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Larceny Barrel Proof C921 Bourbon Review, The Game Awards Recap, & Entering The Matrix
May 19, 2026
In an unexpected twist, Heaven Hill sent me a sample of the final 2021 batch of Larceny Barrel Proof C921 that I'm reviewing this episode. Larceny C921 comes in at 122.6 proof and is aged 6-8 years. I'm also talking about the release of St. George Spirits Ruthless Whiskey made from Sierra Nevada IPA mash, as well as Sagamore Spirits new Rum Finish Rye. I'm also going over the winners and announcements from last week's Game Awards and sharing my experience of playing the Unreal Engine 5 tech demo, The Matrix Awakens. Questions or comments? Reach me at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) Chat about this week's episode on the Bourbon Bytes Whiskey & Gaming Lounge Discord server at http://www.BourbonBytes.com Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BourbonBytes Subscribe on YouTube for live streams and more: https://www.YouTube.com/BourbonBytes (https://www.youtube.com/BourbonBytes)
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0:00
On today's episode of the Bourbon Bites podcast, I'm reviewing Larceny Barrel Proof C921
0:06
recapping the winners and new announcements from the Game Awards, and entering the Matrix with Unreal Engine 5
0:22
Hello everyone and welcome to the Bourbon Bites podcast. I'm your host Clifton
0:27
and today we got a show for you like we do every week. I don't know where I was going with that
0:32
but we're on episode 10, which is a big achievement. I'm so glad that I've stuck with this
0:38
and I'm glad you guys have followed along so far. Or if you're just now tuning in, welcome
0:43
So lots has been happening since the last update. Last week we talked about the best gift-giving
0:48
bourbons, but this one's going to be a little bit more news and review focused
0:53
with maybe a few tangents along the way, but we'll see. But I did want to go ahead and get something in my glass
0:59
because Heaven Hill sent me a sample that I honestly didn't expect to receive
1:04
This is batch C921 of Larceny Barrelproof. So I've had batches A and B
1:11
I honestly just assumed that C wasn't going to come because it's so late in the year
1:15
but it finally showed up. I usually do a blind flight every year of A batch, B batch, and C batch for both ECBP
1:23
which is Elijah Craig Barrel Proof and Larceny Barrel Proof. However, this one came so late in
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the year I don't have enough time to do the blind flight. I'll probably do it early next year of
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course. I still can do that but yeah I just thought I would go ahead and give it a review since it
1:37
just showed up. So this one comes in as the highest proof release of the year. This is 122.6 proof
1:44
Just a reminder B521 was 121 proof and A-batch was 114.8 proof. So I like that they kept it high
1:52
proof um i i kind of expected them to mirror elijah craig barrel proof and go with lower proofs
1:57
this year but no they're keeping it pretty high so let's go and get this in the glass
2:01
so while that opens up a bit let's get into some bourbon news this one comes to us from our friend
2:08
tyler over on our whiskey and gaming lounge discord server which by the way if you guys are
2:13
not yet a part of you can join at bourbonbytes.com just scroll down to the bottom until you see the
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link to the discord server and that's where we do lots of hangouts and gaming sessions and just
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share recent bottle pickups and things like that so we also share whiskey news there so tyler shared
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a release that is local to him but also somewhat local to me it is from saint george spirits out
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of alameda california which is up close to san francisco they're the ones that make the baller
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whiskey that i've reviewed on my youtube channel that one's a that was a weird one so that's the
2:43
only thing i've actually had from saint george however they do put out a bunch of single malts
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including a new one called Ruthless Whiskey. So the actual unveiling and release of this is actually this Saturday
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So if you're in the area, they're releasing that at 11 a.m. But some info about this new release is shared from Facebook
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This is actually a collaboration with the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. So they use them as a partner for a lot of their different releases
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But this one in particular is distilled from Ruthless Rye IPA, which is a Sierra Nevada beer
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Now, I haven't had that one, but I'm always loving a rye beer
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I usually go for them because they typically, all the breweries around here that do a rye
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they always finish it in a rye barrel. So, I don't know about this one
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It is an IPA, so I'm not the biggest IPA fan, but I would try it
3:32
I'm not opposed to trying new things. I just don't like super hoppy beers. But this is distilled using the mash from that Ruthless Rye IPA
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They actually put it into oak back in 2013. but also they are including some of the very first barrel of single malt whiskey that they put out
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with Sierra Nevada back from 1997. So I don't really know how much is actually included in that
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but it does sound like there's going to be some of that in there. I think I said that this was a
3:59
single malt whiskey but I think since they're doing that they can't really call it a single malt so it is just called Ruthless Whiskey. They're only going to have a thousand bottles at the door
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they're going to be $75 each and they're allowing two bottles per person so those will probably go
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fairly fairly quickly St. George is very popular the only whiskey I've had from them is their
4:18
baller but they also make some fantastic gin they have a rye based one that's just absolutely
4:23
delicious definitely try it if you can they're also going to have their master distiller Lance
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Winters and their head distiller slash blender Dave Smith on site during the release as well as
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Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman will also be there. So they're going to be there signing bottles and give you a chance to talk to them
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So definitely head up there, even if you're listening to this after the release. I would love to visit someday, especially when I'm up in that area
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A little far from me to travel tomorrow now, but yeah, let me know if you guys get a bottle of that
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Let me know how it is. I know Tyler is a big fan of them. So Tyler, you'll have to report back on how that is
4:55
Speaking of new releases, there's a new TTB label for Sagamore Rum Cask Finish Rye
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I'm a big, big fan of Sagamore. They did a fantastic Manhattan finish that I reviewed on the channel and just really treasured that bottle I still have it So they do an excellent job with finishing their ryes And I had a lot of finished ryes lately
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And I used to say that I wasn't into rum-finished whiskeys in general
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But some of them have been just absolutely knocking it out of the park, especially when they're coming in at higher proof
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Now, this one's 49% ABV, so 98 proof. But they did finish their five to six-year-old straight rye whiskey, which I imagine is still
5:34
Yes, it's still distilled in Indiana. So they took a five to six year old MGP rye and then they finished it in South American
5:41
and Jamaican rum casks for 10 months and then blended them back together
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So apparently, according to the label, it says it's going to contribute lots of notes of tropical fruits as well as a crisp dryness from the South American barrel
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So I have not had South American rum. I'm a little hesitant because Jamaican rum is so intensely flavored
6:00
But I think as a finish, maybe it'll be a little bit more subtle. with rum I typically gravitate towards you know like Barbados rum four square things like that
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because they're more you know approachable for a whiskey drinker but hey I'm not opposed to trying
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something new and especially if it's bringing on that tropical aspect to it tropical and rye is a
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combination I never thought about together but you know what I'm absolutely here for it so I'll
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keep you guys updated I might reach out to them because I really want to do a Sagamore spirit stream I have like I said the Manhattan finish I have a single barrel pick from my local whiskey
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Society. And they have a new eight-year-old ride that I saw that came out. So lots of new stuff
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coming from Sagamore. I just need to find a connection there. So stay tuned. That'll definitely
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be a YouTube stream if I do get in touch with them. Which, by the way, if you're listening to
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this and you've not yet subscribed on YouTube, that's where I'm at most of the time. YouTube.com
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slash Bourbon Bites. I do live streams every Thursday night with distillery interviews
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blind flights, all sorts of fun stuff. I also go live on Twitch on Saturdays
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as well as a pre-gaming stream some Thursday nights. Twitch.tv slash bourbonbites
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Follow me all over the web. So now that we got the whiskey news out of the way
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let's go ahead and go back to this larceny barrel proof. So like I said, 122.6 proof, the highest this year
7:15
They do tell you the mash bill, which is 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley
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Have they normally revealed that mash bill? I don't know. I feel like I've just never thought about Heaven Hill's weeded mash bill, but there it is
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Now, age-wise, they say it's six to eight years old, which is a pretty good age
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Definitely not as old as Elijah Craig barrel proof, but it is a weeded bourbon
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So definitely curious to see how this holds up. So let's go ahead and give it a nose. Oh, okay
7:41
That's definitely unexpected. It has a lot of rich earthiness that I don't think I've gotten on other Larson barrel proofs
7:48
I mean, it has been a while, like I said. The B-Batch came out in May, and I have not even..
7:53
It's weird that they're calling this C921, even though this probably came out in December, or I guess maybe November
7:59
The first number in the name usually stands for the month. So A121 typically comes out in January, B521 usually comes out in May, and C921 usually comes out in September
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So it's really a late release, but hey, they're keeping with the naming profile, probably because it was unintentionally late
8:17
But yeah, I'm very surprised by how... I guess earthy is such a broad term, but to me it's almost like freshly dug dirt, and I know that doesn't sound super appetizing
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but when you go into a barrel rickhouse, you kind of get that note a lot of the time anyways
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It's just that oak and that, you know, natural elements of the weather pulling it in and out of the oak
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so this definitely has some age to the nose, but I'm excited to see how it tastes, so let's go ahead and give it a try
8:40
Cheers. Oh yeah, still has a little of that earthiness. That's interesting
8:45
It kind of reminds me of some New Rift single barrels. sometimes i've gotten the note sometimes it's overpowering i've had one that was just way too
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much but this isn't overpowering at all it actually man this may be the best larceny barrel proof i've
8:57
tried it's been a minute since i've had the other ones i do remember noticing that a lot of the 2020
9:02
releases um where they drank a little hot but this though it doesn't drink hot even though it is 122.6
9:07
proof and it does have a lot of really nice sweet um characteristness to balance out that earthiness
9:14
It's incredibly rich and full-flavored, which is, you know, normally how I describe a Lager
9:18
Craig barrel-proof. This is the first Larceny barrel-proof that's gotten me, you know, searching for different
9:23
tasting notes because there's a lot going on. The more it sits on my palate, the earthiness is kind of expressing more as the oak
9:28
So like I assumed, it kind of reminds me of like a rickhouse, that really rich, dark oakiness
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that almost goes a little earthy, you know, as it ages. But wow, holy crap, I need to go in for another sip of this one
9:40
It's got some nice, like, espresso notes. It kind of reminds me of like a almost like a coffee like fudge kind of note
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It's so rich and dark but still extremely sweet and you know that usually is what you expect from a weeded bourbon
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But I've never experienced it with so much oak and earthiness power behind it as well
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And it's definitely nutty too. It kind of reminds me of like almond butter that's been spread on some baked fresh bread
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The finish isn't super long but it doesn't go too you know dry or anything on the finish
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It finishes really nicely and it just makes me want to just keep drinking it. So that's definitely, you know, I can't wait to do a flight because I do have my A121, B521, and C921
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So definitely check out YouTube for a flight probably coming early next year because I super excited to see how this compares to the other ones Because right now first impression not having any of the other ones recently this is bomb
10:27
Like this is a winner in my book. So definitely keep an eye out for this one, especially if you have not bought a bottle in a while
10:33
Now I know these have gotten harder to find. I think, you know, honestly they're harder to find than Elijah Craig barrel proof at some points
10:40
So, you know, don't overpay for it. I think MSRP on it's around 75-ish
10:44
They didn't tell me on this release. actually looks like some places have it for closer to 50 what that can't be right what this is let
10:51
me check this website real quick this is a little bit suspicious nah that's a store in uh florida um
10:56
i don't know how accurate that is but there's a few different listings for around 50 to 55 dollars
11:00
but i mean when i see it out here in southern california it's at least 80 like i see it right
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now um previously in stock it's been some places even have for a hundred so definitely don't pay
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a hundred for it but i mean dang if you can find it in florida definitely pick it up at that price
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i mean i think that's what it was when it first came out but i assume it went up with the price price hike of Elijah Craig Barrelproof. So you'll have to let me know. Um, if you want to get in
11:19
touch with me, by the way, you can reach out to me at contact at bourbonbites.com. Um, I'm also
11:24
of course, on the discord. Um, but yeah, that's, that's really interesting. So let me know what
11:28
Larceny Barrelproof is in your area, but either way, this is honestly one of the best ones I've
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had. So I think this, you know, I wasn't planning to change up my list of top bourbons or whiskeys
11:38
of 2021. Um, but I think this might've just earned its spot. I don't know. Stick around. I'm going to
11:44
revealed that on a live stream the Thursday before New Year's Eve over on YouTube. I almost
11:49
had finalized my list, but now I've got to take another look at it because this is really good
11:54
Well done, Heaven Hill. It's got me excited for Larceny Barrel Proof again. So on to some gaming news. Last week, the Game Awards were broadcast all over Twitch. I'm not
12:04
sure if it's an official Twitch thing, but they made a big deal of it. They wanted us to promote it. I unfortunately wasn't around when it was going on or I was working, but they announced
12:12
some new games. They gave us some insights into some games that we already knew were coming
12:17
but some new exclusive footage. Footage? Footage? That's funny. Some new exclusive footage, rather
12:23
And they also, of course, it's an award show, so they announced some awards. So I'm just going to
12:26
recap it a little bit. Like I said, I didn't watch the full thing. I kind of scoured the internet for
12:31
clips of it. But the game that took home the most awards was really surprising to me because I have
12:35
heard of it, but I haven't looked into it. It's called It Takes Two. It's like a co-op adventure
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kind of game. It looks like tons of fun. My husband and I love playing games like that on
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the Switch. It does look like that is available on PlayStation and Xbox and Windows at the time
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so not currently a Switch game, which is maybe why we haven't played it together. But that game took home Best Multiplayer Game, Best Family Game, and Game of the Year, so 100
13:01
going to check that out. Some other games that took home a lot of awards, Forza Horizon 5 won
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best audio design innovation and accessibility which is something i'm a big proponent of as well
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as best sports slash racing games so forza is always gonna you know do well but i was honestly
13:17
most excited to see the new games that were announced um some of these like i said we've
13:21
heard of before but others we haven't i am such a horror movie fan so i was so excited to see the
13:26
teaser of the texas chainsaw massacre game um not much is known about this it does look like some
13:31
kind of multiplayer online thing similar to among us so you're going to take turns you know being
13:36
the killer and being the victims, I guess. It looks like a ton of fun, though. I have a game
13:41
called Dead by Daylight, which is also a very similar platform. We're in a room of people and
13:46
someone is randomly selected as the killer. But to have its own individual game, I'm really excited
13:51
It's been a minute since I've seen any of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies. I might have to have a marathon to watch those to catch up. Some other games that were talked about were Telltale's
13:59
new game, The Expanse. Now, this kind of confused me because last I heard, I thought Telltale games
14:04
kind of like broke up um i loved i was a huge fan of their walking dead series i loved their back to
14:10
the future series i mean telltale games was one of my favorite game developers so i was so sad to
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see they you know apparently broke up but i guess they're back together now i don't know i'm so
14:20
confused but it looks like a good game i never have seen the expanse i own that on blu-ray i just
14:24
haven't watched it yet so um definitely gonna watch that and then play that game alan wake 2
14:29
was also teased, which funny enough, I loved Alan Wake 1. That came out on Xbox 360, which is the
14:36
platform I had at the time. And it's like a survival adventure game. And it's just the
14:40
atmospheres of that game were so incredible. So the fact that it's getting a modern release is
14:45
so exciting. I know they did a remastered release of it that came out in October of this year
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My husband just bought it on PS5. So I'm going to have to play that again before looking into the
14:55
new one but I I'm excited to revisit it it's been so long since I've had the game that I feel like
15:00
it'll be jumping into almost a new story it'll feel like a new story because I don't remember
15:04
exactly what happens I remember that you're a writer and you go on vacation in a small town
15:08
and it's basically the plot of the story you're writing comes to life but I don't remember the
15:13
plot so definitely gonna play that again it's it's very nostalgic to me because I grew up playing
15:18
that game well not really grew up it was 2010 but it was in my late teen years so I would say it's
15:23
formative game Another fun one that was talked about was Among Us VR So if you familiar with Among Us it available on mobile and PC I done a lot of gaming sessions with my patrons and Discord members It so much fun We do it on our monthly hangouts for Patreon
15:39
Everyone, $5 and up, get access to that. So if you want to join us in an Among Us session, go to patreon.com slash bourbonbytes
15:45
But we don't always play Among Us. We play Jackbox games and other things like that. But yeah, there's a new VR version of Among Us, which is so exciting
15:53
I'm just imagining doing a task and just feeling like someone's watching you over your shoulder
15:56
and just like looking back. But I don't know how many of my friends have virtual reality consoles
16:02
So I may have to find out on Discord because I have, you know, an Oculus Rift, one of the
16:06
OG ones. But if anyone else has one, oh my God, that'd be so much fun. Please let me know
16:10
I want to play. There was also a Dune game that was announced as well as Star Trek Resurgence
16:16
Tons and tons of intellectual properties that are becoming games. So I don't know whether to get too excited about movies slash TV games, but if they do
16:25
it well you know the Star Trek look pretty good and there's a new Star Wars of course that I think
16:30
it was previously announced but it's called Star Wars Eclipse and they showed off some footage from
16:34
that game absolutely beautiful I've always thought the Star Wars games have just encapsulated these
16:39
environments so well and lastly what I think was probably my favorite part of the game awards was
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the reveal of The Matrix Awakens which is a tech demo of Unreal Engine 5 it's available on
16:53
current gen consoles. I downloaded it on my PlayStation 5. It is one of the most beautiful
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examples of how far along our technology has come. So I watched a little bit of it beforehand
17:06
but I knew I had to download it. And funny enough, I had never seen the original Matrix movie. I know
17:13
don't worry, I watched it literally two nights ago. This got me so excited. I had to watch the
17:18
original. So basically, this tech demo, I hate to call it a tech demo because it's so fleshed
17:23
out but this matrix awakens is basically it recreates some scenes from the original movie
17:29
but not just that the character models are so believable i honestly thought they were using
17:35
actual footage of keanu reeves but instead it was all created in cgi and that was just the beginning
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i mean you got to play some missions like as you're driving through the city you're shooting
17:44
up like police cars attacking you it's crazy but like i was most impressed by the final segment of
17:51
the tech demo which drops you in this open world um that has been beautifully designed i mean we're
17:58
talking next gen graphics like nothing that i've ever played has looked this good from the details
18:04
on the buildings to inside the windows to the actual lighting in the streets and the cars it
18:09
just you'll have to see it there's some videos on youtube if you want to check it out um but actually
18:14
be able to play in that world i know it's not a game like there's no like objectives um but you can
18:19
jump in a car and just drive around the city or you can actually like move as the camera and like
18:24
fly around and no matter how quickly i was moving the camera and how like you know populated the
18:30
environment was with cars and people and stuff it never stuttered it just rendered so beautifully
18:35
so it's got me really excited for unreal engine 5 which um if you're not familiar with it it's
18:40
basically the engine that games are built around i mean there's a few different ones but unreal is
18:45
probably one of the most popular ones it's like where you create all the worlds of gaming and
18:49
it's like a 3d creation software but this just makes me incredibly excited for the future of
18:55
gaming the future of virtual reality i wish this was a vr experience if so i it would have just
19:00
completely blown my mind so look forward to some amazing realistic beautiful worlds uh coming to
19:08
games soon i'm so excited to see what games actually utilize these features that were shown
19:14
off in this tech demo it's really hard to explain the specific things because i'm not like a game
19:18
designer so certain aspects that are improvements in Unreal Engine 5 I don't really understand
19:23
I just know what looks good. So when a game looks almost indistinguishable from real life
19:29
you got me hooked. I'm so excited to jump into that world and explore and the world of the Matrix
19:34
is definitely one I want to explore. Like I said, I watched the Matrix for the first time a couple
19:39
days ago and honestly, I loved it. It stands up really well even today, you know. I mean
19:44
We've advanced so far in what we can create in worlds, but still, it got me excited, and
19:50
I own the rest of the Matrix movies, so I'm going to have to watch those before the new
19:54
one comes out. But yeah, that's pretty much all I have this week
19:58
Thank you all for listening in. Look forward to another episode next week
20:02
I'm not going to do a live stream next Thursday because I'll be traveling, but I do plan to
20:06
record a podcast episode and put it out on Christmas Eve, so look forward to that
20:11
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you leave a five-star rating wherever you are listening to this
20:16
and hit that follow button so you get notified whenever I put out new episodes
20:21
But until next time, this has been Bourbon Bites, a whiskey podcast with a gaming twist
20:25
Cheers, and I'll talk to you next episode
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