Month: July 2022

This fall, Wild Pink will release their fourth full-length album, ILYSM. ILYSM was co-produced by the band’s vocalist and guitarist John Ross, along with with Justin Pizzoferrato (Pixies, Body/Head, Speedy Ortiz) and Peter Silberman of The Antlers. The album will contain appearances from J Mascis, Julien Baker, Ryley Walker, Yasmin Williams, and Samantha Crain

Ahead of the album, Wild Pink have revealed the title track.

“This song, like a few others on this record, takes place where I live and the field next to it,” Ross said in a statement. “A full moon will light up all the rooms here in a way I’ve never really seen and I feel like this song wrote itself a little bit. This album is about love in its many forms and this song in particular is a metaphor for love and obsession.”

To support ILYSM, the band will embark on an international tour, beginning shortly before the album’s release.

Check out “ILYSM” above and the album’s cover art and tracklist, as well as the tour dates, below.

1. “Cahooting The Multiverse”
2. “Hold My Hand” Feat. Julien Baker
3. “Hell Is Cold”
4. “ILYSM”
5. “St. Beater Camry”
6. “Abducted At The Grief Retreat”
7. “War On Terror”
8. “Simple Glyphs”
9. “See You Better Now”
10. “Sucking On The Birdshot”
11. “The Grass Widow In The Glass Window”
12. “ICLYM”

10/12 — Boston, MA @ The Middle East (Upstairs) *
10/13 — Portland, ME @ Sun Tiki Studios *
10/14 — Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Made *
10/15 — Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brendas *
10/16 — Washington, DC @DC9*
10/17 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit Hall*
10/18 — Toronto, ON @ The Drake*
10/20 — Montreal, QC @ L’escogriffe*
10/21 — Burlington, VT @ Foam Brewery*
11/08 — Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
11/09 — Brighton, UK @ The Hope & Ruin
11/10 — Bristol, UK @ The Exchange
11/11 — London, UK @ Pitchfork London
11/12 — Manchester, UK @ Yes Basement
11/13 — Glasgow, UK @ The Hug & Pint
11/14 — Dublin, IE @ The Workmans Cellar
11/16 — Paris, FR @ Supersonic
11/17 — Luzern, CH @ Schuur
11/18 — Prague, CZ @ Cafe V Lese
11/19 — Berlin, DE @ Marie Antoinette
11/20 — Copenhagen, DK @ Rahuset
11/21 — Hamburg, DE @ Aalhaus
11/22 — Munster, DE @ Pension Schmidt
11/25 — Kingston, NY @ Tubby’s*
11/26 — Syracuse, NY @ Funk N Waffles*
11/27 — Detroit, MI @ Loving Touch*
11/28 — Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village*
11/29 — Minneapolis, MN @ 7Th Street*
12/01 — Denver, CO @ Globe Hall*
12/02 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court*
12/03 — Boise, ID @ The Shredder*
12/04 — Spokane, WA @ Lucky You Lounge*
12/05 — Seattle, WA @ Barboza*
12/07 — Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios*
12/09 — San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill*
12/10 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Airliner*
12/11 — San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar*
12/12 — Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar*
12/14 — Austin, TX @ Mohawk*
12/15 — Dallas, TX @ Three Links*
12/17 — Nashville, TN @ The Basement*

* with Trace Mountains

ILYSM is out 10/14 via Royal Mountain. Pre-save it here.

In 2000, President Bill Clinton signed the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act into law. The federal statute, which provided protections for undocumented immigrants who were victims of human trafficking, has been readily renewed by every president since, from Bush to Obama to Trump—political affiliation be damned. Because what sort of monster would be against helping victims of severe abuse? Well, on Tuesday, we found out the answer to that question.

As Insider notes, the statute’s renewal—known as The Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2022—passed the House by an overwhelming majority of 401 to 20. Yet 20 Republicans had the temerity to vote against an anti-trafficking law, including Matt Gaetz. What makes this so noteworthy? Well, as you likely remember, Gaetz is currently under investigation for ties to a sex trafficking ring (and reportedly proudly keeps an article about his alleged misdeeds that Trump autographed in his office). While Gaetz has repeatedly denied all the allegations, one might think the best way to get people to believe that you are not guilty of these charges is to side with the victims of the very crime you’re being accused of. But nope, the Florida congressman—who Twitter recently nicknamed #RapeyMcForehead—couldn’t even bring himself to do that. Which does beg a lot of questions.

Insider did reach out to Gaetz to ask about the reasoning behind his “no” vote, but has yet to receive a response. Gaetz has not yet been officially charged with any crime.

(Via Insider)

In the less than 12 months since Young Dolph was gunned down in his native Memphis, his Paper Route Empire cohorts have made a point of honoring their fallen brother. In January, the Paper Route Empire Presents: Long Live Dolph compilation album dropped featuring PRE rappers Key Glock, Big Moochie Grape, and others. And today, PRE has leveled up with “Hall Of Fame,” the first track from Young Dolph to be released following his death.

“Hall Of Fame” is accompanied by an animated video, which is a loop of a boy admiring a shrine to the late rapper. A Dolphin logo/Paper Route Empire branded sports car rolls down Memphis’ Adolph “Young Dolph” Thornton Jr. Avenue to a hall where Dolph’s legacy is honored. The iced-out doors open and the boy looks upon a wall of Dolph’s records, framed in jewel-encrusted borders. A bust of Dolph with his diamond-studded PPE necklace around it sits in the center.

Produced by Bandplay, Dolph floats on the track, rapping swiftly like he always did, spitting: “They say I’m showing out, they say I should be ashamed, I don’t do it for the clout, b*tch, I do it for the gang. You can walk in any trap and I bet they know my name, Frank Matthews of the South, put me in the hall of fame.”

Watch the video for “Hall of Fame” above.

It took French Montana all of seven months to give the world a brand new project. That was the case with Montega, his fifth album which doubled as a joint project with producer Harry Fraud. Montega arrived with 14 songs and guest appearances from Babyface Ray, Benny the Butcher, Chinx, EST Gee, Fleurie, Jadakiss, Quavo, and Rick Ross. In French’s continued effort to promote his latest body of work, he returns with a visual for “Keep It Real” alongside EST Gee.

French and EST find themselves in city streets in their video for “Keep It Real.” Dark and bright skies sit behind the two rappers as they stand proudly with their crew on street corners and on top of buildings all in a successful attempt to show off their fearless demeanor.

The new video for “Keep It Real” joins others that French has released for songs from Montega. They include “Blue Chills,” “Bricks & Bags,” and “Rushmore Pack.” Recently, French Montana collaborated with DreamDoll for her “Ice Cream Dream” collaboration while also having a hand in Drake winning and losing over $25 million through a game of roulette that they played together.

You can watch the video for “Keep It Real” above.

Montega is out now via Coke Boys Records. You can stream it here.

Disclaimer: While all of the products recommended here were chosen independently by our editorial staff, Uproxx may receive payment to direct readers to certain retail vendors who are offering these products for purchase.

Welcome to SNX DLX, your weekly roundup of the dopest sneakers to hit the internet. Last week, Travis Scott sucked all the air out of the room with his Reverse Mocha Air Jordan 1 and now that that’s out of the way, sneaker brands are going hard. Nike is still dominating our 10 entries (yay, we’re back to 10!) but Adidas and New Balance shouldn’t be ignored because they’re also dropping fire.

If you’re a fan of the Air Max 95 this is your week, we’ve included two of Nike’s best Air Max 95 drops this time around, leaving another two on the cutting room floor. Truthfully all four our dope, but this is SNX DLX, not Aix Max 95 DLX, so we’re not about to fill nearly half of our list with Air Max 95s. Jordans? Well, that’s another story.

So without further ado, let’s dive into the 10 best sneakers releasing this week, and where to buy them.

Nike Air Force 1 Mid Washed Teal

This beautiful aqueous mid-rise Air Force 1 recalls the legendary LeBron 8 South Beach with its colorful teal upper but swaps out the pink accents for a classic gum sole and a white midsole and wraparound swoosh. The Washed Teal features a distressed nubuck leather upper, a synthetic leather collar, and a woven tongue label.

It’s the sort of colorful sneaker we expect to drop in the summer season, and we’re loving it.

The Nike Air Force 1 Mid-Washed Teal is set to drop on July 27th for a retail price of $140. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Dunk Low Washed Teal and Bleached Coral

Nike had to go ahead and one-up itself by also delivering a Washed Teal Dunk Low. This sneaker takes things up a level by adding a Bleached Coral outsole and swoosh with snakeskin accents on the paneling, offering something altogether more plush and luxurious than the AF-1.

The Nike Dunk Low Washed Teal and Bleached Coral is set to drop on July 27th for a retail price of $120. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Zoom LeBron 3 Black and University Red

If the Washed Teal AF-1 and Dunk made you nostalgic for a dope LeBron drop, look no further than this week’s Zoom LeBron 3 in Black and University Red. The sneaker essentially looks like something Darth Vader might wear on the weekend with its patent leather black upper with silver, red, and blue accents. The design is apparently inspired by barbershop poles but… we’re just seeing Darth. This is way cooler than saying “this sneaker is inspired by barbershops,” by the way, if you’re reading this Nike marketing people.

The Nike Zoom LeBron 3 Black and University Red is set to drop on July 27th for a retail price of $185. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Adidas Yeezy Slide ONYX/Bone

Is it really summer if you’re not wearing sandals? This summer has been pretty hot statewide, so if you’ve spent more days in slides, Crocs, or Foam RNNRS than you’d like to admit, you’re probably due for a refresh. Why not finally give Yeezy Slides a try?

You know there is someone out there right now who is attempting to cop both the ONYX and Bone Yeezy Slide this week. Are you that person? Of the two Slide colorways the Bone is the better of the two. So if you’re going to cop just one, get the Bone.

The Adidas Yeezy Slide ONYX and Bone are out now for a retail price of $70. Pick up a pair via the Adidas CONFIRMED app or Yeezy Supply.

Nike Air Max 95 Anatomy of Air

I’d like to note that it was a toss-up between cutting this sneaker or the Light Bone version which releases the same day. Ultimately Anatomy of Air won the toss because I think it’s a sneaker that better fits in and represents the season and I’m a sucker for that kind of stuff.

Featuring a bone midsole, this sneaker sports a premium suede upper with thick rope laces, and a gradient colorway that moves top up from deep burgundy to white.

The Nike Air Max 95 Anatomy of Air is set to drop on July 28th for a retail price of $180. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Air Max 95 Off Noir and Limestone

The Air Max 95 has always looked like a cross between a hiking and running shoe to me, so I have to call this Off Noir and Limestone colorway the best Air Max 95 of the week. I love the earthy woodgrain tones of the upper, which combines Cobblestone and Limestone with Magma orange accents on the lace loops.

Reflective elements adorn the heel and an open mesh tongue keeps things light while serving as a gentle reminder that the Air Max 95 is NOT a hiking shoe, despite what I think it looks like. Unless you like getting your socks stained with dirt.

The Air Max 95 Off Noir and Limestone is set to drop on July 29th for a retail price of $185. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Women’s Air Jordan 8 Taxi Yellow and Black

For legal purposes, Nike can’t just call this shoe “Wu-Tang” but… come on. How do you see this sneaker and not start hearing “Wu-Tang clan ain’t nothing ta f*ck wit?” The Taxi Yellow and Black features a shined black leather upper with yellow accents on the crisscross strap and midsole, with some light camo detailing on the lower heel panel.

The Nike Women’s Air Jordan 8 Taxi Yellow and Black is set to drop on July 29th for a retail price of $200. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Air Jordan 3 Desert Elephant

No week is complete without a fire Jordan drop and to close out the offerings from Nike this week we’ve got the Desert Elephant Air Jordan 3. Is this the release of the week? Probably. This colorway features a tumbled black leather upper with brown panels, cement accents, and a crimson red embroidered Jumpman.

It recalls classic Jordan colorways, namely the iconic Black Cement, but still stands as its own unique design that deserves a spot amongst the best Jordan 3s of all time.

The Nike Air Jordan 3 Desert Elephant is set to drop on July 30th for a retail price of $200. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

New Balance MADE in USA 990v2 Chrysanthemum with NB Navy

New Balance is dropping a v1 and v2 990 this week, both of which are in this beautiful Chrysanthemum with NB Navy colorway, but we’ve got to give the spot to the v2. Featuring a mixed hairy suede, pig suede, and mesh upper, the v2 sports a synthetic suede sock liner, and an ABZORB midsole in one of New Balance’s best in-house colorways to date.

The New Balance MADE in USA 990v2 Chrysanthemum with NB Navy is set to drop on July 28th for a retail price of $194.99. Pick up a pair via the New Balance webstore.

Converse x PLAY Comme des Garçons One Star

Comme des Garçons is finally teaming up with Converse once again for a new heart-adorned sneaker, this time on a different silhouette. The PLAY Come des Garçons One Star features that familiar heart and eyes logo weaved together with the One Star’s familiar cut-out star branding over a premium organic cotton canvas upper.

It’s not quite as iconic as the CDG Chuck but it’s cool to see the brand branch out to a different silhouette.

The Converse x PLAY Comme des Garçons is set to drop on July 28th at Comme des Garçons and Dover Street Market stores globally, as well as the Dover Street Market and Converse web stores for a retail price of $140.

JoJo Siwa has gotten a lot of flack throughout her short but prolific career of being a childhood dancer-turned-actress-turned-gay icon. As a teen, she had her own show that riffed off her wholesome vibe (much to the dismay of her former enemy Justin Bieber) until she came out last year and was suddenly shunned by Nickelodeon.

Now, Siwa has a large TikTok following, and she posts regular videos of various TikTok trends, including one earlier this week that called Fuller House actress Candace Cameron Bure the “rudest celebrity” she had ever met. The clip soon went viral, leaving many of Siwa’s fans attacking Bure, who was also a former child star.

Last night, Bure took to her Instagram to address the TikTok, and she revealed she had a “great” conversation with Siwa. Bure said that Siwa did not expect the clip to make the rounds, calling it a “silly TikTok trend.” We all know how harmful silly TikTok trends can be.

“[JoJo] actually didn’t want to tell me because she said it’s so silly, she felt bad, and that’s why it just wasn’t a big deal to her,” Bure said in an Instagram post. “But then she said, ‘I met you at the Fuller House premiere when I was 11 years old, and we were all on the red carpet. I had come up to you and said, ‘Can I have a picture with you?’ and you said to me, ‘Not right now.’ And then proceeded to do what you were doing and take pictures with other people on the red carpet.”

Siwa then said that Bure “wasn’t even mean” and that she was just an 11-year-old on the red carpet, and she shouldn’t have made it into a “big deal.” But Bure said she felt “crummy” about the whole ordeal. The Fuller House actress added, “Please know that as a mom, it breaks my heart that I made you feel that way and I’m sorry to your mom, too, that I did that to her daughter.” It’s nice that Bure is aware of how her choices as a mother can affect other people around her! Perhaps her former co-star Lori Loughlin will learn too.

While Siwa hasn’t addressed the clip, it seems like the two former enemies (for less than two days) have finally made up. All is well!

Josh Hawley has been having a rough week thanks to the January 6 committee showing footage of him running out of the Capitol building shortly after supporting MAGA rioters with a fist pump. Despite his hometown paper calling him a “laughingstock” and a “fleeing coward,” the Missouri senator has tried to spin the footage into a liberal attack that doesn’t bother him at all. In fact, he loves it. More, please.

Hawley continued that trend on Wednesday when confronted about the footage by CNN reporter Manu Raju. Via Mediaite:

“I don’t regret anything that I did that day,” Hawley said. “It’s a privilege to be attacked by the January 6 Committee, and I want to say thank you for all the help with my fundraising. It’s been tremendous.”

Hawley was referring to how he continues to fundraise for himself by having his office sell merchandise emblazoned with his fist-pump in solidarity with the mob that went on to ransack the Capitol.

While the arrogant remarks fly in the face of the footage that clearly shows Hawley fleeing the Capitol, the senator has already demonstrated that he’s going to pretend the whole thing isn’t as embarrassing as it looks. During a Friday appearance at the Turning Point USA student summit, Hawley tried to reassert his defiant attitude by declaring that he won’t “run away” from liberals despite the January 6 footage of him doing exactly that.

“I just want to say to all of those liberals out there and the liberal media, just in case you haven’t gotten the message yet, I do not regret it,” Hawley told the audience. “And I am not backing down, I’m not gonna apologize, I’m not gonna cower, I’m not gonna run from you. I’m not gonna bend the knee.”

(Via Mediaite)

There’s no shame in needing a little help to find a good bottle of whiskey these days. The shelves at the liquor store overflow with brands, expressions, and limited edition picks (though those may be tucked behind the register). It’s daunting for any newbie (and even a seasoned pro) to navigate. There’s a lot of help out there though. You can turn to our own blind taste tests to get a handle on classic and new releases. You can also use social media and follow the people who have made whisk(e)y the central part of their lives.

Below, I’m calling out 20 whisk(e)y influencers I follow. Overall, following a whiskey influencer is a good way to learn about what’s fresh, what’s trending, and where you should invest your cash in the industry. These are the folks who live and breathe whiskey right now from Taiwan to Kentucky to Scotland to Australia and every point in between.

For this list, I’m calling out people who represent multiple facets of the industry, from historians to whiskey investment pros to very online whiskey reviewers — you know, people who have the ability to influence you. I’ve avoided the big brand accounts and their brand ambassadors. You can follow your favorite brands very easily without my help. I also didn’t rank these folks. I let their follower count lead the way on the list with the lowest first and the most followers last (plus a shameless self-plug at the end!). Seems more egalitarian that way, as all of these accounts are worth a follow equally but for different reasons. So, let’s get into it!

Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months

• We Blind Tasted A Whole Bunch Of $30-60 Bourbons To See If Any Could Beat Weller
• We Blind Tasted Classic Bourbons And Were Shocked By The Winner
• The Best Ten-Year-Old Bourbon Whiskeys, Tasted Blind And Ranked
• We Tasted Bourbon Whiskeys ‘Double-Blind’ And Tried To Guess Each Bottle
• All The Double Gold-Winning Straight Bourbons From This Year’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition

Miss Whiskey Historian, Caroline Paulus (6,158 followers)

Who:

Caroline Paulus is a great place to start, especially if you’re looking to get into dusties and Kentuck bourbon. Paulus is a whiskey historian working in Kentucky. She’s also the general manager/whiskey historian of Justins’ House of Bourbon in Lexington and Louisville and the Senior Editor of The Bourbon Review.

Focus:

Paulus’ feed focuses on the historical bottles she pulls in for Justins’ House of Bourbon’s stocks while also giving a behind-the-scenes look at the industry across Kentucky.

Whisky Dramster (9,009 followers)

Who:

Whisky Dramster is an online friend of mine and he can be your whiskey pal too. The feed does lean towards Texas whiskey but covers any bottle he can get his hands on, often photographed in a crumbling pastoral setting.

Focus:

Whisky Dramster’s handle focuses on Texas whiskey and smoked meats at the moment — it’s summertime, y’all. He also posts a lot about Scotch quite a bit with a refreshing set of tasting notes attached to each post.

Becky Paskin (10.1K followers)

Who:

Becky Paskin is one of the biggest names in the whisky critic game right now. She’s also a leader in whisk(e)y education. But she’s probably best known for advocating for women in the spirits and bar industry via OurWhisky, which she founded.

Focus:

Paskin’s feed mixes in-depth bottle reviews with distillery tours, panel discussions, and women’s advocacy in whiskey, spirits in general, and notes on the service industry.

That One Dude Ryan (10.8K followers)

Who:

That One Dude Ryan’s IG feed is a good mix of nonplussed comedy and legit whiskey reviews. Ryan’s dead stare into the camera — and your soul — as he pours whiskey and tastes it has become an internet meme and has been mimicked by his legion of fans. Beyond all of that, Ryan’s reviews are worthy of your time as he will lead you to some seriously good whiskey.

Focus:

Whiskey reviews, reaction reels, tasting reels, more reels, the sporadic whiskey meme, talking shit while tasting whiskey and making a reel — you know, all the good stuff in whiskey that keeps your feed light and fun.

Chasing Bourbon (10.9K followers)

Who:

Jen Regan of Chasing Bourbon is another essential IG handle. Regan’s feed is filled with nature and whiskey with a broad swath of bottles covered in the bourbon category. The hook here is the high-end photography that grabs you when you’re scrolling through your feed with the information attached to each post adding that extra depth for a great follow.

Focus:

Regan’s feed shifts between bourbon in nature — lakes, forests, fields, trees — to bourbon being poured with a touch of tenebrism creeping in from the shadows. Regan also posts about American whiskey bottles in general with ryes, American single malts, and blends every now and then too.

The Whiskey Gal (12.9K followers)

Who:

The Whiskey Gal, or Lynn Palmer, curates a classic American whiskey feed with a tight focus on bourbons and ryes. Each post brings style, information, and great bottle shots.

Focus:

The posts highlight the whiskeys Palmer tries and leads you back to The Bourbon Thieves community, which is also a great follow.

Urbanbourbonist, Chris Blatner (14K followers)

Who:

Chris Blatner is a very online whiskey reviewer. Blatner is also the executive director for Bourbon Charity which raises money via bourbon whiskey and Bourbon Hood, an organization of whiskey folks helping raise that money.

Focus:

Blatner’s feed is full of (mostly) bourbon and rye reviews via reels he posts at a consistent clip. He also hosts live tastings on his feed and covers the industry’s events and releases in general.

The Hood Sommelier (15.1K followers)

Who:

The Hood Sommelier, Jack Beguedou, is one of the coolest voices in whiskey today. Beguedou is bringing West African culinary and pairing profiles to the world of whiskey, especially bourbon.

Focus:

Beguedou focuses his feed on whiskey reviews. He’ll pepper in reels, live tastings, and posts with tasting notes alongside West African DJ sets in Louisville and food pop-ups around the country with West African chefs and bartenders.

Single Malt Savvy, Chris Perugini (18.8K followers)

Who:

Chris Perugini’s handle is the quintessential follow for any whiskey lover. Perugini has spent years curating, leading tastings, and educating folks about all things whiskey, especially Scotch. His knowledge is some of the deepest in the industry.

Focus:

There is a focus on Scotch whisky, but Perugini’s feed is filled with in-depth whiskey reviews from every category of the spirit.

A Girl Tasting Whiskey (23.7K followers)

Who:

A Girl Tasting Whiskey adds a fresh dimension to the whole IG whiskey scene. Her handle covers whiskey from every corner of the world with Australia as the backdrop. This is probably the most lifestyle-driven feed on this list as well with travel, style, modeling, and whiskey all colliding in each post.

Focus:

The posts focus on the whiskeys with details and tasting notes attached to most posts. There’s also a wanderlust vibe to the whole feed thanks to the phenomenal Australian framing with plenty of sun, sea, and craggy red rocks.

Whisky & Watches (25.5K followers)

Who:

Whisky & Watches is pretty self-explanatory. Cool watches are hung on the bottlenecks of great bottles of whiskey. And, let’s face it, there’s always been a pretty big overlap in high-end watches and high-end whiskey, so this is a natural fit.

Focus:

Vintage, unicorn, and standard whiskeys from all over the world are adorned with new and vintage watches. Again, it’s pretty self-explanatory and pretty enticing if you’re looking for great watches and great whiskey.

Whisky Nate, Nate Woodruff (26.2K followers)

Who:

Whiskey Nate (Woodruff) started off his feed as a whiskey and travel/photography handle that’s turned into a whiskey, dog, and Wyoming outdoors feed. Woodruff’s main gig is Whisky With A View which is another great photography/outdoor/whiskey feed to follow.

Focus:

Dogs, mountains, rivers, and (mostly) American whiskey! While the feed is inarguable masculine (wood chopping, fishing, meat, and whiskey), the whiskey reviews being poured and photographed are always top-notch.

Black Bourbon Society (28.4K followers)

Who:

Black Bourbon Society, founded by Samara Rivers, aims to highlight the deep history of African American culture in American whiskey and the connectivity of whiskey and Black American culture that’s still thriving today.

Focus:

Black Bourbon Society highlights the bars, industry pros, and people behind both the American spirits and service industries in the Black community. Post focus on everything from advocacy for Black voices to great leads on Black-owned businesses. There’s also some great cocktail content interspersed throughout.

Duchess of Islay (30.5K followers)

Who:

The Duchess of Islay posts from The Parlour, a massive whiskey room that makes for the perfect backdrop. The Duchess of Islay’s feed is about education first and foremost with scotch, Prohibition, and general whiskey knowledge at the center of it all.

Focus:

Duchess of Islay focuses her feed on whisk(e)y education with a focus on all things Scotland, but especially Islay whisky. The feed goes into Scottish name pronunciations alongside in-depth whiskey reviews and history.

George Koutsakis (34.8K followers)

Who:

George Koutsakis is a Scotch, Taiwanese, and Japanese whisky expert living in Taiwan. Koutsakis is a great whiskey writer with a deep knowledge of whiskies that don’t get nearly enough attention in the U.S. — think super special Japanese releases and Taiwanese whiskies in general.

Focus:

The Eastern Asian whisky scene and the amazing Taiwanese food scene collide on Koutsakis’ feed.

Whisky Nomad (42.2K followers)

Who:

Sarah, The Whisky Nomad, blends travel and whisky with spirits history and education. The overall vibe is light and easy with no pretension but tons of great information about whiskey from all over the world.

Focus:

The Whisky Nomad feed leans far more into whisky education and reviews these days than travel with solid whisky memes filling in the rest.

Fred Minnick (47.5K followers)

Who:

Fred Minnick is probably the most well-known name in bourbon whiskey today. Minnick has built a small empire around reviewing American whiskeys and telling you where to find the absolute best bottles (and which ones to avoid at all costs).

Focus:

Minnick’s post focus on his live shows, whiskey reviews, celebrity interviews, and a slice of life in Kentucky (and his travels for work).

Single Malt Vault (53.6K followers)

Who:

Single Malt Vault, curated by CJ, is a vast vault of amazing and old whiskies. This is where we get into the very high-end world of whisky investing and unicorn bottles.

Focus:

This feed is filled with drool-worthy dusties and unicorns from the Scotch whisky scene with a focus on investment bottles. There are plenty of rare and high-end whisky reviews as well as insights into the upper echelons of the industry.

Cigar Lover (66.1K followers)

Who:

Cigar Lover blends the worlds of fine cigars with fine whiskey, especially bourbon with a Miami setting. Cigar Lover is both a certified cigar sommelier and bourbon steward and spends her time traveling the tobacco farms of the Caribbean and Central America in between trips to Kentucky and beyond where she leads expert pairing sessions.

Focus:

Cigars and whiskey! While bourbon is the main focus, Cigar Lover also offers great pairings of tobacco with Scotch whisky as well as any other high-end pour. There’s also a very tropical vibe to the whole feed, making it a great follow for that alone.

Nate Gana (127K followers)

Who:

Nate Gana is the foremost voice in whiskey collecting and investing right now. Gana has built a reputation as one of the nicest guys in whisky, with a deep knowledge of where to invest both for your vault and bar cart. Gana’s also behind the release of Whisky Live! which is one of the biggest whisky festivals in the world.

Focus:

Investment whisky, exclusive whisky tastings, whiskey tastings with the biggest names in the industry, and a dash of luxury travel are the highlights of Gana’s feed.

Bonus Track: ZTPWhiskey (2,544 followers)

Who:

Zach Johnston (me!) is the head drinks writer for UPROXX Life. I also host panel discussions with some of the biggest names int he industry, leads whiskey tastings internationally, and serve as a judge at international spirits competitions.

Focus:

All whiskey that comes across my desk as a whiskey writer plus great food, a touch of travel, and a cocktail or two.

College football programs have become increasingly good at finding cool and unique ways to announce special jerseys. It usually involves some players, maybe a coach, and perhaps even some former players coming together for a video, or a photoshoot, or something else that is designed to get fans excited in the months leading up to a game.

Notre Dame decided to use that general framework for the jersey reveal ahead of its Oct. 8 game against BYU in Las Vegas this season and took things to another level. The gist: Remember that scene in The Hangover when the guys thought they were going to get Doug, only Ken Jeong brought them another dude named Doug, instead? Well, Notre Dame did that, with former players Mike Golic and Mike Golic Jr. bringing head coach Marcus Freeman, defensive lineman Isaiah Foskey, and tight end Michael Mayer what they thought was going to be their uniform for the game.

That did not happen, as they got an older jersey, instead. So the trio went onto the roof of the MGM Grand and found their crisp white unis in a bag before wearing them onto the field at Allegiant Stadium.

The number of nods to the movie even beyond the fact this exists really is spectacular — Foskey and Mayer singing the best friends song before Freeman reminding them he is their head coach is especially good. The uniforms themselves are quite nice, too, as the white-on-white with gold numbers look, when done right, is usually always going to look sharp.

In the course of prepping my world-famous Best Way To Cook A Hot Dog article, I learned some things. First, that hot dogs — the good ones, anyway — are probably better than you remember. Second, pan-frying a dog produces a shockingly good dog.

It was a hotly debated issue, everyone having their favorite ways to cook or eat a dog, and in the course of debating it, many of my coworkers were inspired to check my work and try their own. In the process, they came to confirm but also, perhaps, evolve my initial conclusion. Almost all of them were so delighted by how good their franks turned out that they felt the need to crow about it in the Uproxx Life slack channel.

Hot damn, a pan-fried frank really is that good!

The basis of our discoveries can probably be boiled down into a fairly succinct philosophy: If you treat a dog like real meat, it will eat like real meat. And what’s the best way to cook, say, an expensive ribeye? Probably by butter basting it in a hot cast iron pan. Thus, streamlining our conclusions, we give you our favorite new hot dog hack:

The butter-basted hot dog.

Before we get into it, I think we can all agree that this isn’t health food, right? Your cardiologist should probably not hear that you’ve discovered adding hot butter to your frankfurters as part of your health regimen. This is a once-a-month kind of calorie splurge we’re talking here. That being said, if you’re already eating a hot dog, how much worse is a tablespoon of butter really going to make it? If you’re already blowing your money on a fast car you might as well spring for the nice rims too, I say. Anyway, eat responsibly, weirdos.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of butter (probably unsalted if possible, hot dogs are already pretty salty)
• 2-3 garlic cloves (you don’t even really have to peel them, the skins will come off in the pan)
• Your choice of herbs (I used a sprig of rosemary because I had it growing in the garden)

Tools

• 1 cast iron pan (non-cast iron will work just fine too)
• A pair of tongs or a fork for turning
• A spoon for basting (optional)

Directions

Melt your butter in the cast iron. Hot dogs are already cooked, so you don’t really need to get it screaming hot like you would a steak. Get it just to where the butter sizzles and sings, and give your smoke alarm a rest.

Admittedly this was kind of a fancy boy step. You don’t really need garlic and herbs in your basting liquid for a hot dog, but hell, why not? It’s good enough for a steak… Plus, I did this without dicing or chopping. You can just drop them in there straight out of the garden or fridge. Anyway, get your garlic and herbs in that hot butter and let them bloom a bit. At the very least, it will make your kitchen smell incredible.

Now that your butter is all hot and full of herbs, guess what? It’s time to stick your wiener in it. It should be hot enough to sizzle but not enough to explode.

Now, you can use a spoon to tilt the pan and pour the collected butter over top of the frank, but thanks to the tubular shape, you don’t really need to. You can kinda just roll it around in there for a while. Depends on how patient you feel like being, really.

This should take around five minutes or so. You want that skin to get nice and caramelized without bursting the dog (mine split a little, and that’s okay).

There she is. You want that skin to get nice and dark like it is in the middle there. Maybe it even bubbles a little. The beauty of pan frying is that that dark skin doesn’t get tough or chewy like it does with grilling; it just gets extra layers of caramelized flavor and melts in your mouth after a nice snap.

Our team feels confident that these will be the best hot dogs you ever have in your life. Period. They taste great on a bun with all the fixins — that’s how I like to eat my dogs. But also tastes pretty damn good plain. You can cut the dog on the bias, throw some toothpicks in there, and serve them as hors d’oeuvres. God, I hate typing that. Let’s just call them “snacks” instead, shall we?

Anyway, there it is, your Helpful Hot Dog Hack of the day. It’s fast and easy but it never disappoints — elevating this dish from “east grill staple” to “something you can be proud to serve” without any extra hassle.

Vince Mancini is on Twitter.