Daily Archives: October 29, 2020

To say that 2020 is a year of disruption and change is to understate the obvious. Our daily lives, from educating our kids, managing our health, and working from home, to simple social rituals like dinner with friends, underwent rapid multi-dimensional change. Nascent trends virtualization of the workspace, online learning, virtual health, and e-commerce accelerated exponentially. Changes anticipated to take years occurred in months and, in some cases, weeks and even days. Understandably, leaders have struggled mightily to address these overlapping changes simultaneously, dealing with economic, health, and logistical crises that have unfolded at top speed.

Much as we might like to think of 2020 as an anomaly, it may not be. Conditions for accelerating change have been building for years. Advancements in information technology, automation, human interconnectivity, Artificial Intelligence, and the network effects among them, created a new reality where change is much more rapid, continual, and ubiquitous. Covid-19 and its derivatives laid bare a new normal of change, marked by three dimensions:

This three-dimensional (3-D) change is defining our emerging future and, as a consequence, effective leadership will be defined by the ability to navigate this new reality.

The problem is, our models for leadership werent built for this kind of 3-D change. Human minds evolved for thinking linearly and locally in the face of challenge, not exponentially and systemically. Noted futurist Ray Kurzweil asserted, The future is widely misunderstood. Our forebears expected it to be pretty much like their present, which had been pretty much like their past. But, projecting our pasts onto our futures exposes a fundamental error: Linear thinking can never catch-up and adapt to the perpetual, pervasive, and exponential change occurring around us its simply too fast and too complex.

We need a new form of leadership, better equipped to navigate this unprecedented kind of change. For this purpose, we gathered, under the Stanford University umbrella, world-class luminaries leaders who generate impact and change at a global scale for conversations on the future of leadership and change-making. What emerged was a new vision of leadership, which we call Sapient Leadership. A Sapient Leader is characterized by being wise, sagacious, and discerning in navigating change while also being humane in the face of change that can often feel alien. This kind of leadership emphasizes counterintuitively an anti-heroic leader. Sapient Leaders exhibit authenticity, humility, and vulnerability, inspiring the necessary trust and psychological safety that drives shared learning and intelligence, resulting in enhanced collective performance and leading to a better future for all.

In a world thats relatively stable and mostly predictable, where change is incremental, punctuated by relatively few bursts of large change whats often called disruption a model of leadership that relies on linear, local thinking can be useful. Much of the leadership literature focuses on the qualities, skills, abilities of the leader as an individual, and the linear and local maps they use to navigate the world. However, 3-D change presents a high seas environment where the leader navigates multiple domains the waves and ever-evolving weather of change simultaneously. In this environment, linear and local thinking can never adapt fast enough, leaving us increasingly ill-equipped to manage our rapidly changing business and work environments, our physical and mental health and well-being, and the major trends that shape our societies and cultures.

Change, by its nature, leaves people and organizations feeling confused, vulnerable, and fractured at a time when resilience, cohesion, and collaboration are necessary to perform at the highest levels. An emerging body of literature points to psychological safety, shared purpose, and distributed cognition as powerful drivers of leadership, team, and organizational performance, particularly in rapidly changing environments. The days of leader as hero the solo, individualistic leader who inspires certainty in a deterministic way forward are over. This evolution in how we think about change and leadership has only accelerated in the past year.

Fortuitously, our spring course at Stanford University, LEAD 111 Luminaries: Life Lessons from Leaders and Change-makers became a study of how top tier leaders embodied this emerging approach to leadership. Finalized one week before the Covid-19 pandemic struck the west coast, our original plan was to create a new framework of leadership suitable for a time of disruption, accelerating change, and a highly polarized political and social environment, and we designed the course to engage leaders and change-makers in conversations across sectors, generations, and the political spectrum. We wanted to know how change-oriented leaders operate. As the pandemic unfolded, however, we expanded the course to create a new model of leadership. And recognizing that these questions were of immediate and broad interest, we invited more leaders within and beyond the Stanford community to weigh in on how they were navigating this 3-D change.

We engaged leaders across sectors to analyze in real time how they adapted: captains of industry, such as Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Walmart and chairman of the Business Roundtable; innovators in health care such as Toby Cosgrove, former CEO of the Cleveland Clinic, heart surgeon, and White House advisor; global social change-makers such as Halla Tmasdttir, CEO of The B Team, investor, co-founder of Reykjavik University, and runner-up in Icelands 2016 presidential elections; leading-edge technologists and innovators such as Bret Taylor, president and COO of Salesforce, co-creator of Google Maps and the Like button, and board member of Twitter.

The essential question we had was this: If leadership is significantly defined by the ability to skillfully navigate 3-D change, what type of leadership is most effective for our emerging future, one defined by perpetual, pervasive, and exponential change? The answers that emerged formed the basis for Sapient Leadership.

The four pillars of Sapient Leadership emerged out of the discussions with our luminaries as they were navigating 3-D change in real-time each leader, in some capacity, articulated a version of these ideas. Leader humility, authenticity, and openness instills trust and psychological safety. In turn, trust and psychological safety empower individuals and teams to perform at their highest capabilities. Additionally, continuously learning teams are essential for keeping pace with and effectively navigating 3-D change. Finally, shared purpose and common values enhance focus, cohesion, and resilience in the midst of 3-D change.

1. Leader humility, authenticity, and openness instills trust and psychological safety.

In times of uncertainty, leaders often posture themselves, maximizing perception of power and control. In contrast, Halla Tmasdttir modeled authenticity and humility when she reflected on her challenges as a candidate during the Icelandic presidential election. She, along with many of our luminaries, openly questioned the traditional paradigm of a leader as an individualistic hero. Instead, she highlighted the need to build trust through openness, saying, what this crisis has shown us is that the leadership style of I know it all is not a good leadership style for this moment or any other challenge we are going to continue to face and need to deal with collectively, collaboratively, with compassion, and with care.

In a world of 3-D change, leaders need to continuously evolve themselves in order for their organization to evolve and grow. Rather than bending the organization to the will of the leader, a leader must be willing to instead exhibit humility and flexibility and change according to what the organization and circumstances require. Tmasdttir exemplified this notion in her personal philosophy: leadership is not given to the few its inside of all of us, and life is all about unleashing that leadership. This leadership style, which engenders trust and psychological safety within teams and organizations, animates much of her work with the B Team members that shes leading Sir Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington, Ajay Banga, Mary Robinson, and Marc Benioff, among others.

Our other luminaries echoed Tmasdttirs message about Sapient Leadership in the context of 3-D change. Doug McMillon said: I dont run Walmart, I help lead Walmart asserting that leadership of this sort needs to go beyond words. Leaders, he said, have to live it. It has to be authentic. It has to be habitual.

2. Trust and psychological safety empower individuals and teams.

3-D change amplifies our innate and evolved human tendencies to skew towards threat perception, anxiety, and divisiveness when experiencing stress and encountering ambiguity. As such, psychological safety is even more important during these times change. Individuals and the teams they comprise thrive in environments where trust and psychological safety are present. In a recent extensive study at Google, code-named Project Aristotle for the maxim frequently attributed to him, The whole is greater than the sum of the parts researchers found that the most important factor associated with the highest performing teams was psychological safety. When team members feel safe to be vulnerable in front of one and to take risks, they perform at their best.

A consistent theme running throughout conversations with all of our luminaries was the essential nature of empowering teams and individuals to perform at their highest capabilities, especially now. Change is not a solo sport, said Bret Taylor, president and COO of Salesforce. All great change has been done by great teams, great communities, and great networks. When recalling times of rapid change throughout his career from the creation of Google Maps to inventing the like button to scaling rapidly worldwide during the early days of Facebook Bret asserted the importance of leadership that motivates strong relationships, fluid communication, and a foundation of trust to driving exceptional team performance.

3. Continuously learning teams enable effective navigation of 3-D change.

In a world where change is perpetual, pervasive, and exponential, Sapient Leaders, their teams, and their organizations must continually learn, update mental-maps, deploy new tools, and course-correct based on the best ideas and practices. If you want to make a change in something you have to get into it deep, said Toby Cosgrove, describing his openness to learning transformative ideas from anywhere he could. When he was the CEO of the Cleveland Clinic he regularly immersed himself in contexts where he could learn a better way. If I heard somebody was doing something someplace in the world, I would pick up my pencil and paper and I would go and watch them do it, he said. I traveled someplace, learned something, and tried to bring it back and incorporate it. What he was doing as a leader was both modeling leadership as a process of continual learning so others would replicate in their way, as well as disseminating what he learned throughout the organization in order to improve on existing processes and innovate new ones.

In a world of 3-D change, no one person or organization can master all knowledge across all domains, no single person or organization can master enough skills in breadth, depth, or pace, to keep up. Instead, learning must be inspired by leadership, reinforced by culture, occur across a variety of domains, coordinated through the whole and shared openly and actionably to create the broader picture. The analogy here is to mosaic vision, or the compound eye, where thousands of specific receptor units, oriented in different directions, work in coordination to create a composite perspective with a very wide angle of view, continually updating in real time as the organism moves through time and space. Without data and input to synthesize into understanding and action, a team or organization will be perpetually impoverished. To keep pace with 3-D change, Sapient Leaders need to enhance the breadth, depth, and pace of learning in their organizations to meet the extent and velocity of change.

4. Shared purpose and values enhance focus, cohesion, and resilience during 3-D change.

Professor Bill Damon, our esteemed colleague at Stanford University and one of the worlds leading purpose researchers, defines purpose as a stable intention to accomplish something that is both personally meaningful and serves the world larger than the self. Purpose, necessarily informed by our values and arising from a sense of personal meaning, unites our inner world with our actions in the world around us in a unique and powerful way in service of a vision larger than ourselves.

In times of 3-D change, which by its nature amplifies uncertainty and ambiguity, shared purpose and values increase organizational focus, enhance team cohesion, and amplify personal and collective resilience. They can also powerfully mobilize large numbers of people to solve complex problems together.

Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart and chairman of the Business Roundtable, recounted Walmarts Five Guiding Principles, which provided the organization focus, resilience, and a basis for cohesive action during the early challenging stages of the pandemic.

Doug recounted how these principles guided Walmarts actions during the early turbulence of the Covid-19 pandemic. We received a call from the White House with a request to open drive-through testing stations throughout the nation in Walmart parking lots, he recalled. Although we didnt know exactly how to do it and didnt have a way to charge for it, Walmarts response was fully committed, rapid, at scale, and across distributed geographies. Walmarts ethos during this time: Dont worry about the short-term financials. Go do whats right and it will all eventually work out.

The shared purpose and values articulated in Walmarts Five Guiding Principles allowed collective action that was focused, cohesive, and resilient by many people across multiple geographies in the early times of 3-D change. Focus and cohesion allowed rapid learning of new skills, it allowed decisiveness during uncertainty, and it promoted working together towards a shared goal bigger than any individual or the company. Further, resilience allowed the courage to try something new and execute quickly, without giving up, in the face of ongoing change and challenge.

Along with the myriad challenges it brought, the singular realization of 2020 is that 3-D change is the new normal. Navigating perpetual, pervasive, and exponential change is the quintessential test of effective leadership in this era. Leaders, teams, and organizations that dont skillfully navigate change will fail. Mastering this new reality requires fundamental enhancements to our collective capabilities. Sapient Leadership enables the creation of perpetual, pervasive, and exponential capacity building necessary for handling 3-D change effectively. In addition, our recent conversations with Sapient Leaders have uncovered new ways in which exponential and transformative technologies can further enhance and amplify human capabilities. This topic is the basis for a future article we are preparing.

The key of Sapient Leadership is that it fits into the long history of the evolution of our species. Sapient, in its definition, refers to the nature of humans it is in our nature to adapt or risk perishing. The challenge of 3-D change is that it amplifies the pressures on leaders, teams, and organizations to evolve and adapt faster, or become irrelevant. Change that used to take place over years and decades is now taking place in weeks or days. We, as a species, have never confronted change of this magnitude or at this pace. Sapient Leadership is a framework that enables accelerated adaptation in a wise and humane way. It builds into its structure the imperative for leaders, teams, and organizations to continuously evolve in order to overcome the challenges of 3-D change. Sapient Leaders and their successful organizations change with change itself.

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What It Takes to Lead Through an Era of Exponential Change - Harvard Business Review

It is that time once again where Sea of Thieves is releasing more free goodies for you and your pirate friends to show off on the high seas. Rare announced another set of cosmetics that will be available as drops on Twitch starting on October 30 going all the way until November 4. This time around you can earn pieces of the Rising Morningstar set.

You can earn these pieces by watching any Sea of Thieves partner play for 20 minutes. You will have to check in every day to earn a different piece of the set. Thankfully the drops arent random and you can choose which days to tune in for each specific item.

Here is the breakdown for each of the daily drops:

While the set was originally released as a reward for completing a mini event earlier this year, you can still get your hands on them starting on October 30th.

Here is the original post:

How to get Sea of Thieves Twitch Drops - Gamepur

Sea of Thieves brand new update, Fate of the Damned has cast all moorings and is live for PC and Xbox One right now.

Fans of the ol Skull and Crossbones will be glad to hear that the latest update to Rares timber shivering pirate adventure just got a new update. The Fate of the Damned is a brand new addition to Sea of Thieves that comes absolutely free of charge and is, of course, perfectly suited to the years scariest of seasons.

Pirates might have noticed that theyre now dealing with a sudden influx of enemies on the high seas. These dangerous new nuisances are the Shadows of Fate, a tricky type of skeleton normally confined to the Fort of the Damned. Working together with the Bilge rats players will uncover the story behind this emerging threat as it unfolds week by week, carrying crews into different regions of the seas.

This oncoming storm means that nowhere is safe for adventurous captains and their crew. Pirates will receive Mysterious Notes before they set out on their adventures, urging them to speak with Larinna outside the tavern to find out what shes learned, as well as which regions are being menaced by the Shadows of Fate. These troublesome corridors are a hive for pirate activity and nefarious schemes, youll need to plot a course carefully when venturing out this Halloween season and beyond.

Alongside this open world style change, youll find a whole chest full of narrative updates to Sea of Thieves as the Fate of The Dammed unfolds. Theres also plenty of booty as players gather Flames of Fate to celebrate the Sea of Thieves traditional Festival of the Damned, among other rewards. The pirate emporium is even getting a new Skeleton Cat and Dog to boot. This, and more, can be found over on the full patch notes for the Sea of Thieves Fate of the Damed update, available on Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, Steam and with Xbox Game Pass.

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Sea Of Thieves Fate of the Damned Update Hs Docked on PC and Xbox One - GameSpace.com

A Halloween weather warning has been issued over fears of torrential rainfall, high winds and a risk of potentially serious coastal flooding.

et ireann issued a national Status Yellow wind warning for the entire country amid a threat of winds gusting to gale force with severe gusts possible.

The wind warning will remain in place until 3pm on Saturday.

A Status Yellow rain warning for Connacht, Donegal, Clare, Cork, Kerry and Limerick was due to expire this (Friday) morning.

That warning was issued amid fears some areas could see up to 60mm of rainfall - with potentially even more falling along mountainous areas.

Such heavy rainfall poses a risk of both spot-flooding and flash flooding.

There is also a serious risk of coastal flooding, particularly in parts of the south west, before and after high tide on Saturday.

Very high seas are also forecast.

People planning exercise within their 5km Level Five Covid-19 zone were urged to take particular care near any waterways.

Met ireann's said the Halloween weekend will be marked by very unsettled weather as a series of vigorous Atlantic weather systems pass close to Ireland.

"It will overall be dry for daylight hours on Friday with spells of hazy sunshine and just light westerly breezes," a spokesperson said.

"Any lingering overnight rain will quickly clear during the morning.

It will feel fresh with highest temperatures of 9C to 12C but it will become wet and windy weather later in the evening."

"Saturday will be a wet and possibly stormy with widespread and often heavy rain continuing through the day."

"The rain will begin to clear northwards through the evening followed by scattered showers and clear spells."

"On Sunday rain will clear to the northeast with scattered outbreaks of rain remaining, becoming heavy and more persistent in southern areas once again during the afternoon."

"It will be cool and unsettled on Monday with heavy showers but some sunny spells will develop through the day. Highest temperatures of just 8C to 11C."

While showers are forecast for Tuesday there is hope of better more settled conditions from Wednesday thanks to a high pressure zone approaching from the Atlantic.

Online Editors

The rest is here:

Status Yellow wind warning for entire country with risk of coastal flooding in the south west - Independent.ie

With so many new whiskeys on the marketparticularly from so-called small batch distilleriesits not an easy decision to figure out which ones should make it into your home bar.

Fall is winding down, which means that for most of the country, the change in seasons will mean more time indoors and, hopefully, more time to cozy up next to a crackling, wood-burning fireplace with a glass of scotch or bourbon.

Yet with so many new whiskeys on the marketparticularly from so-called small batch distilleries that are very purposelypositioned for the upper-premium marketits not an easy decision to figure out which ones should make it into your home bar, where oftentimes shelf space is at a premium. Worth reviewed over 75 of the leading whiskeysfrom Scotland and Australia to the Tennessee Whiskey Trail and beyondin search of 15 unique selections that can transform your home bar from boring to positively baronial this winter.

Its an exciting time in the world ofusquebaugh and its global derivatives; not only is there a recent trend in small-batch blends, but several new, alcohol-free (or nearly alcohol-free) versions that have all the flavor and depth that one might see in its more potent cousins are making a big splash in the marketplace. Also, somewhat new to the market are the so-called whiskey and bourbon experiences which, although made somewhat more difficult with the onset of the global pandemic, bring together libating,swirling, sniffing and sipping with an immersive in-person brand experience. More on that below.

The Four Roses Lawrenceburg, Kentucky distillery has become a mecca for whiskey lovers in recent years. Its part of a larger trend sweeping across the industry, blending tasting with immersive experiences. Photo courtesy of Four Roses

If you are already a seasoned whiskey imbiber, adept at understanding the major differences among the various types of whiskey, you know that at a basic level, what separates a scotch from a bourbon basically comes down to domicile (hence the pesky spelling differences of whisky versus whiskey), the mix of underlying grains used in the mash and distinct distilling and aging processes.

The name bourbonlike other famous regions in the wine and spirits world, such as Champagne, France and Tequila, Mexicois a geographic denomination linked to Bourbon County, Kentucky; for a whiskey to label itself as bourbon, its mashthe mixture of grains from which the product is distilledmust be at least 51 percent maize.

Tennessee whiskey follows essentially the same production process as Kentucky bourbon with one exception: before it goes into an oak barrel for aging, it is subjected to something called the Lincoln County Process, a filtration technique perfected by Jack Daniels in which fresh distillate is run through maple charcoal chips or ricks.

Scotch, on the other hand, isyou guessed itfrom Scotland and is made mostly from malted barley. Irish whiskey (yes, with an e like the Americans spell it) is somewhat similar, yet its use of unmalted barley gives it a distinct, smooth flavor that has made it quite popular across the world.

And all of that is just the sip of the iceberg; Canada and Japan (both whisky sans e producers), as well as Australia, Finland and Germany also have their own variations on the drink.

Spiritless cofounders (L-R) Lexie Larsen, Abbey Ferguson and Lauren Chitwood, identified whitespace in the bourbon market for non-alcoholic alternatives. Kentucky 74 is their first product offering. Photo by Amy Campbell for Spiritless

In creating this list of 15 must-have whiskeys, we came to the realization that, broadly speaking, when it comes to scotches and bourbons, there are two kinds of people in the world: those who dont understand whiskey, and those who only think they do. We began our research for this article as card-carrying members of the former and are now most certainly proud denizens of the latter; to really understand how these age-old traditions are colliding with modern technology, the latest in gustatory and palate trends and the exacting demands of urbane sophistication requires years of hands-on experience. Nonetheless, the list we have compiled is an assortment of recommended selectionssome of which are not necessarily readily available everywhere but can certainly be acquired by those willing to put in a wee bit of effort.

With a few notable exceptions, most of the labels reviewed here are not brands that would be considered mass-market, and their price points will generally reflect their relative scarcity. In some cases, we chose brands that, in addition to having the requisite appeal in nose, flavor and texture, have the bonus feature of having a tremendous backstoryone with which you can enthrall your drinking partners as you pour them a double.

Finally, a word of caution. This is not a list that should be misconstrued as a ranking. It would neither be fair nor just to attempt to compare an Australian Scotch whiskey aged in red wine barrels with a Kentucky bourbon that purposely sloshes around for years at sea aboard a marine expedition vessel. Just think of this as a cheat-sheet of sorts as you begin stocking up your bar for the winter entertaining season ahead; no need to spendtime scavenging acrossthe country looking for the good stuff.

Retail Price: $10,000 a barrel

The Jack Daniels Single Barrel Personal Collection Program combines history, taste-testing and the chance to select your own particular blend. Photo courtesy of Jack Daniels

Nothing says you know your bourbon more than having your very own, personalized barrel of Jack Daniels, calibrated to your particular gustatory predilections. The legendary Lynchburg, Tennessee distillery offers a high-end experience that should make it onto every sophisticated sybarites bucket list. For the fully immersiveJack Daniels Personal Collection experienceyou will have to make your way to the companys main distillery in Lynchburg, where you will be greeted by master distiller Chris Fletcher for a bespoke tasting and selection, although a COVID-friendly virtual tasting option via Zoom is also possible. The affable Fletcher will take you on an hour-long journey through the history of Jack Daniels, including howFrank Sinatra propelled the brand into international prominenceback in the 1950s.

Depending on a particular blends age and its angels sharethe percentage of a barrel of liquid whiskey that magically disappears into the heavens during the aging process, transforming analmost undrinkable, high-proof moonshine into a smooth, clean-finished spiriteach barrel can render between 200 to 240 standard 750 mL bottles. Each of the bottles, shipped to a location of your choice, comes habilimented with a bespoke Jack Daniels silver medallion necklace that lists the barrel number, rick location, selection date and can include your name, a company logo or even a family crestmaking it a far more conversational dinner party lagniappe than a random Rioja that you grabbed from your cellar on your way out the door. Jack Daniels will even ship you the original emptied barrel with a personalized barrelhead as a decorative piece for your home bar if you so desire. Perhaps more importantly, your taste buds will live on in perpetuity with your personal recognition plate in theJackDaniels Personal Selection Room in Lynchburg.

Retail Price: $60/ 750mL

While Hilhaven Lodge has seen many owners throughout the years, its rather recent status as whiskey distiller will bestow upon you Hollywood-level conversational equity at your next social gathering. Photo courtesy of Diageo

This is a whiskey that oozes Hollywood.

For those not inebriated with Tinseltown lore, the Hilhaven Lodge is something of an institution among the entertainment industrys elite. Conceived originally as a remote recreational retreat on the outskirts of Hollywood, the Lodges former owners have included Ingrid Bergman and producer Allan Carr. The current proprietor is embattled director and producer Brett Ratner, best known for the Rush Hour film franchise. And much like the Rush Hour flicks, Hilhaven Lodge Whiskey is great proof that not all whiskeys needs to have complexity or intricate backstories to be enjoyed.

Produced by mixing a Tennessee whiskey from the 90s, a rye whiskey from 80s and a bourbon from mid-aughts, the Hilhaven Lodge Whiskey could have easily become the liquid version of a box office flop, yet it surprises. Uncorking a bottle of Hilhaven is a most uneventful endeavoras its nose is somewhat difficult to detect, but after a pour, spritzes of caramel and fruit make a cameo in the olfactory. As it hits the tongue, hints of cinnamon and light pepper take over, providing a satisfying third act. This is a very simple drinking whiskey that is a fantastic starting point for beginners who want a taste of something with a backstory. This is not a whiskey that should be imbibed neat; we recommend drinking it with a cube of ice or a splash of water.

Retail Price: $36 / 750mL

The Spiritless Kentucky 74 supports conscientious cocktailersthose who want to live fully but drink differently. Photo by Amy Campbell for Spiritless

Looking for a 100-calorie old fashioned? Enter Kentucky 74 by Spiritless, a wonderfully distilled non-alcoholic spirit substitute for just about any bourbon cocktail. Targeting millennial and Gen Z cocktailers, this upstart brand took its name after becoming the 74th distiller to be licensed in the state of Kentucky. Intentionally developed for mixed drinks and with only trace amounts of alcohol, this nearly booze-free alternative is extremely nimble: Go halfsies on your next mint julep by pairing it 1:1 with your favorite bourbon whiskeySpiritless CEO Lauren Chitwood recommends mixing it with a Woodford Reserve. Those wanting to savor the taste of their high ball but have a next-day early wake-up call can opt to go completely full monty by replacing the alcohol portion entirely. Either way, Kentucky 74 delivers a high-quality, smooth finish, underpinned by familiar notes of caramel, vanilla and oak.

Retail Price: $46 / 750mL

The Woodford Reserve Double Oaked distinctive taste is the result of an unorthodox aging process. Photo courtesy of Woodford Reserve

The Woodford Reserve Double Oaked bourbon is matured to perfection in two separate handcrafted oak barrels sourced directly from Woodford Reserves cooperage. Their unorthodox aging process is a key component to its unforgettable taste: The first barrel is seasonedoutdoors for nine months, then toasted and charred onthe inside; the second barrel is toasted for more than twice as long as the first and then very lightly charred. The custom crafted barrels allow for a heavier toast, highlighting flavors of honey, cream and vanilla.

Woodford Reserves Double Oaked delivers a full-bodied mix of vanilla with a hint of spice. Dark caramel jumps out at you immediately, followed slowly with hints of hazelnut and spiced fruit. By adding a dash of spring water or an ice cube, the flavor profile truly flourishes, with rushes of chocolate and sharp honey now at the forefront. You cant go wrong with this Versailles, Kentucky-distilled masterpiece.

Retail Price: $54 / 750mL

Hudson Whiskeys Bright Lights, Big Bourbon: From the foothills of the Shawangunk Mountains, in the heart of the Hudson Valley, to cobblestone streets of Tribeca, to the top shelf in your bar. Photo courtesy of Hudson Whiskey NY

The Hudson Valley is not a place you would normally associate with whiskey distilleriesat least not in the post-Prohibition era; but all of that is changing, and we have New Yorker Ralph Erenzo to thanks for it. Erenzo, who is making the first legally-produced whiskey in the state since Prohibition, selected the centuries-old Tuthilltown Gristmill, situated on the banks of the Wallkill River, to bring back rye whiskey and bourbon to the Empire State.

The Hudson Whiskey bourbon we sampled, marketed as Bright Lights, Big Bourbon, impressed. With strains of vanilla and lightly salted caramel, it deploys considerable flavor on the palateso much to think that you might be in Appalachia and not a few hours outside of Manhattan.

Hudson Whiskey uses small barrels for the maturation process. The industry standard is a 53-gallon cask, but Erenzo took the term small-batch quite literallyusing petite 3-gallon barrels to age his bourbon over three months. The result is a rich, slightly sweet caramel-colored liquid with a touch of burn. This a one bourbon you will want to showcase at your next social event.

Retail Price: $80 / 750mL

Jeffersons Very Small Batch Ocean is aged at sea aboard a marine exploration vessel. Photo courtesy of Jeffersons Ocean

Since its inception in 1997, Jeffersons Bourbon has earned a reputation as something of a wild child in the world of whisky for its unorthodox methods of maturation, from aging in unexpected environments to developing experimental casks. Jeffersons founder, chief strategist and master blender Trey Zoeller, constantly looks for ways to push the boundaries of the bourbon category while paying respect to the history and integrity of the spirit.

To make Jeffersons Ocean, Zoeller takes an eight-year-old bourbon and ages it an additional five to 10 months at sea aboard a marine exploration vessel that crosses the equator several times, making ports of call in up to five continents on a typical voyage. You can watch a short video on this bourbons fascinating backstory here. Every pour gives you an excuse to tell the fascinating journey of how this maverick brand sailed the seven seas and is now anchoring the whiskey category in your home bar.

Ocean dispatches a complex flavor profile that has hints of salted caramel popcorna result of the liquid constantly sloshing around at high sea, its exposure to salty air and the notable temperature fluctuations it will endure during its voyage. Ocean is somewhat hard to find in stock but definitely worth it when you do.

Retail Price: $45 / 750mL

Four Roses small batch bourbon hits above its weight, providing a modern twist on traditional Kentucky-based bourbon making. Its 10-year maturing process for their single malt rye is among the best of the best values for small batch whiskies. Photo courtesy of Four Roses

The Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky is a site to behold; its Old Spanish Mission-style architecture is listed and protected on the National Registry of Historic Places and is an excellent immersive experience for anyone interested in sampling the companys 10 unique recipes. The Four Roses tradition rests upon 125 years of obsessive care and dedication to the craft of bourbon making. Seven years ago, Four Roses released a special anniversary edition of their Small Batch Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey, and the 111-proof batch special bottling enjoyed so much demand that it had to be released through a public lottery in Kentucky.

Whats behind all this success? Many would argue that its Four Roses sui generis approach to its mash making; the distillery uses more rye in its mash bills than most bourbons, which gives them their signature spiciness. If you want to nerd out on the science behind bourbon-making, there is no better a place to take a deep-dive than here on the Four Roses website.

Four Roses Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon should be a staple in any home wet bar. Nurtured through a 10-year aging process, the smokey and spicey dram contains hints of pear and vanilla and is easy on the palette without being forgettable. It is a perfect starting point for newcomers and is likely among the most mix-friendly drinks on this list. Whether you are planning to impress the neighbors with your familys treasured old fashioned recipe, or are preparing yourself for your relatives Thanksgiving lecture on how Mountain Dew was originally made as a whiskey chaser, Four Roses Single Barrel has you covered.

Retail Price: $520 / 750mL

WhistlePigs Boss Hog VII: Magellans Atlantic was inspired by the first recorded circumnavigation of the globe. Photo courtesy of WhistlePig

The WhistlePig Boss Hog whiskey (no, not that Boss Hogg) has become a much anticipated annual releasethink new iPhone for whiskey connoisseurs. Here, the rules of supply and demand are in full effect, with some editions fetching well over $2,000 for a 750 mL bottlea testament to the companys enduring quest to create the finest and most interesting rye whiskey.

This latest versionThe Boss Hog VIItakes its customers on a spirited pursuit to the very edges of the earth. Inspired by the first recorded circumnavigation of the globe, The Boss Hog VII: Magellans Atlantic is a New England straight rye whiskey with an uncharted cask journey that stretches across continents. After 17 years of slumber in American Oak, it first encounters new Spanish staves from the mountainous forests of northern Spain, a cask nearly impossible to tame yet well worth the effort. Crossing the Atlantic the whiskey finds its finish in fragrant South American teakwood. This rare and outstandingly complex whiskey has formidable barrel strength, bottled between 105.1 and 107.8 proof. This is a powerful, yet still potable, whiskey you will want to have on hand for your most discerning guests.

Retail Price: $60 / 750mL

Breckenridge is as at home in the mountains as it is in your home bar. Photo courtesy of Breckenridge

Its a fact that General Washington gave his frozen troops whiskey at Valley Forge during the Revolution to keep their spirits high. If you need a similar pick-me-up this winter, consider grabbing a bottle of Breckenridge Bourbon. Hailing from the Boulder State, the company was founded in 2008 and dubbed itself as the Worlds Highest Distillery, producing an array of liquor genres. What makes their brew stand out is, unlike some of the other American whiskeys on this list, Breckeridge sticks to the more classic distilling and aging methodologies than its non-Kentuckian cousins. No finishing casks or anything of the like; Breckenridges high-rye mash is aged in American oak barrels for three to five years. The award-winning Breckenridge Bourbon will warm your stomach and soul with hints of vanilla, butterscotch, candied orange, apple, dry cacao and brown sugar. A bottle Breckenridge is an apropos addition to any winter bar.

Price: $496 / 750mL

With a color of 18-carat gold, the smooth texture offers scents of bonfire smoke with powerful sweetness. Photo courtesy of Lagavulin

Since 1816, on a tiny island off the coast of Scotland, the Lagavulin Distillery has been producing some of the greatest bottles of whisky (note no e) the world has ever tasted. Unlike in the States, Lagavulin uses pear-shaped stills instead of round barrels for their aging process, and their signature use of peat-fueled fires during the distilling process gives the whisky a smoky flavor. The process is slow, but nothing perfect ever came about in haste.

The first bottling is a powerful, smoothly sweet-smoky and delicious Lagavulin 20-year-old, from casks combined to enhance its spicy richness while keeping the keynote distillery character aromas and tastes. Pouring a glass is an experience in and of itself, so make sure youre conscious of the moment when you take a sip of a whisky legend.

Retail Price: $45 / 750mL

This whiskey will feel equally at home in your wine cellar and on your top shelf. Photo courtesy of Starward

Starward Nova Single Malt comes to us from Melbourne, Australia, and boy are we glad it made the trip. This whiskey adopts the vibrancy of big red wines from southeastern Australia, maturing in barrels from local wineries that previously held Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir. The maturation in red wine barrels creates a light and fruity whiskey that finishes with a bit of a kick.

Is it worth adding to your personal stash? The answer is yes, and the hardware is there to prove it; Starward Nova took home a pair of gold medals at the 2016 San Francisco World Spirits Competition for both the Worlds Best Craft Distilled Whisky and the Best Australian Single Malt Whisky, although, admittedly, were not sure if the latter is a particularly heated competition. Most recently, Starward brought home a gold medal at the 2020 awards for Two-Fold Double Grain Whiskey. The distiller was also recently named Best Australian Whiskey Innovator from Icons of Whisky and crowned Best Australian Single Malt by the World Whiskies Awards in 2016 and 2017.

Retail Price: $59 / 750mL

The pride of Utah: High West Whiskey will have you pining for campfires, dusty trails and a star-dusted skies. Photo by Arick Wierson for Worth

The High West Whiskey team based in Park City, Utah have on their hands a beautifully realized suite of high-octane whiskey concoctions, but our favorite player in their lineup, hands down, is their take on unaged oat-based whiskey. Tequila and rum both have their Blancos and Aejos, so why cant whiskey have its own clear version as well? The name High West Silver Whiskey Western Oat is not only a reference to the liquids pellucid coloring, but an homage to Park Citys famed history as one of the Old Wests richest silver mining towns.

Most spirits are born clear and turn brown only after an aging process in a barrel. This High West Silver spends all of five minutes in a barrel to minimize its influence on the taste of the native spirit. Though this clear spirit may look like the moonshine of old, the High West Silver Western Oat is actually 80-proof and comprised from a mash of 85 percent oats and 15 percent malted barley. It is smooth, but reminds you more of a high-end tequila; its rather unwhiskey-like in the traditional sense, but that is exactly why you will want to have this on hand for sipping neat or even shots.

Retail Price: $580 / 750mL

This BenRiach has waited 30 years for you to experience its peat-smoked flavor. Photo courtesy of BenRiach

Close your eyes for a moment. Imagine the Northeast of Scotland, where ancient trees dot the wetlands and fog-damp peat covers the ground. Smell the spongy peat collecting on the soles of your shoes as you traverse the fogged land. For over four decades, BenRiach has been using that very peat to mature their spirits within traditional earthen-floored dunnage warehouses. A quick history lesson though: In the early 1970s, the distillery returned to the whisky distilling methods of the 19th century, using malted barley smoked with Highland peat. Research indicated that BenRiach was the first distillery within Speyside to reintroduce this method, which leads many to believe that the distillery holds the oldest maturing peated whiskies in the region.

The 30-year-old BenRiach Authenticus hits you with its distinguished profile and delights with the perfect mix of ripe, developed sweetness and aromatic peat smoke. The medley is matured in bourbon casks before being decanted into virgin oak Pedro Ximnez casks. This is a complex whiskey and will only be appreciated by those with the most discerning of palates.

Retail Price: $95 / 750mL

GlenDronach is aged in sherry casks giving it a full bodied, rich flavoring. Photo courtesy of GlenDronach

The GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 8 is the golden ticket into the prestigious Highland distillerys signature style and mastery of sherry cask maturation. This single malt Scotch whisky is gently matured for 10 years in Pedro Ximnez and Oloroso sherry casks and bottled at cask strength to deliver optimal character and depth. The whisky sports notes of dark chocolate, caramel and mocha which are accompanied by hints of cherry, raisins and plum. The GlenDronachs signature is its long and richly satisfying finish; its taste lingers on your tongue, offering an array of sensory delights highlighted by sumptuous fruits, warm spices and intense dark chocolate.

Retail Price: $27 / 750mL

Ritual Zero Proofs Whiskey alternative aims to be a one-to-one substitute for liquor and was designed with cocktails in mind. Photo courtesy of Rituals Zero Proof

We dont recommend drinking Ritual Zero Proofs Whiskey Alternative on the rocks, but for a Manhattan, where you want to feel the burn but not the buzz, hell yeah. Ritual Zero Proof is the first American spirit alternative that echoes the taste, the smell and the burn of liquor without the alcohol or calories. The growing popularity of Dry January (although coming off of a 2020 that many people would just as soon forget, this trend might be temporarily at risk) is just one of many signs that teetotaling is on an upswing, and large beverage companies are looking to cash in on the trend. If you sample, as we did, many of the different zero proof or near-zero proof whiskey and bourbon alternatives out there, you will find that Ritual ranks near the top for mixed drinks. We tried it neat, and although it wasnt undrinkable, we definitely think that its best suited for mocktails.

Retail Price: $80 / 750mL

For those lucky enough to get their hands on a bottle, what you will encounter is a silky-smooth whiskey. Photo courtesy of Cutwaters Devils Share California Whiskey

California-based Cutwaters founder and master distiller Yuseff Cherney believes that the only true evil is compromise, and it is precisely this thinking that permeates the entire experiencefrom uncorking to swallowingwhen you approach a bottle of Devils Share American Whiskey. We made this a bonus entry on our list because a) who doesnt love getting a bonus? and b) this particular entry is quite hard to find in retail shops.

But for those lucky enough to get their hands on a bottle, what you will encounter is a silky-smooth whiskey. Distilled in small batches to ensure precise control over purity, each barrel of Devils Share is then aged in virgin, heavily charred American oak barrels. The result is a distinctly sweet whiskey, bathed in woody caramel and vanilla notes and accentuated by hints of cinnamon, cardamom and licorice.

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15 Whiskeys That Should Bedeck Every Gentlemans Home Bar This Winter - Worth