Month: May 2022

If you’re not familiar with Chef José Andrés or his World Central Kitchen (WCK), you’re about to find out why the Spanish chef has become a beloved example of the best of humanity.

Chef Andrés founded WCK in 2010, a nonprofit organization that runs toward disaster and organizes people on the ground to make sure that those impacted by disaster are fed. Since then, he and his crew have shown up in the aftermath of tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and other natural disasters, as well as places where communities have an immediate need for other reasons, such as viral pandemics and wars.

The idea for WCK came from Andrés and his wife Patricia, who decided that when people are hungry, you send in cooks. Not tomorrow, but today.

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“Food relief is not just a meal that keeps hunger away,” Andrés shares on the WCK website. “It’s a plate of hope. It tells you in your darkest hour that someone, somewhere, cares about you. This is the real meaning of comfort food. It’s why we make the effort to cook in a crisis.”

It’s practically impossible not to fall in love with Chef Andrés when you hear about his dedication to helping people. The passion and sincerity with which he talks about changing the world is infectious.

Andrés joined director Ron Howard on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” to talk about Howard’s documentary film about the work of WCK. It’s called “We Feed People” and will premiere on Disney+ on May 27. Watch the trailer to get a glimpse of what Andrés has brought to the world.

Seriously, in love, right? The man just oozes selflessness and service. And it is genuinely infectious—evidenced by Ron Howard’s story of how his film crew kept getting caught up in being part of the operations by putting their cameras down to feed people, making it hard to get the film footage they needed to tell the story about the operations.

Colbert asked Andrés how people can help in their own way or collectively.

“Every one of you, you can become your own organization,” he said. “You don’t need to try to feed the world. You can do little things, such as helping an elderly couple in the supermarket, make sure that they can put their shopping in the back of their car. Maybe picking up a piece of paper to keep your cities clean.”

He gave examples of how musicians in Ukraine are playing on street corners, “bringing hope to people just by playing a song.”

He said that everyone has a talent that they can use to help others.

“We can all be part of not only feeding America and feeding the world, but believing in longer tables, not higher walls,” he said. “We can change the world if we really believe in it.”

Absolutely beautiful. Thank you, Chef Andrés, for reminding us what is possible and for serving as such a prime example of the difference one person can make.

At the end of 2020, DaniLeigh and DaBaby made their relationship official with intimate Instagram posts that they shared on their respective accounts. Almost a year later, any sign of that relationship continuing crashed and burned as the two artists engaged in a public and heated argument on Instagram Live. Things only got worse afterward, as just a few months later, videos on social media captured DaBaby and DaniLeigh’s brother engaged in a fight at a Los Angeles bowling alley. After staying silent about anything DaBaby-related for the past few months, DaniLeigh decided to speak out about their past relationship in a new interview.

In a sit-down with Angie Martinez, DaniLeigh discussed the “on and off” relationship she had with DaBaby. “It was toxic,” she said. “We had our really good times. We were in love. He had his little mess-ups and stuff, so we’d break up for a month and then get back together… We broke up a lot.”

The interview arrives after DaniLeigh released “Dead To Me,” a song that speaks about the “toxic energy” she experienced in a past relationship, presumably with DaBaby. In the song, she says, “You f*cking all these h*es/Thinking I wouldn’t know/You played me like a fool, lil baby/Got a b*tch thinking I’m crazy.”

His relationship with DaniLeigh is not the only controversial thing that DaBaby has been involved in as of late. He recently avoided charges for shooting a man who invaded his North Carolina home, but that came after he was charged with felony battery for punching a man during a music video shoot.

You can watch DaniLeigh’s interview in the video above.

When K-pop rapper BamBam performed at halftime of a Golden State Warriors vs Los Angeles Lakers game this past April at the Chase Center in San Francisco, fans probably had no idea that BamBam’s “Wheels Up” (featuring Oakland rapper Mayzin) was the first song released on the Warriors’ new record label. But the collaboration is a testament to the wide range of music that the label, Golden State Entertainment, led by producer No ID as its creative and strategic adviser, will be releasing.

No ID will be “overseeing music production and helping the company develop its long-term vision,” of the diverse roster and overall operation, according to a San Francisco Chronicle report. “We are on the cusp of something truly special, and I look forward to discovering new ways to bridge the worlds of content, sports, entertainment and technology,” he told the Chronicle. Splashed on the front page of the Golden State Entertainment website is the statement, “Rooted in, while transcending, the world of sports & entertainment.”

Also on the label’s roster, are LA-via-Chicago rapper Juice and Chicago-based Kanye West collaborator Rhymefest. The venerable Georgia Anne Muldrow is also set to be both an artist and a producer for Golden State Entertainment. The label will focus on hip-hop and R&B primarily, but are taking a full-on “content production” approach that also includes documentaries and artist co-hosted events at the Warriors homebase at the Chase Center

The first album put out by Golden State Entertainment will to be a release from, Juice, featuring Chicago OG’s All Natural and produced by Muldrow. Juice told the San Francisco Chronicle that this is a unique scenario, indicating that, “The main advantage that stands out to me is being able to move at a faster pace than most traditionally established record labels. There is no red tape, bureaucracy or pressure to emulate our competitors. And there is established distribution behind the company that is constantly working with us to assist in furthering all of our creative vision.”

Florida has become world-renowned for its ability to generate both headlines and punchlines. Which can sometimes overshadow the fact that most of those jokes probably wouldn’t sting so much if it wasn’t such a beautiful place, capable of drawing millions of tourists and weather refugees every year.

With pristine beaches on the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, year-round vacation-ready weather, and varied biodiversity, the Sunshine State is one hell of a travel destination. Miami is a partier’s hotspot and food lover’s paradise, Orlando has Disney World, St. Augustine is the oldest city in the continental US, and Tampa offers eclectic neighborhoods and a metropolitan lifestyle. These tourist-centric towns are great, but as I discovered during my most recent Floridian experience, the less frequented locations have a charm all their own.

I spent a week exploring Fort Myers and all of its coolest offerings. To my surprise, the city has tons to share with travelers of pretty much all interests. Whether you’re a seafood lover, a nature enthusiast, a sports fanatic, or a history buff, this little seaside city situated along the Gulf of Mexico caters to a wide range of travel itineraries.

I’m sharing my guide on where to play, eat, and stay in Fort Myers, Florida below.

PART I — WHERE TO PLAY

JetBlue Park

Now that Major League Baseball is back in full swing, sports fans can get excited about the upcoming season by visiting JetBlue Park in Fort Myers. JetBlue Park is the location of the Boston Red Sox’s spring training facilities. If you’re in town at the right time, you can catch a game and the first glimpse at some potential MLB rookies.

If you want to get a first-hand look at the action, book a tour of the property, which is a small-scale replica of the team’s iconic stadium, Fenway Park in Boston. During the tour, you’ll get to step foot on the warning track, check out the box suite views, take photos in front of the scoreboard, watch batting practice, and learn interesting facts about both JetBlue Park, Fenway, and of course the Boston Red Sox.

Book a tour or get tickets to the next game at JetBlue Park here.

Downtown Fort Myers

Downtown is the epicenter of the nightlife and restaurant scenes in Fort Myers. While “Downtown” consists of only a few blocks in the larger metropolis (just like you’d encounter in many other U.S. cities), it packs a lot of charm and vibrant places to explore into that compact (and walkable) package. It’s also where you’ll find all the best restaurants, bars, and hotels (more on this later).

The brick-paved streets and age-old buildings highlight the area’s historic influences, while the locally-owned boutiques and the monthly art and music walks bring the city’s eclectic and diverse community of artists and business owners to life. I happened to be in town on St. Patrick’s day, when the festive decor, endless supply of beer, live music, and the stampede of green-wearing Floridians proved just how lively Fort Myers can be.

To learn more about Downtown Fort Myers and its upcoming events, click here.

Edison Ford Winter Estates

History buffs and car fanatics alike will love spending an afternoon at the Edison Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers. It’s the site where famous inventor Thomas Edison and iconic car engineer Henry Ford lived and worked with their families during the winter season (just like Florida’s later century emigres, they probably figured why deal with the snowstorms of the Midwest when you can lounge in the sunshine year-round?). The inventors, friends, and eventual neighbors are essentially what put Fort Myers on the map in the first place.

When you visit the property, you can get a first-hand look at the fellow masterminds’ original inventions — from Ford’s first Model T cars to Edison’s laboratory, that’s still filled with his original materials. I recommend opting for a guided tour so you can dive headfirst into everything the estates have to offer. You’ll learn about more than just the celebrated inventors’ work. You’ll also hear about their families (especially about Edison’s wife, Mina, who took a liking to hosting summer parties and brunch with the gals), their everyday laidback lifestyles, their eccentric diet preferences, and more. Walking through the estates truly transports you right back into the homes of two of the early 20th century’s most prominent figures.

To learn more about the Edison Ford Winter Estates and book a tour, click here.

Sanibel Island

Sanibel Island is where nature lovers and beachgoers go to thrive. While it’s not within the city limits of Fort Myers, it’s only a quick 30-minute drive and a must during your visit. The little Floridian island offers some of the best shelling beaches in the world, so make sure to take a coastal walk and collect a handful of beautiful mollusk souvenirs between ocean dips and sunbathing. If you want to learn more about the area’s seashells (trust me, it’s more interesting than it sounds), make a stop at the National Shell Museum. Here, you’ll get insight into the ocean’s peculiar and diverse mollusk species (Fun Fact: Did you know that Octopi are a type of mollusk?).

Sanibel Island is also home to the J.N. ‘Ding’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge, which is part of the largest undeveloped mangrove ecosystem in the United States. Between the waterside lookout decks complete with binoculars and the evergrowing mangrove trees, you’re sure to spot myriad critters, from crabs to birds, throughout the preserve.

To learn more about Sanibel Island’s many natural musings, click here.

PART II — WHERE TO EAT & DRINK

Fort Myers Brewing Co.

Beer enthusiasts need to make a stop at Fort Myers Brewing Co., which is the fifth-largest taproom in the entire state of Florida. It serves more than 10 original brews, from pale ales to lagers and stouts. Order the Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter for a boozy treat — there’s a reason it’s one of the brewery’s most sought-after seasonal brews.

Beer connoisseurs can also get a guided tour of the facility. You’ll hear all about Fort Myers Brewing Co.’s unique brewing process while sipping on a cold one along the way. While I’m not typically a beer gal, I loved getting a first-hand look at the brewing equipment and learning about just how much goes into making sure every can of beer is made right. Visiting Fort Myers Brewing Co. is fun and refreshing, but also a favorite among the locals, offering a chance to rub shoulders with some authentic Fort Myers residents. Plus, it’s right around the corner from JetBlue Park, so you can stop in for a few brews before or after a game.

Check out the Fort Myers Brewing Co. beer selection here.

Izzy’s Fish & Oyster

Fort Myers has fresh oysters aplenty, and Izzy’s Fish & Oyster has some of the best in town. I liked it here so much that I ended up coming back for a second meal on the last day of my trip. In addition to the must-have oysters (doused in lemon juice, hot sauce, and horseradish, of course), the menu offers a wide selection of seafood favorites — including a raw bar and sushi.

With appetizers like gator bites and cajun shrimp hush puppies, fresh greens (I ordered the beet and goat cheese salad — it was delicious), and mouthwatering entrees like lobster rolls, fried scallops, and a mahi-mahi sandwich, every seafood lover will have a field day at Izzy’s. The only downside of dining here is the dilemma of deciding what to order.

Get your seafood fix and view Izzy’s dinner menu here.

Ford’s Garage

Ford’s Garage is a must for burger lovers and beer drinkers. Sticking to the recognition of Fort Myers’ most notable historic figures, the restaurant is decked out in all things Henry Ford. Sure, it’s a little kitschy, but I’m a sucker for a good theme. There’s literally an old Ford car hanging over the bar, the bathroom sink is made of a tire and a gas pump faucet, and even the napkins are made with rags you’d typically find at the mechanic.

As for the food, Ford’s Garage is a burger joint done right. It offers a selection of more than 10 prime burgers, as well as a few vegetarian options. If you’re feeling adventurous, order The Jiffy Burger (yes, like Jiffy the peanut butter brand). It’s made with American cheese, applewood smoked bacon, chopped romaine, and creamy peanut butter on a brioche bun, which is better than it has any right to be.

Between the 23 craft beer options, including the local Fort Myers Brewing Co. favorites, and the 79 canned or bottled beers, you’re sure to find a brew to your liking. If you’re in the mood for something stronger, order from the restaurant’s extensive cocktail menu. I recommend one of the signature “Ford’s Fusions” cocktails. I ordered the Backseat Driver, which consisted of Patrón Silver Tequila, Cointreau, pure cane syrup, lime juice, mint leaves, and club soda.

Peruse the full Ford’s Garage menu here.

The Veranda

If you feel like dressing up and celebrating your time in Fort Myers with a fancy, French-inspired dinner, book a table at The Veranda. Long known among the community as the best spot in town (or at least the poshest), the restaurant makes for a lovely night of fine dining. The waiters are dressed to the nines in full suits, the wine list is extensive (complete with a $300 bottle of champagne), and the ambiance resembles a house from the Victorian era.

Aside from the elegance of it all, your meal at The Veranda will be an experience in and of itself. If you order the Ceasar salad to start, you’re in for a show. The waiter prepares it for you tableside, tossing all the ingredients together like a televised cooking competition. As for the main course, you can’t go wrong with the Pan Seared Jumbo Scallops, served with spinach and wild mushroom orzo and finished with a lemon beurre blanc.

While it’s hard to put the fork down, make sure to save room for dessert. The Veranda’s menu of sweet treats is worth every calorie. I ordered both the Florida Key Lime Pie and the Bailey’s Irish Cream Cheesecake, and I didn’t regret it for a second.

Browse through The Veranda’s full dinner menu here.

PART III — WHERE TO STAY

The Luminary Hotel

If you want a hotel that offers a slew of amenities and proximity to the heart of town, there’s the The Luminary Hotel. Having just opened in 2020, the property’s updated aesthetics and sleek design celebrate the stories of the city’s past, present, and future. Aside from the new, comfortable, and clean rooms, the hotel offers a rooftop bar, pool, large gym, and an in-house restaurant and coffee shop.

The best part is that it’s right across the street from downtown and alongside the marina, so you’ll be within steps of the action. Tip: If you can, book a room on one of the higher levels for gorgeous sunset views every evening.

To book your room at The Luminary Hotel, click here.

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Uproxx was hosted for this story by Visit Fort Myers. However, they did not review this story. You can learn more about the Uproxx Press Trip policy here.

There were many things that Donald Trump is creatively bad at doing. Running a social media service is one. Recommending treatments for highly transmissible viruses is another. But there was one subject that inspired some of his most surreal behavior: hurricanes. In 2019, he appeared to have used a Sharpie to doctor a map of a hurricane’s path after he got it wrong. (He didn’t even get the color of pen right.) He also repeatedly floated the idea of stopping hurricanes by nuking them.

Now this. Former Trump officials told Rolling Stone, under anonymity, that he kept badgering people about a mysterious weapon that can only be dubbed a “hurricane gun.” As per RS:

“Near the beginning of Donald Trump’s time in office, the then-president had a pressing question for his national-security aides and administration officials: Does China have the secret technology — a weapon, even — to create large, man-made hurricanes and then launch them at the United States? And if so, would this constitute an act of war by a foreign power, and could the U.S. retaliate militarily? Then-President Trump repeatedly asked about this, according to two former senior administration officials and a third person briefed on the matter.”

It’s like something out of a movie, only not even the silliest blockbuster would dare feature a gun that can shoot weather at enemies. (Although maybe he got it from the Mega Man 2 baddie Air Man, who fires little whirlwinds at players.)

But one former official had a more blunt way of describing Trump’s claim. “It was almost too stupid for words,” they told RS. “I did not get the sense he was joking at all.”

And yet Trump spent the first year of his single-term presidency reportedly kept bugging flabbergasted officials and other staffers about this fantastical, ridiculous weapon. He would bring it up, former staffers say, until 2018, when he appeared to move on to other ideas, like nuking hurricanes.

As of this writing, Trump is still the presumptive frontrunner of the Republican party in 2024.

(Via Rolling Stone)

The Memphis Grizzlies will likely have to navigate the remainder of the 2022 NBA playoffs without the services of Ja Morant. The team announced on Tuesday evening that Morant underwent an MRI and got his right knee examined in the aftermath of the injury he suffered during Game 3 against the Golden State Warriors.

As a result, the team is going to list Morant as doubtful to return during the playoffs, although it did stress that he is expected to make a full recovery from the injury.

While it is unclear exactly when Morant hurt the same knee that cost him nine games during the regular season, much has been made of a moment when Warriors guard Jordan Poole went to grab the ball while Morant dribbled and instead grabbed his knee, which caused the league’s Most Improved Player to limp around, head to the bench, and eventually, leave the game. Morant went as far as to cite the same “broke the code” phrasing in a since-deleted tweet that Steve Kerr used to describe the hard foul Dillon Brooks committed on Gary Payton II.

Morant ended up missing Game 4 of the series as a result. The Warriors went on to win that game on Monday night, and currently hold a 3-1 lead in the series.

As far as celebrities go, Hilary Duff has presented herself more conservatively in the public eyes than most. In a day when Britney Spears was facing backlash from keyboard commandos for her nude Instagram photos, saying that they indicated that she was a questionable parent, it’s not hard to see why Duff has preserved a more traditional image of motherhood on her social media feeds. But at a time when politicians want to wield control over a woman’s body once again, Duff’s nude cover shoot for Women’s Health magazine makes a powerful statement in controlling her own narrative.

The Lizzie McGuire star posed nude for the most recent edition of the magazine’s popular “The Body Issue.” In Duff’s interview with Women’s Health, she spoke about body positivity, especially in the face of motherhood, saying, “I’ve gotten to a place of being peaceful with the changes my body has gone through.” She posted a slew of the images on her Instagram feed, and commented the following:

“Sooooo, this was scary….. I knew doing this would terrify me and I was right! @womenshealthmag had the most lovely all-women shoot and I actually had the best time. I felt strong and beautiful and laughed a lot getting into some of these poses without my high waisted mom jeans and oversized whatever I normally wear. Thank you to everyone who normalized this day for me and propped me up with compliments and love…. @daniellamidenge I love these photos so much, thank you for capturing a moment in time where I felt both completely vulnerable but powerful.”

Kudos to Duff for expressing herself the way she wants to. Just like Spears, she proves that her own nude self-expression online isn’t necessarily a comment on her ability as a mother. Instead, it’s simply what she wanted to do for herself.

Republican Senator Susan Collins felt so threatened by a bit of sidewalk chalk art begging her to protect women’s rights that she called the police to investigate.

On Saturday, Collins made the 9-1-1 call after someone left a colorful message in front of her home in Bangor, Maine. The missive asked Collins to support an upcoming measure to protect womens’ rights to abortion access reading, “Susie, please, Mainers want [the Women’s Health Protection Act]. Vote yes, clean up your mess.” Though the graffiti seemed pretty tame in comparison to the massive protests currently taking place outside the homes of Supreme Court Justices like Brett Kavanaugh, Collins (via Buzzfeed) filed a police report that described the message as “defacement of public property.”

Police said the message wasn’t threatening, and the city’s public works department quickly washed it away, but the whole thing has angered pro-choice activists. They see Collins’ hesitancy to support an upcoming piece of legislation that would protect a woman’s right to an abortion regardless of the Roe v. Wade outcome as a weak cop-out. Though the Senator has been in favor of abortion rights in the past, she’s refusing to endorse the Women’s Health Protection Act that should make its way to the Senate soon because the bill “protect[s] the right of a Catholic hospital to not perform abortions.” Collins is also the reason both Kavanaugh and Justice Neil Gorsuch currently serve on the Supreme Court after she confirmed both men despite claiming that she “could not vote for a judge who had demonstrated hostility to Roe v. Wade.”

Still, since the matter of abortion access is really a right to privacy issue, it feels only fair that lawmakers who are actively trying to snuff out women’s rights shouldn’t describe a chalk message as a privacy infraction. At least for Susie, the person who left the message only got their hands on her sidewalk instead of her uterus.

(Via Buzzfeed)

Over the past few months — perhaps even years, really — there has been a disturbing trend of ostensible music journalists outright disrespecting interview subjects for content. These podcast and radio hosts have crossed boundaries, making artists — especially women or femme-presenting ones — visibly uncomfortable during interviews. Fortunately, with social media, those artists have the capacity to stand up for themselves, which is what Kehlani did when Morning Hustle Show hosts Lore’l and Headkrack misgendered and insulted them during an interview they called “cringy and invasive.”

While on their press tour to promote their new album, Blue Water Road, Kehlani appeared on the show but became visibly agitated after the hosts seemed to mock their pronouns, folding their arms and offering short, clipped responses to questions like whether they were “scissoring with SZA.” Afterward, Kehlani responded to the interview on Instagram, writing, “This is why your favorite artists always stop doing interviews or people don’t want to speak anymore. I’m only speaking to [a] select few folks anymore who really care about me deeply and have always been in my corner.”

In a video on social media, the host called out Kehlani for being “rude” and not having respect for urban media. “You feel like you don’t have to come to platforms like this and do interviews because you have Cosmopolitan and MTV and Vanity Fair that will feature you,” Lore’l said — accurately, I might add. “Good luck with your album, I heard it only sold 21K copies,” she added, spitefully. No artist is obligated to give any platform an interview, even if they are ostensibly “for the culture” — especially if they can’t be bothered to treat their interviewees with the bare minimum of human dignity.

Kehlani shot back on Instagram, pointing out, “I have kept it calm, collected, mature in the face of blatant disrespect when I could’ve went off. I finished interviews strong while being poked and prodded at. I JOYFULLY met thousands and thousands of fans this week, joyfully did many interviews very much available on youtube. if you know me you know I’m HIGH BRIGHT ENERGY until F*CKED WITH! stretching this situation for clout when it’s evident i was energetically RESPONDING to what was being thrown at me, and still at it was quiet, short & protective of my energy. y’all need this tho i get it.”

For what it’s worth, there has been an ongoing discussion about artists in Black music foregoing Black outlets when it comes time to promote their work, preferring outsider outlets like those mentioned above for glowing profiles and uncritical reviews. However, it’s also understandable; artists are people too and are entitled to their legitimate feelings. No one wants to feel disrespected by invasive questions or mocked for their missteps. Obviously, there’s a balance to be found in which outlets can ask intimate questions in a much more empathetic way. Plenty of folks on Twitter seem to agree, as you can see below.

You can watch the full interview above.

The San Francisco World Spirits Competition is like the Oscars of alcohol. And like the Oscars — or the Grammys or the Emmys or the Saturn Awards — there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes of this massive blind alcohol tasting that your average person watching it on television or seeing it from the outside couldn’t possibly know. Today, I hope to change that.

This year, I was lucky enough to judge four days of the sprawling SFWSC. In that time, I tasted 312 drams of alcohol double-blind — through 52 panels of booze. Most panels had six to nine glasses, with one having only four and another having 11. The liquor tasted came from all over the world, from calvados to baijiu to tequila to ready-to-drink cocktails to various whiskeys and pretty much everything in between. Hell, I even sat on a panel of fruit juice cocktail mixers.

All of this is to say that judging this event is for alcohol experts, not just “whiskey folks” or “rum pros” who focus on one thing. With that in mind, let’s get into the nitty-gritty.

Related: Double Gold Winners from the 2022 San Francisco World Spirits Competition on UPROXX

• All The Double Gold-Winning Straight Bourbons From This Year’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition
• All The Double Gold-Winning Single Barrel Bourbons From This Year’s SF World Spirits Competition
• All The Double Gold-Winning Small Batch Bourbons From This Year’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition
• The Best Reposado Tequila: All The Double-Gold Winners From This Year’s SF World Spirits Competition
• Full List Of Tequila And Mezcal Finalists From The SF Spirits Competition, Just In Time For Cinco De Mayo
• All The Canadian Whiskies That Won Double Gold At The Biggest Spirits Competition On Earth
• All The Double-Gold Winning Blended Scotch Whisky From This Year’s SF Spirits Competition

PART I — The Competition

The San Francisco World Spirit Competition has been around for 22 years. It was founded by Anthony Dias Blue, a legend in the industry, though me saying that may not mean much to industry outsiders. He’s kind of like John Huston. If you’re a film nerd, you know how important he is to film history. If you’re not, he’s the bad guy from Chinatown.

Over those 22 years, the competition has become the highlight of the alcohol award season. A “double gold” from SFWSC means prestige and, more importantly to the brand, sales. It provides a level of spotlight that brands can trade on. They’ll put neck hangers on bottles or stickers on labels declaring they’ve won double gold at the SFWSC, which adds a certain amount of shelf appeal at your local big box or liquor store. (There are also the bronze, silver, and gold medals that offer alcohol brands a certain cachet, but most of them aren’t putting silver or bronze medal stickers on their bottle to help sales.)

PART II — How It Works

Not to keep comparing this to the Oscars, but like that award ceremony, every candidate is based on a company, distributor, bottler, or distiller entering their bottle in the competition. It’s not based on people going out and finding the best bottles. That said, the team at SFWSC will reach out to new and cool brands to see if they want to enter — so the pool ends up being a balance of who knows to go for the gold and who’s cool right now.

In the end, the entries come from people entering their brand(s) with a fee and supplying the correct number of bottles for tasting panels. From there, the bottles are warehoused and sorted in San Francisco. Each bottle is then used to pour samples for judges. In the end, the bottles have to be disposed of, per law.

PART III — Who Attends

Anthony Dias Blue created a system where he’d invite the best of the best from the alcohol industry to San Francisco to judge spirits and award them medals (or eliminate them, but more on that later). This includes people from the media (like me), distributors, bar owners, sales reps, investors, experts, liquor store owners, and authors. People who work making the booze are generally not invited. Though with barrel picks becoming commonplace in whiskey, that line does get blurred (even I’ve done a barrel pick at Buffalo Trace).

My particular class of judges included people from local wine distribution in San Francisco to leading sake experts to media reps for liquor stores to bar owners to cocktail book authors. It’s a pretty wide net of alcohol-focused people and a diverse crew with even more diverse palates. As mentioned earlier, no one is there to taste only one spirit.

PART IV — The Table

The tables are set up with three or four judges at each. They’re round and we’re all spread out so we can’t see each other’s notes or medal picks while tasting. A curator comes around with a server and clears and places the glasses between each panel. We have a spitter (obviously), palate cleaners (more on that later), and flat and sparkling water bottles.

This year there were tablets to enter our tasting notes, thoughts, and medals — making the job of the curator much easier. Lastly, before you sit down, you put on a white robe. This gives the whole place an air of officiality, not to mention ceremony.

PART V — The Process

As I mentioned in the lede, judges work through six to 10 panels per day. Each panel is six to eight pours, on average, with the numbers hitting between 60 and 70 pours total each day, ideally. Those panels cover every category, with clear spirits generally coming early and dark stuff generally coming at the end.

Judges then tabulate their tasting notes and medals individually at a table. The curator then comes to the table and checks all the medal “scores.” If all the judges have given a pour a gold medal, that’s an automatic “double gold.”

Here’s the rub: judges don’t always agree. There’s a rainbow where, say, three judges each give a different medal — bronze, silver, and gold. Then the bronze and gold judge tries to convince silver to either come up or go down.

Going deeper, we don’t just assign a “Gold” or “Silver” — it’s actually “gold minus,” “gold,” or “gold plus” (and the same with the other medals). If, say, I assigned a gold minus and the rest of the table had silver pluses or just silvers, that signals to the other judges that I’m happy to lower to a silver medal for that pour. Whereas if someone marks something “gold plus” and the rest of us are average silvers, then that judge needs to make their case because gold plus means they’re blown away and the silvers mean the other judges were not. And in that instance, we’ll all go back to our Glencairns to re-nose and re-taste as one judge makes their argument.

Sometimes it’s convincing and we come up. Sometimes it’s not and they come down in their medal.

If something is ranked “double gold,” the judges then have to decide whether that bottle is going to “sweeps,” which is where the “best in class” bottles are decided. Judges rate the pour — between 94 and 99/100 — and those bottles are sent to the big show/another blind tasting at the end where a new set of judges taste them again. One way to think of it is that the “double gold” medal is like an Oscar nomination and the “best in class” is actually taking home the trophy.

PART VI — The Palate Cleansers

I ate so much cheese every day.

Here’s a hard and fast rule from Fred Minnick: Tasting alcohol is putting it on your tongue, drinking it is swallowing it. No one is drinking the alcohol. We all spit.

Every judge has a plate of soft Muenster cheese, celery, and baguette. I’d say on average, most judges take a bite of something every couple of drams, or at least at the end of every panel. I’ve used celery a lot in the past in my own blind taste tests for UPROXX, it’s a great neutralizer for your palate. The servers who bring around and clear the glasses are also moving around the room and refilling everyone’s palate cleanser plates throughout the day.

PART VII — The Marathon

We started at 9 am every morning, broke for lunch around noon, and then finished up by 3 pm. On one of those days, I had just over 80 drams. This was out of the ordinary. On that day, I was with Steve Beal (the guy who invented Bulleit for Diageo, amongst a million other legendary things) and Nate Gana (the world’s leading whiskey investing expert) and, I can tell you, we were all spent by the end.

It’s not so much that your palate gets blown out — there are breaks between every flight and plenty of palate cleansers. In fact, I’d argue that your palate gets more attuned as the day goes on. It’s more that your brain no longer knows what to do with the alcohol you’re teasing your system with. This leads me to…

PART VIII — What It Does To Your Mind and Body

If you talk to the people who taste an incredible amount of spirits for work, most of them will tell you they can no longer get drunk on that spirit. Basically, when you’re tasting whiskey on your tongue, your body sends signals to your brain that alcohol is coming in. But then you spit it out and remain sober. After a while, your brain just assumes that it takes 20, 30, or 50 shots to actually get you drunk because you can taste that much without getting drunk physically. It’s wild. I’ve stopped drinking whiskey recreationally because I don’t even get a buzz anymore, and I can assure you (hearsay or not) that I’m not the only one in the industry with this “problem.”

But there comes a point where you’re 60-odd pours in and your brain starts rebelling. It’s just had enough, which would be true of any food or drink judging position. Then your body rebels too. It wants anything else. You have a little bit of sea legs when you get up to leave but you want to leave as fast as possible. Ironically, you end up running toward very big flavors in food and a strong beer, cocktails, or wine (anything that’s not a neat spirit pour) because, again, your taste/palate is still there, sharper than ever even, but your body is kind of tired of being teased.

PART IX — Recovery

Each late afternoon and evening is all about the food and drinks. That said, some judges have to go to work at their bars or liquor stores after a whole day of judging, so I’m not speaking for everyone here. Still, your palate needs a full reset. Sazeracs, crisp white wines, and old-school West Coast IPAs are all in order. So many oysters, funky charcuteries boards, and spicy ramen bowls are had — really anything to wake up and reset the senses but also nourish your head.

Then sleep. At some point, you just shut down and sleep until the alarm goes off and you’re back at the judging table.

PART X — It’s Really Not What You Think

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Let’s talk about the dreaded “E” on the medal list. Yes, some bottles are just straight-up eliminated. It’s rare but not super rare. So while it feels like judges are giving out double gold medals left and right, we really aren’t.

This is how my tables judged the spirits point by point:

• Is the actual spirit well made? Do they know what they’re doing?
• Next, does this deliver on what is promised? (Does the “Blueberry Gin” actually taste like blueberries?)
• Finally, how refined/good is it overall? Does it stand out from the other spirits in the same panel? Are there flaws in the blend that feel out of place? Is it an instant “wow”?

I can tell you from experience that the bottles that rise to the top are instantly identifiable as perfectly crafted. But they also stand out amongst the six to nine other glasses in front of the judges as having “something extra.”

Overall though, there’s way more “that was fine” than “wow, that’s amazing.” And the “wow, that’s amazing” is what gets double gold and sent to sweeps for “best in class.” This is especially true of the whiskey categories where there are so many options (over 1,000 this year). The vast majority of those didn’t get double gold, much less sent to sweeps for a chance at best in class.

That said, it was super clear when one, two, maybe three pours in a panel tasted better than the rest. Bad booze is bad. Average booze is average. The greats truly do grab your attention. Yes, subjective palates come into play, but that’s where the aforementioned “gold minus,” “gold,” and “gold plus” nuances in grading come in. If something really speaks to you, then it’s on you as a judge to make your case for that pour.

Final Thoughts:

312 pours of alcohol in four days is a lot… for anyone. As of this writing, I’ve only had 420 pours of individual whiskeys in the first four months of 2022. That being said, those 312 pours average out to six pours per judging panel, which isn’t that hardcore.

It took me about three days to really recover from this process. One, I shouldn’t have done it four days in a row. The pros do two days and have a break and then come back for a couple of days and so on. Luckily, I spent a long weekend in Napa Valley trying to get my body back in line with a lot of wine and food. I did try to drink a rye whiskey in Napa, but couldn’t get it down. My body was just too used to spitting all the spirits I tasted. It took about a week for my ability to actually swallow neat spirits to come back.

In the end, it was an experience that doesn’t really have a parallel in this job. It’s definitely illuminating in what you learn about booze — there’s a lot of hot trash out there that my work at UPROXX hadn’t really exposed me to, folks. In fact, I’d say there’s more trash than gems by far. And that’s sort of the point of these awards, finding those gems. It was my pleasure to track them down for you this year and I hope you find a few that work their way into your drinking rotation.

You can see all the medal winners from the 2022 San Francisco World Spirits Competition here.