direction by Jen Dunlap
BLACKPINK – “Pink Venom” – Art Direction by Seo Hyun Seung (GIGANT)
Doja Cat – “Attention” – Art Direction by Spencer Graves
Lana Del Rey ft. Jon Batiste – “Candy Necklace” – Art Direction by Brandon Mendez
Megan Thee Stallion – “Her” – Art Direction by Niko Philipides
SZA – “Shirt” – Art Direction by Kate Bunch
Best Editing
BLACKPINK – “Pink Venom” – Editing by Seo Hyun Seung (GIGANT)
Kendrick Lamar – “Rich Spirit” – Edited by Grason Caldwell
Miley Cyrus – “River” – Edited by Brandan Walter
Olivia Rodrigo – “Vampire” – Edited by Sofia Kerpan and David Checel
SZA – “Kill Bill” – Edited by Luis Caraza Peimbert
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” – Edited by Chancler Haynes
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The Boys audience wants more. That’s perhaps the best TV dilemma out there, and it sure does feel like we’ve been waiting too long for Season 4, although the college-aged spinoff, Gen V (which has already freaked out Arnold Schwarzenegger), will arrive before too long. However, people also cannot stop creating tangential drama where there isn’t any.
Such was the case last week when Fantastic Four casting rumors (once again) began to swirl, and Wee Hughie himself, Jack Quaid, surfaced in the fictional mix for Johnny Storm/Human Torch. Jack — who I must remind you has strong, almost Joker-esque smile genes from both Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan — didn’t let things simmer for long. He quickly spoke up and added a good cause: “Not playing Johnny Storm but hey I’m flattered. Now that you’re here though, donate to the @sagaftra foundation if you can!”
Hello everyone. Nope. Not playing Johnny Storm but hey I’m flattered. Now that you’re here though, donate to the @sagaftra foundation if you can! https://t.co/ertJTWWhYb
As well, The Boys Twitter account added their own rebuttal, given that Quaid is already indispensable to The Boys of The Boys fame: “He’s already in a pretty fantastic four.”
Although the cast of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia has paused public promotional appearances in support of the ongoing WGA and SAG strikes, they still need an outlet to let their creative energy shine. Charlie Day, who plays Charlie Kelly on the long-running comedy series, dropped by a Portugal The Man concert at the Hollywood Bowl over the weekend.
While there, he treated the crowd to one of Kelly’s beloved songs from the show: “Dayman” from the classic “The Nightman Cometh” episode. For context, during this particular episode, the group of friends puts on a musical where Day’s character plays the fictional Dayman, who wears an all-yellow outfit and battles the “Nightman” (played by Rob McElhenney’s Mac).
“Dayman, fighter of the Nightman, champion of the sun / He’s a master of karate and friendship for everyone,” the actually-catchy song goes.
the Nightman cameth with a surprise Charlie Day(man) appearance at tonight’s Portugal. The Man concert pic.twitter.com/KufckwUF04
Though getting Day there might seem unexpected, it’s really not for Portugal The Man. The band has been a documented lover of the track, to the point of performing it over 100 times since 2013 (123 times, to be exact, per setlist.fm data).
Day also wasn’t the only zany special guest, as “Weird Al” Yankovic joined the group to duet “Who’s Gonna Stop Me.”
Check out Day’s “Dayman” performance at the Portugal The Man concert above.
Portugal The Man is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The Toronto Raptors have become notorious in recent years for losing prominent players in free agency. While Kawhi Leonard was a bit of a unique situation when he joined the Los Angeles Clippers, the Raptors opted to not trade Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet before they could hit free agency and saw both players leave — Lowry went to the Miami Heat in a sign-and-trade, while VanVleet was able to walk out the door for nothing and join the Houston Rockets.
Next up for Toronto, potentially, is All-Star forward Pascal Siakam, who is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent in 2024. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, “there have been no substantive conversations surrounding an extension” for Siakam, who could put pen to paper on a 4-year deal worth $192 million. As for a trade, the team that has been most closely linked to a Siakam deal is the Atlanta Hawks, to the point that Charania reports they held discussions at Summer League and made an offer that was rebuffed.
Atlanta has offered a package centered around De’Andre Hunter, AJ Griffin and draft compensation to Toronto for Siakam, league sources say. But the Raptors are believed to have upped the price on any possible deal at each turn.
The tricky part for Atlanta is that they’re obviously not going to move Trae Young, and thanks to the extension that Dejounte Murray signed, he’s ineligible to get moved until early January. While they have some interesting young players who could get tossed into a deal — Hunter and Griffin are among them — the team moved a hefty amount of draft capital to acquire Murray last offseason.
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