Month: April 2021

There are a lot of ways to make a margarita bad. You could use margarita mix or lemonade instead of orange liqueur. You could use a sweet and sour mix over fresh lime juice. You could pack it with ice and blend it.

…Okay, there’s a time and place for frozen margaritas, I guess. I’ll give you that. But my bigger point is that any and all of these techniques will speed up the process of making a margarita, but the result will be a mere echo of the real thing. It’ll likely be an overly sugary mess that lacks all of the depth and nuance of a true margarita, which isn’t even particularly complicated to make in the first place.

If you want a good cocktail, don’t use shortcuts. That’s the real thesis statement here. Especially when it comes to the ingredients, including the actual alcohol itself. But making a great margarita isn’t as simple as blindly reaching for the most expensive tequila you have (the pricy stuff is better for sipping anyway). You want to find flavors in the tequila that’ll mingle and transform the other ingredients. Most often, those will be blancos (or platas) or cristalinos, which highlight the vegetal nature of agave.

Today, we’re going to shout out some of our favorite bottles that will instantly elevate the quality of your margarita. Hopefully, these tequilas with help to ensure you and your friends are drinking the best homemade margaritas of your lives the second you feel comfortable gathering again. For the sake of consistency, we’ve used this recipe by our own master of drinks, Zach Johnston:

CLASSIC MARGARITA RECIPE

• 2-oz. tequila (plus a splash from the bottle)
• 1-oz. fresh lime juice
• 1-oz. orange liqueur (Cointreau is the standard and since we’re aiming for a great margarita, I’m going to suggest that.)
• Pinch of salt (about the size of a lentil between your fingers. If you’d rather salt the rim, go for it but that’s not necessary.)
• Lime wheel
• Ice

If you need to learn how to make a margarita, be sure to check that article here. Now, onto the bottles! Click the prices if you feel like ordering one or two for yourself!

Hiatus Blanco

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $49

The Tequila:

This award-winning tequila is made using a mix of traditional methods and modern technology and is produced by master distiller Luis Trejo Rodríguez at the famed La Cofradía distillery. La Cofradía sits on the edge of an extinct volcano and utilizes that porous foundation as a natural filter for the spring water used to create this ground to glass tequila from Jalisco’s Tequila Valley.

Tasting Notes:

Hiatus greets you with roasted agave and lemongrass on the nose, making way for a clean expression that leans on subtle notes of tropical fruit, citrus, and fresh agave, with a smooth mouthfeel that leaves the palate in an elegant manner.

Why We Love It In A Margarita:

This expression’s clean flavor profile lets the fresh lime juice in your margarita shine, with its earthy citrus and tropical notes helping to ground your orange liqueur of choice, adding a bit of grit to the sweetness. The end result is a smooth mouthfeel that presents bright and agave forward, with a depth of flavor that elevates the base ingredients.

El Tesoro Blanco

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $47.10

The Tequila:

El Tesoro’s Blanco tequila has been awarded the Gold Medal at the International Spirits Challenge and has also pulled a stunning 91 points at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge. We’re here to confirm that this tequila is every bit worthy of the hype. Made using blue weber agave grown on the Camarena estate in the highlands of Jalisco, El Tesoro’s Blanco is bottled immediately after distillation, which helps to capture some subtle floral notes and the brightness of the agave.

Tasting Notes:

Fresh agave and warm honey on the nose that gives way to a very vegetal tequila, balanced with some floral sweetness, white pepper, and the slightest hint of mint on the backend.

Why We Love It In A Margarita:

Agave forward, this expression’s biting pepper and green and grassy notes result in a highly aromatic margarita with a bouquet of smells that match its complex but direct flavor.

Don Ramon Platinium Cristalino Reposado

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $44

The Tequila:

The annoyingly named Casa Don Ramon Platinium — no that’s not a typo! — features cristalino versions of Casa Don Ramon’s blanco, reposado, and anejo expressions. Of the trio, the reposado is of another class entirely. Aged in American and French Oak barrels for four months, the filtration process used on this expression doesn’t completely remove all of the colors, giving this expression a pleasing light golden hay color that looks especially appetizing in your margarita.

Tasting Notes:

Robust tones of cooked agave greet you on the nose, making way for warm caramel and butterscotch notes on the palate that settles into a barely-there cinnamon and chocolate finish. Remarkably smooth and drinkable, with almost none of the bite you’d expect from a slightly aged reposado.

Why We Love It In A Margarita:

Aside from the warm and pleasing tone, it’ll color your margarita in a muted and appetizing way. Casa Don Ramon’s Cristalino Reposado supplies rich burnt dessert notes that shift between chocolate and maple — adding nuance to your otherwise bright and tropical margarita. That’s a depth of flavor that the blancos on this list can’t quite match.

Solento Organic Tequila Blanco

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $62.99

The Tequila:

This organic tequila is harvested in small batches from seven-year-old weber agave grown from a single estate in Amatitán Jalisco. The agave is then cooked for two full days in stone ovens before being pressed, and fermented in stainless steel tanks, and twice distilled.

Tasting Notes:

Incredibly pure, with notes of cooked agave and vanilla on the nose with a citrus-forward flavor and highly vegetal and natural aftertaste. You get a little burn of the alcohol here, but it’s unnoticeable in a margarita.

Why We Love It In A Margarita:

Incredibly pure and agave-focused, this tastes like what a margarita should taste like. Floral hints of jasmine and noticeable sweetness from the agave bring out the subtleties of the orange liqueur, providing a citrus finish that underscores the zest of lime oil and the tartness of the juice.

We know we’re working with a base recipe here, but this begs for a floated shot of Grand Mariner.

Espolon Reposado

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $26.99

The Tequila:

Espolon’s Reposado expression is crafted using the brand’s Blanco tequila made from 100% Blue Weber Agave, which is then rested in lightly charred New American oak barrels, creating a deep and complex character that is much louder and more pronounced than the aforementioned Casa Don Ramon Cristalino Reposado.

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, you’re gently greeted with heavy hits of oak and cooked agave with a slight caramel candy sweetness. Notes of vanilla and spice awaken the palate, with a pronounced lingering spiced finish that continues to dance on the tongue between sips, pulling you in for more.

Why We Love It In A Margarita:

For the most part, we’ve kept this list to blanco expressions, as their bright agave-forward qualities lend themselves nicely to our simple margarita recipe, but if you’re looking for a deep and complex margarita with an appetizing dusty brown presentation, Espolon has got you covered. Here notes of caramel and vanilla are instantly infused into your margarita, giving it a luxurious mouthfeel and flavor that matches nicely with the more advanced Cadillac Margarita, without the need for Grand Mariner.

Partida Blanco

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $39.99

The Tequila:

Made from blue weber agave harvested at peak maturity from Jalisco’s Tequila Valley, Partida’s Blanco presents itself with a crystal clear appearance and a nicely balanced aroma and flavor.

Tasting Notes:

Highly vegetal with a pleasing earthy aroma that makes way for a flavor highly dominated by citrus and tropical fruits.

Why We Love It In A Margarita:

Partida Blanco is our choice for a sense-enticing mid-spring marg. It brings the citrus notes of your margarita to the forefront and bathes them in gentle kisses of sharp lemongrass, gentle tropical fruit, and warm cooked agave.

Patrón Reposado

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $54.99

The Tequila:

Patrón Reposado is easily the brand’s best core expression for margaritas — with a fresh honey-tinged agave aroma and a light hay color imparted from its three to five months of barrels aging.

Tasting Notes:

Oakey with heavy notes of fresh agave, nutmeg, and citrus with that distinct Patron honey taste at the finish

Why We Love It In A Margarita:

Complex without imparting too much of its oaky barrel-aged flavor into your margarita, this honey-toned tequila will bring out flavors of fresh peach and tinge your margarita with a subtle floral quality that mingles nicely with the more tart lime flavors.

21 Seeds Cucumber Jalapeño

ABV: 35%-39%

Average Price: $33.99

The Tequila:

I’m not one who ever reaches for flavor-infused alcohol, those bottles have their place on your bar cart but usually as an added ingredient meant to add a little something extra to your cocktails. But 21 Seeds’ flavored tequilas are in a different class. You won’t find an overly candied mix here, instead, the flavors are surprisingly natural. Not quite as complex and interesting as your own fresh jalapeño infused tequila would be, but considerably less work!

Tasting Notes:

The flavors of cucumber and jalapeño are neutral here, existing mostly on the nose making way for a highly vegetal and grassy green tequila that adds a lot of interesting spice on the finish, but not enough to turn off the spice-averse. A good starter tequila for those who are interested in the complexity of a spiced cocktail, but are too scared to take the leap.

Why We Love It In A Margarita:

If you’re getting good mileage out of our base margarita recipe but want a little something extra to liven up the palate, 21 Seeds Cucumber and Jalapeño infused tequila is an easy tool to utilize to add a nice hit of spice to your classic cocktail.

As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive a commission pursuant to certain items on this list.

The revival/reboot/belated sequel train has finally come for The Flintstones. Animation’s first prime time show has mostly laid dormant for a while. The last time it was plundered for the big and small screen was for two live-action movies in the ‘90s and early aughts, one starring John Goodman and Rick Moranis as Fred and Barney, the other with The Full Monty’s Mark Addy and lesser Baldwin brother Stephen. (A Seth MacFarlane reboot from a decade ago never came to fruition.) But now it’s coming back, not as a movie but as an animated series. And it’s all thanks to Elizabeth Banks.

The actress, director, and producer was recently announced as the director of a film called Cocaine Bear, which sounds genuinely very interesting. But she’ll find some time to bring back the prehistoric family with Bedrock, which has been picked up as a mash-up between Warner Bros. and Fox. And it won’t be a simple reboot. Instead it’s a sequel, set a bit of time after the original show, which began in 1960. Here is how Deadline describes it:

Bedrock will follow the Flintstone family two decades after the original, with Fred on the brink of retirement and 20-something Pebbles embarking on her own career. As the Stone Age gives way to a shiny and enlightened new Bronze Age, the residents of Bedrock will find this evolution harder than a swing from Bamm-Bamm’s club.

So you’ll get to see an older, grayer Fred Flinstone, as well as an all-grown-up Bamm-Bamm. Will Fred be all reactionary and against change — an Archie Bunker who’s now prejudiced against dinosaurs? Whatever happens, a Warner exec promised Deadline it would “rock,” then added, “sorry.”

(Via Deadline)

A gay teen taking pictures at his senior prom was ridiculed by a man on Saturday outside of the Harpeth Hotel in downtown Franklin, Tennessee. Dalton Stevens, a senior at Franklin High, was having a photoshoot with his boyfriend, college freshman Jacob Geittman, when they were verbally accosted by a man later identified as Sam Johnson, 46.

Geittman claims that Johnson got into Stevens’ face as they were taking photos. This part of the incident was not captured on video.

“This man comes up and he’s about an inch away from my boyfriend and he says, ‘What are you wearing?’ And he’s like, ‘A dress, why?’ And he’s like, ‘Why are you wearing that? You shouldn’t be wearing that,'” Geitmann said according to WVNews.

Stevens said that Johnson then began hurling homophobic slurs at him.

“Slander terms thrown towards me of like ‘you look bad,’ ‘you’ve got hair on your chest, you shouldn’t be wearing a dress,’ ‘you’re not a man,’ blah, blah, blah,” Stevens said. “The fact that he thought he had the audacity to come tell me what I was supposed to wear, and what I was supposed to do because of his standards.”

Did Johnson really think that the young gay couple cared to hear his thoughts on fashion?

In the video, Johnson can be seen trailing the teens with a condescending smirk on his face saying, “You look like an idiot,” even though the couple told him to stop.

“I’m sorry, I’m gorgeous,” Stevens says in the video. “Are you?” Johnson responded.

Towards the end of the clip, Johnson can be seen taking a swipe at Geittman’ss phone and demanding that he stop filming him. In a later video, Geittman claims that Johnson knocked the phone out of his hand and that he was “pretty obviously drunk.”

Stevens decided to wear a dress to prom because he wanted to make a bold statement and because he views clothing as “genderless.”

After the video was posted online it quickly went viral after being shared by comedian Kathy Griffin, actor Billy Porter, and musician Richard Marx. Porter’s support for the teens is wonderful given his history of making controversial fashion choices. He wore a dress to the Academy Awards two years ago to challenge to the Academy’s rigid black-tie dress code.

Griffin took no prisoners in her support for the teens. In her tweet she named Johnson, saying, “It seems like he’s dying to be online famous.” The video received 9.7 likes and over 4,000 shares.

Griffin’s support rallied countless people around the teens.

It didn’t take long for Johnson to face consequences for taunting the teenagers with homophobic slurs. On Monday, he lost his job as the CEO of Visuwell, a telemedicine company.

“Visuwell’s culture emphasizes respect, kindness, and compassion, especially for those from traditionally marginalized communities, and we maintain a zero-tolerance policy for intolerance of any kind,” a statement posted to Twitter reads.

“Mr. Johnson’s actions contradicted the high standards we set for ourselves in promoting the health of those who use our platform,” the statement continued.

Johnson responded to the incident by claiming that the confrontation was not about the dress, but the “obnoxious, loud behavior by this group of teens.” He said he approached them because they were shouting obscenities around families and children.

Johnson’s homophobic behavior in front of the teens was disturbing, to say the least. It also showed an incredible lack of self-awareness. Why would anyone behave that way when they know they’re being filmed? It’s 2021, you’re going to go viral in the worst way possible.

Kudos to Kathy Griffin, Billy Porter, and Richard Marx for jumping in and supporting the young couple by using their platform to expose those who threaten the LGBTQ community. Hopefully, this will make people like Johnson think twice before attempting to intimidate teenagers simply for dressing how they want.

A lot of older — even not that much older — shows and movies probably don’t age too well. That’s to say that their politics, the things they depict, sometimes glowingly, wouldn’t pass muster in today’s more critical, more sensitive climate, leading to things like warnings on streaming services. Take a show as recent as Entourage. It’s only been a decade since the adventures of Adrien Grenier’s Vincent Chase and posse ended their eight season run on HBO. And even its creator, Doug Ellin, knows it. And he’s not happy about it.

“I resent it tremendously,” Ellin told Yahoo! Entertainment, about the modern reception his still pretty newish show, which regularly depicted the conquests of four thirsty, straight men, modeled after Mark Wahlberg and his own gang. The problem, as Ellin sees it? It’s what he called the “wave of righteous PC culture” that has taken over the industry, forcing it to reckon even with stuff as recent as Entourage. But he feels people have singled his show out:

“Nobody says that about The Sopranos, where they murder people, that maybe we should readdress whether murdering people on TV is OK,” he notes. “I don’t want to sound obnoxious or that I’m looking at Entourage as high art, but it was a pretty accurate portrayal of how people [acted] at that time in Hollywood.”

He also blames “PC culture” for the fact that Entourage hasn’t received the reboot/revival treatment, as so many other HBO faves have — including The Sopranos, which is soon to get a prequel movie. It even cost him, he claims, a show with Michael Imperioli, Michael Rapaport, and Ed Burns, which filmed a pilot that never got picked up. “Whether they thought it was good or not, I earned my chance to have a second shot, and they put some other pretty crappy shows on [instead].”

Ellin does defend the show. “I don’t think Entourage was this vulgar boyfest that people like to paint it as now,” he told Yahoo! Entertainment. “When we came out, The New York Times said we were the smartest show on television! If we did reboot the show, it’s not that I would make it any more PC, but I would write it to the best of my abilities to reflect the reality of the world right now.”

There was that Entourage movie, back in 2015, which was neither a hit nor led to more misadventures with Vincent and company. But despite his feelings about how Entourage is received today — and despite his feelings about HBO — he makes it clear that he’s “ready to bring back” the show, although, they note, “HBO hasn’t asked.”

But should they bring it back, they could address cancel culture — perhaps by having the gang get cancelled. When asked which of the group would go, Ellin had an answer: Drama, the older C-list celebrity played by Kevin Dillon, “would clearly be the guy who wouldn’t understand why he got canceled.”

(Via Yahoo! Entertainment)

The pandemic Oscars had its viral moments; esteemed thespian Glenn Close dancing to “Da Butt” just about justified its existence. But they were a ratings disaster. Very few tuned in to watch a ceremony fêting films most people hadn’t seen, and the reviews, while not savage, have not been kind. But if you were wondering what America’s very opinionated 45th president thought about it, you’re, finally, in luck.

Donald Trump can’t tweet anymore — because he was banned for life in part for inspiring fans to commit federal crimes by storming the U.S. capitol in a failed insurrection attempt — so the former rage-tweeter’s musings were delivered by way of one of his surreal press releases in which his splutterings are placed below official-looking letterhead. But make no mistake, he had some thoughts.

“What used to be called The Academy Awards, and now is called the “Oscars” — a far less important and elegant name — had the lowest Television Ratings in recorded history, even much lower than last year, which set another record low,” the former commander-in-chief wrote. “If they keep with the current ridiculous formula, it will only get worse — if that’s possible.”

But he wasn’t just kicking them while they’re down. He had some helpful advice:

“Go back 15 years, look at the formula they used, change the name back to THE ACADEMY AWARDS, don’t be so politically correct and boring, and do it right. ALSO, BRING BACK A GREAT HOST. These television people spend all their time thinking about how to promote the Democrat Party, which is destroying our Country, and cancel Conservatives and Republicans. That formula certainly hasn’t worked well for The Academy!”

For the record, they’re still called The Academy Awards. They have two names, which everyone uses interchangeably, depending on if they’re feeling formal or casual. (For instance, “Academy Awards” takes up a lot of headline space.) Moreover, perhaps his call to bring back hosts would be better received if it wasn’t paired with some canned business about cancel culture.

Trump recently said he enjoys these press releases more than tweeting, which was a line not a lot of people bought. They certainly only get shared when some people are making fun of them.

Although one person had a good — if outside-the-box — idea on how to address one of his solutions.

Although domestic travel around the U.S. is rapidly awakening from a long slumber, global travel options are still pretty scarce. International travel remains up in the air as the pandemic continues in many parts of the world, especially those where vaccines have not yet penetrated. That leaves hungry travelers with (mostly) local options, which means 2021 might be the summer for the ultimate road trip.

To that end, we reached out to some travel pros to find out their ideal summer road trip stops, both in the United States and beyond. While spontaneity is typically a key piece of the iconic road trip experience, planning ahead is vital in our current situation. National parks have reservation systems for day use, much less camping. Some Indigenous Nations still have closed borders, meaning you may have to find routes around (this is especially pertinent when traveling in the Southwest). And with a lot of people frothing to get out there on that open road, hotels, Airbnbs, and campsites are getting booked up now — particularly in high-demand national parks and destinations around the country.

With all of that in mind, the recommendations below are just that, “recommendations.” You’ll need to do your research, plan for contingencies, check on local conditions, and interrogate for yourself whether a destination is ready for your visit. Now… onto the experts!

The Blue Ridge Parkway — Erin McGrady

The Road Trip:

If you’re anywhere east of the Mississippi, my top pick for a cool road trip this summer is The Blue Ridge Parkway, especially the section near Asheville, North Carolina. But I’m biased because I live here.

The Place To Stay:

I’ve always wanted to stay at Asheville Glamping. I keep meaning to make a stay-cation out of it but haven’t done so yet. But I’ve heard and seen really cool things about the place.

The One Can’t-Miss Experience:

One thing you’ve got to do while you’re here is to check out a sunrise or sunset from an overlook along the Parkway. That, and get a beer at any one of the awesome breweries in town. There are so many to pick from. A few of my favorites are Wedge Brewing Co., Burial Beer Co., Wicked Weed, and Zillicoah Beer Co.

Pacific Coast, San Francisco to Seattle — Joe Sills

The Road Trip:

Ditch the crowds at Big Sur for a more rugged experience on the north route of U.S. 101. This roughly 1,000-mile journey along the coast is bookended by two cities brimming with food and music, while the road itself takes travelers through one of the more remote coastal regions in the country. Towering redwoods, breaching whales, and nearly endless views of powerful Pacific surf have lodged this route in my dreams since the onset of the pandemic.

NorCal and Oregon south of the Umpqua are particularly perfect places to stroll over the sands unbothered — while you’re hopped up on Dutch Bros. Coffee, whose tiny stands of caffeinated hype populate the outposts of civilization along the way.

The Places to Stay:

You can Airbnb or glamp your way up the coast, but few feelings compare to early mornings beneath the redwoods, in the rainforest, or along the beach. Try booking a campsite at California’s Humboldt Redwoods State Park, Oregon’s Sunset Bay State Park, and Pacific Beach State Park before soaking in temperate rainforest hot springs at Sol Duc Hot Springs Campground in Olympic National Park.

The One Can’t-Miss Experience:

Cape Flattery at Neah Bay: This cliffside trail on the tribal lands of the Makah is a short but unforgettable immersion into a land that time seems to have forgotten. Make time to spend a few hours soaking in the sea spray, wildlife, and foliage in this deeply impactful place.

Calgary to Jasper, Alberta — Andrew Gunadie

The Road Trip:

With the Rocky Mountains, turquoise-blue rivers and lakes, and wildlife sightings at every turn, Alberta, Canada is built for road trips. One of my favorites is the journey from Calgary to Jasper, passing through Banff, Lake Louise, and the Icefields Parkway along the way.

The Place To Stay:

Halfway through your journey, spend a night at Glacier View Lodge, an all-inclusive hotel that offers a VIP experience that includes a tour of the Athabasca Glacier, stargazing, and incredible dining on-site. Add a stop at the Columbia Icefield Skywalk with a glass-bottom platform if you dare!

The One Can’t-Miss Experience:

Once you arrive in Jasper, you’ve got to spend a day at Maligne Lake, a 45-minute drive away. Take a boat cruise or canoe out to Spirit Island, one of the most iconic and picturesque (not to mention sacred) locations in Canada. Wrap up your day with a meal at The View Restaurant which has one of the most stunning patios in Jasper.

Baja California, México — Noami Grevemberg

The Road Trip:

Once the majority of us are fully vaccinated and travel restrictions have lifted, a mass of people will be taking to the skies to hit their favorite quarantine-longed-for vacation spots. Crowded airports, surging airfare, and tightly-packed tourist destinations will make an epic road trip even more enticing.

Baja is an incredible destination for those looking to escape the winter chill, but a summer road trip and food tour down the peninsula, with fewer travelers and near-empty beaches, is certain to shake off the post-quarantine blues. Winding one-lane roads, epic views of the empty coastline, white sandy beaches, giant cacti, and sleepy fishing villages — no matter how many times we’ve made the trip down, we keep going back for more.

The Place To Stay:

One of the best parts of a Baja road trip is driving through miles and miles of giant cacti. As you make your way down through Baja Norte, hours after the highway leaves the coast, you’ll find yourself in Cataviña, nestled right in the middle of the peninsula. Spend a night camped in this magical desert and you might think you’ve woken up on another planet, with towering saguaro and giant cardón cacti (the largest cactus in the world), scattered amongst massive boulders and gigantic rock formations.

The One Can’t-Miss Experience:

Continuing south, after crossing the checkpoint into Baja Sur, you’ll arrive in Guerro Negro. First stop, Tacos El Muelle. This unassuming food truck is run by incredibly friendly locals serving up some of the most mouth-watering fish and shrimp tacos this side of the Gulf. The next stop as you make your way down the peninsula is El Rey Del Taco in Loreto. Get your fix of pescado y camarón, but don’t miss out on the tender cabeza y lengua tacos. Google says they’re open from nine to three, but trust me, you’ll want to get there early, they close whenever they run out of the day’s catch. When you finally make it down to the cape, stop at Fish Tacos Santo Chilote in Todos Santos and order the el molcajete for a meal you’ll never forget.

Once you’ve eaten your fill, head over to Cerritos beach and rent a surfboard and take lessons from a local surfer. Or make your way east to Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park for epic diving and snorkeling along the oldest coral reef on the west coast of North America.

Iceland’s Ring Road — Kinga Philipps

The Road Trip:

Iceland’s entire Ring Road … all the way around. It’s the motherload of changing landscapes from glaciers and icebergs to whale watching, hot pot thermal pools, sweeping canyons, fiords, rugged beaches, volcanos, more waterfalls than you thought you could see in a lifetime, and a continental divide you can dive. Late April is a great time as it offers good driving conditions, great scenery, and no crowds. Plus, Iceland is open to tourists with some common-sense requirements for arrival.

The Place To Stay:

We rented a van from Kuku Campers to have the ultimate freedom to roam. It’s also a wonderfully affordable option as Iceland is expensive for hotels and meals. The van comes with a camp kitchen so you can cook your meals and campgrounds are plentiful.

The One Can’t-Miss Experience:

Skip the overrated Blue Lagoon and instead source GPS coordinates for “hot pots,” which are natural hot springs. You can find these on blogs. Many of them are remote and off the beaten path in spectacular settings. In ten days we found about 12 of them and never once had to share.

Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountain Range — Mike Schibel

The Road Trip:

The Eastern Sierras is absolutely one of the most spectacular places in the world with a fascinating history and breathtaking beauty. Using highway 395 as a road map there are many options to camp, hike, fish, and swim. Not to mention ghost towns and lively small towns to sample local delights. Anyone looking for an adventure needs to hit these open roads. There are hikes for all experience levels, plenty of lakes to jump in, and multiple hot springs to soak in. What else do you need?

The Place To Stay:

I prefer to sleep outdoors camping or vanlife under the stars. Camping near Rock Creek Lake at East Fork or Big Meadow campgrounds is my favorite. Both are located on Rock Creek, a perfect spot for a morning or afternoon dip. Big Meadow is all first-come sites where East Fork does have several spots you can reserve ahead of time.

The One Can’t-Miss Experience:

Jumping in a lake anywhere in the Eastern Sierra is a must and so is dipping in a hot spring. Wild Willys is a popular hot spring and can get crowded. If you venture north on 395, Travertine hot springs are five minutes off the highway and a perfect place to soak.

Denver, CO to Santa Fe, NM — Emily Hart

The Road Trip:

If I’m not road tripping to a National Park, I’m probably headed to New Mexico. “What’s in New Mexico?” my friends often ask. “Why do you always go there?” “I thought it was just a barren desert.” It is magic, I tell them. Just magic. One of the first solo trips I went on after moving to the Colorado front range was to Santa Fe. It’s a route I still travel multiple times a year, and it’s always just as beautiful as the last time.

I start on Highway 285 heading south from Denver, traveling through the high country of Fairplay (South Park City), Buena Vista, and Salida. A short detour to the east and you’re in Great Sand Dunes National Park, then I continue on into New Mexico towards Taos. Spend some time enjoying the culture and vibe in Taos, then head on the low or high road to Santa Fe. The low road hugs the scenic Rio Grande, while the high road winds through historic villages, art galleries, and the famous Chimayó chapel.

Once you’re in Santa Fe you can head back north towards Abiquiu (Georgia O’Keeffe country), the hot springs around Jemez, Bandelier National Monument, and Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument are all great spots for a half-day or day trip from Santa Fe.

The Place To Stay:

There are so many options on this route: from the cabins of Mt. Princeton Hot Springs outside of Buena Vista to the many casitas to rent in Santa Fe. Northern New Mexico — and especially Taos — is full of vintage trailer rentals, yurts, and even a community of Earth Ships (its world headquarters are conveniently located just outside the city).

The One Can’t-Miss Experience:

I always recommend driving to Abiquiu on your way to or from Santa Fe to visit the otherworldly rock formations. Plaza Blanca (the White Place) is a free privately-owned natural area with trails that take you within the most beautiful white rock formations. It is on the property of Dar Al Islam and generally open to the public.

Just further down is Ghost Ranch, a retreat and education center that offers trail rides, hiking, museums, and nightly cabin rentals. Chimney Rock Trail is a favorite, with views that rival any National Park.

Cascade Loop, Washington State — Zach Johnston

The Road Trip:

While I like to go on and on about the Olympic Peninsula, Washington State has another great loop road. The Cascade Loop starts off in Seattle on the Salish Sea and heads north and eventually east on Highway 20. The road takes you deep into the Cascade mountains and through North Cascades National Park (one of the most underrated national parks, in my humble opinion). The road travels through high alpine mountains and meadows and then dips into the high desert, grasslands, and the lush Columbia River as you take Highway 155 south. Finally, you start heading back west towards Seattle on Highway 2, passing through the Wenatchee River Valley, Leavenworth, and more alpine wonder in the Cascade range.

Over the course of a few days, you’ll hit seaside beaches, alpine meadows, farmland as far as the eye can see, arid desert, and rolling grassland. Oh, and mountain after mountain peak with a few volcanoes thrown in too. You cannot beat this route as a road trip.

The Place To Stay:

Camping really is the way to go. Book ahead with services like Recreation.gov to find the spots that work for your trip.

Though, I’d argue that it’d be worth spending a night in Leavenworth (there are plenty of accommodation options at every level). It’s a very unique Germanic Alpine village with a crazy amount of charm, great beerhalls, plenty of trails, and white water runs on the Wenatchee River.

The One Can’t-Miss Experience:

At the intersection of Highway 155 and Highway 2, you’ll find one of the coolest geological sites in America. Dry Falls used to be five times bigger than Niagra Falls — it was 3.5 miles wide and 400-feet tall at its biggest drop. That is, it a massive fall that’s well, dry. The lack of water creates a dramatic canyon landscape. Overall, it’s one of those places that makes you feel small as you ponder what a waterfall this huge must of been like to behold, and how deafening it must have been as all that water roared past.

Editors Pick: The North Shore Of Oahu — Steve Bramucci

The Road Trip:

This isn’t your typical road trip entry, but it’s one I adore nonetheless. The entire drive around the island of Oahu is a joy, but I could drive the North Shore’s famed “Seven Mile Miracle” every day for the rest of my life and never get tired. If you’re looking for more clear parameters to your route, let’s say: Haleiwa to Laie. That’s 29 miles… what’s the minimum for a road trip? 30? Can we round up?

(More realistically, you’ll likely be embarking from Honolulu which makes it 50 miles and if you really want to do the whole thing right you’ll also tie in a trip to the isolated Makaha Valley on the West Coast, plus tack on some East Coast meandering. That turns the whole adventure into a more traditional multi-day road trip.)

Anywayyyyy, the point is that Oahu’s North Shore is both A) one of the planet’s true natural wonders and B) a place where you most certainly need some sort of transport (a bike at the very least). Because there’s no one “beach” — there are dozens to enjoy. The most famous among these is Pipeline, the most widely-known surf break on the planet. But if you even want to watch the action there you’ll want to fuel up with a shrimp truck plate lunch first and that takes a little getting to.

See? It’s a road trip!

There is endless debate about which truck is best and plenty who say, “they’re all mostly the same.” This is nonsense. Loyalty is valued highly on the North Shore and picking your shrimp truck falls under that header. I personally dig on Giovanni’s — with its tagged-up truck and serious emphasis on garlic. You can certainly take my word, but if you love shrimp and garlic, you should try a few and discover where your own loyalties lie.

Not sure how I got so sidetracked about shrimp, but have we talked about surfing yet? If Pipe is breaking at all and you don’t know FOR DEAD CERTAIN that you belong there, it means you definitely don’t belong there. That’s not a “you flew here, we grew here” a localism thing, I mean it as an “if you aren’t good enough to surf a certain wave, you can seriously endanger yourself and others”-thing. Better to watch at Pipe (unless it’s flat) and mosey down the road a little to surf Turtle Bay (at the Turtle Bay Resort) — one of my favorite waves that can still hold size while also being one of the breeziest takeoffs on the North Shore.

Meaning your chance of coming up from a pummeling with coral in your thigh like Aldous Snow in Forgetting Sarah Marshall is slim (though this is the break and resort where they based that scene!).

Okay, we’ve gone off on another aside here. This is why the Seven Mile Miracle is such a perfect road trip destination — there are endless asides, countless beaches to visit, so many damn surf breaks, hikes, climbs, cliff jumps, and tons of hearty food to help you fuel your adventures.

The Place To Stay:

Malaekahana Beach Campground offers some of the cheapest and best accommodations along the North Shore for intrepid souls. Great place to park your van, if you’re doing the vanlife thing. In fact, I’d say you should just fully live out of the van for a few days without leaving the site (okay, maybe leave to get more shrimp and plate lunches).

If you save money through your trip and are ready to splurge, Turtle Bay Resort, famously featured in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, is undergoing a massive renovation post-COVID that will tie the property more thoroughly than ever to both its Indigenous Hawaiian heritage and the legacy of North Shore surfing. I’ve seen the photos of the new bungalows and… if you have the means, they are sure to provide a truly decadent travel experience, with the beach literally at your doorstep.

Turtle Bay is slated to reopen on July 1st.

The One Can’t-Miss Experience:

I would say surfing, but if you don’t surf, Honolulu is a better place to learn to surf from scratch. Instead, I’ll vote that you go to Waimea Bay on a mellow day and jump off the rocks into the water. Or maybe the “can’t miss” should be food-related? Get a brekky burrito at Kono’s Haleiwa and there’s at least a 50-50 chance you’re waiting for your pulled pork gut bomb next to a pro surfer. Then grab some pie from Ted’s Bakery, another gem. Or you could head down to Laie and get the moko loco from the Hukilau Cafe, which was used often in the movie 50 First Dates.

Okay, final answer — let’s bring it back where we started: Go to Pipeline. Not to surf, but to soak in the scene. To bask in the vibe of the most beautiful people in the world gathering together on a single beach to see some of the best athletes alive do their thing. It’s a wild scene and a fun one. A definite “can’t-miss” experience, especially if there’s a contest on or the waves are firing.

Cruel Summer (Freeform, 9:00pm) — This new series heads into Week Two. The story goes down in the 1990s and follows the aftermath of a popular teen going missing. When a seemingly unrelated shy student suddenly becomes massively popular, well, things look pretty strange. This week, Jeanette’s reckless behavior is fueling concerns from family and friends.

Fatma. (Netflix series) — An ordinary-seeming cleaning lady goes searching for her missing husband and inadvertently ends up murdering someone. Subsequently, she becomes a killer while no one is the wiser. Yessir, it’s always the quiet ones.

Young Rock (NBC, 8:00pm) — Dwayne suffers a college-football setback due to a devastating injury, and wondering if dreaming big and hard work might all be a waste (it most certainly is not).

Kenan (NBC, 8:30pm) — The Annual Atlanta hair show has arrived, and Kenan is feeling all of the pressure due to reminders that this was dear to Cori’s heart.

Philly D.A. (PBS, 9:00pm) — The D.A.’s resolved is tested by the murder of a cop, and this could lead Krasner to actually seek the death penalty.

Prodigal Son (FOX 9:00pm) — Malcolm’s trying to stay away from Martin, but Jessica’s not playing the same game while digging into the past for her tell-all book.

Black-ish (ABC 9:00pm) — A discussion about relationship deal-breakers leads Dre to realize that he’s given up too much in life.

Mixed-ish (ABC 9:30pm) — Paul gives Harrison dating advice (after he’s spotted out with a love interest) that goes haywire while Alicia is feeling insecure.

Supergirl (CW, 9:00pm) — Supergirl must be saved from the Phantom Zone, and time-travel’s got something to do with the cure. What does this have to do with Kara’s home in 2009?

Mayans M.C. (FX, 10:00pm) — This biker drama’s in a darker third gear with club members wrestling with various personal and professional demons. This week, Miguel uncovers information related to Dita’s death, and he’s disturbed.

Chad (TBS, 10:30pm) — This comedy takes a similar approach to Hulu’s PEN15 with SNL veteran Nasim Pedrad taking on the title role, that of a 14-year-old boy, and this week, Chad joins the Asian Appreciation Club and discovers K-Pop.

The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon — Michael Che, Roger Daltrey, Nicki Nicole; Lunay

Late Night With Seth Meyers — Ed Helms, Michelle Buteau, Sen. Jon Tester

In case you missed this pick last Tuesday:

Sasquatch (Hulu series) — So officially, this is a documentary series, although the Duplass Brothers are behind the project, so you gotta know that the show’s approach will be anything but straightforward. The series promises to dig into a gruesome triple homicide that was allegedly carried out by Bigfoot back in the 1990s. Investigative journalist David Holthouse promises to tell the craziest story that he’s ever heard, even after his undercover dives into Nazi groups and violent gangs. He heads back to the Redwoods (and the infamous Emerald Triangle) in search of the truth about those homicides, and somehow, there’s a bunch of cannabis involved, and that could directly be tied to the murders? This title arrives on April 20, so that (and the tone of the trailer, with distorted voices and a purposefully over-dramatic approach) probably tells us a lot.

Elissa Mielke is no stranger to the music industry. After growing up in Canada and leaning into the Toronto music scene (she even starred in one of The Weeknd’s videos), Mielke moved to LA in 2019 and began focusing on her own musical journey. She spent the last two years writing and recording music, and Mielke is finally ready to unveil her aptly-titled EP Finally.

On Tuesday, Mielke returned to share a new lyric video to her acoustic ballad “Trying.” The visual came pared with a first look at the singer’s Finally cover art, as well as the EP’s official release date, which is slated for mid-June.

In a previous statement about the EP and her songwriting process, Mielke wrote:

“Writing songs has helped me navigate, survive and gloop through so many strange, dark, or confusing times. Even when I’ve been deeply discouraged about finding ways to share my music, grieving, struggling through isolation (or one of 3 concussions-oops!), sitting at a piano always makes some invisible thing click, heal, clarify. I can often address my inner critic with clarity through music in a way I can’t otherwise, and through writing I can dialogue with fear instead of running away. […] These songs already did what they needed to for me, so now I just hope that listening to any songs I put out in the future offers you any feeling of what making them offers me.”

Check out the Finally EP’s cover art below and watch Mielke’s “Trying” lyric video above.

Finally is out 6/11 via Slashie/Mom + Pop. Pre-order it here.

A week ago, a jury in Minneapolis found former police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all three charges — second degree murder, third degree murder, and second degree manslaughter — for killing George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nearly nine minutes. For NBA players, who had spent last summer leading and participating in protests following the murder of Floyd, the response was mostly one of relief, that finally a guilty verdict had been handed down to an officer filmed on camera killing a Black citizen.

As many noted, far too often the officers involved in such incidents get lesser charges or walk altogether, which only further exemplifies the way the system is built to fail Black Americans. For Chauvin to be convicted provided less a sense of victory than a sense that finally some accountability was handed down — many, including LeBron James and Karl-Anthony Towns, made sure to note this was accountability, not justice, as justice would’ve been George Floyd being alive and getting his day in court for any alleged criminal activity, rather than being murdered in the street.

On Tuesday, an interview with NBA commissioner Adam Silver was published by Time, in which he was asked for his reaction to the Chauvin verdict.

“I had a sense of pride in our system,” Silver said. “It was an opportunity for me to reflect and realize that there’s a reason why, despite its flaws, our country is so special and unique and great. Here was a tragedy that played out on video for the American public, but with an ultimate outcome that at least people could say, as terrible as this killing was, we do have a system we can believe in, where justice is meted out fairly.”

For the commissioner of a league that has had players step up to be such vocal leaders in calling for systemic change to say this provided him a “sense of pride in our system,” is simply a major misstep on his part. You could say there was a sense of relief or even happiness that there was finally accountability handed down for such an action, but to say it means we have a “system we can believe in” when players have been pointing out regularly how that is far from the case simply misses the mark for what this comment should’ve been. A system where an officer murders someone and is then convicted of murder is still a system with major flaws, because a functional system — a system that everyone can believe in — is one where brutality and violence from the state doesn’t disproportionately impact a portion of the population.

Experimental UK group Squid have a new album Bright Green Field dropping next week, and they’ve previewed it previously with singles like “Paddling.” Now they’re back with another advance look at the record before it drops next week (on May 7), returning with “Pamphlets.” The 8-minute track establishes a quick and consistent pace early before embarking on a frenetic post-punk journey.

Squid drummer and lyricist Ollie Judge says of the song, “It’s about all the rubbish right-wing propaganda you get through your front door. It imagines a person with that as their only source of news being taken over by these pamphlets.”

The band also previously said of their upcoming album, “This is the debut album we’ve always wanted to make and without a doubt the most ambitious thing we’ve ever done. We can’t wait for you to hear the whole thing. And especially to be able to play it to you in person…….”

Listen to “Pamphlets” above. Squid has also announced their first-ever US tour, so find all of their upcoming dates below.

09/07 — Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2
09/09 — Bristol, UK @ Marble Factory
09/10 — Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall
09/23 — London, UK @ Printworks
09/24 — Birmingham, UK @ The Crossing
09/25 — Nottingham, UK @ Rock City
09/27 — Newcastle, UK @ NUSU
09/28 — Glasgow, UK @ SW3
09/29 — Belfast, UK @ Empire
09/30 — Dublin, IE @ Button Factory
10/03 — Cardiff, UK @ Tramshed
10/04 — Southampton, UK @ 1865
10/05 — Exeter, UK @ The Phoenix
10/07 — Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
10/08 — Brussels, BE @ Botanique
10/09 — Paris, FR @ Trabendo
10/11 — Cologne, DE @ Bumann & Sohn
10/12 — Hamburg, DE @ Molotow Skybar
10/15 — Malmo, SE @ Plan B
10/16 — Stockholm, SE @ Melodybox
10/18 — Berlin, DE @ Berghain Kantine
10/19 — Prague, CZ @ Underdogs’
10/21 — Munich, DE @ Heppel & Ettlich
10/23 — Zurich, CH @ Bogen F
10/24 — Düdingen, CH @ Bad Bonn
10/25 — Milan, IT @ Magnolia
10/25 — Bologna, IT @ Locomotiv
10/28 — Barcelona, ES @ Upload
10/29 — Madrid, ES @ Independence
10/30 — Vigo, ES @ Masterclub
11/09 — Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
11/10 — New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
11/12 — Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern
11/13 — Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
11/17 — Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge
11/19 — Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room
11/20 — San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
11/22 — Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
11/23 — Seattle, WA @ Crocodile

Bright Green Field is out 5/7 via Warp Records. Pre-order it here.