Month: July 2022

Scottish producer and DJ Hudson Mohawke is a veteran in the music industry at this point, and a little over a decade into his career, Mohawke is gearing up to show off the latest chapter in his career. Last month, he announced his upcoming third album Cry Sugar with a new song, “Bicstan,” and a megamix beside it. The upcoming album follows his Heart Of The Night EP which featured remixes of his favorite old-school hits. With just a few weeks left until that album becomes available to the world, Mohawke returns with another double release as well as a new video.

Mohawke wraps up July with “Dance Forever” and “Stump.” The latter record is an optimistic track that is sure to find a space to breathe on dance floors around the world. As for “Stump,” Mohawke uses that record that details the feeling of coming down from a sky-grazing high. Its matching video captures the many different shapes, colors, and temperatures of various environments all over the world.

A press release for Cry Sugar labels the album as an example of Mohawke’s “practice of producing motivational music for club goers” by “uplifting the debauchery and inspiring many through his own brand of anthemic maximalism.” The album is set to arrive on August 12, giving his fans just a couple of weeks to get themselves ready for his latest body of work.

You can watch the video for “Stump” and listen to “Dance Forever” in the videos above.

Cry Sugar is out 8/12 via Warp Records. You can pre-save it here.

Last summer, the world was on edge when it was revealed that America’s treasure Bob Odenkirk had collapsed on the set of the final season of Better Call Saul after suffering a heart attack. Odenkirk later revealed that the heart attack was actually a lot more serious than originally reported (it also happened during one of the tensest moments in the series).

Odenkirk recently opened up about the ordeal on NPR, explaining how it was a life-saving coincidence that helped revive him from his heart attack which left his heart to stop beating for nearly 18 minutes. Actress Rosa Estrada happened to have a defibrillator in her car, which helped save the actor’s life. As he explained:

Odenkirk: Rosa Estrada — we were very lucky that this woman was nearby because she knew how to do CPR properly, and she had the AED [defibrillator] in her car, and she only had it in her car because she was returning it to somebody who she borrowed [it from]. It was a total crazy coincidence that she had put it in her car, and I guess she’d had tried to return it, but the friend wasn’t home. Otherwise she wouldn’t have had it either. And so it’s only because of that circumstance that it was in the trunk of her car. And I’m sure that helped me immensely. I mean, the CPR is number one, but the fact is, I didn’t get a heart rate for 18 minutes after this started, and that’s a long time. Please take a CPR class because the fact that it was done almost immediately — within a minute and minute and a half — and it was done so well, it was done properly — that’s what really saved me.

Despite the setback, Odenkirk returned to set nearly five weeks later and was ready to dive back into the final act of Saul/Jimmy/Gene. Odenkirk said that the heart attack put life back into perspective and gave him the energy jolt he needed to finish off the critically acclaimed series.

Odenkirk: It made it even easier, much easier to be in the moment … of looking at the world almost like you just woke up and don’t remember anything. … My wife straggled in after a day of not sleeping and getting phone calls and having a private jet that Sony was so good to send to get her in New York. And she came into the hospital room and I popped up after surgery that morning going, “Let’s go to work!”

And that energy carried through and it made it easier to be in the moment. Which is your job as an actor. That’s the weird mind game you play, is getting yourself in the moment of someone else’s life, but really feeling on the edge of, ‘I don’t know what happens next here.’ … And it was easier for me to do with this kind of weird, new-found POV on the world. … I really want to stay in touch with what happened there because it really was a great reconnection to being alive. And so I’d love to ruminate on it every day and try to reconnect.

And with that energy, Odenkirk secured an Emmy nomination and several dozen Cinnabon cinnamon rolls! The final episodes of Better Call Saul air Mondays at 9 pm on AMC. Hopefully, some familiar faces will pop up soon.

(Via NPR)

It’s another day and that means somewhere there’s a brand new bottle of whiskey on the shelf. Let’s face it, whiskey drops — rye, bourbon, scotch, American single malt, blended, etc. — are a constant now. Will they ever stop? We don’t know. But we’re enjoying the boom while it lasts.

However, that does leave us with a whole lot of whiskey to track — sometimes with rankings, sometimes blind, and sometimes with single-bottle reviews. Today, it’s time to try some new rye whiskeys and see how they rank in one of our famous blind taste tests.

Like most whiskey categories, rye is rapidly expanding right now. The old days of the simple “rye = spice” are long gone. Distillers and blenders have taken the category in new directions, while still adhering to the legal definition of the spirit by keeping at least 51 percent rye grains in the mash bill (recipe).

For this blind taste test, I’m pulling 12 new rye whiskeys from my shelf and seeing how they stack up. For the most part, these are all brand new releases (some aren’t even on shelves yet) alongside some new batches and reissues which dropped over the past couple of months. As for the ranking part, that’s purely based on taste. Price and availability are not in play.

The lineup today is:

• Chicken Cock Rum Barrel Rye Island Rooster
• Old Potrero 6 Years Old
• Jefferson’s Ocean Aged At Sea Double Barrel Rye Whiskey (Voyage 26)
• Rabbit Hole Boxergrail Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
• Kentucky Owl The Wiseman
• New Riff Balboa Rye Bottled in Bond
• Stellum Rye Fibonacci Blend #1
• Leopold Bros. Single Barrel Three Chamber Rye Whiskey
• Michter’s Single Barrel 10-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
• Great Jones Straight Rye Whiskey
• Wheel Horse Straight Rye Whiskey
• High West A Midwinter Nights Dram

Okay, let’s jump in and find you you a new rye to sip this summer!

Also Read: The Top Five Rye Whiskey from the Last Six Months on UPROXX

• All 19 Brands From The Buffalo Trace Distillery, Ranked
• The Single Best Bottle Of Whiskey From Each Of The 50 States
• The 50 Best Rye Whiskeys Of 2021, Ranked
• We Tasted Rye Whiskeys Blind To See If Any Of Them Could Beat Willett
• The 100 Best Whiskeys Our Head Drinks Writer Tasted In 2021

Part 1: The Tasting

Taste 1

Tasting Notes:

This opens with a hint of sour orchard fruit next to fresh grains, light molasses sweetness (with a twinge of tannic oak) next to a mild dose of dried and woody chili pepper. The palate starts off with a sour apple candy sweetness next to rum-soaked raisins with more of that tannic molasses, a good layer of vanilla creaminess, buttery toffee, and a dash of red peppercorns. The end lets the butteriness of the toffee take over as crusty rye bread flour mixes with dark sugars.

This is a pretty good place to start.

Taste 2

Tasting Notes:

This has a massively grainy nose with a hint of dry cat food (I confirmed with three people in my house without incepting them with that flavor note — one of them said they smelled fiberglass, too) next to buried dark Christmas spices and a hint of rum-soaked oak. The palate is full of sharp ginger and woody cinnamon with a touch of pecans covered in butter and pancake syrup (a complete departure from the nose). The finish has woody vanilla, caramel candy, and a hint of dry porch wicker.

This was flabbergasting. I hated the nose … with a passion of all of hell’s fire. The palate was nice though. It was simple but effective.

Taste 3

Tasting Notes:

This opens with a sense of old pine resin next to dried serrano peppers, woody cinnamon, clove, allspice, and Cherry Coke with a hint of sour apple and maybe some sweetgrass. The palate leans into a cinnamon roll vibe with a lot of ground ginger, nutmeg, clove, and cinnamon next to singed marshmallows and caramel apples before that Cherry Coke makes a roaring comeback — his time it’s heavily spiced to almost a Dr. Pepper vibe (in the best way). The end turns into an old leather pouch with a hint of salt next to a sour cherry tobacco leaf.

This was a bazillion times better than the last dram. Out of these first three, this is the best (by far)… but I have a long way to go.

Taste 4

Tasting Notes:

This has an interesting nose that’s park spicy pork stew (chili, umami, fat) with bright peaches, vanilla, and summer wildflowers. The palate has a hint of old cedar next to cream soda, white pepper, and crusty rye bread with a hint of caraway The finish brings in heavily spiced chewy tobacco packed into an old cedar box with creamy vanilla and dash more of that powdery white pepper.

This was pretty nice. It felt a little one-note in that it was “rye” but that’s fine. I can see this landing in the middle somewhere.

Taste 5

Tasting Notes:

Citrus and green spices open up the nose toward a lot of sweetness — honey, caramel, apple candy — before hitting a light dry sweetgrass note. The taste opens with a warm hit of winter spices with sharp cinnamon and a hint of black pepper before a dry forest moss vibe moves the taste toward old leather and dried apricot with more honey and candy. The end is more warm than spicy with more honey as a counterpoint and a hint of vanilla tobacco.

This was, again, fine. It feels like a solid mid-ranking whiskey.

Taste 6

Tasting Notes:

There’s a trace of saltwater taffy on the nose (or maybe just the wax paper wrappers) next to an almost buttery chili rub with a good dose of salt and red pepper spice that’s both lush and deep. The palate leans into a spicy orange marmalade as a medley of dry grasses, woody spices, and creamy vanilla mingles on the senses. The end is a spiced cherry cola next to more woody spice (clove and allspice berries especially) with a luxurious landing on waxy mint taffy, soft capsicum spice, and dry cedar bark braids.

Okay, this was the first really good pour of this tasting. This resets everything. I was starting to get worried.

Taste 7

Tasting Notes:

Wow. This opens with a mix of chili-spiked tomato soup next to tannic old oak staves dipped in orange-laced honey. The palate opens with a hint of apple pie filling, clove, and plenty of buttery creamed brown sugar before veering into forest floor dirt, old Earl Grey tea bags, and a twinge of dried mushroom. The end arrives with creamy cherry/vanilla/chocolate that leads back to the orange-laced honey as gingery tobacco leaves pack into an old cedar box that’s lined with soft leather.

This is another killer. This is damn fine whiskey, rye or not.

From my notes: “We’ve found the whiskey to beat, folks!”

Taste 8

Tasting Notes:

The nose is subtle with hints of maple syrup bran muffins next to star fruit, a hint of creamy Nutella, and a whisper of a salted peanut shell. The palate is lush but grainy with dried apricot and orange marmalade leading to a Cherry Coke vibe with plenty of cola, clove, and allspice and maybe a small nub of black licorice. The end comes with an echo of white wildflowers next to nasturtiums, sour apple candy, and mulled wine-soaked tobacco leaves.

This is another banger. It’s not quite as “wow” as the past pour but it’s close.

Taste 9

Tasting Notes:

Rich and lush toffee combine with soft marzipan on the nose as a dash of freshly cracked black pepper lead to cinnamon-laced apple cider and cherry-soaked cedar bark. The palate is part Red Hot and part zesty orange marmalade with creamy vanilla pudding, sweet and spicy dried chili peppers with a hint of smoke and woodiness, and this fleeting whisper of celery salt. The end dries out the almond with a vanilla cream tobacco, soft and sweet cedar, and dark chocolate orange vibe all balanced to damn near perfection.

From my notes: “This took me on a journey and is as soft as silk. This is going to be hard to beat.”

Taste 10

Tasting Notes:

This whiskey opens with a nose full of lemon and cumin with a dose of vanilla and pepper. The palate is cinnamon candy forward with vanilla tobacco and lemon pepper mingling with a hint of old oak staves and maybe some sour cherry. The end is light but spicy with a rush of dried fruits and sweet brown sugars.

This was pretty good overall. It didn’t blow me away, but it was perfectly solid all around.

Taste 11

Tasting Notes:

Chili salt and black pepper lead to peach cobbler and a hint of vanilla frosting. The palate is full of winter spices that lean toward cinnamon and black licorice candies. The finish is all Red Hots with dashes of dark chocolate, dry grass, and old vanilla husks.

Again, this was pretty nice. It wasn’t an arresting sip but it went down nicely.

Taste 12

Tasting Notes:

This is a pretty complex nose with sour berries next to dried apricot, woody and slightly sweet cinnamon, French toast, and a mild note of something umami (dried mushrooms perhaps). The palate gets more savory with a rhubarb vibe as dark chocolate with a serious woody spiced edge meets old leather laced with years of tobacco, lush vanilla cream, and salted caramel. The end is as silky as eggnog with a whisper of black tea bitterness and minty tobacco rounding things out.

This is another good damn pour.

Part 2: The Ranking

12. Old Potrero 6 Years Old — Taste 2

ABV: 48.5%

Average Price: $72

The Whiskey:

This whiskey is a bit of a throwback with a West Coast vibe. The juice is 100 percent rye whiskey made at Anchor Brewing in Portero Hill, one of San Francisco’s most iconic spots for booze. As of this year, the spirit is being distilled on the waterfront in San Francisco but still carries that Anchor Brewing heritage. With that move, the bottle also got a brand new design that leans into San Francisco’s sea-faring history.

Bottom Line:

I damn near didn’t rank this one. The nose was so off-putting that it was almost impossible to get past.

11. Kentucky Owl The Wiseman — Taste 5

ABV: 50.4%

Average Price: $53

The Whiskey:

This whiskey is part of Kentucky Owl’s new accessible line of whiskeys (its previous releases were very exclusive and expensive generally). The juice is contract distilled at Bardstown Bourbon Company. The whiskey is made from a classic 95 percent rye and five percent malted barley mash. That ages for at least four years before bottling as is.

Bottom Line:

This is really where the ranking starts. This was pretty solid rye all around. It wasn’t anything that wowed or changed the way you think about whiskey, but not every bottle has to be. That said, I think I’m relegating this to highballs and cocktails.

10. Wheel Horse Straight Rye Whiskey — Taste 11

ABV: 50.5%

Average Price: $35

The Whiskey:

The latest batch from Latitude Beverage/Ocean State Distillers, which pulls its juice from the famed Green River Distilling Co. in Kentucky, is another classic rye. The contract distilled whiskey is the quintessential 95/5 rye/barley mash. This one is aged for up to three years before it’s batched, proofed, and bottled.

Bottom Line:

I enjoyed this basic rye whiskey with no frills. I think it’s more of a cocktail base than anything else, but that’s fine.

9. Rabbit Hole Boxergrail Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey — Taste 4

ABV: 47.5%

Average Price: $53

The Whiskey:

This crafty distillery makes their rye with 95 percent rye and malted barley right in Louisville (and via contract distilling). The 95/5 rye juice is aged for three years in heavily toasted and charred barrels before vatting, proofing, and bottling.

Bottom Line:

This is solid as ever. Again, this is still squarely in the “good cocktail base” category for me, hence it’s ranked a little low.

8. Great Jones Straight Rye Whiskey — Taste 10

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $40 (Coming Soon)

The Whiskey:

This is a very local New York whiskey. The mash uses grains grown in New York before the juice is distilled and aged at the craft distillery. The whiskey ages for four years before batching, proofing, and barreling.

Bottom Line:

The was the last of the “just fine” rye whiskey. Though I can see pouring this over some rocks as well as using it for cocktails.

7. Chicken Cock Rum Barrel Rye Island Rooster — Taste 1

ABV: 47.5%

Average Price: $200

The Whiskey:

This contract distilled whiskey (by Bardstown Bourbon Company) from Chicken Cock is from 25 hand-picked four-year-old Kentucky rye casks (with a mash bill of 95/5). Those barrels were vatted and then re-barreled in Caribbean rum casks for six more months of maturation. Finally, the whiskey was bottled with a touch of proofing water.

Bottom Line:

This is where we get into the good stuff. This is a nice sipper overall with a serious depth that’d work wonders in a cocktail (though that price point…ouch). Anyway, this is the beginning of the “Zach’s splitting hairs to rank whiskey” section.

6. Jefferson’s Ocean Aged At Sea Double Barrel Rye Whiskey (Voyage 26) — Taste 3

ABV: 48%

Average Price: $93

The Whiskey:

The latest rye release from Jefferson’s much-lauded “Aged At Sea” program highlights Canadian whisky. The juice is a batch of barrels from undisclosed Canadian distilleries. Those barrels age for up to five years before being loaded onto a science ship and sent around the world.

Once the whiskey arrived back in Kentucky, it was vatted, proofed, and bottled as-is.

Bottom Line:

This delivered a deep flavor profile even though the proof was on the lower end. It was just a really nice pour that was also engaging. This is something I wanted to return to. It’s not ranked higher simply because I don’t dream about it like the rest of the bottles on this list.

Still… this is very good juice.

5. High West A Midwinter Nights Dram — Taste 12

ABV: 49.3%

Average Price: $140

The Whiskey:

Each year, this limited drop varies slightly. This release was a mix of MGP rye (95 percent rye) and High West rye (100 percent rye) finished in French oak barrels that held ruby and tawny port. The barrels picked for this batch were between four and seven years old with the older barrels coming from Indiana and the younger ones from Utah.

Bottom Line:

This is just good. Given the collection of pours and their order, this might have been a two or three on any other day. Today, it was a clear winner and remains a top five overall rye for the day. It’s just delicious.

4. Leopold Bros. Single Barrel Three Chamber Rye Whiskey — Taste 8

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $250

The Whiskey:

The latest release of Leopold Bros.’s famed Three Chamber rye is a stellar single barrel release made in a bespoke still designed by Todd Leopold specifically to make this whiskey. The summer 2022 release is made with Abruzzi rye and sourced from the best five-year-old barrels in the warehouse, according to Todd Leopold’s master-level palate. Once a single barrel is selected, the whiskey is then slightly touched with water before bottling.

Bottom Line:

This was new and fresh (that sweet bran muffin vibe is popping up a lot this year). It was also classic and fun. This is just good whiskey that takes you somewhere new.

3. New Riff Balboa Rye Bottled in Bond — Taste 6

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $210

The Whiskey:

This whiskey is built around heritage rye from Indiana, Balboa rye, which was popularized in the 1940s. The juice is hewn from a 95/5 rye/barley recipe and aged for up to five years before batching, proofing, and bottling.

Bottom Line:

This is a pretty excellent whiskey. It’s an easy sipper that’s very rewarding. Still, these top five are all interchangeable. This stood out a tad more in that it was just super silky and easy to drink while carrying serious depth.

2. Stellum Rye Fibonacci Blend #1 — Taste 7

ABV: 57.56%

Average Price: $99

The Whiskey:

This new whiskey from Stellum (part of Barrell Craft Spirits) celebrates the Fibonacci sequence — that’s the sequence of numbers that are the sum of the previous two numbers. To mimic this, the blenders at Stellum selected six rye barrels and blended them with each barrel becoming the sum of the last two barrels. The results were bottled without any proofing or fussing.

Bottom Line:

This is phenomenal whiskey. It didn’t win the day by a tiny bit simply because it was a little broad. That said, it covered a lot of ground, took me on a journey of flavor, and was just plain delicious.

1. Michter’s Single Barrel 10-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey — Taste 9

ABV: 46.4%

Average Price: $400

The Whiskey:

This year’s only Michter’s 10-Year release is an instant classic. The whiskey is made from a corn-rich rye whiskey mash bill with a good dose of barley in there. The absolute best barrels are chosen — with some up to 15 years old — for this release. Then each of those barrels is individually bottled as-is with a hint of proofing water.

Bottom Line:

This was the biggest “wow” whiskey of the tasting. While this might be the only Michter’s 10-Year release we see this year (we already know the bourbon isn’t coming again until 2023), it’s also the only one we need. This is stellar whiskey with accessibility that’s both easy and rewarding. It’s deep yet familiar. It’s fresh yet nostalgic.

This is a classic for the ages. Look for it on our end-of-year lists!

Part 3: Final Thought

Well, this shook out weird. The 12th seed was one of the oddest experiences I’ve ever had tasting whiskey — and I taste a lot. Eleven through six were all perfectly good whiskeys with their own merits and faults. Five and four were where I think you should start really paying attention. Three and two are worthy of your hard-earned cash and time to find.

That 2022 Michter’s 10-Year Rye though … that’s the one. That instantly shot up to contention for best whiskey of the year. We’ll see how the next five months play out, but it’s going to be hard to beat.

Even though Iggy Azaela has carved out a pretty successful independent career after leaving Interscope, it’s fair to say that she’s received less attention now than at her height. Yet somehow, that still hasn’t stopped haters online from finding negative things to critique about her music, personality, and performances, even with her decreased visibility. The latest example came after Iggy performed at Long Beach Pride earlier this month when a fan posted a video of Iggy twerking during her set to Twitter.

It didn’t take long for the boo birds to find the video and decide what the world needed was their mean comments about her body. Quote-tweeting the original tweeter, who wrote, “iggy really be tossin that big mf,” Iggy shot back, “It’s a good thing I genuinely feel happy about myself & my body cause y’all stay in every comment section talking the most shit about me & it’s very mean spirited & ugly.” She also got in one last shot at her detractors: “Ps. your man 100% wants to f*ck me.” In a later tweet, she clarified that she was addressing the replies of the original tweet, where the negativity started, not the complimentary “tossin” caption.

Last year, Iggy said that her album, End Of An Era, would be her last, explaining, “I’m getting to a space where I feel that there’s not much new perspective I can bring to what I’m doing… at least not that I’d be comfortable with the world hearing.” While her fans will undoubtedly miss her, it looks like her haters will probably have to find a new target for their mean-spirited commentary.

Before The Bear, chef Courtney Storer couldn’t watch a lot of TV shows or movies that took place in the kitchen.

“The chef community is so special and complicated, and I think people haven’t done a show about chefs because of that,” Storer, who’s served as the culinary director for LA mainstays like Jon + Vinny’s, tells UPROXX. “It’s hard to really get it right. It’s hard to really understand.” But, when her brother Christopher Storer, decided to write a half-hour drama about a Chicago beef shop on the verge of bankruptcy, weighted down with family secrets and recent tragedy, she decided to lend her expertise to the writer’s room.

After all, it was about time someone got back of house life right.

The result? An 8-episode manic fever dream that feels like a cross between Hell’s Kitchen and a Safdie brother’s movie, one bursting with tension, set to shouted insults, and covered in grease, cracked yolk, and grime. The masses love it, even members of Storer’s discerning chef community. “One of the things I wanted to share was how vulnerable cooking feels, no matter where you are, in what position,” Storer explains. “There was pressure. If we do this, how do we make it authentic?”

Some of the answer to that question lies in the pacing, the storytelling, and the brilliant performances from the show’s cast, which includes Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and break-out star Ayo Edebiri. But more of it can be found in the smaller details — the deli cups, the sharpie labels, and, especially, the lingo. Plenty of kitchen-specific terms are hurled throughout each dizzying episode but the show never waits for fans to catch up.

Just like in a real kitchen, you learn, you adapt, or you die.

Thankfully, Storer was kind enough to give us a run-down of the basic chef-speak one needs to know, especially if The Bear has subconsciously infiltrated their vocabulary. (We know you’ve said “yes chef” at least once after watching.) Below, Storer breaks down some key terms, what they mean, and how to convincingly use them, even if you aren’t a chef de cuisine.

Chef – If you’ve started calling everyone in your life “chef,” Storer wants you to know that’s okay. It’s a sign of respect amongst cooks in the kitchen but even if you’re not on the line, you can use it. As long as you don’t mind some strange stares from people who haven’t watched The Bear yet.

“When I was coming up in restaurants, ‘chef’ was specific to the chef in the restaurant, period,” Storer says. “I think things have changed. ‘Yes, chef,’ it’s a kind of respect to all parties that are contributing towards one team, one dream, the end vision, which is preparing good food. And I always dug that because, first of all, it’s non-binary. ‘Chef’ is not referring to one gender over the other, so that’s helpful. I encourage it.”

Family — Family meal, like the one Carmy and the crew host before the day’s rush, can be breakfast, lunch, or dinner depending on the structure of the restaurant. It’s usually made from food that would otherwise go to waste – like the meatballs that were a bit overcooked the day before or the extra chicken cutlets someone accidentally ordered.

“It’s the staff feeding the staff, chefs feeding the chefs,” Storer explains. “In a restaurant, you’re not taking a lunch break. You really don’t have time, but you’re around the most delicious food.”

When Carmy tells Sydney to make family meal with a “meat and three” that’s a common formula – a way to serve up a well-rounded meal of protein, veggies, and carbs that energizes the kitchen for its next shift. It can also be a trial run for a new chef. “When you’re a stagiaire or you’re staging for a restaurant, sometimes they’ll have you make an item on family meal because it’s kind of like a test. It’s kind of a way of a chef saying, ‘Hey, do you know how to make a salad dressing?’” Storer says. “In France, my first day on the job they were like, ‘Make family meal,’ and I was terrified. I couldn’t read any of the modes on the oven. I was like a cat in a bathtub. I did not know what was going on. I didn’t have muscle memory. I didn’t know how to move in that space yet. I’ll never forget, I short-circuited the oven. So everyone ate cold roasted carrots, literally carrots that were raw with olive oil and spices on them.”

Corner / Behind – In case you couldn’t tell from The Bear, kitchens are loud. And dangerous. And intense. There are fires going, burners turned up to the max, and sharp objects at every turn. Kitchen sonar is a must, knowing where other chefs are so that the rhythm of the line isn’t thrown off.

“It’s like playing a sport, like soccer,” Storer says. “When you’re passing the ball you say, ‘Open. Here.’ ‘Corner, behind, hot, sharp,’ that’s really your sensory that’s coaching you not to move or turn around too quickly and burn yourself.”

Your Pass – Once Sydney graduates from stagier to a full-time chef at The Beef, Carmen gives her the reigns while he manages the organizational needs of the restaurant that have been neglected for years because of his brother’s addiction. Eventually, he tells Sydney “your pass,” which means he’s letting her run the kitchen for the day.

“Sometimes, when there’s a chef and a sous chef, hierarchy-wise, the chef is always calling the tickets, but he’s kind of relinquishing that control,” Storer explains. “He’s saying, ‘You’re in control. It’s your pass.’ So that means she’s in charge of the rhythm of the tickets. She’s calling them, she’s expo-ing the service, which means all the food going out is in her control. So when you go out at a restaurant and you see the chef and they’re crossing off the tickets and they’re calling to the kitchen, they’re essentially the conductor. If you ever go out to a restaurant and you’re like, ‘Whoa, our food is coming out so fast,’ or it’s perfectly balanced and it’s like a dance. It’s like, you get your salad, then your pasta comes, then your steak, and it feels like this beautiful rhythm, that’s an expediter who’s really good at managing their cooks.”

Heard — Heard is simply a truncated version of, ‘Yes, chef,’ and it’s not used in all kitchens. “So some chefs hate heard,” Storer says. “I’ve been in kitchens where they’re like, ‘Do not say heard. It’s too casual.’ I feel like it shortens the memory that I’m trying to give. I’m calling out something so you lock it into your brain. Sometimes you’ve got too much going on in your brain to give a full call back. So like, ‘We’re low on olive oil, heard.’ That’s fine. But if I’m leading a kitchen, I always like to hear the cook say it back because then they’re going to remember it.”

Hands – This means there’s food at the pass – or the expediting station – and it’s ready to go out. “It’s usually a call to the front of house to help.”

Fire – A dish is ready to be cooked. “When you have a ticket that comes in, you say, ‘Order in, three steak, medium rare.’ The chef, they’ll say, ‘Three steak, medium rare, heard chef.’ They grab their steaks out and they mark them. They start to get them to room temperature. Then that means when the chef is ready to call that ticket for those steaks to be made, he’ll say, ‘Order, fire, three steaks,’” Storer explains. “That means those three steaks you pulled out 10 minutes ago, you can put them on the grill and you can cook them.”

Staging – Pronounce stah-ging, this is what Sydney does when she first arrives at The Beef. Think of staging as an internship – sometimes paid, sometimes not. It’s done by chefs either looking for a job or wanting to see how other kitchens cook. “Being in New York right now, I could go to a lot of restaurants and say, ‘Hey, I want to stage for the day. I’m not looking for a job, but can I come in and cook with you guys for the day?’ Storer says. “I would be helping them and also getting a vibe for what kind of food they make, what kind of recipes. When you’re a chef, staging is super important, because you obviously want the job, but you’re also seeing, is this kitchen a place that I want to work in?”

Deli – This is less of a term and more of an observation. In almost every episode, Carmy can be seen drinking water from a clear, plastic Tupperware container. If you’ve wondered why, Storer has the answer. “That was me!” she says. “Yes, it’s a real thing. Those storage containers are called delis. They’re just 32 ounce, 16 ounce or eight ounce recyclable plastic cups with lids. And oftentimes chefs will just fill them with ice water. And then you can put that in your little refrigerator for service and keep it cold all night, drink from it — which is great because you need to hydrate. But it’s usually what chefs will use. You can’t have glass on the line or coffee cups. Richie with the coffee cup is very funny because it also shows how comfortable he is in that space. But that wouldn’t fly with a lot of restaurants. You need to have things in a deli, even if it’s coffee, you drink from a deli.”

Pars All Day – The count of a particular item – think chicken, steak, fish – for the day. “It’s just like, how many do you have? We put it in and that’s it,” Storer says. “So that scene in episode seven, when they’re freaking out? That has happened to me so many times. It’s super stressful. It causes chaos. You’re overselling on food, the customers are going to be pissed, the back of house is pissed, the front of house, everyone’s just mad.”

Mise en Place – A French term that can also be shortened to “mise.” “It’s like you’re prepped for the day, ready to go for service.”

In The Weeds – When a cook is in trouble. “When a cook might be going down like a plane crashing. It just means they’re overwhelmed.”

Dragging – A chef is taking too long to prepare a dish. “If the grill cook is dragging, it means your stakes are taking too long. You’re dragging, you’re falling behind.”

Line Check – A check of everyone’s station that’s done multiple times throughout a shift. “Line checks make sure all of your mise en place is good. You see Sydney’s character tasting the mashed potatoes – that’s an important part of the job as the chef, to taste the food. You can’t just do one and done. Tasting food is a living, breathing thing every single day. Constantly tasting, and salt, salt, salt.

86 – It can mean to scrap a plate or that the kitchen is out of something. “We just sold the last one, we’re out. It’s usually a call to the front of house so they can put it in the system so the servers know to stop selling it.”

Lately, scrolling through Instagram has felt less like checking in on your friends and their cute pets and more like “who are these people and where did they come from?” At least, that’s how it seems after Instagram started shifting its algorithm. Instead of seeing people you follow, the app is constantly recommending strange accounts that you have never and will never interact with. While this slow re-design has been going on for the last few months, some people are fed up. And by “some people,” we mean the people with the most followers on Instagram, the Kardashians and Jenners.

Kylie Jenner, the most followed woman on the app with 350 million people watching her every move, took to the app the share her anger with the social media giant, which is owned by Meta. Jenner shared a post that said “Make Instagram Instagram Again. (Stop trying to be TikTok I just want to see cute photos of my friends.) Sincerely, everyone.”

Jenner’s sister Kim also liked and shared the post to her 326 million followers. the original poster also shared a link to a petition, which now has nearly 150K signatures. We all know how much they love this app!

When Kylie Jenner has a problem with an app, it’s serious. In 2018, Jenner mentioned that she hadn’t opened Snapchat since its controversial redesign, which caused the app the lose about $1.3 billion in value the next day. So, Instagram might be scrambling to make some changes soon. Or…they could just wait until either everyone gets used to the design or leaves the app, as many did with Snapchat. It happens!

Last year was, well, let’s just say an eventful one for Aaron Rodgers. He won a fourth MVP award, dominating in the regular season before a dreadful first round loss to the Niners in the playoffs, but also found himself as the NFL’s posterchild for vaccine misinformation with his numerous appearances on the Pat McAfee Show throughout the season.

As Green Bay prepares for the 2022 season, they’re hopeful Rodgers can put that latter part behind him and continue playing at an MVP level as he gets ready to turn 39 during the season. That will be a tall order, as Rodgers will have to navigate this season without the presence of his longtime favorite target, as Davante Adams now resides in Las Vegas playing for the Raiders.

On Tuesday, players around the league reported to training camp, including Rodgers, who is looking to get back to being everyone’s favorite NFL movie dork by dressing up in a startlingly good cosplay of Nic Cage’s character, U.S. Ranger Cameron Poe, from the beloved 1997 flick, Con Air.

Rodgers posted the side-by-side of him and Cage on Instagram, showing how close he got to the real look, along with the necessary “put the bunny back in the box” caption.

It’s not the first time Rodgers has gone all out for a costume, as he first grew out his hair so he could dress up as John Wick for Halloween, and has kept the hair, apparently for cosplay versatility as it works wonders for Cameron Poe as well.

Fresh off her critically-acclaimed performance in Nope, the “incomparable” Keke Palmer is already rolling out her next performance that show she’s not content with dominating screens in just one reality. In the premiere episode of the new webseries, Are We There Yet?, Palmer stars alongside Meta‘s VP of Metaverse (actual title) Vishal Shah as she helps guides everyday people through the wild potentials of the VR experience.

“Could I reconstruct the Titanic, sail past an iceberg, and scream, ‘Not this time suckers!’?” Palmer asks in the video and learns that the answer is yes. Via Variety:

The Meta-sponsored series, Palmer explains, is a “road trip into the metaverse” in which she “chat[s] with the most interesting creators, educators and experts to find out where the metaverse stands now — and what’s coming in the future.”

Shah tells Palmer, “I think the simplest way of thinking about it is, the metaverse is the next phase of the internet. And the main difference between the internet we use today and the next phase is that we can feel like we are there with other people in a way we can’t feel in our digital experiences today.”

Again, landing Palmer is a major get for Meta/Facebook as the actress is riding high from her performance in Nope. However, do not make the mistake of comparing her to Zendaya or she will set you straight.

“A great example of colorism is to believe I can be compared to anyone,” Palmer responded to a viral tweet that pitted her against the Euphoria star. “I’m the youngest talk show host ever. The first Black woman to star in her own show on Nickelodeon, & the youngest & first Black Cinderella on broadway. I’m an incomparable talent. Baby, THIS, is Keke Palmer.”

(Via Variety)

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

Flo Mill can really rap. That question was answered as soon as she drew breath on her debut project, Ho, Why Is You Here?, in 2020. As anticipation for its follow-up grew, the new question became whether or not she could expand her repertoire, find new topics to rap about, and layer in emotional depth – doing the things that separate good or even great rappers from recording artists with longevity in addition to short-term success.

A week ago, Flo Milli released her anticipated sophomore project, You Still Here, Ho?, to answer those questions. And while the answer may disappoint those who wanted to see artistic growth in the two years since the 22-year-old Mobile, Alabama rapper first captured all of our attention with her witty raps and bratty charms, the new release doubles down on those qualities to offer an entertaining entry to her growing catalog.

When I first heard Flo Milli, she reminded me of my younger sister and the rap battles we’d have with each other when we were both still in high school, four years apart. There was a juvenile, carefree quality to Milli’s raps, like a classroom roast session. The impression was helped along by her higher-pitched voice and bouncy, singsong rhyme cadence, which was buoyed by percussive, stripped-down, trap-lite production.

The whole package came together to present the persona of a snotty teenager rolling her neck and eyes while dismissively deriding your style, your presence, and your whole approach to life. The closest analog that jumps to mind at the moment is Kyla Pratt’s demeanor in those old WNBA commercials in which the then-child star confronted WNBA players to list in brutally accurate detail every flaw in their respective approaches to basketball.

On You Still Here, Ho? (even the title is haughty, and I really appreciate the commitment to the brand), Flo Milli maintains this cocky, Regina George-ish persona, but fine tunes around the edges to provide a fresh layer of glittery polish to the whole affair. Where the beats on her debut often sounded like first drafts, from the very first track here, the brash “Come Outside” (as in, “I just wanna talk” – as in, “we really gon’ beat yo’ ass”), it’s obvious that more time was spent on fleshing out the backdrops.

To be honest, this really props up Flo’s voice and taunting flow much better, allowing her tracks to sound like finished songs and not a kid’s first swing at recording at the local Boys & Girls Club. The addition of melodies – the sitar threaded throughout “Bed Time,” the ghostly loops on “Ice Baby” – buttress her raps, while the more regressive tracks come off distracting – the synthy percussions on “Big Steppa” – come off more distracting and eat her voice in the mix.

“On My Nerves” marks the slickest update to Flo’s original sound – sparse, but upbeat, giving space for her jabs to land squarely in the middle of their targets’ faces. “You think you street, but you sesame,” she sneers, a prime example of the understated wit of her one-two punchlines. It’s not exactly Shakespeare – and certainly no Jay-Z – but there’s something to the simple humor behind her boasts and jeers that makes them effective and relatable (remember when Lil Wayne said “I’m the bomb like tick-tick?” Yeah, it’s a little like that). The only missteps are when she tries to sing, as on “Tilted Halo.” That is not what we came for.

If Flo Milli’s music seems like it’s aimed more at appealing to middle schoolers than serious hip-hop heads, that’s because it probably is. At just 22 years old, she’s closer to that demographic than she is to Golden Era nostalgists who want to hear “real-life raps” from her. And truth be told, she hasn’t really lived enough life to merit trying to go deep on life lessons, while socio-political rap has always been a tough sell for anybody, let alone women just getting into the rap game. She’s young enough that she’s got time to get there – maybe in two or three projects down the line – but for now, she’s a girl who just wants to have fun.

And so are many of her listeners. As much fuss has been made on the internet about the contemporary class of female rappers’ lack of substance, they’re making the music people want to hear right now. The world is a disaster, women are losing their rights, and the two things it seems we all need are a confidence booster and a break from all the darkness. Sometimes, we just wanna feel like we did when we were kids: snotty, brash, and carefree. You Still Here Ho? lets the brat out.

You Still Here Ho? is out now on RCA Records. Get it here.

Fivio Foreign has become one of this year’s buzziest rappers. He first came to fame about three years ago, when his song, “Blixky Inna Box” became an underground hit. The song caught the attention of Mase, who immediately presented Fivio with the paperwork to sign to his RichFish label.

In an episode of the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast, Fivio revealed that he signed the deal without hesitation and was granted a $5,000 advance.

“[Mase] was like, ‘Yo, man. Just sign that shit, You buggin,’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, read it.’ He’s like, ‘Alright, just sign it. It’s good.’ So, I just signed it.” Fivio, at the time, didn’t have an understanding of major label politics and anticipated that his advance would last him much longer than it actually did.

“That sh*t hit,” he said. “I thought that sh*t was going to last until whenever it was going to last. That sh*t ain’t last two weeks.”

The podcast host, Wallo267, was visibly disheartened by the little amount Mase gave Fivio, probably because Diddy gave Mase a similar deal in which he purchased the publishing rights to his music for only $20,000 in 1996. Mase has since voiced his disdain toward Diddy through a diss track called “Oracle 2: Standing on Bodies.”

Fivio assured the host that he wasn’t upset by the deal.

“I don’t really be complaining or crying over spilled milk,” Fivio said. “I already made this decision. For me, I’m in a better situation now. He get what he get… But I control my money.”

Check out the full interview above.