With the arrival of summer, a sun-kissed glow is the ultimate accessory. But achieving that perfect bronze doesn’t have to break the bank. The beauty industry is filled with high-quality, affordable products that can compete with luxury brands, and bronzers are no exception. In this article, we’ll guide you through our top picks of the best drugstore bronzers in 2023. These gems will add warmth to your complexion without straining your wallet.
Physicians Formula Murumuru Butter Bronzer
Unleash your inner Brazilian goddess with this ultra-luxurious bronzer, available in eight vibrant shades. Fused with Murumuru Butter, it offers a unique blend of powder and cream bronzer that imparts a radiant, tropical glow. Lauded with over 700 5-star reviews, this product promises silky soft skin, thanks to a trio of nutrient-rich butters from the Amazon: Murumuru, Cupuacu, and Tucuma. Its ultra-refined pearl and soft-focus pigments smooth skin texture and brighten tone, while the specialized sponge applicator ensures a perfect application every time.
$17 at CVS
Maybelline New York City Bronzer
Maybelline’s first bronzing and contouring powder promises a sun-kissed glow and sculpted look. Crafted with micro-milled powder and whipped cocoa butter, this product offers an ultra-soft finish. It’s perfect for all-over bronzing, subtle contouring, or a natural makeup look with a velvety matte finish. With its versatility, you can accentuate your cheekbones or bronze your entire face. The pro-tip is to use a lighter shade for softer angles or a darker shade for more depth and dimension. Enjoy a matte bronzed look that lasts up to 16 hours, courtesy of the City Bronzer.
$9 at Amazon
HAN Skincare Cosmetics Bronzer
Immerse yourself in the year-round faux glow of Han Skincare Cosmetics Bronzer. This all-natural bronzer, free from harmful UV rays and ingredients, is formulated with nourishing rice powder, organic cocoa powder, and cocoa butter to enhance your skin’s natural glow. Its talc-free composition, infused with oil-absorbing rice powder, ensures a smooth finish, while its organic cocoa powder adds a natural scent. It’s vegan, gluten-free, and packed with antioxidant super fruits, green and black tea extracts, and vitamins for skin health. Plus, Han Skincare uses a natural preservative system of Vitamin E and grapeseed extract.
$16 at Safe & Chic
Kimchi Chic Beauty Thailor Collection Bronzer
Part of the Thailor Bronzer collection, it offers a tanned look without stepping outside. It’s cruelty-free, sulfate-free, and paraben-free. Behind this product is the inspiring journey of its creator, who discovered their passion for drag on a Halloween night using drugstore makeup. Believing that makeup can transform one’s self-perception, they’ve curated fun, affordable products for every aesthetic. Whether you prefer a neutral or glittery rainbow look, KimChi_Chic Beauty has you covered. As a proud supporter of the Trevor Project, the brand donates 2% to LGBTQ mental health and suicide prevention. Enjoy the #Kimchichicbeauty journey!
$16 at Kimchi Chic Beauty
Lime Crime Sunkissed Glimmering Skin Sticks
Experience a sun-kissed glow with the Sunkissed Glimmering Skin Sticks, versatile highlighters that bring an instant dewy payoff to your complexion. You can apply them all over your face for a radiant sheen, wear them alone, or layer them for maximum glimmer. These sticks are crafted with luminous micro-pearls reflecting light and petite flecks of glitter, providing a sheer, buildable base for customizing your look. Uniquely formulated with Prickly Pear Extract, they promise ultimate hydration without a dry or cakey finish. As a bonus, they are 100% Vegan and Cruelty-Free.
$9 at Lime Crime
Jason Wu Sunlight Bronzer Trio
Achieve the coveted golden hour glow at any time with the Sunlight Bronzer Trio, a warm bronzer palette featuring three silky, vegan bronzer pans. This must-have addition to your makeup collection effortlessly imparts a radiant, healthy-looking glow. Enriched with nourishing ingredients, this vegan and cruelty-free bronzer is as kind to your skin as it is to the planet. Its compact size allows for convenient on-the-go touch-ups or a full glam look. With the Sunlight Bronzer Trio, you can bask in the warmth of a sun-kissed glow every day.
$16 at Jason Wu Beauty
Pixi On-the-Glow Bronze
Maintain your sun-kissed glow throughout the year with our easy-to-use tinted sticks, ideal for both cheeks and lips. Just a single swipe gives you a natural bronze radiance, perfectly blending on your skin. Enriched with fruit extracts, this product provides excellent antioxidant protection. Moreover, it hydrates as it tints, offering a healthy complexion and one sweep color payoff. Stay glowing on the go with our versatile, vitamin-packed bronzer stick.
$18 at CVS
NYX Matte Bronzer
This is your perfect companion for a radiant, glitter-free glow. Ideal for all skin tones, this matte-finished bronzer adds warmth and definition to your face, functioning beautifully as a contour. Complement your makeup look with our comprehensive range of face products for coverage and color correction. NYX adheres to a cruelty-free ethos, ensuring none of our products are tested on animals. With five russet shades to choose from, you can achieve a natural, honey-like glow that suits any season.
$9 at Amazon
Palladio Baked Bronzer
Discover the magic of highly pigmented and easy-to-blend shimmery bronzers that offer a natural glow when used dry, or a dramatic radiance when used wet. Infused with a blend of nourishing ingredients like safflower seed oil, vitamin E, aloe, chamomile, camellia, ginkgo, and ginseng, this moisturizing baked bronzer ensures your skin’s wellness. Enjoy the rich color of a sun-kissed tan all year round, without the harmful UV rays. This product is cruelty-free and paraben-free. For a slimming effect or added depth, use it to contour your face, blending below the cheekbones, into the temples, or along the jawline.
$10 at Palladio
CoverGirl TruBlend So Flushed High Pigment Bronzer
This bronzer allows you to effortlessly transition from a soft flush to a bronzed goddess with just one swipe. Its bold pigments and buildable powder formula cater to a spectrum from natural to glam looks, making it suitable for most skin tones and textures. This blush and bronzer combo provides all-day comfort, boasts high pigmentation for bold color, and ensures a smooth application with its fall-out resistant, cream-like formula. Infused with rich emollients, it promises a lightweight, blendable finish that doesn’t cake or fade.
$10 at CVS
Mineral Fusion Sparkle Bronzer
Mineral Fusion’s Sparkle Bronzer offers an age-defying formula with a shimmer finish, blending seamlessly onto the skin to provide an all-day glow without caking or build-up. Infused with Pomegranate, White Tea, and Red Tea, it defends against free radicals for radiant skin. Serving as the ultimate multitasker, its illuminating powder can be blended together for a youthful glow or used individually as a bronzer, highlighter, eye, and cheek color. A part of Mineral Fusion’s natural cosmetics line, this bronzer ensures you look your best while nourishing your skin.
$21 at Amazon
As we’ve explored, the perfect sun-kissed glow doesn’t need to come with a hefty price tag. Our curated selection of the best drugstore bronzers for 2023 is a testament to that, proving that quality and affordability can indeed go hand in hand. As you venture into the summer season, embrace these pocket-friendly bronzers that promise radiant, warm hues for every skin tone. Remember, the ultimate beauty tool is confidence, and with these affordable options, you can feel fabulous without stretching your budget.
Osbourne confirmed he will no longer be able to fulfill his Power Trip Festival commitments in a statement issued on Monday, July 10:
“As painful as this is, I’ve had to make the decision to bow out of performing on Power Trip in October.
My original plan was to return to the stage in the summer of 2024, and when the offer to do this show came in, I optimistically moved forward.
Unfortunately, my body is telling me that I’m just not ready yet and I am much too proud to have the first show that I do in nearly five years be half-assed.
The band that will be replacing me on Power Trip will be announced shortly. They are personal friends of mine and I can promise that you will not be disappointed.
Above all, I want to thank my fans, my band, and my crew for their unconditional loyalty and continual support.
“My one and only purpose during this time has been to get back on stage. My singing voice is fine. However, after three operations, stem cell treatments, endless physical therapy sessions, and most recently groundbreaking Cybernics (HAL) Treatment, my body is still physically weak,” he wrote, in part.
Osbourne, 74, subsequently had to cancel UK and European tour dates and noted, “Never would I have imagined that my touring days would have ended this way. My team is currently coming up with ideas for where I will be able to perform without having to travel from city to city and country to country.”
He called that February announcement “one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to share with my loyal fans.”
This is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to share with my loyal fans… pic.twitter.com/aXGw3fjImo
Power Trip Festival is scheduled for October 6 to 8, 2023 at Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. The headliners are Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Metallica, and Tool. Find more information here.
Frequent frontman/generally guitar virtuoso/sometimes drummer Jack White has little problem speaking out when something grinds his gears. He handles such ire in a variety of ways, including his eloquent defense of fellow The White Stripes member Meg White and his less nuanced response to Elon Musk’s “a**hole move” decision to let Donald Trump tweet again. So naturally, Jack was not going to be impressed by celebrities who fawned over Trump when he happened to drop by UFC 290 in Vegas over the weekend.
Mel Gibson, who had previously treated Trump like a WWII paratrooper at another UFC event, was on hand to enthusiastically greet the most recent ex-U.S. president again while he stood alongside pardoned felon Roger Stone. Photos of Guy Fieri apparently giving Flavortown props to Trump sparked debate as well, and both Joe Rogan and Mark Wahlberg got face time in with the perpetual reality TV star at T-Mobile Arena, too.
Who wasn’t there kissing Trump’s tush? Jack White wouldn’t be caught anywhere close to him. White did hear about these displays, however, and he duly unloaded on Instagram:
“Anybody who ‘normalizes’ or treats this disgusting fascist, racist, con man, disgusting piece of sh*t Trump with any level of respect is ALSO disgusting in my book. That’s you Joe Rogan, you Mel Gibson, you Mark Wahlberg, you Guy Fieri. This is a statement from me, not a discussion/debate. -Jack White III”
When Jack White feels strongly enough to make a “statement,” no one should make the mistake of trying to debate the subject with him. In other words, when he loves something, you’ll know it, but otherwise, he will also occasionally let the world know the opposite, too.
It’s been seven long years since Taco Bell discontinued the fan-favorite Volcano Menu and now, for a limited time, it’s back at Taco Bell restaurants nationwide. This is big news for Taco Bell fans, so far this year we’ve been treated to the return of the Enchirito, the California Crunchwrap, and wings, and it doesn’t seem like Taco Bell is stopping anytime soon as next month the Beefy Crunch Burrito returns.
Any of these returning favorites have the chance to become a permanent menu option if they’re popular enough (like the Mexican Pizza) but they’re only available for a limited time as of now. So if you ride hard for that Volcano Menu, jump on it!
If you’re less familiar with what’s on the Volcano Menu let us fill you in. The full menu consists of three different options, the Volcano Burrito, Volcano Taco, and an order of Lava Sauce for extra dipping. We picked up the full menu — which is conveniently available as a combo option — and taste-tested the whole thing to help break down what to order and what to skip. Let’s dive in starting with the lesser of the two.
The Volcano Burrito
Dane Rivera
Thoughts and Tasting Notes
I recognize that it’s not normal to rank a burrito above a taco, but this is Taco Bell baby, the burritos are barely passable. The Volcano Burrito is loaded up with double beef, sour cream, tortilla strips, Taco Bell’s three cheese blend, and a healthy injection of Lava Sauce wrapped in a flour tortilla.
The tortilla is soft and sweaty with a gummy undercooked texture. The rice is dry, the beef is zesty-yet-greasy-as-hell, the sour cream is more wet mouth texture than flavor. In short, the creamy nutty cheese and spicy salty Lava Sauce do all the heavy lifting.
The Lava Sauce is the real star of the show here, it’s an alternate take on Taco Bell’s nacho cheese sauce with a spicy component that provides a slowly building heat that starts to radiate off your palate as you make your way through the burrito. It gives the illusion that this burrito is better than it is because it’s addicting to eat, but the individual parts of it are seriously lacking.
The Bottom Line:
Skip the Volcano Burrito entirely. If you like Taco Bell burritos, you’ll probably like this, but if you have good taste in burritos this will seem like an insult to the very concept.
The Volcano Taco
Dane Rivera
Thoughts and Tasting Notes
Now this is where it’s at! We’ve ranked Taco Bell’s menu in the past and without a doubt, the taco is the best thing on the menu, so this takes Taco Bell’s best food and elevates it to new heights. I say all of this even after I received a broken ass taco, which means as I ate this thing I got Lava Sauce all over my hands. That made me mad, but not mad enough to slight this delicious dish.
The OG Taco, the Doritos Locos, the Double Decker, and any other variation Taco Bell has ever done to its taco… none of them top the Volcano Taco. This is hands down, the best taco and therefore the best single menu item on the entire Taco Bell menu.
The meat is zesty and flavorful and the cheesy mild spice of the Lava Sauce helps to make the meat come across as substantially more savory. The lettuce and cheese are throwaway elements, they don’t really factor into the flavor too much, but they add a nice textural element that compliments the crunchy shell.
Yes, the shell is red, but that’s just for show as far as I can tell. It works, I think it adds a nice appeal to the taco that sets it apart from Taco Bell’s OG shell.
The Bottom Line:
A can’t-miss Taco Bell menu item and the best current dish on the menu. The Volcano Taco is absolutely worth a trip to Taco Bell this month, get it while you can!
Victor Wembanyama has spent the last month getting acquainted with the NBA media machine. As soon as his French league season ended, he jumped into pre-Draft media mode, doing a number of sitdowns for TV and print as he tried to let NBA fans get to know him a bit better.
“In the past month, I think basketball wasn’t even 50% of my schedule. I can’t stand it. I know it’s a special moment in my life, but I’m glad it’s over. I just wanna hoop.”
Victor Wembanyama on the media tour and being able to focus on basketball now.
Like any good San Antonio Spurs star, Wembanyama understands the necessity of doing media but isn’t looking to stay in the spotlight off the court. When asked what comes next for him between Summer League and training camp, he noted his excitement for a few months where he gets to “disappear from the media.”
“As I’m not playing in the World Cup, I got 2-3 great months that are coming and they’re gonna change my life. I’m probably gonna disappear from the media for the next [few] months, honestly.”
Victor Wembanyama on what the rest of his offseason looks like
Wembanyama has said he wants to learn from the great Tim Duncan, and it seems he’s already taking some cues from the Hall of Famer as to how to live your life off the court outside of the tabloids and headlines. He learned the hard way this past week that even if you’re not directly involved in a scandal, your mere presence can thrust you into all kinds of conversation. That seemed to be enough for the young star, and he’ll happily head back to Texas and figure out his next steps before going off the map for a bit prior to the season.
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie is also everywhere in 2023, despite the fact its theatrical release isn’t until July 21. It was inevitable that Ice Spice and Barbie would collide in dominant ubiquity. Ice Spice teamed up with Nicki Minaj and Aqua for “Barbie World,” which debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 last week.
“I was like, ‘Greta, how are we going to incorporate this song? We can’t do a Barbie movie and not have a nod to Aqua’s ‘Barbie Girl.’ It has to be in there,’” Margot Robbie told Rolling Stonefor a feature published in late June. “And [Greta] was like, ‘Don’t worry, we’re going to find a cool way to incorporate it.’”
Robbie continued, “And then, when she was like, ‘Guess who’s going to do the remix of Aqua’s ‘Barbie Girl’? Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice.’ I was like, ‘Together? Are you joking?!’ I just knew immediately that all my girlfriends were going to lose their minds.”
The Greta Gerwig-directed film will enjoy its long-awaited theatrical release on July 21, but tear ducts were activated today, July 10, when Eilish posted a Barbie teaser that features the first snippet of “What Was I Made For.”
Melancholy keys underpin footage of Margot Robbie’s Barbie and Ryan Gosling’s Ken. As a single tear falls down Robbie’s cheek, Eilish’s trademark ethereal voice sings, “What was I made for?”
“absolutely over the MOOOOON excited for you to see this,” Eilish captioned the Instagram video alongside an abundance of see-n0-evil monkey emojis, pink bow emojis, and crying emojis.
Eilish and Finneas attended the Barbie premiere in Los Angeles on Sunday, July 9, and gave insight into the origin of “What Was I Made For.”
“I was just really intrigued in general. Before even thinking about making a song, I was like, ‘Ooh, I wanna see! I wanna be part of this!’” Eilish told The Hollywood Reporter.
Finneas added, “The movie was so great, and we’re big fans of Greta and have been forever, so we figured it probably would be, but then it really was. We were super inspired to write a song.”
With Variety, Eilish said, “Throughout the movie, there’s some really moving stuff. And then, toward the end, there’s a couples scenes — there’s one scene, in particular, that really had me and Finneas … choked up. Really, really choked up. It was just really beautiful and touching, and I resonated a lot with it in my own stupid ways.”
Watch the clips below.
Billie Eilish & Finneas tell The Hollywood Reporter on the pink carpet of the #Barbie World Premiere that they felt “inspired” to write a song after watching the film pic.twitter.com/nXgi0LINL0
Broccoli City Festival returns this weekend with a lineup featuring Lil Uzi Vert, Brent Faiyaz, Jazmine Sullivan, Kodak Black, City Girls, GloRilla, and more. Billed to take over the RFK Festival Grounds in Washington, DC on July 15th and 16th, the long-running festival is celebrating a decade in existence. With the festival just days away, there’s no better time to plan out your visit and the set times have been released via the festival’s official app.
However, if you can’t get the app for whatever reason, Uproxx has you covered. You can find the set times for both stages and both days below.
W.L. Weller Wheated Bourbon — or just “Weller” — is one of the most sought-after bourbons on the market today. But as with all bourbon brands, there isn’t just one expression sitting on liquor store shelves. In this case, there are eight. That’s a lot of variation. Add in that Weller tends to be inflated price-wise and you have the perfect storm of limited whiskey and high prices that can be cause for pause.
To be clear: It’s okay to be wary about buying bottles of bourbon that cost hundreds even thousands of dollars per bottle. It’s also okay to seek advice before doing so. That’s… sorta why I have a job.
I’m very aware of every expression of Weller, its strengths and weaknesses. I’ve tasted all the expressions year after year. Hell, I’ve picked single barrels of Weller for special releases. Moreover, I actually really like this brand. So I’m going to rank all eight expressions of Weller to give you a chance to understand what you’re getting into before you pull that trigger on a bottle (that may be significantly marked up).
Before I do that, let’s get some foundational information out of the way. Weller is a wheated bourbon made at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. Buffalo Trace doesn’t release its mash bills (grain recipes). So we don’t know exactly how much wheat is in that mash bill, but it’s likely around 15% give or take. The rest of the mash is made up of corn and malted barley mixed with local water and a proprietary yeast strain. That sour mash is twice distilled and goes into new oak barrels where it rests in Buffalo Trace’s old red brick warehouses until it’s just right.
What we do know is that W.L. Weller Wheated Bourbon and the Pappy Van Winkle line have the same mash bill and are aged in the same warehouses at Buffalo Trace. Blenders go through those barrels and sort them based on the flavor profile expressed in each barrel. For instance, if a 12-year-old barrel has a Weller profile, that barrel will go into a Weller 12-Year batch. If the 12-year-old barrel next to that barrel has a Van Winkle “Lot B” 12-Year profile, it’ll go into a batch of Pappy “Lot B”. It’s not a matter of one being better than the other. It’s simply a matter of which barrel suits which profile. The actual whiskey and aging are otherwise identical.
Lastly, you can’t talk about Weller and not talk about price. These whiskeys are priced at $29-$99 at MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price). But you will rarely find these bottles at those prices. Only three expressions — Special Reserve, Antique 107, and 12-Year — are on a regular release schedule throughout the year. The remaining expressions are released yearly and that’s it.
You can still find both Special Reserve and Antique 107 on shelves at or near their MSRPs — if you know where and when to look. The rest of the lineup is going to be marked up at every liquor store and/or only available to loyal customers or via lottery. Think of rare Weller like Rolexes, Jordan 1s, or Supreme gear — the premium versions are going to be nearly impossible to find at their real prices but pretty easily available on secondary markets at much higher prices. To that end, I’ve linked to real-world prices for these bottles and not a fantasy MSRP price (with the exception of Special Reserve and Antique 107).
Okay, let’s dive in and rank some tasty Weller Wheated Bourbon!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
This is the entry point to Weller. It’s a standard large-batched bourbon. The age of the barrels on this blend is also unknown. Overall, we know this is a classic wheated bourbon, and … that’s about it.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a sense of old oak next to sweet cherries, vanilla cookies, and that Buffalo Trace leathery vibe with a hint of spiced tobacco lurking underneath.
Palate: The palate has a sharp texture before malted vanilla ice cream over a hot apple pie cut with brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and walnuts next to Frosted Raisin Bran takes over.
Finish: The end adds sweet cherry to the tart apple and layers it into a light tobacco leaf with a mild sense of old musty barrel warehouses with a hint of fall leaves outside but fades super fast.
Bottom Line:
This is perfectly fine $30 bourbon. I keep one on the shelf as an example pour — as in, “Here’s what basic Weller tastes like…” — but I rarely use it for anything else.
7. Daniel Weller Emmer Wheat Recipe Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
We finally have a brand-new Weller release from Buffalo Trace (at an incredible cost). The whiskey in the bottle is an experimental wheated bourbon made from Emmer wheat (an ancient Egyptian strain). That whiskey is then left alone to mature for 12 years before batching, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is very grainy with a sense of sourdough rye that hasn’t been baked yet next to Nutella, fresh orange zest, and salted caramel with a hint of marzipan.
Palate: Bright orchard fruits pop on the palate as fresh honeycombs (with a hint of earthiness) vibe with more marzipan, deep sourdough bread notes, and a good bit of old oak in old rickhouses just kissed with falling leaves and soft rain.
Finish: Leatheriness comes through on the finish with more of that oak and warehouse vibe next to orchard bark, dark winter spice, and creamy honey kissed with rum raisin but then kind of just disappears.
Bottom Line:
I’m still super on the fence about this one. On the one hand, it feels like it’s chasing the craft bourbon boom with that grainy nose and profile. That feels silly, in that chasing trends is the antithesis of timelessness, which is the whole damn point of Weller. Then, on the other hand, this is tasty once you get passed that bold grain-forward nose.
Is it a good example of Weller though? Does that even matter in an “experimental” expression? I just don’t know yet. One thing I do know is that this isn’t basic. It’s special. Hence, it’s not last on this ranking.
6. Weller The Original Wheated Bourbon C.Y.P.B. Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
A few years back, Buffalo Trace asked hardcore Weller fans to “Craft Your Perfect Bourbon”. C.Y.P.B. was born when fans chose their favorite bourbon recipe, proof, warehouse location, and age on the Buffalo Trace website. A consensus shook out with wheated bourbon aged on the highest warehouse floors for eight years that’s then bottled at 95 proof. From that, a new whiskey was born and is now released yearly.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Expect a nose full of dried orange peels and dry tobacco leaves braided with dry cedar bark next to a creamy vanilla sauce just touched with poppy seeds and a faint hint of real and spicy root beer laced with dark cherries.
Palate: The palate has a mild spicy warmth that leads to a salted caramel sweetness with an echo of tart apple skins before the dark cherry kicks in with a mix of winter spices and lush marzipan covered in creamy dark chocolate.
Finish: The end leans into a lightly spiced (think cinnamon, allspice, and maybe some licorice) chewing tobacco with a layer of dark cacao or almond adding a dryness to the finish.
Bottom Line:
This can be hit-and-miss depending on which vintage you come across. I really like 2020 and 2021 but was a bit underwhelmed by 2022’s release. My advice is to seek these out at whiskey bars and sample a few vintages before committing to a bottle. There’s greatness here, you just have to do the work to find it.
5. Weller The Original Wheated Bourbon Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Weller Single Barrel gets a lot of hype because people tend to think of it as an alt-Pappy Single Barrel. Again, Weller and Pappy are two different beasts. That aside, the juice in play here is pulled from single barrels that hit a perfect Weller profile when proofed down to 86-proof for this as-is yearly drop.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: A bowl of fresh sour cherries just hit with salt and fresh mint mingles with a lush vanilla foundation and a hint of cedar and maybe some winter spice on the nose.
Palate: The palate amps up those winter spices with a good hit of nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove with a creamy eggnog mouthfeel before a hint of barely bitter dark-chocolate-covered espresso beans link to a whisper of white pepper.
Finish: The end layers the nutmeg and creamy eggnog into a chewy tobacco leaf and then folds that into a dry pine box.
Bottom Line:
This expression is divisive. I really don’t care for the low proof. It’s almost like a watered-down version of Blanton’s sometimes — to me. That said, this is probably the most drinkable whiskey on the list because of that low proof. Even a noobie should be able to enjoy this neat without a hint of burn or roughness. That’s enticing.
If you’re looking to ease your way into Weller, this is where to start.
4. Weller The Original Wheated Bourbon Full Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
This expression is a marriage of some serious barrels of unknown age. That vatted whiskey goes into the bottle at “full proof” which is not “barrel proof.” The “full proof” this refers to is the proof of the hot juice when it goes into the barrel for aging. That whiskey will come out of the barrel somewhere around 57% but not right at it. So there may be a little proofing water involved. Hence, it is always 114 proof and not 114.7 one year and 113.1 the next year or 115.9 the year after that.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Ripe and sour cherries lead the way with a thick vanilla underbelly, a hint of salted caramel, and woody cinnamon next to whole nutmeg bulbs on the nose with this slight echo of almost singed cherry bark.
Palate: The palate leans into the sharpness of the cinnamon and the lushness of the vanilla as a foundation as layers of buttery caramel cake frosting with a hint of sassafras and licorice next to dry cedar bark braids with a thin line of sweet grass and a whisper of sourdough fritters.
Finish: The end leans into creamy brandy butter cut with dark-chocolate-covered dried sour cherries sprinkled with salt and rolled in fresh tobacco leaves and stacked next to orange-laced marzipan in an old and slightly sweet cedar box.
Bottom Line:
This is getting into the good stuff when it. comes to Weller. This is a really tasty whiskey overall with a deep flavor profile and enough depth to keep you coming back for more. Moreover, the higher proof allows you to add a little water or ice to bring it down to a proof you like to sip. And that addition of water allows the whiskey to bloom in the glass, leading to more flavor notes and depth. It’s a win-win.
As a side note, this is what you’ll most likely see as a barrel pick at stores, bars, and restaurants. In that case, the profile might be slightly different. I’ve picked a barrel of this in the past that tasted exactly like WL Weller BTAC (more on that below). Either way, this is going to be a great pour of bourbon.
3. Weller The Original Wheated Bourbon Antique 107 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
This is a non-age-statement bourbon that’s called “Old Weller Antique” (OWA) by those who love the old-school vibes of the expression’s previous iteration. The ripple with this expression is the higher proof. The barrels are vatted and barely proofed down to 107-proof before bottling (the entry proof is 114).
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a lovely sense of vanilla pods and orange blossom with a hint of old saddle leather and cedar bark next to wild sage, cinnamon and caramel apple fritters, and salted black licorice with a bundle of holiday spices and barks tied up with burnt orange and pine.
Palate: The palate is lush with a cream soda float with malted vanilla ice cream cut with cherries, dark chocolate chips, and espresso flakes next to cinnamon cherry bark tobacco on the mid-palate.
Finish: The end dives toward a thick braid of cedar bark, sage, and blackberry tobacco with a thin line of sweetgrass and vanilla pods woven in there.
Bottom Line:
This is the best cocktail base bourbon on the list. It makes a killer Manhattan, old fashioned, or Sazerac. I also dig it over a rock or two or neat. It’s a great workhorse that you can actually still kind of find at MSRP or near to.
2. Weller The Original Wheated Bourbon Aged 12 Years Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
This is the expression that’s theoretically the closest to Pappy. The whiskey rests in the warehouse for 12 long years, in the same barrels and warehouses as Pappy. The difference between this and Pappy 12 — good ol’ “Lot B” — is pretty simple actually. If the barrel doesn’t hit the exact flavor profile needed for a Pappy, it’s sent to the blending house to become a Weller (as long as it hits Weller’s flavor profile, of course). So, yes, this could have been a Pappy 12 had the flavor profile been slightly different in the barrel.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose hits softly with bruised peaches and old pears next to fresh wool sweaters, vanilla pancake batter, and moist marzipan next to orange oils, worn-out wicker deck furniture, and old Buffalo Trace leather with a faint hint of dried roses.
Palate: The palate kicks around cherry bark and apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks with spiced cranberry sauce over buttermilk biscuits and gingerbread.
Finish: The end leans into the sharp brown spices with a mild sense of vanilla cake with apple cider and cinnamon frosting, a touch of burnt orange, and more of that moist marzipan covered in salted dark chocolate.
Bottom Line:
This is a really tasty whiskey. It’s great for a neat pour thanks to that low ABV. But this one doesn’t wash out like the single barrel. There’s more depth at play in this pour that keeps pulling you back in for more. Then when you do add water, this really blooms in the glass and gets super creamy and nutty with a deep Black Forest cake vibe. It’s great.
Distilled back in the spring of 2010, this whiskey was made with a mix of Kentucky corn and wheat and barley from North Dakota with that Kentucky limestone water. The distillate was filled into new white oak from Independent Stave from Missouri with a #4 char level (55 seconds) and stored in warehouses C, K, and N on floors 2, 3, and 4 for 12 long years. During that time, 64% of the whiskey was lost to hungry angels. Those barrels were then batched and this whiskey was bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this one is surprisingly sweet with a big slice of coconut cream pie (with a lard crust) next to your grandma’s butterscotch candies straight from an old leather handbag that’s held menthol cigarettes for decades and maybe some old Mon Cheri bonbons.
Palate: The palate opens with a lush eggnog full of nutmeg, allspice, and vanilla that leads to a white pound cake with a hint of poppy seed next to old leather tobacco pouches with a hot cinnamon spiciness on the mid-palate with light cedar woodiness.
Finish: The end layers that white cake into the tobacco while packing it all into an old leather handbag with whispers of mint chocolate chip, Halloween-sized Mounds bars, and old lawn furniture that’s been left out too many seasons.
Bottom Line:
This is the best Weller expression by a country mile. This with a few drops of water or a single rock is bliss. Those heavier proof notes melt away, leaving you with a creamy glass of deep cherry and vanilla desserts cut with creamy nuttiness and old rickhouses on a cool fall morning. It’s just f*cking delicious.
That begs the question: Would I pay the markup for this one? Yes. This is one of those rare whiskeys that’s actually worth paying $100 a pour at a whiskey bar or $2,000 to actually own, even though the MSPR is $99 (for now). Think of it like finally getting a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona or pair of OG Air Jordan 1s. It’s rare but lives up to the hype when it comes to quality.
So far, all accounts of what happened with Madonna’s recent ICU visit have come from third parties. Now, Madonna has shared her own statement.
The statement reads:
“Thank you for your positive energy, Prayers and words of healing and encouragement. I have felt your love. I’m on the road to recovery and incredibly grateful for all the blessings in my life.
My first thought when I woke up in the hospital was my children. My second thought was that I did not want to disappoint anyone who bought tickets for my tour. I also didn’t want to let down the people who worked tirelessly with me over the last few months to create my show. I hate to disappoint anyone.
My focus now is my health and getting stronger and I assure you, I’ll be back with you as soon as I can!
The current plan is to reschedule the North American leg of the tour and to begin in October in Europe.
I couldn’t be more grateful for your care and support.
Madonna is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
This post is being updated.
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