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Bourbon was once hailed as the poor mans drink. The spirit has since developed, however, from a mass-market American staple into a luxury class, and limited releases, higher prices, and brands vying for prestige have caused a crowded top tier. Even though the premium field has widened, the very top of the market remains stubbornly narrow, according to whiskey expert Fred Minnick. During a blind tasting of his top 100 American whiskeys of 2025, Minnick evaluated leading contenders anonymously. Even without labels, the rankings reflected the same hierarchy seen at retail and on the secondary market. The most scarce, high-status bottles still rose to the top, regardless of brand recognition. George T. Stagg claimed the number one spot, followed by Sazerac Rye 18 Year at number two. Both are part of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, one of the most limited and consistently in-demand product lines in American spirits. Buffalo Trace, beyond its Antique Collection, also produces the popularand often hard to findEagle Rare, Blantons, Weller, and Pappy Van Winkle whiskey brands. Minnicks ranking reinforced a key dynamic shaping the bourbon market. While dozens of producers now compete in the premium tier, demand continues to concentrate on a small set of legacy brands whose supply is structurally constrained by long aging cycles and finite inventory. Scarcity, not novelty, appears to be one of the most powerful differentiators at the top end. That scarcity has also shaped customer expectations. People who are out buying bourbon want to buy something that feels fancy, Minnick said, whos next book, Bottom Shelf, comes out next month. Bourbon, which used to be the poor mans drink, is now like a fancy mans drink. Those changing expectations are reflected not only in pricing and branding but in how elite bourbon is judged. Minnick noted that higher proof and longer finishonce defining markers of top-tier releasesno longer carry the same weight on their own. For the first time in my career, Im breaking protocol, he said. Im not rewarding the longer finish. Instead, Minnick favored the bourbon that delivered what he described as a fuller, more immersive experience, one that absolutely drenches my tongue and completely encompasses my entire mouth. While each bottle featured in Minnicks review is among the top American whiskeys, the most supply-constrained, prestige-driven brands still set the markets upper bound. And without labels, the qualities that signal luxury still held up under blind tasting. Check out the top five bottles below, and watch the full video on YouTube: George T. Stagg, Buffalo Trace Antique Collection Sazerac Rye 18 Year, Buffalo Trace Antique Collection Bombergers PFG Brother Justus Founders Reserve American Single Malt Heaven Hill 90th Anniversary Leila Sheridan This article originally appeared on Fast Companys sister website, Inc.com. Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.
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E-Commerce
President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday is likely to be a test run of the message Republicans will give to voters in November’s elections for control of the House and the Senate.The president and his party appear vulnerable, with polls showing much of America distrusts how Trump has managed the government in his first year back in office. In addition, the Supreme Court last week struck down one of the chief levers of his economic and foreign policy by ruling he lacked the power to impose many of his sweeping tariffs.Though Trump is expected to focus on domestic issues, his intensifying threats about launching military strikes on Iran over its nuclear program cast a shadow over the address.Here are a few things to watch as Trump tries to make his case: Economy and immigration are no longer strengths for Trump Trump swept back into the White House on promises to bring down prices and restore order to immigration in America. But on both issues, public sentiment has turned against him.Only 39% of U.S. adults approve of his economic leadership and just 38% support him on immigration, according to the latest Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey. Those low numbers show the country is still fretting about the costs of groceries, housing and utilities, a problem compounded by Trump’s whipsawing use of tariffs. They also show how the public was disturbed by videos of violent clashes with protesters, including two U.S. citizens killed by federal agents.Since his party passed a massive tax cut bill last year, Trump has yet to unveil major new policy ideas on the economy. In recent speeches, he has largely offered the public reruns about his tax cuts, plans to reduce mortgage rates and a new government website for buying prescription drugs.The Supreme Court ruling against many of Trump’s far-reaching global tariffs on Friday and the president vowing to use other means to forge ahead with import taxes will only prolong the economic turmoil over trade and prices.“I think it makes it even more important that the speech really focus on the economy,” said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist.Conant said between the tariff ruling and a Commerce Department report on Friday that showed U.S. economic growth slowed in the final three months of last year, “the president needs to bolster his economic message.” Blame everything on Biden The administration is trying to make the case that despite Trump’s rewiring of global trade and tax cuts, the economy is still struggling because of choices made in 2021 and 2022 by his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden. But Trump is also seeking to take credit for positive signs in the current economy, such as recent stock market gains.“Watch the State of the Union. We’re going to be talking about the economy. We inherited a mess,” Trump said at the White House on Wednesday.Of course, Trump made the same kind of argument in his address to a joint session of Congress last year, invoking the Biden name 13 times. Trump’s focus on foreign policy has yet to resonate politically Despite Trump’s America First credo, his aggressive approach abroad over the past year has sparked concerns among some of his supporters about whether he should spend more time focusing on voters at home.Trump, who’s made it clear he covets a Nobel Peace Prize, is likely to use the speech to remind Americans of his attempts to try to broker peace accords in global conflicts.But in many respects, the president hasn’t been extending olive branches. Within the past year, his administration has launched strikes in Yemen, Nigeria and Iran, along with an ongoing campaign of lethal military strikes on alleged drug-trafficking vessels near South America. Trump also shocked the world in January with a surprise raid to capture Venezuela’s then-leader, Nicolás Maduro, and floated the idea of using force to seize Greenland.In recent weeks, as he pressures Iran, Trump has bolstered the U.S. military’s presence in the Middle East. But he has yet to make a clear case to voters about what his actions overseas mean for their lives.He might even minimize foreign policy in his State of the Union despite his belief that it’s been a major success.“For as much as foreign policy has dominated his last year in office, this speech will mostly focus on the economy,” Conant predicted.Vice President JD Vance offered a similar prediction, saying in an interview Saturday on Fox News Channel that in the speech, “you’re going to hear a lot about the importance of bringing jobs back into our country, of reshoring manufacturing, of all these great factories that are being built.”He said Trump would also speak about lowering energy costs. Trump has made the State of the Union his own The State of the Union used to be about recapping accomplishments and seeking to unite the country, but it increasingly reflects divisions in society.“What you’re going to expect is some version of a campaign speech in which the Democrats are the villains, the Republicans he likes are the heroes, and he is the savior not only of the nation but of the globe,” said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a communications professor at the University of Pennsylvania.Trump supporters might cherish the moment in 2020 when the president midspeech reunited a military family. He also bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio host and author who died in 2021. But that moment turned off Democrats who saw Limbaugh as a destructive figure in political media. Reaction in the room could matter as much as Trump’s words Trump is delivering the speech, but his audience sitting in the House chamber has a big role, too. When Trump delivered his 2020 State of the Union, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi theatrically ripped up a copy of the speech afterward, overshadowing much of what Trump said.House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York has said in a letter to colleagues “it is important to have a strong, determined and dignified Democratic presence in the chamber,” indicating some members might choose not to attend in protest to Trump. But there’s also the possibility of Democrats razzing Trump as Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, did in 2025, leading him to be removed from the chamber.If Trump in his speech lays out a fuller case for why he’s using other mechanisms in federal law to continue his tariffs, Conant said it’ll be interesting to see the reaction from lawmakers.“I think that any House Republicans that don’t applaud his tariffs are going to be featured prominently on the telecast,” he said. State of the Unions have short shelf lives While some presidential phrases endure, much of the rhetoric in State of the Unions is forgettable. And with Trump who’s known for veering off-script there’s a good chance a stray comment or a social media post could step on his message.Matt Latimer, a former Republican speechwriter for then-President George W. Bush, noted in an email that people hear the president talk all of the time, so the State of the Union has lost much of its luster.A State of the Union “only matters in moments when the country is undergoing a great trauma a war, an attack, a global crisis and a president and Congress want to speak in a (mostly) united voice to the country,” he said. “That’s not what we are experiencing now.” Josh Boak and Michelle L. Price, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Cheap tote bag collections everywhere just got an attachable clip-on upgrade. Snatch is a shoulder strap system designed to attach and detach to fabric surfaces without damaging them. The clips are comprised of three pieces of hardwarea button, slotted loop, and fastenerand they can give thin-handled tote bags new life with a wider, sturdier shoulder strap in just a few steps, exemplifying a simple and solutions-oriented Occam’s razor approach to product design. [Photo: CW&T] To assemble, you place fabric over the button piece and thread it through the aluminum slotted loop. The fastener holds it all into place, and the strap is then attached onto a g-hook on the slotted loop. [Image: CW&T] The black strap has a 3M retro-reflective print on one side for nighttime visibility, and it’s woven as a single piece with openings every inch so it can be adjustable without requiring extra hardware. “We wanted to avoid additional hardware or sewing,” says Taylor Levy, one half of CW&T, the Brooklyn art and design studio behind Snatch. “Tri-glide or other buckle hardware works well for adjustable shoulder straps, but all those require sewing. We wanted to keep things as simple as possible, so we opted for this mille-style webbing that lets you hook directly into any notch to adjust strap length.” [Photo: CW&T] The product typifies CW&T’s approach to product design: clean, minimal, and useful. The idea for the Snatch came during a trip when Che-Wei Wang, the agency’s other designer, started thinking about ways to easily and non-destructively attach a strap to a bag or fabric. He considered how when outdoors, fabric can be wrapped around a rock with a knot tied around it and the rock distributes the load to hang a tarp. “Snatch works using the same principle,” Levy says. The device affords a wider, adjustable shoulder strap, making any tote bag personalizable. Additionally, it gives tote bags tracking device compatibility, as the button in the clip was designed to hold an AirTag inside. Snatch retails for $52 and comes with two clips, one strap, and a free tote. [Image: CW&T] But it’s not just for tote bags. CW&T says the device should be thought of as “an interface for attaching anything to fabric” with versatile uses, like making a backpack or attaching a pouch to a shirt, or used to hang a tarp or hammock outdoors. For cute tote bags with uncomfortable or inconvenient handles, though, Snatch makes it possible to finally and more comfortably put them back into rotation.
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E-Commerce
If youre in the Northeast, theres a good chance youll be hunkering down inside for a few days as a major snowstorm batters the East Coast. And if you have a flight to catch, well, theres a high probability that it might not be taking off at all. Due to the blizzard, which is forecast to bring up to two feet of snow in some areas, thousands of flights have already been canceled or delayed. Heres what you need to know if you have a flight to catch. Thousands of flights have already been canceled due to the snowstorm As of the time of this writing, 5,348 flights within, into, or out of the United States today have already been canceled, according to data compiled by the flight tracking platform FlightAware. Additionally, another 703 flights have been delayed. The number of todays cancellations already outpaces yesterday, when 3,436 cancellations within, into, or out of the United States took place. It is highly likely that as the day continues onand the storm continues along its paththat more flights will be canceled or delayed. And the majority of those cancellations and delays can be blamed on the winter storm that is bearing down across the Northeast. As NBC News reports, the storm has already resulted in more than 200,000 people losing power across the impacted area, which stretches from Maryland to Maine. In total, blizzard warnings currently cover 41 million people. School closures have already been announced across major cities like Boston and New York, the latter of which has a travel ban in place until later today. In New York, officials said todays blizzard could be one of the citys 10 worst over the past 150 years. Major airlines issue travel alerts for dozens of airports Americas three largest airlines have issued travel alerts for flights scheduled to depart from or land into dozens of airports. The airlines, which include American, Delta, and United, say the travel alerts are in place from yesterday, February 22, 2026, until Wednesday, February 25, 2026. Those airports include: American Airlines American has issued travel alerts for the following airports due to the winter storm: Baltimore, Maryland (BWI) Boston, Massachusetts (BOS) Hampton / Newport News, Virginia (PHF) Hartford, Connecticut (BDL) New York Kennedy, New York (JFK) New York LaGuardia, New York (LGA) Newark, New Jersey (EWR) Norfolk, Virginia (ORF) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (PHL) Providence, Rhode Island (PVD) Richmond, Virginia (RIC) Salisbury / Ocean City, Maryland (SBY) Washington Dulles, Washington D.C. (IAD) Washington Reagan, Washington D.C. (DCA) White Plains / Westchester County, New York (HPN) Worcester, Massachusetts (ORH) Delta Air Lines Delta has issued travel alerts for the following airports due to the winter storm: Albany, NY (ALB) Allentown, PA (ABE) Baltimore, MD (BWI) Bangor, ME (BGR) Boston, MA (BOS) Charleston, WV (CRW) Charlottesville, VA (CHO) Cleveland, OH (CLE) Elmira, NY (ELM) Harrisburg, PA (MDT) Hartford, CT (BDL) Ithaca, NY (ITH) New York, NY (JFK) New York, NY (LGA) Newark, NJ (EWR) Norfolk, VA (ORF) Philadelphia, PA (PHL) Portland, ME (PWM) Providence, RI (PVD) Richmond, VA (RIC) South Bend, IN (SBN) Washington, DC (DCA) Washington, DC (IAD) White Plains, NY (HPN) Worcester, MA (ORH) United Airlines United has issued travel alerts for the following airports due to the winter storm: Allentown, PA, US (ABE) Albany, NY, US (ALB) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA, US (AVP) Hartford, CT, US (BDL) Boston, MA, US (BOS) Baltimore, MD, US (BWI) Washington, DC, US (DCA) Newark, NJ/New York, NY, US (EWR) Washington, DC, US (IAD) New York, NY, US (JFK) New York, NY, US (LGA) Manchester, NH, US (MHT) Norfolk, VA, US (ORF) Philadelphia, PA, US (PHL) Providence, RI, US (PVD) Portland, ME, US (PWM) Richmond, VA, US (RIC) What should I do if I have a flight scheduled for the next few days? Before you head to the airport, you should monitor for any announcements about your flight. The easiest way to do this is to check your airlines app to see whether your flight is on time, delayed, or canceled. You can also enter your flight information on the airline’s website to get the latest updates for your journey. What are my options if my flight is delayed or canceled? If your flight is delayed or canceled, you should check with your airline about alternate travel options. Some airlines are also allowing affected passengers to reschedule their flights. United, for example, is allowing passengers with original travel dates between February 22 and February 25, 2026, at select airports to change their flights without incurring change fees or fare differences, under certain conditions and limitations. If your flight is delayed or canceledor you just dont want to travel during the stormits best to call your airline to ask what your travel options are.
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E-Commerce
Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! Im Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc.and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning. During Charles Giancarlos first all-hands meeting after becoming CEO of Pure Storage in 2017, an employee asked: How long are we going to keep the name Pure Storage? The question suggested that having storage in the companys name limited the range of products and services it could offer customers. My response at the time was, We can think about a new name as soon as we start doing something other than storage, Giancarlo recalls. Though the company may be best known for its data storage platformincluding its all-flash hardware that uses ultraefficient flash memory modules instead of spinning hard drivesGiancarlo is pushing the Santa Clara, Calif.-based tech concern into data management. Today, he unveiled a new name, Everpure, reflecting his ambition to deliver a broader array of products and services to enterprises. A brand by any other name The Everpure moniker preserves the brand equity of Pure from the original company name. Ever nods to the companys Evergreen storage-as-a-subscription program. A new logo retains the Pure Storage logomark, and the companys ticker symbol, PSTG, remains unchanged. Renaming a company isnt cheapbrand management platform Frontify estimates that a complete brand overhaul can cost companies $1 million or more. And while consumer branding changes are often hotly debated (hello, Cracker Barrel), business-to-business (B2B) marketing moves rarely elicit more than a shrug. Giancarlo himself says it is unlikely that anyone will be talking about the name change a year from now. But an enterprise rebranding can help reframe a companys remit for employees, investors, and prospective customers. Indeed, Giancarlo believes the new name will help open doors with chief data officers and AI strategists. The person who cares about data management inside our customers is different from the person that cares about data storage, he explains. And when they hear the name Pure Storage, theyre likely to say, Oh, I dont need to meet with them. Theyre the storage people. New name, new opportunities The rebranding is also a manifestation of Giancarlos bet that enterprises will pay Everpure for more than data storage, aligning the companys name and brand with the future it aspires to build. To take full advantage of the promise of AIsuch as agents that can monitor a supply chain or automatically generate financial reportingcompanies need to organize, tag, and unify information that often exists in different systems and databases. Everpure is ready to help them do that. Many customers who were furthest along in adopting AIwho were gung-hoare saying, my biggest challenge in being able to deploy AI is that my enterprise data is not ready, Giancarlo says. Everpure is seeking to address these challenges with its Enterprise Data Cloud architecture, which promises to simplify the process of cleaning, reshaping, and moving data so it can be useful to companies. However, the companys success is by no means assured. Its competitors include Dell EMC and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), heavy hitters who are also seeking to help customers with their data management needs. Giancarlo says Everpures edge is its willingness to invest in innovation. When he arrived at the company, after 13 years at Cisco Systems and 8 years at private equity firm Silverlake, he committed to maintaining heavy investment in research and development. In its fiscal year that ended February 2, 2025, the company spent $804 million on R&D, 25% of its $3.2 billion in total revenue. Everpure reports 2026 revenue this week. While some mature companies might look to improve profitability by cutting that spending, Giancarlo says he still intends to maintain high levels of R&D investment, adding: Maybe Im perpetually immature. What investments do you prioritize? What are the tools your company uses to help realize your ambitions? Send your responses to stephaniemehta@mansueto.com. Ill publish some of your manifestations in a future newsletter. Read more: the business of rebranding 7 designers on the most influential rebrands of 2025 The biggest branding trends youll see this year 6 situations that call for a rebrand
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E-Commerce
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