Last week, we wrote about the best bourbons for summer. Today, we widen the net a little further. We’re talking about all whiskeys — from Scotch to rye to bourbon to Irish whiskey to Japanese whisky — that fit the summer season. Tommy Tardie, founder of Fine & Rare in New York City, is a huge advocate for whiskey this time of year.

“For me, it’s a great time to open up some of the lighter, softer, sweeter bottles I may have been sitting on during the colder months,” he notes.

The bartenders we know agree with Tardie. So we asked a handful of our favorites to tell us the best whiskeys to sip when the temperature rises.

Widow Jane American Oak Aged Rye

Raul Marin, bartender at Attico Rooftop Lounge in Philadelphia

Widow Jane American Oak Aged Rye is top-notch because, although not what you might think of when you think of a rye, it has some subtle tropical fruit notes. Being from Mexico, I always try to highlight those sorts of tropical flavors when I can

Woodford Reserve Wheat Whiskey

Caleb Kimbley bartender at The Beehive in San Francisco

A whiskey that pairs with the seasonal harvest, hot summer days, and cool nights is Woodford Reserve’s wheated whiskey — a tropical oasis of flavors that arouses the senses.

Dewar’s White Label

Danny Caffall, lead bartender at The Mansion Bar in Dallas

When it comes to mixable whisky, it’s hard to beat Dewar’s White label. Top it with soda and garnish with lemon twist. Done. You’ll be drinking this simple cocktail all summer long.

Green Spot

Zack Musick, beverage director at Merriman’s in Hawaii

I always go with Irish whiskey during the summer months because it tends to be the smoothest option in the whiskey family and it also happens to be delicious. My personal favorites are Green Spot and Red Breast.

Knappogue Castle 12 Year

Kenneth McCoy, chief creative officer at The Rum House in New York City

Knappogue Castle 12 Year Irish Whiskey is a crisp and full-flavored Irish whiskey with mellow biscuit and peppery notes. It is lighter than most and sophisticated, making it refreshing to drink in the summer months neat, on the rocks, or as a foundation in a long cocktail where its delicate fruitiness and spice complement almost any flavor profile.

The Macallan 12

Robert Swain Jr., owner of OnTheRoX Bartending Services in the British Virgin Islands

The Macallan Single Malt Whisky is a very heavy hitter in the whiskey world. Poured on the rocks, it’s almost like eating iced cinnamon rolls. Silky smooth on the tongue with a plum sweetness.

Yamazaki 12

Tommy Tardie, founder and owner of Fine & Rare in New York City

Japan’s Yamazaki produces some exceptional whiskey that works well during the hot, even humid summer days. Yamazaki 12 or Toki served neat, over an ice cube or even in a highball makes for a great afternoon refresher. Its sweet floral and citrus notes pair perfectly with summer weather.

Tullamore D.E.W. Rum Cask

David Powell, brand ambassador at Hudson Whiskey

I tend to like lighter-bodied spirits as the weather warms up, so I’d say something Irish would probably be the best direction to go during the summer. Tullamore D.E.W. has an XO Rum cask finished whiskey that would fit perfectly in that lane. It’s a really approachable whiskey that plays really nicely in shaken drinks as well.

Jim Beam

Hayden Miller, head bartender at Bodega Taqueria y Tequila in Miami

Summer is a time for simple, timeless whiskeys. That’s why I opt for Jim Beam. If I’m going to rock a classic for the summer vibe, I’m going to grip and rip a bottle of Beam.

Hochstadter’s Slow & Low Rock & Rye

Tim Wiggins, co-owner and beverage director of Yellowbelly in St. Louis

Some may hate me for this, but I highly recommend Rock & Rye. It is essentially an old fashioned in a bottle, so it is crushable and super delicious to drink in the summer heat. Straight whiskey in the summer heat can be tough, a little sweetness and spice make it just right.

Jameson

Todd Johnston, beverage director at Thompson Nashville

Nobody is judging so live your own life. This is plenty of reason to hit the consistent summer go-to whiskey, Jameson. Irish whiskey is typically triple-distilled giving it a lighter and more approachable characteristic, great for the hot summer months.

Rittenhouse Bottle In Bond Rye

Brock Schulte, bar director of The Monarch Bar in Kansas City

Rittenhouse Bottled In Bond, is my favorite rye whiskey, it comes from Heaven Hill and for me, it just screams quality. It is well priced so if you are out in the heat you can drink more and not hit your pocketbook too bad.

Here are your quick and dirty, editorial-free NXT TakeOver: In Your House results. The latest TakeOver special featured a “Last Chance Backlot Brawl” for the NXT Championship, matches for the NXT North American and Women’s Championships, and more. Make sure you’re here tomorrow for the complete Best and Worst of NXT column.

NXT TakeOver: In Your House Results:

– The show used the old In Your House house set, and featured an intro video from Todd Pettengill. Retro-style commercials were sprinkled throughout, including Adam Cole in an ICOPRO commercial, and one for ice cream bars. Code Orange opened the show with a musical performance.

1. Tegan Nox, Shotzi Blackheart, and Mia Yim defeated Dakota Kai, Raquel Gonzalez, and Candice LeRae. Yim and LeRae brawled themselves out of the match, fighting to the back. Nox pinned Kai after a Shiniest Wizard to win the match.

2. Finn Bálor defeated Damian Priest. Priest took a nasty fall off the apron onto the ring steps. Back in the ring, Bálor top rope double-stomped him in the back of the head and hit a Coup de Grace to win the match.

3. NXT North American Championship Match: Keith Lee (c) defeated Johnny Gargano. Lee had “Black Lives Matter” trunks and entrance gear. During the match, Lee pounced Gargano through the plexiglass surrounding ringside. Candice LeRae tried to interfere, but Mia Yim showed up to even the odds. Gargano jabbed a key into Lee’s eye and hit several superkicks, but couldn’t put him away. Lee won after two Spirit Bombs and a Big Bang Catastrophe.

4. Last Chance Backlot Brawl for the NXT Championship: Adam Cole (c) defeated Velveteen Dream. This was filmed outdoors in a parking lot with a ring surrounded by cars, using their headlights for lights. Dream was dressed as Negan from The Walking Dead for his entrance. During the match, Cole was knocked off the top of a ladder and landed on a car windshield. The Undisputed Era pulled up in a car to interfere. Dexter Lumis appeared from underneath the ring to even the odds, attacked the UE, stuffed them back into their car, and drove them away. Cole hit a low blow and a Panama Sunrise onto a bed of steel chairs to win the match and retain his championship.

5. Karrion Kross defeated Tommaso Ciampa. Kross ran through Ciampa and made him pass out in the Kross Jacket.

6. Triple Threat Match for the NXT Women’s Championship: Io Shirai defeated Charlotte Flair (c) and Rhea Ripley. Flair had Ripley locked in the Figure-Eight, which allowed Shirai to hit a moonsault on Ripley and pin her to win the match.

Everyone’s lives have been dramatically and unexpectedly affected by the pandemic, among them student graduates, who expected a formal ceremony filled with pomp and circumstance and maybe even a splashy speech by a celebrity speaker. They didn’t get the former, but everyone at least got the latter — and many times over at that. Famous people from all walks of life have been dropping by virtual graduation ceremonies; last week, Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter even saluted the class of the school from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.

On Sunday YouTube hosted a “Dear Class of 2020” hoedown, featuring a number of well-known speakers, trying to impart hope in despairing times. Among the most famous of those was a certain president, Barack Obama.

The country’s 44th commander-in-chief brought his beloved oratorial style to bear on a time of frayed nerves and uncertain futures. His words came nearly three months into a nationwide quarantine to combat the coronavirus pandemic and almost two weeks after the killing of George Floyd, whose death at the hands of police has inspired protests both at home and abroad.

“I can barely imagine how head-spinning these last few months have been for you,” Obama told the nation’s graduates. “Graduation is a big achievement under any circumstances, yours comes as the world is turned upside down.”

Still, Obama refused to surrender to despair, instead seeing the various calamities that have affected the nation and the world as an excuse to see what it’s exposed about how our society functions — or doesn’t.

“The thing is, Class of 2020, what these past few weeks have shown us is that the challenges we face go well beyond a virus, and that the old normal wasn’t good enough — it wasn’t working,” Obama told them.

“In a lot of ways, the pandemic just brought into focus problems that have been growing for a very long time, whether it’s widening economic inequality, the lack of basic health care for millions of people, the continuing scourge of bigotry and sexism, or the divisions and dysfunction that plague our political system.”

“Similarly, the protests in response to the killing of George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, and Nina Pop aren’t simply a reaction to those particular tragedies, as heartbreaking as they are,” Obama said. “They speak to decades worth of anguish and frustration over unequal treatment and a failure to reform police practices and the broader criminal justice system.”

Obama admitted that looking to what lies ahead of them, and all of us, can be “downright scary,” but he also warned about what not to do. He never namechecked his successor, but he did essentially subtweet him. “Democracy isn’t about relying on some charismatic leader to make changes from on high,” he said. “It’s about finding hope in ourselves, and creating it in others. Especially in a time like this. You don’t always need hope when everything’s going fine. It’s when things seem darkest — that’s when you need it the most.”

Along similar lines, he warned against “reading only news and opinions that reinforce our own biases and start canceling everything else out; we let opinion masquerade as fact and treat even the wildest conspiracy theories as worthy of consideration.” He added, “And the irony is that usually the people who are peddling falsehoods on the Internet or social media are doing so for their own purposes — either to sell you something or to distract you from the real issues that matter.”

Obama’s pre-recorded speech, which ran nearly 15 minutes, joined those of others, ranging from musicians (Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Lizzo) to actors (Seth Rogen, Chris Pine), other politicians (Condoleeza Rice), as well as Obama’s own wife, Michelle Obama. “Congratulations, Class of 2020,” he concluded. “Make it mean something. And keep making us proud.”

You can watch Obama’s full speech in the video above.

(Via Deadline)

The announcement marks an unprecedented victory for activists that could prove a turning point in criminal justice reform.

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Give your home a sustainable revamp with compost bins, recycled fabric rugs, and more goodies.

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Early into the Black Lives Matter protests that have swept the nation and the globe, CNN’s Don Lemon chastised Hollywood players who’ve done little to support the cause. Since then a number of celebrities have put in live appearances. Last week, John Boyega delivered a stirring, emotional speech, one so direct he wondered if it would hurt his career. (Luckily it probably won’t.) Now Michael B. Jordan has popped up at one in Los Angeles, where he had choice words for his currently paused industry.

As per Entertainment Weekly, the actor attended a protest in Century City, and he addressed a matter of great concern right now: How does Hollywood change to recognize the racial issues raised by the killing of George Floyd?

“We have to relook at our business,” Jordan told the crowd. One solution, he said, was to “invest in black staff,” at studios and at agencies. “You committed to a 50/50 gender parity in 2020, where is the challenge to commit to black hiring?” he asked. “Black content led by black executives, black consultants. Are you policing our storytelling as well? Let us bring our darkness to the light.”

Jordan spoke about how he’s handled his own career. “Anybody that deals with me, if you have racist beliefs, if you have a racist bone in your body, if you’re not with me, if you don’t stand with me and people that look like me, you don’t need to be with me,” Jordan said. “I use my power to demand diversity but it’s time that studios and agencies do so.”

Jordan has regularly taken roles that address the issues being raised during the protests. His starmaking role was in Fruitvale Station, in which he played Oscar Grant, one of countless African-American victims of police violence. Jordan spoke about researching the role, having the “opportunity to feel the pain of his family, his daughter, his mother.” He added, “I lived with that for a very long time and it weighs on me.”

He also spoke about his starring role in the 2018 HBO version of Fahrenheit 451, in which he played a fireman in a dystopian future who joins the revolution. “Producing that movie made me really realize the lengths that the government and oppressors will go to keep knowledge out of your hands,” Jordan said.

Then there’s last year’s Just Mercy, which was recently made available for free over streaming platforms for the rest of the month in light of the protests. The docudrama tells of an idealistic lawyer, named Bryan Stevenson played by Jordan, who tries to help an African-American man wrongfully convicted of murder (played by Foxx). Jordan spoke about the honor of playing Stevenson. “I learned his tactics. I learned his mentality. I learned his approach to things. Very calm. Very strategic. Very thoughtful,” Jordan said. “You have to be proximal. You have to be close to [the] issues.”

Jordan also tried to inspire fellow protesters to stay strong and to stay the course. “What we are doing today will make our values heard and our voices heard. We’ve got to keep agitating things,” he said. “We can’t be complacent. We can’t let this moment just pass us by, we have to continue to put our foot on their necks.”

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

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