Month: August 2022

Dos Hombres mezcal is lighting up the spirits scene right now. Their Espadín Mezcal is winning award after award and their limited edition expression — Tobala — sold out pretty much instantly when it dropped, also to much acclaim. All of that is before you even get to the fact that Dos Hombres is the brand released by Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul — partners in crime on TV and now partners in agave spirits — who both just dropped into the final season of Better Call Saul for some classic cameos.

Naturally we figured it was high time for a review. Dos Hombres launched back in 2019 with a single bottle offering of Espadín Mezcal from Oaxaca. The mezcal is a “joven” which means it was bottled straight from the still. But before we get into that, the actual mezcal is made by Mezcalero Gregorio Velasco Luis, a third-generation distiller renowned for his craft. Luis makes this mezcal from six-year-old agave gathered from the hills around San Luis del Rio, Oaxaca. Those agave piñas (hearts or “pineapples”) are roasted for several days in an earthen pit heated with stones. The piñas are then mashed via a tahona (stone) method to extract the sugar-rich juices for an open-air fermentation to develop alcohol with wild yeasts. Finally, the juice is distilled on a wood fire-heated still before it’s bottled as-is. This is old-school mezcal making at its best.

Since we’re talking about a high-quality product from one of Oaxaca’s most respected Mezcaleros, it should come as no surprise that — spoiler alert — this is good juice. It also gives a sense of pride and drive to both Cranston and Paul, who have been hitting the pavement hard promoting the brand and celebrating Luis’ mezcals. I was lucky enough to catch up with Cranston in New Orleans at Tales of the Cocktail this year to try the mezcals, drink some cocktails, and get this obligatory photo with the acting legend.

Yes, that’s Walter White in a full beard double fisting two mezcal cocktails. It was a fun day. Okay, let’s get into what’s actually in the bottles!

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

Dos Hombres Espadín Mezcal

ABV: 42%

Average Price: $65

The Mezcal:

As mentioned above, this is a joven or unaged mezcal. It’s made from at least six-year-old Espadín agave in a natural and old-school process from underground roasting to wild fermentation with local spring water to fire-roasted copper pot stills where it’s double distilled. The hot juice goes into the bottle as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Tart green apple skins greet you on the nose with a sense of caramelized agave sugars (think burnt white sugar with a dash of aloe), dried and slightly smoked mango slices, a hint of savory sapote fruit, and a whisper of old cedar with a slightly singed bark. The palate has a bright sense that’s kind of like sucking the flesh off a mango skin before a hint of soft clay dirt leads to a hint of white pepper and chewy cedar bark. The end lights that bark on fire and lets the smoke subtly settle on your palate with a sweet sense of mango and tart green apples next to a creamy twinge of savory smoked fruit with a dash more of that clay adding a deep earthiness.

Bottom Line:

This is a pretty easy-going mezcal, all things considered. It is a bit more fruity than smoky, but that’s endearing. That said, that fruitiness helps this really shine in a cocktail more than a sipper. Having drunk this with some mango-forward cocktails really cemented it in my mind as a great foundation for cocktails.

Dos Hombres Tobala Mezcal

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $349

The Mezcal:

Dos Hombres very limited Tobala expression is also a joven. In this case, the mezcal is made with (extremely rare) Tobala agave, which grows in the highlands and is a lot smaller than a standard Espadín agave (about eight to 10 times smaller). The tiny size and up to 15 years of growth before harvest helps create more concentrated sugars and aromatics in the meat of the piña. That, in turn, is brought out by the slow earthen roasting and wild fermentation and carries over into the spirit coming off that old copper still, which is bottled as-is.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a sense of slightly spiced plum jam on the nose (think cloves and sweet and meaty prunes) that leads towards a faintly bitter dark cacao powder with a hint of lavender or white wildflowers whispering in the background of the nose. The palate turns that cacao into an almost creamy foundation as a mild woodiness arrives with a hint of cellar mold and singed orchard wood that’s just caught fire in an old backyard smoker. The end leans into the smoldering orchard wood and adds some plum skins and pits to the fire while an echo of dark spice and (slightly bitter) dark chocolate rounds out the dark and moody finish.

Bottom Line:

This is a brilliant sipper. You might want to add a few drops of water to let it bloom in the glass. You’ll get a creamier sense of the dark chocolate and the bright florals will pop a bit more. A single rock will bring out some more of the plumminess, bitter chocolate verging on espresso beans, and woody spices as well.

Overall, this is a killer bottle of sipping mezcal that is worth hunting down, especially if you’re looking for supple and silky sipping mezcal.

A piece of advice for Dr. Oz: Quit getting into Twitter beefs with John Fetterman. It’s never going to end well for you.

The Republican gubernatorial candidate has made headlines this week for some embarrassing and, we’ll just say it, elitist gaffes. First, he dubbed a regular vegetable platter a crudite. Then, he mispronounced the name of a popular grocery chain in Pennsylvania — the state he running for office in despite not actually living there. And finally, when quizzed about how many properties the multi-millionaire TV personality owns, Oz somehow forgot eight of them, including a pair of NYC condos and a Florida mansion.

Fetterman has had some fun trolling Oz for affluent amnesia on social media, even joining in on the usage of a popular meme making the rounds on Twitter to skewer his out-of-touch opponent.

And Dr. Oz? He did not like that. In fact, in an effort to defend his ridiculous real estate portfolio, Oz accused Fetterman of mooching off his parents while he — a daytime talk show host — paid for all of his houses (plural) with his own money.

Unfortunately for Oz, Fetterman is just too quick with the clap back for him to ever win their Twitter feud. Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Just give up already, man.

As Donald Trump‘s chances of running for president seem to be rapidly spiraling downward following the FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago, InfoWars host Alex Jones has reportedly jumped ship. In a new rant on his podcast, Jones threw his weight behind Ron DeSantis after years of “pig-headedly” supporting Trump. Like any bad breakup, Jones is already saying he never really liked Trump anyway and throwing him under the bus, but not for any serious reasons like the January 6 riot (which Jones was a part of) or allegedly violating the Espionage Act (which Jones is not a part of — yet).

Nope, Jones’ main beef is Operation Warp Speed, which is possibly the only positive thing to come out of Trump’s administration provided you’re not a crazed anti-vaxxer like Jones and Joe Rogan, who also recently backed DeSantis because of his “pretend the pandemic isn’t happening” strategy in Florida.

Via Mediaite:

“I thought that we had to keep [Trump] in office because of the nightmare scenario if Hillary or Biden got in,” Jones continued. “With that said, I am supporting DeSantis. DeSantis has just gone from being awesome to being unbelievably good. And I don’t just watch a man’s actions, as Christ said. Judge a tree by its fruits. I can also look in his eyes on HD video and I see the real sincerity.”

According to Jones, the Florida governor is “what Trump should be like.” The Infowars host also praised DeSantis for appointing a vaccine-skeptical surgeon general.

“I’ve been hammering this point, and he’s doing it now,” Jones ranted. “And we have someone that is better than Trump. Way better than Trump.”

(Via Mediaite)

In August, Brazilian pop star Anitta joined forces with Missy Elliott for “Lobby,” a track on the deluxe edition of her album Versions Of Me. “I honestly can’t believe what’s happening right now,” Anitta said on Instagram about collaborating with the hip-hop legend.

The pair are back today with a music video for the song. It’s not short of grandeur — the outfits include high heels, lots of fur, and expensive dresses while they dance in a luxurious hotel whose colorful, fancy architecture adds to the exuberance of the track.

In April, Anitta saw Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore only a couple of weeks after her LP dropped. She posted about it in an entertaining Twitter thread: “Spoiler alert…hey peeps…can somebody who’s already sees The Secrets Of Dumbledore help me with his one… I went yesterday, but I was with a big group and the sound was low and there were no subtitles it was all in English… anyways, I missed two explanations… How and why did their sister die? Yes, I get that she was also an Obscurial. But I didn’t understand the broad point. I also missed the explanation about why Credence’s Dad abandoned him?”

Watch the video for “Lobby” above.

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

Perhaps the funnest part—in addition to extended stays in exotic locations—residents will have a say in where the vessel goes. “What a typical cruise line might do in one month or three weeks, we will take three to four months to do,” Storylines founder and CEO Alister Punton told CNN Travel, adding that the residents “have opportunities to have input into where the ship goes next.” These “residents choice” days allow those on board to choose the ports of call.

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Is MV Narrative the only residential ship to sail the seven seas? No. The World has offered residential living since 2002, according to The Real Deal. Other lines, like Utopia and Victoria Cruises, also offer an all-inclusive lifestyle.

However, it could be the most eco-friendly. Travel and Leisure noted that the ship will run on clean-burning liquid gas and have a zero-waste farmers market selling local products. “We will definitely be the greenest cruise ship out there,” Punton shared with CNN Travel.

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Travel and Leisure states the MV Narrative’s current listing price range from $1 million to $8 million to own, with a small number of 24-year leases available from $600,000, which works out to around $25,000 per year.

Of course, if you were to forgo any homeownership and chose instead to live the life of a nomad, a lifelong cruise could be an even cheaper and more accessible option. Earlier this year, retired couple Angelyn and Richard Burk made headlines by fulfilling their travel dreams of hopping from ship to ship … all for around $36,000. Yep, less than an average mortgage. It’s no wonder why this is such a popular trend for adventurous folks of retirement age.

This might be because people are attracted to having both adventure and the comfort of home, which Storylines provides. “At the end of a long day discovering a new exotic location, they can come home to friends and familiar surroundings and sleep in their own bed,” Storylines co-founder, Shannon Lee, wrote in an email to Travel and Leisure.

What a time to be alive, when you can travel the world and never leave home.

Usually when people apply for a new job, they hyperfocus on making sure the potential employer knows they’re an ideal candidate. They research the heck out of the company, tailor their resume for the position and practice answering tough interview questions they anticipate the hiring manager might ask.

But a hiring process is a two-way street, up to and including when an offer is made. That’s perhaps never been more true than it is now, when unemployment is at a historic low and people can be choosier about the jobs they take. But even in a tough job market, a job interview means you are interviewing the company as much as they are interviewing you.

One woman shared a story that took that idea to the next level with a hiring practice that really should be standard everywhere.

Allison Peck shared in a LinkedIn post last year that she’d had a manager offer her three professional references—women who had worked for him in the past—so she could get some outside perspective on what he was like as an employer.

“Why don’t hiring managers give 3 of THEIR references to job candidates?” Peck wrote. “This happened to me once and I’ll never forget it. I was in the final round of interviews at a company years ago, and the hiring manager asked me for 3 references. Naturally, I provided him their contact info. And he said this:

‘Thanks, here are 3 women who have reported directly to me previously and they’ve agreed to speak with you if you’re curious what it’s like working on my team.’

When I called those three women, they all had great things to say and that man was one of the best managers I’ve ever had.

Any hiring managers out there confident enough in their leadership abilities that they’d offer this in the future?”

The fact that the manager recognized that she might want feedback from other women shows an understanding of the dynamics that women can face in the workplace, which is a good sign in and of itself. And that he offered the references without even being asked was also a definite plus.

Ironically, the kind of employer who would offer such a thing the way he did is probably the kind of employer you’d want to work for, without even having to contact their references. But talking with people who have worked for your potential boss before could definitely offer some peace of mind and give you added information you may need to make a decision about a job. It also makes it more likely that you’ll both be a good fit for one another, which again is the whole point of the hiring process.

Commenters agreed.

“I love this. When I hire into my team it’s something I offer too. I’m still in touch with people who were reporting to me 8-10yrs ago, most of whom have gone on to do some wonderful things and I now consider friends.” – Karen Hutchison

“I am with you on that. At my stage of my career, I will max out on salary and the benefits are usually decent. So what I care about is the team and leadership. So when I was unexpectedly let go 9 months ago and started looking all over again, I made it a point to ask about the team leader/manager and any other dynamics if I got to be interviewed by a peer panel. I ended up going with the job where the peers spoke highly of their manager both privately and in group interviews. I just wanted to work where boss actually cares about people more than they cared about managing her/his boss.” – John Waldbaum

u201c@mnl416 @ChristineB143 @tiffmc1013 I do this regularly, reverse references. It has worked out for me in my career on both sides of the hiring bargain.u201d

— Bitch McConnellu2122 (@Bitch McConnellu2122)
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“Ok, I’m impressed. It would be great if this was normalized, and honestly, it would benefit both prospective hires as well as organizations. Many people get a job and start off excited just to find out that the manager they ended up working with is not exactly a good manager for them. This can translate into poor performance or even turnover. You can only find out so much during an interview that is timed and has set unwritten norms/ expected “etiquette”. Normalize reverse references!!!” 😁 – Stanley Molton

“Wow I wish this were done everywhere! Speaking to other women candidates during the interview has never given me the sense they can speak openly (especially if it’s recorded), because at the end of the day, they still report to that manager. Now, a manager that does this is demonstrating that there’s recognition and sensitivity to what women are faced with in the workplace, and they have confidence in their reputation even behind closed doors.” –Larissa Morrell

Resources like Glassdoor have helped provide an avenue for former employees to share their experiences, but there’s an extra layer of impressiveness when a potential employer offers you their references themselves.

Reverse references. Let’s make it a thing.

In April, Father John Misty unveiled Chloë And The Next 20th Century, following the release of exciting singles like “The Next 20th Century” and “Goodbye Mr. Blue.” Last night he brought more of a deep cut from the LP to late-night television, performing “Buddy’s Rendezvous” on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

With a soaring saxophone intro, the performance is old-timey off the bat, especially when Josh Tillman’s soothing vocals come in: “Everybody’s girl / What’s the point in bein’ everybody’s girl?” he sings. Violins and a piano build a beautiful wall of sound that flourishes during the mesmerizing chorus.

In June, he unleashed a music video for this song directed by Tillman’s wife Emma Elizabeth Tillman. “‘Buddy’s Rendezvous’ is a world unto itself,” said Emma in a statement. “It is a place out of time. My dream for the video is that it would surrender itself to the power of the song… Although the video and the song can be considered love letters to Los Angeles, the themes are universal. Disappointments, regrets, forgiveness, tenderness, perseverance, and love. The incredible performances by Arrow, Craig, Gilbert, and David Haley all coalesce to bring this vision to life.”

Watch his exquisite performance of “Buddy’s Rendezvous” above.

JID, who is currently in the middle of promoting his upcoming third studio album, The Forever Story, has had a fascinating and impressive career trajectory. You could argue that this is due in large part to his status as a member of J. Cole’s Dreamville roster, where his artistic vision has been nurtured and protected. But his career could have gone much differently; he recently revealed that he was nearly signed to a different label instead: His hometown Atlanta’s own Quality Control Music, which boasts City Girls, Lil Baby, and Migos as members.

During a quick interview on the street with TMZ, JID recalled how he ended up on the Dreamville roster instead of Quality Control. Watching the video below, you can tell he’s a little shy to be giving an impromptu interview, which begins by noting J. Cole chose to sign with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation rather than 50 Cent’s G-Unit. But when asked if he had done something similar, he admitted, “We was about to sign with Coach K, though. That’s my dog.” He also joked that “I was about to be the fourth Migo.”

So far, that choice has worked out for him; ever since releasing his debut The Never Story in 2017, his star has steadily risen. He garnered even more attention with his 2018 follow-up, DiCaprio 2, and his group project with Spillage Village, Spilligion. Now, he’s on the cusp of dropping what could be his biggest release yet after collaborating with pop stars like Doja Cat, Imagine Dragons, and John Legend and standout performances on Dreamville’s compilations Revenge Of The Dreamers III and D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape.

Judging from the response to his Forever Story singles “Surround Sound” and “Dance Now“, the album may be the one that skyrockets JID into the spotlight for real, putting him on an even footing with his would-be bandmates Migos — who have their own music dropping (separately) soon, as well. The Forever Story is due 8/26 via Dreamville/Interscope. Pre-save it here.

We have reached that point in summer when Hollywood takes a break. By mid to late August, the new releases in theaters are the summer stragglers, the films that wanted to be summer hits but knew they had no chance against the blockbusters of May, June, and July. Television is also taking a little break, save for the prequel series of that big show based on very long books that are coming to HBO soon. This is all a long way of saying you need something to watch, and it should be Elvis.

The exuberant, ridiculous Elvis Pressly biopic from the very exuberant and often ridiculous Australian director Baz Luhrmann hit theaters in May and has remained a box office hit since. Now, it is available to rent for $19.99 at home. You should see it in theaters, but if you’re wary about being in a public space right now and/or if it is too hot outside for you to go from inside your home to inside a movie theater to watch Elvis, that’s fine. The 2-hour and 39-minute epic starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks is a non-stop thrill. When it drags, it’s still one of the most fast-paced, ridiculously entertaining things ever made. Even if you hate the movie, you will have enjoyed the truly singular experience. Here are all of the reasons you should watch Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis:

Chaos King Baz Lurhman

Sunscreen activist Baz Lurhman is a chaos king. The innovative, flashy director of Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge! does not always hit: Australia is a snooze, and not even Leonardo DiCaprio could save the alluring adaptation of The Great Gatsby. But one thing is always true of Baz Luhrmann’s films: they are theatrical visual feasts, blending elements of musical theater and music videos into cinema. Elvis — or at least its first hour — might be Lurhman’s most chaotic cinema to date, with visually busy scenes that move so quickly they practically overlap. . If you were given a quiz on what happened in the first act, it would have to be graded on a curve. As the film gets into Elvis’s later career, however, it narrows its focus, which, in contrast, gets deeper into Elvis’s psyche. The latter half of the film is still chaotic in that classic Baz way, but is nothing short of a masterpiece in its depiction and analysis of Elvis in his later career and toward the end of his short life.

Austin Butler

Denzel Washington, who believed in Austin Butler so much that he personally called Baz Luhrmann about casting the actor in Elvis, is right to be obsessed. Butler’s committed, transformative performance as the King of Rock has several stages. In the first half of the film, we see an intentional separation of Butler from Elvis in his earlier years, as he’s playing a man who is conflicted about his fame and who he is: Elvis is lost and confused, which Butler takes advantage of by playing so himself, in a sort of meta way that nearly breaks the fourth wall. But as the film goes on and as Elvis gets more comfortable with himself and his fame. As Elvis unravels, Butler disappears into the character, leaving behind the unsure young man from earlier in the film. Butler should get at least a nomination for best actor at the Oscars next year, and even though there are many more films to see, I know I will be mad if he doesn’t win. Elvis is already doing for Austin butler what Romeo + Juliet did for Dicaprio: turning its lead into a heartthrob and one of Hollywood’s major players. (Since Elvis’ release, Butler joined the cast of Dune Part II)

Tom Hanks

Many have said that Tom Hanks is terrible in Elvis. His accent is bad. He’s wearing a fat suit and prosthetics (he honestly kind of looks like my maternal grandfather, may he rest in peace). On the surface, everything about Hanks’ performance in Elvis is bad, but there’s a bit of genius behind it. For decades, Hanks has been America’s dad, always expected to play the hero or the love interest, the nice guy. Here, Hanks finally transforms into an unrecognizable villain as Elvis’ financially predatory manager Colonel Tom Parker. Every actor — especially as they get older — deserves to unleash Willem Dafoe in The Lighthouse-level chaos every once in a while. The performance demonstrates that Hanks has even more of this chaotic energy deep inside him, and he just needs the right director to get it out of him.

The Sweat

They don’t make movies like they used to anymore. In the 70s and 80s, movies — such as Dog Day Afternoon, Body Heat, and Top Gun —were incredibly sweaty, with characters drenched in sweat constantly either due to their environment or surroundings, or to simply create some drama. Sweaty movies are a rare gift these days, but in Elvis, Luhrmann shows respect for the wet look. At every opportunity possible, Austin Butler is drenched from head to toe. In between takes, I like to imagine Austin Butler walking through a misty waterfall. The sweat doesn’t always make sense, but we’re happy to see a return of Hollywood’s Wet Period anyway. Thank you, Baz!

Mic in Mouth

In Elvis, Austin Butler deep throats a microphone during a performance. This happened in real life, but for some reason, Austin Butler doing it is even better than the real Elvis doing it (if you are an Academy voter, please remember this). A microphone in the mouth also represents Luhrmann and this film best: unexpected, weird, kind of horny.

It feels like it’s been years in the making (that’s because it has been) but the time is finally here for the Game of Thrones spinoff series to reign. And, more importantly, see if it will live up to the major hype. HBO released a new promo clip that will hopefully invite new and old fans into George R. R. Martin‘s ever-growing world of dragons and violence…and more dragons!

The new clip shows off some of the many dragons that will be featured in the series, each with their own personality. The promo also promises that the threat of war lingers around the Targaryen family, who are set to choose the new heir to the throne, though we can assume by the trailers that it does not go to Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) as originally expected. Luckily, Rhaenyra is a fighter who is willing to prove herself to be an adequate ruler. Plus, dragons!

House of the Dragon takes place several hundred years before the familiar Game of Thrones story took place, though the new series will provide some context to the complex family lines and dynasties. And, of course, more dragons!

The cast also includes Paddy Constantine, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, and Sonoya Mizuno. Check out the trailer above, and tune into House of the Dragon this Sunday, August 21st on HBO Max.