GoneTrending

Drinking great tequila doesn’t always have to cost you a small fortune. While the pricier bottles tend to offer a smoother and more luxurious mouthfeel, there are plenty of bottles out there that won’t break the bank but still provide that sumptuous drinking experience. Sure, the cheaper bottom-of-the-shelf bottles aren’t going to get you there but plenty of bottles hover just under $50 and will provide a lot of bang for your buck.

So where are these bottles? We’re here to point you in the right direction by rounding up our 10 favorite tequila bottles under $50 and ranking them from good to great. Unlike our past tequila lists, we chose not to break this list up by expression, so you’ll find both blanco and reposado tequilas in our ranks — which are both perfect for shooting or mixing up in a cocktail.

We’d like to note that this is a best-of list (which made it even harder to rank), which means no matter where you land on this ranking, you’re going to get a quality bottle. So feel free to go by whatever is on sale. That said, if you want the best of the best, you’re going to want to hit the end of this list.

Let’s dive in!

10. Patron Silver

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $39.99

The Tequila:

Patron is the brand that everyone who doesn’t know much about tequila cites as the best brand on the market. There is a reason for that, and while hardcore tequila-heads know better, to say Patron isn’t good is a sign that you’re full of sh*t. No, it’s not the best tequila out there, it has a whiff of mass production, it’s not as clear as direct of some of the other brands, but for the money, this is a damn fine tequila.

Made from 100% Blue Agave, Patron is light, bright, and smooth, and sometimes that’s all you want out of tequila. But of course, there are much better brands, we ranked them for a reason.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Almost sickly sweet with a strong chemical quality. This sounds bad, and it is, but the palate and finish make up for it.

Palate: Silky mouthfeel with notes of sweet pineapple and vegetal asparagus with lettuce overtones.

Finish: A celery-like peppery finish, lots of depth, supremely smooth.

The Bottom Line:

Smooth and easy to drink, but it has a chemical quality to the nose that keeps it from being truly great.

9. Lobos 1707 Joven Tequila

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $47.45

The Tequila:

Lobos 1707 Joven offers a complexity that a lot of tequilas at this price range just don’t offer. It’s not technically a blanco tequila, instead it’s a joven which means it’s mixed with a measure of reposado — giving it a distinct character that features all the brightness you’d expect from a blanco, with a tinge of deep and mellow flavors at the back end.

Made from aged Blue Weber agave, this tequila is carbon filtered and finished in PX wine barrels, offering a buttery finish and some earthy tones that make it perfectly sippable as well as versatile in a cocktail.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Spicy and earthy.

Palate: Highly vegetal with deep tones of tobacco leaf, agave, and black pepper.

Finish: Buttery lip-smacking finish. Very satisfying on the backend.

The Bottom Line:

Rich and distinct with a mouthwatering buttery finish with the sort of brightness and vegetal quality you love in a blanco. It’s kind of the best of both worlds between the simplicity of a blanco and the complexity of a reposado.

8. Espolon Reposado

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $23.99

The Tequila:

You’ll find Espolon on all sorts of best tequila lists (ours included) and there is a very clear reason why. This is hands down the best tequila you’re going to get in this price range. It’s just over $20 per 750ml bottle, and yet it’s full of complexity, flavor, and versatility.

Perfect for shooting or mixing in cocktails, Espolon punches way above its weight but as good as it is, it does come with some baggage as well. Most of its negative notes exist in the nose, it’s the sort of tequila that makes you wince when you smell it. It smells cheap, but it doesn’t taste it and that’s why it’s a favorite amongst so many.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Harsh kerosene quality. Almost eye-watering.

Palate: Supremely smooth with hints of tropical fruit, grass, and caramel.

Finish: A bright oaky finish with hints of roasted agave.

The Bottom Line:

It smells cheap, it won’t break the bank, and it tastes way better than something this affordable should. A tequila that punches way above its weight, a perfect bottle to bring to a party.

7. Herradura Reposado

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $47.29

The Tequila:

Herradura touts itself as the world’s first reposado tequila and, it is! First released in 1974, it set the standard for mellow slightly aged tequila. Herradura’s repo is aged for 11 months in charred American white oak barrels giving the liquid a smooth sweet finish with a beautiful rich amber color. But just because a brand is first, doesn’t mean it’s the best.

Don’t get us wrong, Herradura’s reposado is excellent, but there are far better versions of this expression out there that don’t come across quite as candy sweet as this one does. Maybe that’s your thing, but we like our tequila with a bit more bite.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Cotton candy sweet, slightly floral.

Palate: Strong notes of cinnamon and maple mingle with notes of cotton candy. Confection-like, very sweet.

Finish: Vanilla and butter on the finish with a fantastic silky mouthfeel.

The Bottom Line:

If you like your tequila candy-sweet and syrupy (some writers might call this “smooth”), this is your bottle.

6. Espanita Reposado

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $34.99

The Tequila:

Espanita’s reposado is aged for six months in charred American white oak barrels sourced from bourbon manufacturers in Kentucky. Those bourbon barrels make all the difference, there is a carmelized quality and smoothest to this tequila that is reminiscent of fine bourbon, while still containing the zesty bright qualities you might expect from tequila.

Espanita is produced at NOM 1467 and double distilled in copper pots and utilizes a roller mill extraction and is cooked in stone and brick ovens.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Zesty with notes of ginger spice and roasted agave.

Palate: Dark and distinct kola nut qualities with hints of cinnamon, creamy and buttery walnuts, and rich vanilla.

Finish: An earthy finish with a candied coconut quality.

The Bottom Line:

You’ll find a nice journey of flavors in this bottle. From spicey notes like ginger and cinnamon to sweetened coconut at the finish.

5. Casamigos Blanco

ABV:

Average Price: $39.99

The Tequila:

Until Kendall Jenner hit the tequila scene, George Clooney’s Casamigos set the standard for celebrity tequila, and even though Clooney sold Casamigos a long time ago, it’s still a damn good tequila. Made from 100% Blue Weber agave from the highlands of Jalisco, Casamigos goes through a slow fermentation process and is made from slow-cooked pinas in traditional brick ovens. The tequila hails from NOM 1609, where it is the only brand in production at the distillery.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Fresh-cut grass and roasted agave dominate the nose.

Palate: Highly vegetal with strong asparagus overtones and a sweet marshmallow quality.

Finish: Roasted nuts and vanilla on the finish. A bit harsh but in a good way.

The Bottom Line:

Bright, fresh, and transparent. Casamigos is a great companion to just about any tequila-based cocktail.

4. 818 Blanco

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $45.35

The Tequila:

When 818 first hit the scene it was produced at NOM 1137, La Cofradia, where 63 other brands are produced. It sounds hard to believe but even back then 818 was good, now it’s produced at NOM 1607, Grupo Solave, which produces under five brands, and with an increased sense of focus and quality control, this brand tastes even better than its initial run of bottles.

This award-winning tequila is produced using traditional methods, like Tahona extraction and cooper pot distillation before being barrel aged for three weeks, producing a distinct roundness that makes it all to easy to drink.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Incredibly floral with a bright lemongrass quality to it.

Palate: Strongly vanilla with top notes of peach hovering over the cooked agave flavor.

Finish: Smooth with notes of toasted coconut and rich chocolate. Dangerously easy to drink.

The Bottom Line:

Sweeter and easier to drink than Casamigos, but just as versatile. 818 is a crowd-pleaser and the perfect bottle to utilize if you’re trying to introduce someone to the world of tequila. Especially if that person is yourself.

3. Dano’s Dangerous Reposado

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $49.99

The Tequila:

Hailing from NOM 1507, Dano’s Dangerous utilizes brick oven cooking, roller mill extraction, and natural spring water for its base tequila which is then aged for 9 months in virgin white oak barrels for an ultra-smooth expression. The bottle design looks cheap, but don’t let the lack of adornment fool you, this tequila is beloved garnering multiple awards including Gold from the 2020 Sip Awards International Spirits Competition, Gold from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and Double Gold at the WSWA Tasting competition.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Toasted agave and deep chocolate tones dominate the nose.

Palate: Vanilla, toasted almonds, agave, a bit of oak, and cool mint qualities on the backend.

Finish: Very smooth with hints of caramel and mango with a black peppercorn bite.

The Bottom Line:

Complex, distinct, rich, and smooth. Don’t let the name turn you off, the only thing “dangerous” about this tequila is how easy it is to drink.

2. LALO Blanco

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $44.99

The Tequila:

LALO is a brand with a singular focus — blanco tequila, and it pays off as this is one of our favorite blanco tequilas currently on the market. Using agave sourced from the Jalisco highlands, this tequila utilizes deep well water, is double distilled, and uses a proprietary champagne yeast.

The agave is cooked in stone steam ovens for 20 to 32 hours and rested for an additional 18 hours. No barrels or additives are used in the making of tequila, making this one of the more pure agave expressions out there. It has a bright vegetal flavor that we can’t get enough of.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Bright and zesty citrus on the nose.

Palate: Buttery with hints of cooked agave and caramel.

Finish: Fruity, bright, vegetal, there is a very pure quality to this tequila.

The Bottom Line:

Wonderfully transparent, bright, and vegetal, the perfect clean-tasting blanco tequila.

1. El Tesoro Reposado Tequila

ABV:

Average Price: $47.99

The Tequila:

I’ve long sung the praises of El Tesoro and for the money, I think this is simply one of the best bottles of tequila you can hope to buy. This tequila is produced at NOM 1139, the legendary La Alteña distillery, and utilizes tahona extraction, open-air wood fermentation, cooper pot distillation, and natural spring water. The tequila is then aged in American oak ex-bourbon barrels for nine to eleven months giving it a wonderful smokey and sweet finish.

Winner of the Double Gold Medal at the San Francisco Spirits Competition and Ultimate Spirits Challenge in 2021, El Tesoro has a complexity to it that ignites the palate and leaves your mouth watering.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Smokey oak tones on the nose with a butterscotch edge.

Palate: Silky with hints of coconut, dark cherry, and roasted agave. A warm honey-like body.

Finish: Peppery with a smooth oaky finish with a nice cooked agave quality.

The Bottom Line:

It’s complex enough to sit alongside bottles in the above $50 range with a smooth finish and a wonderful and addicting flavor. If you’re looking for the best tequila under $50, this is the one, easily.

There’s a pretty good chance you’re cooking something this weekend, with food being the best part of Super Bowl Sunday. If you are grilling, there’s also a pretty solid chance that there’s going to be some sausages hissing and popping next to those burger patties. And while hot dogs are a necessity, grilling for a long football game with the crew at your place feels way more like a bratwurst job.

The links — full of pork, fat, salt, herbs, and spices (marjoram, coriander, mace, cardamom, and nutmeg with dried ginger and white pepper) — are among the most popular sausages around the globe and are sure to land on many a grill this week (no offense to Italian sausage or kielbasa fans). So let’s blindly taste some classic versions from the grocery store to find the best one for you to fire up.

Before we dive in, a little context. I lived in Berlin for 14 years. I have a deep knowledge of the massive world that is German sausages. Before you chime in with how many sausage types you think there are in Germany, I’m going to stop you. It’s way, way, way more than you think. Yes, Frankfurters, weisswurst, Weiners, bratwurst, and maybe even bockwurst get a lot of play in America but that’s barely scratching the surface. There are, wait for it, over 1,200 different types of sausages across Germany. Some are good, some are great, some are … let’s just say an acquired taste.

That all said, I’ve spent more than one or two beer-fueled evenings debating (arguing) over how much mace, cardamom, and marjoram a good fresh bratwurst should have, the ratio of lean to fat, and even casings (lamb adds a nice crack and umami bite but pork is traditional). Hell, I can give good arguments about the breed of pig to use — it’s Landrace or Berkshire, though Eurasian wild pig has its charms. I’ve even hosted parties/cookouts where we made our own brats while brewing beer (about the most German thing you can do).

That’s a long way to say, this is in my wheelhouse.

For this exercise, I went to four grocery stores and bought all the standard bratwurst they had. No cheese wurst or maple chicken smoked blah, blah, blah. Just the standard stuff that was either in the cooler with the bacon and hot dogs or the brats that were on the butcher counter next to the steaks and roasts.

That makes our lineup the following today:

• Whole Foods Butcher Counter Local Beer Bratwurst Sausage
• Trader Joe’s Fully Cooked Uncured Bavarian Bratwurst
• Impossible Bratwurst
• Kroger Classic Bratwurst
• Whole Foods Organic Bratwurst Savory Herb
• Olympia Provisions Bratwurst
• Beyond Sausage Brat Original
• Kroger Butcher Counter Wamplers Bratwurst

When it comes to grilling, tasting, and ranking these brats, I kept it pretty straightforward. All of the brats were cooked on a grill (Traeger at 400F) until their internal temp hit 165F (about 10 to 15 minutes depending on size). After that, my wife lined up the entrants on plates and served them to me blind. That said, it was painfully obvious which brats were the fake meat ones… but more on that later.

The ranking was pretty straightforward too. What tasted best? Was there a presence of marjoram (crucial!)? Mace, nutmeg, and cardamom? Was it soft and juicy with a nice fattiness? Or was it mealy and plain with too much sweetness? Those were my baseline parameters. Let’s get into and find you the best brats to grill this weekend!

(Quick note: every place I went to only had Beer Cheese Johnsonville Brats and not the Classic Johnsonville Brats, so they’re not ranked even though you’ll likely see them at your grocery store.)

• We Blind Tested Ketchup Brands On Fries And Hot Dogs And Picked The #1 Best
• We Blind Tested Every Mayo On The Market To Find The #1 Best
• The Ending Of ‘The Menu’ (And How It Relates To Food And Sex), Explained In Detail
• The #1 Most Boneheaded Error Made By 16 Major Fast Food Chains
• The 20 Most Popular Hot Sauces In America, Blind Tasted And Ranked

Part 1: The Tasting

Taste 1

Tasting Notes:

Ugh. This is grainy AF. There’s a mild sense of salt and herbs but nothing really distinct. It’s not dry, but not juicy by any stretch.

Initial Thoughts:

This felt like an American having seen a bratwurst on PBS and then tried to make one themselves without looking up a recipe.

Taste 2

Tasting Notes:

This is spot on. It’s a precooked version (which is the most ubiquitous brat in Germany) and hits the flavor profile perfectly. There’s a clear sense of dried marjoram, a nice pinch of mace, and cardamom. There’s a very faint sense of white pepper and dried ginger too. The sausage is lush and moist. The casing has a great crackle to it.

Initial Thoughts:

Where’s the mustard? This is really good and tastes exactly right for a precooked German brat.

Taste 3

Tasting Notes:

This was savory with a nice sense of white pepper and umami with a whisper of marjoram. The texture wasn’t terrible but clearly faux meat. There was a nice attempt at a casing but no crack.

Initial Thoughts:

This was fine. If you smothered it in ketchup and mustard it’d be passable.

Taste 4

Tasting Notes:

This had a nice crack and moistness punctuated by sharp spice and savory herbs — though not exactly distinct ones. The sausage was very good with a twinge of sweetness.

Initial Thoughts:

This felt like a classic American brat. The savory/spice mix was on point and the added sweetness gave it away as cheap but kind of addictive. I wanted more, especially with a dollop of mustard to counter that corn syrup.

Taste 5

Tasting Notes:

This had a nice structure to it. There was a bit of crack on the casing. The precooked brat filling was pretty bland. There was a very mild sense of white pepper and garlic powder with maybe some paprika. I did get a whisper of nutmeg and cardamom at the end but not much else.

Initial Thoughts:

I really had to reach to find those flavor notes. They were there, but just barely. Overall, this felt blander than I’d like.

Taste 6

Tasting Notes:

This was okay. The precooked sausage had a decent crack and meatiness. There was a mix of spices but they were pretty hard to distinguish. Overall, this was average.

Initial Thoughts:

This needed something to help it pop. Where’s the marjoram?

Taste 7

Tasting Notes:

This looked … bad. Let’s just leave it at that. No casing so no crack. The “sausage” was mealy and plasticky. There was a sense of seasoning but it was indistinct. It was very chewy.

Initial Thoughts:

I spit this nonsense out.

Taste 8

Tasting Notes:

This was damn good. The sausage was actually juicy, well-seasoned, and mildly spiced with a good sense of umami bite. This tasted like a good American brat with a vivid layer of sweetness counterpointing the spice and herbs.

Initial Thoughts:

This needed a dollop of mustard to counter all that corn syrup but had a great seasoning profile. This isn’t a classic German brat by any stretch of the imagination but it was a good sausage.

Part 2: The Ranking

8. Beyond Sausage Brat Original — Taste 7

Price: $8.29 (14 oz./4 links)

The Bratwurst:

Beyond Sausages Brat Original boasts of having 35% less saturated fat on the packaging. The “sausage” is made from a mix of pea protein, coconut oil, sunflower oil, brown rice protein, potato starch, fava bean protein, and apple fiber amongst “natural flavors” (MSG), and calcium alginate casing (I had to look it up too).

The package states that you have to brush the link in oil before grilling, which … hard pass.

Bottom Line:

This is bad. Skip.

7. Whole Foods Butcher Counter Local Beer Bratwurst Sausage — Taste 1

Price: $6.99 (per pound)

The Bratwurst:

This is the sausage from the butcher counter at Whole Foods. The ingredients are pretty simple: Pork, beer, “bratwurst seasoning,” pork casing, and WHEAT (they put it in all caps, not me).

Bottom Line:

This was the most disappointing by far. The good sausages in the butcher case are supposed to be better, right? These were worse. This was a grainy mess. Hard pass.

6. Impossible Bratwurst — Taste 3

Price: $9.99 (13.5 oz./4 links)

The Bratwurst:

Impossible Bratwurst is made from a slurry of soy protein, sunflower oil, coconut oil, yeast extract, vegetal casing, modified food starch, and a ton of other stuff that’s way too long to list here. Bonus points though, it does list “marjoram” as an ingredient.

This grilled up pretty much like any brat on the grill with no extra fussing like Beyond.

Bottom Line:

This was fine. If you’re planning on adding some grilled onions and peppers, it’d pass. On its own, it’s not ideal. It just kind of tastes like you’re eating the inside of a plastic food bin that once held tasty brats.

5. Whole Foods Organic Bratwurst Savory Herb — Taste 5

Price: $7.99 (12 oz./4 links)

The Bratwurst:

This precooked brat from Whole Foods is a “healthier” mix of ingredients. It’s made with organic chicken, sea salt, organic black pepper, organic red pepper, organic coriander, organic nutmeg, organic cardamom, and natural pork casing.

This grilled up pretty easily and quickly.

Bottom Line:

This was fine. I wouldn’t confuse it for a German sausage, but it wasn’t without its charms. In a bun with some spicy mustard and maybe some kraut and this would be passable.

4. Olympia Provisions Bratwurst — Taste 6

Price: $18.30 (12 oz./3 links)

The Bratwurst:

This beloved brand from Portland, Oregon, is made with a minimalist mix of pork, pork fat, milk powder, salt, spices, dextrose, dried vinegar, and Hog casing.

This also grilled up nicely on the ol’ grill.

Bottom Line:

The addition of milk throws me here. That aside, this was pretty bland all things considered. If you’re cooking a big pile of onions and peppers, then you’ll be in a better place flavor-wise. On its own, this still needs some kind of sauce to pep it up.

3. Kroger Butcher Counter Wamplers Bratwurst — Taste 8

Price: $1.50 (2 links)

The Bratwurst:

This butcher counter bratwurst is very local (well, to Tennessee/Kentucky anyway). The ingredients include premium fresh pork, corn syrup, salt, spices, lemon juice powder (which also has corn syrup), and spice extractives. That’s a lot.

This grilled up the best. It retained its juiciness and was still plump when it came off the grill at temp.

Bottom Line:

This was pretty good all things considered. It was really sweet — that dinged it a bit since it overpowered the spice and herbs in the sausage. That said, this would be pretty good on a soft roll with some mustard to counter all that corn syrup.

2. Kroger Classic Bratwurst — Taste 4

Price: $3.99 (18 oz./5 links)

The Bratwurst:

These are the standard, cheap brats you get in the meat aisle at the grocery store. The ingredients include pork and spices and a bunch of stuff that ends in -ose, -ide, and -extrin along with corn syrup.

This shrank a bit while grilling but that sort of concentrated the flavors and moistness.

Bottom Line:

These tasted good. It was a tad sweet (but most American versions of anything are). Overall, this had the most American bratwurst vibe to it and would have really shined with a dab of spicy mustard with some grilled onions and peppers on a soft roll.

1. Trader Joe’s Fully Cooked Uncured Bavarian Bratwurst — Taste 2

Price: $5.49 (12 oz./4 links)

The Bratwurst:

The only Trader Joe’s brat available is a precooked version from Germany. The ingredients include pork, marjoram, black pepper, nutmeg, mace, ginger, coriander, and pimento with pork casing (amongst other stabilizers).

This grilled up easily and nicely, holding onto its moistness.

Bottom Line:

This was far and away the best-tasting brat on the list today. It actually tasted like a bratwurst. It also had a nice crack to the casing, good moistness to the meat, and distinguishable herbs and spices that belong in a bratwurst.

Part 3: Final Thoughts

If you want the real thing this weekend when you’re grilling up before the game, then you’re going to need to make a trip to Trader Joe’s. The rest of the links on this list didn’t even come close. The rub here is that Trader Joe’s brats are only “okay” when compared to what you really get around Germany but that’s beside the point. They’re still good, well-seasoned, and cook up nice on a grill.

If a trip to Trader Joe’s is out of the cards, then just grab the classic cheap brats from your local grocery store. They’ll do nicely compared to the other crap on the shelf out there. Just beware of all that sweetness, add some grilled onions and peppers, and get plenty of spicy mustard.

On Wednesday afternoon, Twitter — a service now owned by a guy whose electric cars keep malfunctioning and causing accidents — started acting funky. Starting around 4:45pm EST, users started noticing they could no longer post messages on one of the world’s most popular social media service. There was a workaround to get tweets live again, and once people discovered it, the jokes started flying well before the problems had mostly but not completely subsided.

Mid-afternoon, people who tweet a lot — or just happened to be tweeting then — got a strange message when they hit the “tweet” button: “You are over the limit of sending daily tweets.” The problem affected not only people who tweet too much but even those who had tweeted once or even zero times that day.

There was a fix: Instead of clicking on “tweet,” people could simply schedule their post for a minute later (provided they selected the correct date). Soon Twitter was alive again, mostly with people complaining about how it was broken.

To make matters fishier, the outage happened the same day as a splashy — and ultimately fruitless — House oversight committee hearing led by the MAGA wing of the chamber into Twitter’s alleged suppression of Hunter Biden dick pics. There was a lot of shouting, sometimes by elected lawmakers who had repeatedly heckled President Joe Biden at his State of the Union address the night before. But by the end of the day they had, as Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin put it, “turned up absolutely nothing.”

It’s unlikely the two incidents are related, but since, again, Twitter owner Elon Musk owns Tesla, some speculated on a connection.

It was bad timing in other ways, too.

Direct messages were also suddenly AWOL.

Some pointed out Twitter isn’t the only unreliable Musk product.

Those who figured out the workaround were quick to fling jokes.

Even Dictionary.com threw some shade.

Surely, some pointed out, the Musk die-hards weren’t giving up on their hero.

A bit before 6pm EST, things started getting back to normal.

Which prompted more jokes.

Of course, it’s unclear who saved the day.

As it happened, the outage happened mere hours after MAGA lawmakers, who failed to prove the government had coerced them into burying dick pics of the current president’s son, singled out Musk for saving Twitter from…well, from not having weird outages.

Last year, Phoebe Bridgers was in the UK playing Glastonbury upon the tragic news of the overturning of Roe v. Wade. “Who wants to say ‘F*ck the Supreme Court’ on three?” she said onstage to the crowd, leading a controversial chant. Now, she called for another one while in Australia, this time for Margaret Court.

Performing at the Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne, she had to address that the famous tennis player is homophobic. “So, Margaret Court,” Bridgers said. “F*ck that stupid-ass, dumbass b*tch. F*ck that stupid c*nt. Change your name!” She then prompted a chant: “F*ck Margaret Court!”

She added, “I think hate is undervalued. I think it’s like a f*cking weird, white supremacist idea that hate is bad, or something? You know what I mean? It’s like hate is what moves things throughout history. I hate that stupid b*tch! Hate is like how you protect yourself. What, are you never supposed to be angry, ever?”

Meanwhile the “Kyoto” singer is preparing for the release of The Record, her album in the supergroup Boygenius, whose other members are Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker. The singles “$20,” “True Blue,” and “Emily I’m Sorry” are out now.

The Beyhive is justifiably upset that Beyoncé didn’t win Album Of The Year for Renaissance at the 2023 Grammys on Sunday night, February 5, while simultaneously fighting for tickets to her forthcoming Renaissance World Tour. Fans’ attention spans will be tested even further this week when Beyoncé and Adidas drop a new Ivy Park collection.

According to Adidas’ official press release, the “Park Trail” collection “is inspired by the resilience of the outdoors, the spirit of the streets, and the possibilities of the future.” The online release is set for tomorrow, February 9, and select partner stores will begin selling the collection on Friday, February 10.

Here are the basics, as written in the press release:

• 56 apparel styles (including inclusive sizing), 12 accessories, 3 footwear styles (with one tyle, the TT 2000, in two colors)
• Unisex regular and oversized fits
• Men’s regular and tight fits
• Women’s tight, regular and oversized fits
• Sizes from XXXS-XXXXL

But as with anything Bey-related, there’s one big question: How much will this cost? The good news is that the low end of the price range is $30. The bad news is that pricing tops out at $600.

The “Park Trail” rollout dates back to last month when Ice Spice and Offset were revealed as two of the campaign’s faces.

It was reported by The Wall Street Journal earlier today, February 8, that Adidas’ projected Ivy Park to net $250 million in sales last year but earned $40 million in 2022 instead.

Check out how Ivy Park is setting the tone for 2023 below.

So, it’s the end of another football season and your team didn’t make it to the show. Why not direct your frustrated energy toward giving your team another virtual chance at the Lombardi trophy?

That’s why, on this edition of Uproxx Recon with Ray Apollo and Noelle Miller, we’re talking about football video games.

Football has been part of video games culture since the very beginning on home consoles like the Atari 2600 and in arcades with 1978’s Atari Football. America’s true pastime has been a visible part of video games through all of its innovations like online play, rosters that can update in real-time, and even virtual reality. Quite a jump.

When we think about football video games, we think about super sims like the Madden franchise and the ghost of the NFL2K franchise that some fans just can’t forget about. This is why we’re talking about those games in this episode and arcade-style games like NFL Street that opened up football to more casual fans while twisting the most basic rules of the sport and turning them into a whole new experience, proving that fun can be had with football games that let you do things you could never do on the gridiron without getting a hefty fine.

Check out the episode and let us know about your favorite football video game moments.

Trevor Lawrence came into the NFL with high expectations, as the former Clemson star had been elite at every level of football since he was a kid, almost predestined to be a top overall pick.

His first year with the Jaguars didn’t go as planned, and coming into his second year there were questions about how much of the Jaguars struggles fell on his shoulders, and how much came from the internal turmoil of Urban Meyer’s disastrous season at the helm in Jacksonville. Lawrence got to answer a lot of those questions this year, leading the Jags to the AFC South title at 9-8, a thrilling Wild Card win over the Chargers in which they erased a 27-point deficit, and a Pro Bowl nod.

It wasn’t perfect, but it proved optimism in Jacksonville that they do in fact have their franchise quarterback, as he flourished in his first year under Doug Pederson. On Wednesday night, Lawrence will trade a football for a ping pong paddle as part of P&G’s Battle of the Paddles (7 p.m. ET on Twitch), as he represents Head & Shoulders — a fitting sponsorship considering his long, golden locks — in the 8-man tournament on Super Bowl week.

Ahead of that, we got to talk with Lawrence over Zoom about his ping pong skills, just how much ping pong got played in Jacksonville this year now that they were allowed to have a table, his development from Year 1 to Year 2, and the lessons learned in his first postseason experience.

How was the Pro Bowl experience and your first time out there? And what do you think of the new format with flag football and the mini game style style format y’all got to do?

Yeah, I mean, I had a great time. Obviously, it’s a huge honor to be selected for that and represent my team and all that. So, I mean, I had a great time. I like I like the new format. Obviously, I never experienced the old one. But just from what I hear and then experiencing two full seasons now, especially going to the playoffs, it’s kind of tough — like I can imagine it’d be not what you want to do to like play another game. So I think guys like that. I don’t know about from the outside view or fan perspective. You know, I think it’s kind of, people are always gonna have something to say. So I think that’s a little bit tough to manage, but I think guys had a good time. It was a good mix of interacting with the fans and doing stuff to put on a little bit of a show, and then also having free time and being able to hang out and meet all the guys. It was fun.

You’ve got the Battle the Paddles coming up this week. I got to talk to Jared Goff yesterday and he said you got him on the table at the Pro Bowl. Do you feel like you’re coming into this as as the favorite in the tournament?

Um, I don’t want to be [laughs]. I want to be under the radar. So I’m hoping that no one knows how much ping pong that we played in our locker room because if people knew how often we played, people would probably expect a lot from me. So I’m hoping that I’m not the favorite, but I don’t know. No, I’m excited. I’m excited to play seems like we got a good group. So it’s gonna be fun.

I don’t think fans quite realize, like you said, how much ping pong gets played in locker rooms. Like, I do a lot of NBA stuff and it’s the same, where every NBA locker room has a table. I know a lot of NFL locker rooms do. Like, can you kind of give us a peek behind the curtain how much ping pong gets played?

It’s a lot. I mean, we we didn’t have one last year so this is new. It all depends on like who your staff is, if they’re alright with it — like you kind of have to clear a few levels. But you know, our coach was cool with it. Our equipment guys were cool with it. So we got us a table and we play [a lot]. The specialists play more than anyone because they have the shortest meetings, they get in from practice early and all that. So they play the most, but then I’d say we [the QB room] were a close second. Really any break before practice or lunch or whatever. After practice, like while everybody’s still in there, we’re like right up on the table right away. So between meetings, we’ll have 20-30 minutes, we’ll hop on for a game or two. Like we play a lot.

You mentioned getting the new staff in this year. What was the biggest thing that you felt playing for Doug Pederson and playing in that offense did for you as a quarterback and getting you settled in so you could make this leap that you did in your second season?

Yeah, I think there’s a lot of factors. It’s not just one thing. I mean, the offense is really I think quarterback friendly. It gives us a lot of options, you know. It lets me — I feel like our staff did a really good job of maximizing what I do well, and also our game plans were great every week. And it puts us in a position I feel like gives me a lot of answers based on what the defense is doing. It just opens up a lot of things. First, lets me get to a lot of our checks, all that. And then also we brought in a lot of really good players and I think that’s what the game is about is the players. And so Christian [Kirk] and Zay [Jones] and Evan [Engram], Brandon Scherff up front, Luke Fortner, we got Travis [Etienne] back, just all the new guys along with the guys that we had last year as well that played played great — Jawaan [Taylor] had a great year — and just guys like that. It all kind of came together at the right time and our chemistry really started to click a few games into the season. But it’s all that. It’s the offense. It’s the guys. It’s just the culture that we’re building. Everything kind of plays together.

What were the things you feel like you took a step forward in from year one to year two? What are the things when you look back, you’d say I’m most proud of from year one to year two?

Yeah, I mean, I think obviously — I’m not a big stats guy — but statistically, like my turnovers went down, which was something I really wanted to improve on. Especially interceptions like that went down this year, significantly from last year — especially in the regular season — and then still want to get better with ball security. Some of the fumbles and stuff, but there’s always gonna be things to work on. And then I think just managing the game. Situational football, all those things I feel like it did a much better job, especially the second half of the season. You know, we were able to win — one thing that was cool about our season was we were able to win probably five out of the last eight or whatever games that we won were by one score. So it was just really a testament to how much better we got as a year went on, because we lost those games early in the season. I think we had five straight losses by one score. So it was cool to see that improvement from myself and from our offense and being able to do whatever it takes to win and in those key moments making the plays. I think that gives myself and gives guys a lot of confidence moving forward is in the biggest moments we’ve already shown we can do we should have that confidence. I think that really carried on as the season went.

What’s the biggest lesson you take away from from your playoff run? Obviously getting two games in the postseason for the first time and seeing what that’s all about because everything is so much more magnified. The mistakes are magnified. The big plays are magnified. Everything matters just that little bit more, and what are the things you can take away from that experience?

Yeah, it was a great experience. Obviously the first game was crazy, just that whole roller coaster in the Wild Card game at home here against the Chargers. That game was insane. And that’s a cool one to look back on, and just to be a part. Like that’ll be one that that people will remember for a long time. So and thenjust the experience from being down 27 points, having a really, really bad first half and still finding a way to win the game. Again, like I was talking about the other stuff in our season that taught us a lot, I think that’s something that you will always remember and you’ll keep in the back of your head. And when things aren’t going well — It’s going to happen again, I mean, hopefully not that bad to that extent, but it’s going to happen again when we’re down by a few scores. Maybe I’ve thrown a couple picks in the first half or whatever it is. And you’ll always remember what we did that playoff game against Chargers and then the guys that are going to be together next year that played this year together, we’ll always remember all those experiences. So I do think it is valuable moving forward, but in the playoffs it’s tough. Usually the team that makes the least amount of mistakes wins and you see, you know against the Chiefs, we were right in that game and just had a couple more mistakes and they played a cleaner game and were able to pull it out. So it’s stuff like that, that you learn from too is you know the wins and losses, and you figure out how to give yourself the best chance to win and you got to play really clean, especially in the playoffs to win.

(SPOILERS for this week’s BMF episode will be found below.)

In episode five of season two of BMF, titled “Moment Of Truth,” Meech and Terry have finally arrived in Atlanta. They touch down in the city, with the goal of finding cocaine to bring back home and sell in order to make up for some losses gained during the drought and following Meech’s shooting. During this trip, Meech and Terry are forced to work together more than they have so far this season and it leads to a life-altering decision for Terry, which is one Meech hoped he’d make for a long time.

The aforementioned events in the fifth episode of BMF season two, titled “Moment Of Truth,” are soundtracked by songs that help to accentuate the emotions behind each scene. You can find a list of them belong as well as details about the scenes that they are heard in.

The following records were provided thanks to the Starz Public Relations team.

The Winans — “Are We Really Doing Your Will?”

This record plays at the beginning of the episode, around the 0:44 mark, as Terry and Meech make their way to Atlanta. It begins with a flashback to their childhood as the duo rides in the car with Nicole, Charles, and Lucille as this same song plays.

Precise x Sam Hook x Fredro — “Lyrical Genius”

At the 03:27 mark, Meech and Terry presumably make a stop in Cleveland to confront James for stealing money from them. It’s here that Meech beats him up and steals his car.

50 Cent — “Wish Me Luck” Feat. Charlie Wilson

This is the theme song of BMF. It plays at the 04:02 mark in “Moment Of Truth.” While it’s only 50 Cent and Charlie Wilson’s voices that are heard in this moment, the song also features Snoop Dogg and Moneybagg Yo.

Budda — “CPT”

At the 06:38 mark, Meech and Terry are finishing their drive to Atlanta. During the ride, Meech discovers that Terry has brought his school textbook with him on the ride. Meech throws it out of the window and scolds Terry for not being focused on the task at hand.

Crown — “‘80s Dance”

Around the 09:52 mark, this record can be heard as Meech and Terry enter an Atlanta strip club to meet a woman we eventually learn is Goldie. During this moment, Meech learns that Terry has feelings for someone but he doesn’t reveal that it is Markeisha.

Colon — “Celebrity”

A short time later, at the 11:35 mark, Meech and Terry enter a back room to meet Goldie. Terry requests a dice game with the hope that he and Meech can win some money to buy more cocaine, but as newcomers, Terry and Meech are cheated out of their game and lose $7,500 out of the $15,000 they had to their name.

Roger — “Love Ain’t Enough”

This record can be heard as Charles is fixing a cabinet at Mabel’s house. Before he can leave the house, Mabel invites him to a party she’s planning, and while Charles is initially hesitant to attend, he eventually accepts the invite.

LL — “HBCU Lacey Change 222″

Meech and Terry make their way to a high school game to meet an old friend from Detroit at the 21:03 mark. At this moment, their old friend tells them to meet him at his house later and Monique calls Meech to let him know that Denise will take on the drug charge in exchange for them paying for her son’s college tuition.

Arman — “One Dance”

Right around the 30:24 mark, Charles’ troublesome ways continue as he and Mabel dance together at a party that she’s throwing. At this point, it remained to be seen whether or not he will fall for Mabel’s trap, but we all know it didn’t take too long for that to happen

Crystal — “You Sent Him Over”

Just minutes later at the 34:54 mark, Charles officially falls for Mabel’s trap as the two have sex in a hallway of her house after the party. The scene was a quick one as it ended with Charles shamefully rushing out of the house and Mabel looking lustfully at him as he walked out.

City — “Smoke That”

At the 35:45 mark, Terry and Meech arrive at the dice game that they forced Goldie to bring them to in order to win back the money they lost playing a dice game at Goldie’s club. Terry and Meech enter the game under fake names with the goal of tricking their competitors into thinking that they’re not on the same team.

Extreme — “Serious”

This song briefly plays at the 38:25 mark as Charles reminisces on having sex with Mabel. Lucille and Nicole have also returned from their retreat and Lucille apologizes for her errors in their strained relationship.

Art of Noise — “Moments in Love”

After talking to each other, Lucille and Charles have their own sex scene at the 41:57 mark. Charles seems a bit hesitant to engage in an intimate moment with Lucille, especially with it being so soon after he had sex with Mabel, but here we are.

Marlon Osi — “Fresh White Sneakers”

At the 44:36 mark, B-Mickie beats up Kevin’s bully for Detective Bryant. B-Mickie approaches the three boys outside their school and starts punching one of them while daring the other two to defend their friend. This came after Bryant failed to get help from the school, or his reluctant son, to find a way to stop the bullying.

Travon — “We Gon Get Through This”

Travon’s “We Gon Get Through This” plays at the 48:53 mark to close the episode. It rings off after Lamar made a surprise visit to the Flenory house, something that could’ve ended very badly if it were not for some quick and hopeful thinking from Lucille.

New episodes of ‘BMF’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00 am EST and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm EST.

Sure, you might find an adventurous 3-year-old who enjoys sushi and salads from time to time. But generally speaking, toddlers are notoriously picky eaters. If a meal strays even an inch beyond the comfort zone of french fries and grilled cheese, it’s a hard no. Followed by tears. Or maybe screaming. Or both.

However, Emma Hubbard, a pediatric occupational therapist, is convinced that even the finickiest kid can be coaxed into expanding their palate with just a few simple yet effective tweaks.

As Hubbard mentions in her video, new food isn’t just unpleasant for toddlers—it’s downright scary. “Toddlers have a genuine fear of trying new food,” she said, which explains why they have such a visceral fight-or-flight reaction and “become overwhelmed and run away, have a tantrum, or shut down.”

---

That’s why Hubbard suggests introducing foods in a way that feels non-threatening. Some ways of doing this include serving the new food with food the toddler already deems as “safe” or combining them with condiments/dips they already like, such as hummus, ketchup, sour cream, etc.

Similarly, Hubbard recommends presenting the food in a fun and creative way. It doesn’t have to be a “work of art each time.” Something as simple as using a cookie cutter to make fun shapes or using different cutlery could do the trick.

Another tip is to reduce the amount of snacking and instead do five meals a day, spaced roughly 2.5 hours apart, serving only water in between those meals, not juice or milk. Experiencing true hunger makes toddlers more willing to try new foods.

Hubbard also noted that when parents sit down and eat the same foods with their toddler, they are far more likely to participate with their parents, seeing it as positive reinforcement. That makes sense since kids love mimicking all kinds of adult-centered activities.

Of all her tips, Hubbard says the most important is persistence. Repeatedly exposing toddlers to new food without putting pressure on them to eat will make them more comfortable, which gets them one step closer to actually eating it.

Watch:

The video resonated with a lot of parents. Many shared how these tips have already helped. Others shared their own changes that led to success.

“Normally it takes a long time to get kids to eat lettuce or veg and such but since our kid sat with us watching us eat things like pico de Gallo, sope, tacos, posole and etc. He eats any veggies we put in front of him so long as they are diced or seasoned. He’ll even eat cabbage and spinach if it has chamoy on it. Anything daddy eats is gold to him and he has to have it,” one parent commented.

Another suggested giving very small, less overwhelming portions of new foods, and only giving the toddler positive attention when they do eat the new food, rather than when they refuse to eat. “A lot of times kids act out to see the reaction of caregivers. If we don’t give a reaction, she’s less likely to do it again. But positive reactions when she eats it will make her want to eat it again, or at least try things,” they wrote.

Getting toddlers to broaden their food choices might be a challenge, but like all aspects of parenting, it seems like a little bit of patience goes a long way. Hopefully these tricks can help little ones savor everything that life has to offer.

Maggie Perkins loves teaching, loves teachers and loves students. In fact, she loves them so much that working on her Ph.D. in Educational Theory and Practice. Her research is focused on teacher attrition, examining why quality, experienced teachers quit the profession—something she understands all too well since she recently became one of them.

The former educator now works at Costco and she says she’s never been happier. Her migraines are gone. Her anxiety has improved. She sleeps through the night. As an entry-level employee, she makes less money than she did teaching, but not enough less to make a difference in her financial situation. She goes home from work happy at the end of the day.

Perkins has been sharing the contrast in working conditions between the classroom and Costco on her TikTok channel and it is eye-opening, to say the least.

---

To be fair, Costco is known for employee satisfaction. They take good care of their people with solid wages and benefits, and as a result, they have an impressive 94% retention rate for employees who stay longer than a year. That’s incredible for a retail business. And it’s not just about their comparatively generous compensation package. Perkins has shared in several of her videos how she feels respected and valued as an employee at Costco—far more than she did as a teacher working in various schools, teaching various grades in two different states.

People often assume that the biggest reason teachers quit is inadequate pay, but compensation is just one piece of the teacher exodus puzzle. Perkins makes it clear that teachers should definitely be paid more, but attrition isn’t just about money. It’s often a result of burnout caused by a multitude of factors, including lack of time and support to do the job they are trained to do, the twisted way the teaching profession is viewed and valued by society and the pile-on of additional duties teachers are assigned to do besides teaching.

@millennialmsfrizz

Today I was on Varner & Co with 🦊. This is the full segment. It feels short, but they managed to squeeze me in between a study about it cheese causes nightmares and the woke 👮‍♀️ adding pants to a root beer mascot. It was my pleasure to make a contribution.

Let’s look at the time element alone. Planning is a big part of teaching, especially if you’re trying to meet individual students’ learning needs, yet teachers are rarely given the amount of planning time they need. On top of that, the time they do have is often usurped by other things.

“Let’s say you have a fight in your classroom,” Perkins tells Upworthy. “Well, then you just lost 45 minutes of your planning because you’re going to have to be in the front office doing documentation, calling people. You just lose your day. There’s so many different ways to lose your whole day, and then you end up either taking work home or making hard choices about what to let go, like you’re juggling glass and rubber balls and you have to figure out which ones are glass and which ones are rubber. Like, what can you let drop?”

@millennialmsfrizz

Tonight when I walked out of work, I felt happy. I felt happy because I enjoyed my work, my coworkers and felt good about my job. When I was a teacher I only felt good leaving work *because I was leaving* the building. Yes, of course, there were *things* I enjoyed about the job, but being a teacher was so much more than teaching, and the anxiety inducing parts of the job were shredding me. Education as a whole is an environment of scarcity. From the resources to the ways teachers are treated. Costco is run in a way that operates from a place of generosity and genuine care. It’s amazing to me that a multi billion dollar company can exude this for its members and employees but the education system cannot. #formerteacher #teacherquittok #costcotiktok #retailworker #exteachertiktok #formerteacher #scarcitymindset #costcodoesitagain

A big misconception some people have about teaching is that it’s easier than other professions because you have long holiday breaks and summers off. Some even go so far as to use the word “cushy.” Plenty of teachers have refuted that notion, showing how many hours they actually work outside of official work hours or how they have to work two jobs to not be living paycheck to paycheck.

“If you’re coming at teachers being like, oh, you have a cushy job, then you work it,” says Perkins. “If you think it’s so soft and so cushy, it has so many amazing benefits, then come on over and work this job. More of us should be lining up for it.”

“But if we have a teacher shortage, how can it be that cushy of a job?” she adds. The reality is that people who have never worked in a classroom have no idea how relentless and stressful it can be on multiple levels, even when you love teaching and love your students.

Here Perkins describes what it was like working a 7-day shift during the holidays instead of having that cushy winter break:

@millennialmsfrizz

I used to be a teacher and now I work at Costco. This is my first year not having a winter break. I do not miss it at all. My pace of my work life now is so much better, I am not sick or exhausted like I used to be when I was a teacher. When I was a teacher I used my winter break basically to recover and go into the next semester of just surviving. #f#formerteachert#teacherquittokc#costcotiktokr#retailworkere#exteachertiktokc#careertransitiont#teachersonbreak

Perkins points out that we don’t actually have a teacher shortage, but rather a teacher exodus. There are plenty of qualified, credentialed teachers who have simply given up trying to make the career they love actually sustainable.

Many people have put forth suggestions for various school reforms, but those who have seen the problems from the inside know they are layered, widespread, systemic and deeply ingrained. Perkins tells Upworthy she believes the school system needs a complete overhaul.

“I think we will be forced into it,” she says. “But I don’t think that’ll happen for at least 10 years. I think things are going to get much worse before they get better.”

@millennialmsfrizz

If you are new to this account, you should know that the issues I discuss are things I’ve experienced at several schools, grade levels and in different states. These are systemic issues, and are getting worse, not better. But, welcome, I suppose, and I hope you feel seen, known and appreciated because you are. #teachersoftiktok #formerteacher #teacherquittok #educatedexit #KAYKissCountdown #educationcrisis #teachershortage

She says focusing more on teachers and students would help alleviate some of the “crash and burn” she sees coming, or perhaps even help prevent it. But some major changes would have to take place for that to happen.

“A teacher who has six class periods with 35 students in them? That person cannot possibly deliver quality instruction to all of those students all day. And then have one planning period to grade, plan, et cetera. It’s just it’s impossible.”

She says reducing class sizes, increasing planning periods and eliminating extra duties such as carpool duty, hallway duty and other seemingly small things that chip away at a teacher’s time are immediate changes that can and should be made. But school administration is often more focused on testing, data, and resources than on what students and teachers themselves need to create a healthy, sustainable learning environment.

Then there’s the issue of how teachers are viewed. Outright disrespect is one thing teachers face, but even well-meaning people who think they are supporting teachers can contribute to the problem.

For instance, Perkins explained in a video that she doesn’t call teachers “heroes” anymore because it’s a loaded term that leads to a martyrdom mindset. After all, heroes fulfill the mission, no matter how hard it gets, right? Heroes are ready and willing to sacrifice it all for the cause. Most people who refer to teachers as “heroes” do so as a compliment, but when you really break down what that term means, it sets an expectation that teachers will do the job no matter how bad it gets, sacrificing themselves and their own well-being because their profession is a “noble” one. That’s not just unfair; it’s abusive.

@millennialmsfrizz

Teachers are called heros. Teaching is regarded as a noble profession, a higher calling. Teachers should be able to work in conditions that do not require heroic sacrifice. Teachers should be able to do their job in a normal way without suffering, sacrificing, defend for themselves etc. #teachersoftiktok #teacherquittok #teachersareheroes

“The thing that I most want to communicate in my videos is that teaching is not a ‘noble profession.'” Perkins tells Upworthy. “It’s a job, and people should be paid for the job that they do and respected for the work that they do, and that by attributing nobility to the profession, you assign to teachers this emotional labor of the whole culture, of the whole society.”

“When we do that, we add to them additional responsibility above and beyond their actual jobs,” she adds. “And then that allows people to degrade the profession by saying basically we pay you with emotion. Like we say, ‘You’re heroes!’ and we get in the cycle of praising them for what they do, and then gaslighting them for what they fall short on. But what they’re falling short on is stuff that was never their job in the first place.”

Perkins also wants teachers to know that they have transferable skills and that they don’t have to put up with a poor quality of life when they can find a higher one in a different profession.

“I see so many teachers like myself even feeling trapped or feeling limited, like teaching is the only thing we can do,” she says. “And then when they go into other professions, they’re wildly successful. They rise to the top in their career fields. They are good employees and they enjoy the quality of their life as well.”

“I want to communicate to teachers—you’re not stuck, you don’t have to be afraid, your quality of life matters, and it’s not selfish to transition your career, because a lot of teachers stay in it, too, because they don’t want to feel like they’re failing the students.”

To hear more of Perkins’ perspective on working at Costco and on what teaching can and should be, check out her TikTok channel @millennialmsfrizz.