Month: July 2020

Summer 2020 is slow. That doesn’t mean boring, by any means, but it’s definitely not the wild string of party nights that we might be used to. Instead, it’s the summer of “skilling up” — the perfect time to order some bottles of booze, build a home bar, and really dial in your cocktail game.

You don’t need a fancy bar kit to make cocktails, of course. Use old jars, the glasses you already have, and a chopstick if you don’t have a bar spoon for mixing. Our advice would be to know the volume of your glasses so you know which to use with which cocktail. Lastly, make sure your ice is deeply frozen. Make ice, bag it, and turn your freezer down as far as it goes (or store the ice in a deep-freeze chest freezer, if you have one). Deeply frozen ice is what will truly up your cocktail game.

To help motivate you, we’ve got some delicious (and fairly easy to execute) whiskey cocktails for you to try. These fun, summery, and easy-to-make drinks will touch off any summer event you’re planning. Even if it’s just a socially distanced party for one.

Whiskey Sour

Bottle To Use: Wild Turkey Kentucky Straight Bourbon

This recipe is pulled from our post about Whiskey Sours, from last year. There are few cocktails that scream “summer” more than a great whiskey sour with an egg white (always use an egg white). This is a refresher that leans into bright lemon citrus with a hint of sweetness and a nice bourbon underbelly.

Recipe:

• 1.5 oz. Wild Turkey
• 0.75 oz. Lemon Juice
• 0.75 oz. Simple Syrup
• One Egg White
• Amarena Cherry
• Ice

Method:

• Build your cocktail in the shaker. Don’t add the ice.
• Lock the lid on the shaker and shake vigorously for 30 solid seconds. Pop the lid off and add a handful of ice. Lock that lid back in and shake again for about 15 seconds, or until the shaker is ice-cold to touch.
• Pop the lid off and let the excess drip back into the shaker from the lid. Fish a five-ounce rocks glass from the freezer. Grab a cocktail strainer and strain the whiskey sour into the glass. It should fill right to the top.
• Garnish with the Amarena cherry. Serve.

Highball

Bottle To Use: Talisker 10

The Scotch Highball is a classic for a reason. It’s amazingly simple to make, amazingly refreshing to drink, and amazingly versatile. I like mine with Talisker (because I love Talisker with all my heart). But, you can really make this with any whiskey. Just remember, the better the whiskey, the tastier the highball.

Recipe:

• 2 oz. Talisker 10
• 4 oz. High-quality fizzy Mineral Water
• Ice

Method:

• Fill an eight-ounce highball glass (or Collins glass) with ice.
• Add Talisker.
• Top up with water.
• Stir once. Serve.

Smoky Cokey

Bottle To Use: Lagavulin 16

This is a real insider drink. Yes, it’s Lagavulin 16 mixed with Coca-Cola. And yes, it’s goddamn delicious, especially as a summer sipper. I was introduced to this drink by its inventor and champion, Ervin Trykowski in Scotland last year. He’s the “Global New Age Scotch Whisky Ambassador” with Diageo Single Malts.

This is more like a high-end bartender’s secret drink for real bartenders in the know. But once you have it, you’ll never go back drinking Lagavulin 16 on its own. I kid, I kid. Of course you will.

Recipe:

• 2 oz. Lagavulin 16
• 4 oz. Coca-Cola
• Ice

Method:

• Fill an eight-ounce highball glass (or Collins glass) with ice.
• Add Lagavulin.
• Top up with Coca-Cola.
• Stir once. Serve.

Black Manhattan

Bottle To Use: Legent Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Legent is quickly becoming my favorite “all-rounder” bottle of bourbon in 2020. The marrying of Kentucky distilling and Japanese blending has created one of the easiest sipping whiskeys of the year. That also makes it a great cocktail base. And while the Manhattan isn’t exactly a summery drink, this version has a lightness to it that makes it a wonderful addition to the summer rotation.

Recipe:

• 2 oz. Legent
• 1 oz. Averna Amaro
• 1 dash Angostura Bitters
• 1 dash Orange Bitters
• Maraschino Cherry
• Ice

Method:

• Add one dash each Angostura and Orange Bitters to a mixing jar.
• Add Legent and Averna.
• Add enough ice to fill half of the jar.
• Stir until the jar is ice-cold to touch.
• Strain into a chilled coupe or Nick and Nora glass.
• Garnish with a cherry. Serve.

Vieux Carre

Bottle To Use: Balcones Texas Pot Still Bourbon

The Vieux Carre — literally “French Quarter” — is a classic NOLA cocktail. And one thing we know about the cocktail culture of New Orleans is that these drinks were devised to fight the heat. It’s generally made with rye whiskey, but Balcones Pot Still Bourbon adds a certain southern food culture touch with candied pecan nature that works wonders with a nutty Cognac.

Recipe:

• 1 oz. Balcones Bourbon
• 1 oz. Cognac
• 1 oz. Sweet Vermouth
• Two bar spoons Benedictine Liqueur
• One dash Peychaud’s Bitters
• One dash Angostura Bitters
• Maraschino Cherry
• Lemon Rind
• Ice

Method:

• Add ingredients into a mixing jar.
• Add ice. Stir until the jar is ice cold to touch.
• Strain into a rocks (or old fashioned) glass filled with fresh ice.
• Spritz with lemon oils from the rind, rub the rind around the glass, and drop it in the cocktail.
• Garnish with a cherry. Serve.

Sazerac

Bottle To Use: Old Overholt Rye

Sticking with the Big Easy, a Sazerac is another summer sipper that’ll get you through until the first snow of winter. This is a classic cocktail with a punch. The very subtle addition of absinthe — as a rinse for the glass — adds a new dimension to cocktails that’ll have you mixing this by the batch.

Recipe:

• Absinthe
• 1.5 oz. Old Overholt Rye
• 1.5 oz. Cognac
• 4 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
• 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
• 1 Sugar Cube
• 1 bar spoon Water
• Lemon Rind

Method:

• Add a small splash of absinthe to a pre-chilled rocks (or old fashioned) glass. Coat the inside of the glass and discard the excess.
• Add the bitters, sugar cube, and water to a cocktail jar.
• Muddle until the sugar cube is completely broken down.
• Add the rye and cognac and stir until the sugar is absorbed.
• Add in the ice and stir until the jar is ice-cold to touch.
• Strain the cocktail into the prepared glass.
• Spritz the cocktail with the lemon oils from the rind and rub it around the glass. Discard the rind.
• Serve.

Lynchburg Lemonade

Bottle To Use: Uncle Nearest 1856 Tennessee Whiskey

There are few whiskey drinks more summery than a Lynchburg Lemonade. A great way to change this recipe up while still celebrating the beauty of a great Tennesee whiskey is to use Uncle Nearest in place of the Jack. “Uncle” Nearest Green taught a young Jack Daniel’s everything he knew about distilling and aging, making this the perfect replacement for this summer refresher.

Recipe:

• 2 oz. Uncle Nearest
• 1 oz. Cointreau
• 1 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
• 4 oz. Lemon Soda
• Lemon Wheel
• Ice

Method:

• Fill a ten-ounce highball glass (or Collins glass) with ice.
• Add the Uncle Nearest, Cointreau, and lemon juice and stir until well-blended (10 seconds).
• Top with Lemon Soda (or Sprite).
• Garnish with the lemon wheel. Serve.

Boulevardier

Bottle To Use: Four Roses Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Do you dig Negronis? Then you’re going to love this whiskey-based version of the iconic Italian cocktail. The usual gin is swapped out for bourbon and a whole new dimension to the drink opens up.

Recipe:

• 1 oz. Four Roses Small Batch
• 1 oz. Sweet Vermouth
• 1 oz. Campari
• Orange Rind
• Ice

Method:

• Add bourbon, vermouth, Campari, and ice into a cocktail jar.
• Stir until ice-cold to touch.
• Strain the cocktail into an ice-filled rocks (or old fashioned) glass.
• Spritz the orange oils over the cocktail and rub the rind around the glass. Drop the rind in the cocktail. Serve.

Black Barrel Old Fashioned

Bottle To Use: Jameson Black Barrel

I learned how to make this the last time I was at Bow Street in Dublin. I then drank a fair few at the bar in the lobby of Jameson’s flagship location in the Irish capital. This Irish version of an old fashioned adds a little something to the classic drink while still feeling very familiar and welcoming. Plus, the lightness of the Irish tipple helps this one feel more summery.

Recipe:

• 2.5 oz. Jameson Black Barrel
• 0.5 oz. Benedictine
• 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
• 2 dashes Orange Bitters
• Orange Rind
• Ice

Method:

• Add bitters, Benedictine, and Jameson to a cocktail jar.
• Add ice and stir until ice-cold to touch.
• Strain the cocktail into an old fashioned glass filled with fresh ice.
• Spritz the cocktail with the oils from the orange rind and rub the rind around the glass. Drop the rind into the cocktail.
• Serve.

Horse’s Neck

Bottle To Use: Michter’s US*1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon

If I’m not drinking a Beer Spritz this summer, I’ll be drinking a Horse’s Neck. While this is often served with a lemon rind and oils, I prefer it with orange. It adds a bit more depth and is a better counterpoint to the ginger ale while supporting the bitters, in my opinion. But hey, if you dig it with lemon, by all means, go that route.

In the end, this is a great summer drink that goes down almost too easily. Plus, it’s a cinch to make.

Recipe:

• 2 oz. Michter’s Bourbon
• 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
• 4 oz. Ginger Ale
• Orange Rind
• Ice

Method:

• Fill an eight-ounce highball glass (or Collins glass) with ice.
• Add Michter’s Bourbon and bitters.
• Top up with ginger ale.
• Stir once.
• Spritz the drink with oils from the orange rind and rub the rind around the glass. Drop the rind into the glass.
• Serve.

Aaron Sorkin is the master of the courtroom drama, and for his latest Netflix film, The Trial of the Chicago 7, the writer/director got to work with an eclectic ensemble who all brought their different acting approaches to the table. However, none of them were as hardcore as Succession actor Jeremy Strong.

In a political drama that’s growing more and more poignant by the day, The Trial of the Chicago 7 focuses on a group of anti-Vietnam protestors who were brutally assaulted by the police and the National Guard during the 1968 Democratic Convention. While filming the clash between law enforcement and the anti-war radicals, Sorkin used former police officers to add to the realism, and Strong was maybe a little too on-board with using the former cops to their full potential. Via Vanity Fair:

The most die-hard Method actor was Jeremy Strong, who once worked as Daniel Day-Lewis’s assistant and seems to have inherited his role model’s relish for total immersion. Filming the riot scenes on location in Grant Park, he insisted, before the cameras rolled, that a former Chicago cop playing one of the storm troopers hurl him to the ground before every take. “Jeremy begged me to spray him with real tear gas,” adds Sorkin. He obliged. Whatever works.

This isn’t the first time Strong’s penchant for Method acting has been brought up. During a lengthy interview with IndieWire, Succession star Brian Cox commented on what it’s like working with Strong, who goes deep into taking on the persona of his haunted and broken character Kendall Roy.

“I find it quite good, because I think it puts you on your metal,” Cox said. “Because you’re dealing with someone who really inhabits the fragility almost in a way that is… you worry about him sometimes. He is so committed as an actor. Jeremy’s commitment is undeniable, and his results are equally undeniable.”

The Trial of the Chicago 7 arrives on Netflix on October 16, 2020.

(Via Vanity Fair)

Cornelius Fredericks, a 16-year-old boy, was placed in the Lakeside Academy, a Michigan facility for teenagers with behavioral problems, by the state’s foster care system after his mother died and father was sent to prison.

On April 29, he was sitting at a table during mealtime and threw a sandwich at another child at the facility. Fredericks was thrown to the ground by staff members, restrained for by six to seven people, including two on his torso, for approximately 12 minutes.

The civil lawsuit filed by Frederick’s family claims that while he was being restrained he cried out, “I can’t breathe.”

While being restrained, Fredericks suffered cardiac arrest. He was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead three days later. It was discovered at the hospital that he tested positive for COVID-19.

Here’s video of the entire incident, the footage is disturbing.

Video shows restraint of Cornelius Fredericks who died after incident at youth facility (FULL VIDEO)

www.youtube.com

“He was suffocated for an excess of 10 mins and left to lie on the floor lifeless with no one providing any medical care or treatment, including the nurse,” Geoffrey Fieger, an attorney who represents the Fredericks estate, said according to Buzzfeed.

“The nurse just stood over his lifeless body and provided no help whatsoever to Cornelius other than calling 911,” Fieger added.

Sequel Youth and Family Services, the owner of Lakeside Academy, told CNN that the staff’s actions were not in line with the facility’s restraint policy.

“The restraint was not conducted in accordance with our policies and training,” a spokesperson said. “At Sequel, it is our policy to only use restraints as an emergency safety intervention in two situations: 1) when a student exhibits imminent danger to self and 2) when a student exhibits imminent danger to others, and in those cases to use the minimal level of intervention possible.”

Three staff members at the facility Michael Mosley, 47, and Zachary Solis, 28, and Heather McLogan, 48, were arraigned on charges of involuntary manslaughter and child abuse.

According to the Kalamazoo Department of Public safety, there had been numerous calls about the facility in the weeks before the murder. “There was a pattern of it being out of control,” Assistant Chief David Boysen said. “There had been a spike in calls from there lately.”

After facility staff learned that Fredericks had COVID-19 it was discovered that nearly 40 of the residents and nine staffers tested positive for the virus.

On May 1, the facility housed 124 boys.

After Frederick’s death, the facility lost its contract with the state to care for youth in the state’s foster care and juvenile justice systems and its license to operate.

The death of Cornelius Fredericks is another in the tragic list of Black people being murdered while being restrained by authorities.

Why was he taken to the ground for throwing a harmless sandwich? Why was he restrained for 12 minutes? How come no one listened when he screamed, “I can’t breathe?” Why does everyone just stand around him doing absolutely nothing for a few minutes after they realize he isn’t conscious?

Sheena Melwani is a media artist and singer who has made a name for herself not only with her musical talent, but because her dad is freaking hilarious.

Melwani shares videos on TikTok of her playing piano and singing popular songs, only to be interrupted by her “Indian dad” making commentary on what she’s singing. Melwani can never make it through a whole song without busting up laughing over her father’s interjections, and who can blame her? He’s like a sitcom character come to life.

Anyone who has a snarky parent will delight in the playful roasts this dad foists upon his daughter. He’s even coined some classic dad hashtags like #closethewindows. Just watch:

In her TikTok videos, her dad is off camera, but if you want to see what he looks like, here’s a video of her trying to prank call him from jail, and his hilarious response:

Indian dads on the phone

www.youtube.com

Over the past few years, there has been a growing number of people who believe the Earth is flat. A recent YouGov survey of more than 8,000 Americans found that as many as one in six are “not entirely certain the world is round.”

Maybe there wouldn’t be so much scientific illiteracy in this world if we still had Carl Sagan around.

Sagan hosted the original version of TV’s “Cosmos” in 1980. It would be revived in 2014 with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson at the helm.

In the first episode of “Cosmos,” Sagan easily proved the Earth was a sphere using a piece of cardboard, some sticks, and the work of an ancient Libyan-Greek scholar, Eratosthenes.

Carl Sagan explains how Eratostenes knows the earth is curve

www.youtube.com

“How could it be, that at the same moment, a stick in Syene would cast no shadow and a stick in Alexandria, 800 km to the north, would cast a very definite shadow? Sagan asked.

“The only answer was that the surface of the Earth is curved,” he added. “Not only that but the greater the curvature, the bigger the difference in the length of the shadows.”

Considering the distance between the two cities and the lengths of the shadows they produced, Eratosthenes was able to determine that the Earth had a seven-degree curve. He used that calculation to speculate the Earth was 25,000 miles in circumference.

These days we know that the earth is 24,860 in circumference, so Eratosthenes was 140 miles off, not bad for over 2,000 years ago.

Videos are more than an afterthought to Moses Sumney. He and his collaborators always put a ton of effort into the visuals that accompany his songs, and consequently, the videos from Sumney’s new album, Grae, have been a spectacle. Now, he is back with another clip, this time for “Me In 20 Years.” As the title suggests, the clip sees Sumney looking to the future and what it might be like, warts, surrealism, and all.

Like a number of other tracks on Grae, this one was co-produced by Daniel Lopatin (aka Oneohtrix Point Never). The visual was directed by long-time collaborator Allie Avital and shot in Kiev, Ukraine. Press materials call it “an emotionally devastating and achingly personal look into Moses’ visions of the future, with an added twist of subtle and dreamlike visual elements.”

Sumney previously said of the track, “Upon playing the demo for ‘Me In 20 Years’ for Dan Lopatin, he told me it sounded like an old lady screaming to herself in the middle of Whole Foods. I knew then and there that he was the right collaborator to take [the song] to a catastrophic level.”

Watch the “Me In 20 Years” video above.

Grae is out now via Jagjaguwar. Get it here.

Although concerts and festivals have been canceled for pretty much the remainder of 2020, there’s still some decent news on the horizon. Should new COVID cases fall to manageable levels or an effective (and inexpensive) vaccine be discovered, 2021 is looking stacked. One festival with an attractive 2021 lineup is Mexico’s Baja Beach Fest, billed as “the world’s biggest Latin Trap & Reggaeton festival,” which is aiming for an August 13-15 weekend in Rosarito for its official third edition.

Aside from the obvious benefits of the sunny seaside venue, the lineup is packed to the gills with the top talent in contemporary Latin music, with Anuel AA, J Balvin, and Ozuna headlining a roster that includes international superstars like Becky G, El Alfa, Farruko, Guaynaa, Kali Uchis, Karol G, Lunay, Myke Towers, Sech, and Sky Rompiendo, among others. It’s a prime opportunity to catch up on the burgeoning Latin music scene which has reached new heights of popularity in recent years as stars like Bad Bunny and J Balvin have released bigger and bigger hits. The full rosters and tickets can be found here.

Ticket holders for the canceled 2020 edition of the festival will have their passes honored, while those who cannot attend can request a full refund. The refund must be claimed within the next week.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

After spending all of 2019 refining and workshopping her music with indie musicians like Hippo Campus, Samia is gearing up to release her debut album, The Baby. So far, Samia has previewed the record with “Is There Something In The Movies?” and “Fit N Full.” Now the singer returns with two new tracks and a quarantine-style video.

Directed by Noah Rauchwerk and animated by Granger Wilson, Samia’s “Big Wheel” video seeks company from a handful of virtual clones. The singer directs her new friends in a work-out tape and implores them to join her in a flash mob at a park.

In a statement about the song, Samia said she penned it as a reflection on shying from confrontation: “‘Big Wheel’ is about avoiding conflict at any cost. I wrote it after a few hours of laying in bed imagining hypothetical conversations with people that I was too scared to have in real life. It’s a passive confession of harbored resentments buried in a laundry list of gratitude.”

Along with debuting her “Big Wheel” video, Samia shared the bonus single “Stellate,” which further struggles with confrontation. “‘Stellate’ and ‘Big Wheel’ are both love letters to people/parts of my life I had trouble confronting conversationally,” Samia said. “‘Stellate’ is a note to myself trying to make sense of old traumas and ‘Big Wheel’ is a plea to the people around me, but releasing them together feels like closing a chapter.”

Watch Samia’s “Big Wheel” video above and listen to “Stellate” below.

The Baby is out 8/28 via Grand Jury. Pre-order it here.

Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek’s ongoing battle against stage IV pancreatic cancer appears to be going remarkably well, all things considered, and he hopes mark two years of survivorship next February. He previously stated, “I expect to be around,” but 80-year-old Trebek did concede to Good Morning America earlier this week that if this treatment fails, he won’t undertake any more “extraordinary measures” to ensure his survival.

More of Trebek’s GMA interview is now circulating, and one particular bit has to do with his suggestion of a new host, should the unthinkable happen. He is very much kidding in making this call, but here it is: “I joke with the audience all the time and I say, ‘Betty White,’ because they want somebody younger, somebody funnier.”

White may be funnier, but she is equally beloved and, of course, 98 years young, and people already worry about her every time her name trends on Twitter. No one could probably handle the sight of her taking the podium, and naturally, no one wants to even think of Jeopardy! needing a replacement host at any point.

Meanwhile, Trebek has already revealed changes to the schedule, and he further noted here that the set has been revamped to “separate the contestants and myself a little bit more from them.” They’re also doing online Covid-19 testing for all contestants as the pandemic continues. Watch the latest GMA snippet with Trebek below.

The series finale is the most-discussed episode for many shows, but especially for The Sopranos, considering people are still talking, 13 years later, about what happened to Tony inside Holsten’s. All we know for sure is, those onion rings? Best in da state. Creator David Chase has started to open up about the final scene in the final episode of one of TV’s greatest shows (which has seen its popularity skyrocket during quarantine), but for years, he was hesitant to reveal too much about “Made in America,” not to mention sick of answering questions about the man in the Members Only jacket. So, it’s no wonder that his favorite scene from the episode doesn’t involve Journey.

“Something that nobody would care about was when they were going to the mattresses, there was a Twilight Zone episode playing about a TV writer,” Chase said during the Television Academy’s “Quaranstreaming: Comfort TV That Keeps Us Going” panel, via Entertainment Weekly. “That was one of my favorites. That Twilight Zone [“The Bard”], it was a critique and a slam of network television, and it was very funny.” He also highlighted the scene “with Junior at the end. I loved everything with Junior, especially in that episode. When Janice tells Junior, ‘Bobby’s dead,’ and Junior says, ‘Ambassador Hotel!’ And she says, ‘Your Bobby!’ That was one of my favorite moments.”

Focus on the good times, a wise man once said, like the time AJ tried to impressed a girl by playing her a Bob Dylan song, only for the car they’re in to catch on fire and explode.

Coincidentally, my favorite moment from the finale.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)