Month: July 2023

The strawberry margarita is a fantastic drink… that has been horribly bastardized over the decades. But even with the cutting of corners via overly sweet, neon red “strawberry margarita mix,” this tequila drink remains one of the most popular cocktails in the world. Here’s the crazy part — this drink is so easy to make with fresh and real ingredients that using a pre-mix is absolutely pointless and, worse, takes away from the beautiful profile of the original drink.

So… Let’s make a real strawberry marg!

Below, I’m breaking down the beauty of making both a frozen and on the rocks strawberry margarita at home. I’m using real lime and real strawberries. Please trust me that you just don’t need to resort to bullshit pre-mixes with way too many sketchy additives and sugars — because I will personally guarantee that if you even kind of like strawberry margaritas, you’re going to fall in love with this real version. It’s about a bazillion times better than the premix crap that dominates the market these days.

And, one last time, these are super easy to make. It takes about a minute, maybe two, to whip up either of these drinks. Read the recipes below and then throw out that garbage strawberry margarita mix. You’ll never need it again.

• The Five Cocktails That Everyone Should Be Able To Make At Home
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• The Revolver Is The Perfect Midwinter Cocktail — Here’s Our Recipe
• Is Tom Hanks’ Champagne ‘Cocktail’ Any Good? We Found Out
• The Bee’s Knees Is Our ‘Welcome To Spring’ Cocktail — Here’s The Recipe

Frozen Strawberry Margarita

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz. blanco tequila
• 1 oz. triple sec
• 1 oz. fresh lime juice
• 0.5 oz. Blue Weber agave syrup
• 6 medium strawberries (quartered)
• Pinch of kosher salt
• Ice
• Strawberry for garnish

You have to start any great margarita with a great tequila. I’ve been using Tres Generaciones Plata lately. It has this wonderful roasted agave profile with a hint of spice and funk that shines through in a margarita nicely.

I also like to use a decent triple sec to marry with a great tequila. So I’m using Cointreau.

A frozen strawberry margarita does need a touch of sweetness. Most of that is going to be derived from the strawberries and triple sec. But to really layer the sweetness, you need to add a touch of agave syrup. Don’t add too much though. You want it to accent, not overwhelm.

The rest is pretty straightforward. As you can see from the image below, I’m using medium-sized strawberries. If you have those huge California berries, maybe only use two or three.

What You’ll Need:

• Rocks glass or margarita glass
• Blender
• Jigger
• Pairing knife
• Hand juicer

Method:

• Add the tequila, triple sec, lime, agave, strawberries, salt, and a large handful of ice to a blender.
• Blend until smooth and thick — add more ice if needed to thicken.
• Pour into a waiting glass, garnish with a strawberry slice, and serve.

Bottom Line:

This might not come as a shock, but this is delicious. The fresh strawberry and lime really pop on the palate with a hint of earthy depth thanks to the tequila. There’s still a real sense of a classic and really good margarita that’s accented by fresh strawberries. The best part is that you can taste all the elements without them being completely washed out by sugar. There’s nuance and depth to this drink that’s incredibly fresh and delicious.

This is so good — and so much better than the premix margs — that it’s almost baffling that the other option is so ubiquitous.

Strawberry Margarita On The Rocks

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz. blanco tequila
• 1 oz. triple sec
• 1 oz. fresh lime juice
• 4 medium strawberries (halved)
• A drop of Blue Weber agave syrup
• Pinch of kosher salt
• Ice
• Strawberry for garnish

Again, you have to start with great tequila to make a great margarita. For that, I’m going with Tres Generaciones Plata. It just makes too good of a marg not to use in both applications.

The rest is pretty easy to get. Cointreau is the play for the triple sec element. Then, make sure to get nice fresh strawberries with a mild sweetness. Always taste the strawberries before you use them. If they’re a little tart, then add a drop or two more of the agave syrup. If they’re already sweet AF, draw back on the agave.

What You’ll Need:

• Rocks glass or margarita glass
• Cocktail shaker
• Cocktail strainer
• Fine mesh strainer
• Muddler
• Jigger
• Pairing knife
• Hand juicer

Method:

• Prechill the glass in the freezer.
• Add the lime and strawberries to the cocktail shaker and muddle the strawberries gently into the lime (you don’t have to smash them, just mush them a bit).
• Add the tequila, triple sec, agave, salt, and a large handful of ice to the shaker. Affix the lid and shake vigorously for about 20 seconds (or until the shaker is very ice-cold to touch).
• Retrieve the glass from the freezer, fill it with fresh ice, and double-strain the cocktail into the glass — the cocktail strainer will hold the ice back while the fine mesh strainer catches all the strawberry bits.
• Garnish with a fresh strawberry slice and serve.

Bottom Line:

Like I said up above, once you start making these for real, you’ll never go back to the fake premix margs.

This is refreshing, deep, and full of strawberry goodness. The best part is that this feels like a really solid classic margarita that’s accented with fresh strawberries. There’s no sugar bomb element and these feel almost healthy (it’s booze, folks, that’s obviously not true).

Overall, both of these cocktails took all of three or four minutes to make. It’s really that easy and you get amazingly refreshing cocktails without all the additives and corn syrup. That’s a win-win, folks!

After previously teaming up with Lil Wayne on “Ain’t Gonna Answer” and flourishing St. Louis rapper Sexyy Red on “Slut Me Out,” NLE Choppa teams up with fellow Memphian Duke Deuce for his latest video for “Stomp Em Out.”

A hyperactive song sitting in the middle of the spectrum of raucous Memphis rap tradition, “Stomp Em Out” is an exuberant fight song that positions Choppa and Deuce as a pair of neighborhood tough guys ready to rumble with whoever. However, in the video, they show off a different kind of footwork, taking over Beale street with a crew of dancers to to jitterbug and two-step all over the pavement with the kind of energy that lets you know this shoot was a fun one.

The song appears on the deluxe version of Choppa’s new album Cottonwood 2, which is out now via Warner Records. Unfortunately, the touring future for Choppa is up in the air; while he was originally billed as an opener on Lil Durk’s Sorry For The Drought Tour, Durk’s recent health setback canceled all but a handful of the tour dates. We’ll see how NLE Choppa bounces back, but for now, you can check out his video for “Stomp Em Out” above.

NLE Choppa is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

A very weird rumor went around the internet back in June. In the aftermath of Taylor Swift‘s relationship with longtime partner Joe Alwyn coming to an end and her much shorter reported fling with The 1975 frontman Matty Healy also coming to an end, some rumors began circulating about Swift and Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves being spotted in a bar in Arkansas together. The source of it appears to be this tweet.

It is very easy to see that the whole thing was a joke, in large part because it was pretty obvious and also because Reaves’ brother, Spencer, who would be an extremely good source for the truth with this sort of thing, said it wasn’t real. But despite that, it gained just enough traction that Austin got asked about it while appearing on the “All the Smoke” podcast. Unsurprisingly, he found it all very silly.

“We heard a rumor, and we don’t like to start troubles here, but we heard something about Taylor Swift meeting you somewhere,” Matt Barnes asked at the 37:07 mark of the above video.

Reaves and Stephen Jackson both got some jokes off about it, while Reaves seemed to find the whole thing very funny, presumably because the whole thing is very funny. But when he finally got the chance to give his side of … whatever we wanna call this, Reaves admitted that none of it is true.

“I have never met her, never talked to her … all bullsh*t, I ain’t never talked to her,” Reaves said. When Jackson asked if he would be interested in dating Swift, Reaves said his plan is to “stay out the media.” This might be difficult for him to do, as he just signed a 4-year, $54 million deal to remain with the Lakers, but who knows?

(h/t Silver Screen and Roll)

Just when it seemed like conservatives have stopped freaking out over Bud Light and moved on to a never-ending list of boycotts that now includes the Barbie movie, CMT, Garth Brooks, and probably a whole bunch we’re forgetting, Ron DeSantis is reportedly threatening to sue the beer makers over a single, innocuous social media video featuring trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

The Florida governor and flailing presidential candidate stopped by Fox News on Thursday night where he confirmed to Jesse Watters that he’s pushing the state’s pension fund manager to pursue legal action against Bud Light’s parent company for harming shareholders with the Mulvaney campaign.

While CNN, who initially reported DeSantis’ plans, notes that it’s “unclear what legal recourse the state might have to challenge a multinational corporation’s business decisions,” the governor doubled down on his threat while talking to Watters.

Via The Daily Beast:

“We believe that when you take your eye off the ball like that, you are not following your fiduciary duty to do the best you can for your shareholders,” he said.

“So we are going to be launching an inquiry about Bud Light and InBev, and it could be something that leads to a derivative lawsuit filed on behalf of the shareholders of the Florida pension fund,” he continued. “Because at the end of the day, there have to be penalties for when you put business aside to focus on your social agenda at the expense of hardworking people.”

If DeSantis follows through on his threat, Bud Light’s parent company would be the second massive business that the Florida governor has gone to war with. He’s currently locked in a fight with The Walt Disney Company, one of the biggest employers and sources of tax revenue in his state, and it hasn’t been going well for him. Even members of his own party have called out DeSantis for retaliating against the entertainment giant after it opposed the state’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law.

“Fundamentally, it’s not small government,” Asa Hutchinson told The View back in May. “It’s not Republican. It’s not conservative to say we’re going to use the power of government to go after a business that we disagree with.”

(Via CNN, The Daily Beast)

Solar Opposites doesn’t get as much attention as the other show created by Justin Roiland (who now has nothing to do with either), but it should.

The Hulu animated series, about a family of aliens living on Earth, is a lot of fun. Especially once “The Wall,” where humans are shrunk down and held hostage, became an integral part of the show. The season four trailer, which you can watch above, teases more adventures for the former inhabitants of Planet Shlorp (including the Pupa, who is like a more mischievous Baby Yoda), and more time spent in “The Wall,” but there’s a big change from previous seasons: Korvo is now voiced by Dan Stevens, who showed off his comedy chops in Eurovision Song Contest. So if there’s more jokes about Mr. Bean, going “on holiday,” and other British things this season, that’s why.

Here’s more:

Solar Opposites centers around a team of four aliens who are evenly split on whether Earth is awful or awesome. Korvo (Dan Stevens) and Yumyulack (Sean Giambrone) only see the pollution, crass consumerism, and human frailty while Terry (Thomas Middleditch) and Jesse (Mary Mack) love TV, junk food and fun stuff. In season four, we pack up the sci-fi and get normal… for a second. Then it’s back to classic Solar chaos, mayhem in the Wall, and some all new Silvercops adventures!

Solar Opposites returns to Hulu on Monday, August 14, with 11 episodes, followed by a Valentine’s Day special coming in 2024.

When the fair rolls into town, it is supposed to signify a wave of family and fun times. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for Megan Fox. As the actress attempted to enjoy her evening out with her fiancée Machine Gun Kelly, an angry bystander had other plans.

As the “Emo Girl” rapper and his lady stepped off of an attraction at the Orange County fair, he was involved in a tussle with this individual. In the midst of the heated interaction, Fox was accidentally slammed into a barricade fencing off the ride’s entrance and exit points. Pop Crave’s video uploaded to Twitter shows that after realizing that his partner is caught in the mix, MGK quietly grabbed her to bring her to safety.

The clip captured by a fan alleges that the fan physically assaulted MGK, which led to the exchange. Fortunately, based on the footage, neither Machine Gun Kelly nor Megan Fox was seriously injured. The couple did have a security guard present to intervene before the alleged fight got out of control.

Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox were reportedly on a break from their relationship, but it appears that they are working towards rekindling their romance.

Happy Barbie Day! The long-awaited big screen debut of the most accomplished woman in history (sorry, Hilary) has arrived. So has the film’s soundtrack, which not only features expected pop-rap collabs like Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice’s “Barbie World” and FIFTY FIFTY’s Kaliii crossover “Barbie Dreams,” but also has the film’s co-star Ryan Gosling showing off some surprisingly adept vocal chops in his own sorrowful ballad, “I’m Just Ken.”

Gosling’s contributions don’t end there, though; a collection of Barbie bonus tracks released today by surprise also includes one of the film’s funniest Ken-related moments: His cover of Matchbox Twenty’s “Push.” No spoilers here, but if you don’t mind a few, you can check out our in-depth look at the plot circumstances here. Suffice it say that Gosling pretty much nails this. It’s funny as a concept, but he could probably whip this out at karaoke and have the ladies swooning (if he weren’t already… y’know… Ryan Gosling, the guy who did this in Crazy Stupid Love).

By the way, the Barbie movie itself is garnering a wide variety of reactions. While most have been positive, there are always outliers — mostly the sort of doofuses who think satires of little plastic people need to be “alpha males” and hate anything that empowers women (because then, they’re not the big-strong-men, you see). Of course, when even they are getting fed up with their own silly shenanigans, it seems that Barbie really can do anything.

Watch Ryan Gosling (as Ken) cover Matchbox Twenty’s “Push” up top.

Broccoli City Festival returned in 2023 with plays to take over a summer weekend, a change from its usual spring presence. The showcase, which was known to open its doors in May, opted to push things back to July this time around. Rumor has it that this change was done with the hopes of avoiding any rain delays that the spring season might have to offer. Unfortunately, Mother Nature proved to be the superior force as the weather played a role on both days of the festival this year.

This year’s showcase was headlined by Lil Uzi Vert, Jazmine Sullivan, and Brent Faiyaz, artists, who in recent years, have reached new heights in their careers. Behind them were slated performances from Asake, Rema, Chlöe, Coco Jones, Kodak Black, Mariah The Scientist, Ice Spice, City Girls, Keke Palmer, Saucy Santana, GloRilla, Lola Brooke, and more – and that was just the main stage. A smaller stage housed performances from Foggieraw, Ryan Trey, OG Bobby Billions, LaRussell, and others. Add in activations for some fun throughout the festival and food options throughout the outskirts of Washington D.C.’s RFK Stadium, and you have all the ingredients to put on a successful showcase.

So now that the weekend is over, let’s take a look back at the highs and lows of the 2023 Broccoli City Festival.

HIGH: Afrobeats

On the performance side of things, afrobeats was the winner at this year’s Broccoli City Festival. The genre was only presented by two artists for the weekend, Rema and Asake, but they put on a show to remember through their sets. On day one was Rema who arrived to perform highlights from his discography like “Holiday,” “Charm,” “Soundgasm,” “Dumebi,” “Bounce,” and of course, the record-breaking “Calm Down.” Rema was nothing short of charismatic and energetic on the Broccoli Stage as he consistently flashed a smile to the crowd while showing off his slick dance as his live band ripped through the instrumentals of his song. If you need to be convinced to go to a Rema show, his Broccoli City Festival set made a very convincing argument.

On day two, the afrobeats energy was brought forth by Asake who made interactions with the crowd a priority during his. He spent nearly half of his set by the front row barricade and in the open space that divided the VIP and general admission sections. There was even a point where he entered the general admission crowd from the back and worked his way to the front through them, which provided an up close and personal experience for his biggest fans. Asake pierced through beloved records like “Terminator,” “Sungba,” and “Joha,” before debuting records from his new album Work Of Art.

Rema and Asake went above and beyond to put on a show in their respective sets, and it’s for that reason that afrobeats gets the crown as the winner of this year’s Broccoli City Festival.

LOW: Logistics

This year’s Broccoli City Festival had some logistical flaws throughout the weekend that affected the overall experience of the weekend. First, fans who had to pick up their wristbands through will call at the festival were subjected to a wait that lasted over an hour in many cases. Broccoli City officials did apologize for the wait and promised changes for day two. Things at the entry point did seem to run smoother on day two, but then again, most attendees already had their wristbands by that point.

Some other issues included an insufficient amount of water cooling and fan stations throughout the festivals. Both days experienced temperatures into the 90s, but the cooling and fan stations were few in number. Though, the main stage security team made sure to supply water to the crowd which hopefully helped a bit.

HIGH: Day Two

Day two of Broccoli City Festival was by far the best day of this year’s showcase. The performers were on point from start to finish. There was the previously-mentioned stellar performance from Asake and there was Coco Jones who earned herself a viral moment by performing “Rain On Me” as raindrops poured from the sky. Kodak Black and GloRilla satisfied hip-hop lovers with their performances and OG Bobby Billions and Ryan Trey impressed with their sets at the smaller City Stage. Things moved smoother on a logistical end as fans were able to get into the festival without issue, and unlike day two, the weather cooperated to allow for the festival to go through from start to finish without interruption. As the saying goes, it’s not how you start but how you finish.

LOW: Heat & Humidity

This isn’t much to blame on Broccoli City Festival itself, but my goodness the heat and humidity was serious on both days of the festival. A towel at least was needed, but attendees who brought personal fans (especially the ones with water mist), were in the best position to defend themselves. The sun relentlessly beaming above us and the humidity standing beside made it a bit difficult to enjoy what the festival had to offer. Frequent water breaks were needed as were any and all things to stay cool and hydrated. The plus side here was with the festival getting underway at 2 p.m. each day, a bit later than other festivals, there were fewer hours of peak sunlight to endure before the sun, along with the heat and humidity, made its way out of our presence for the day.

HIGH: Brent Faiyaz, The Hometown Hero

I must say, I was thoroughly impressed with Brent Faiyaz’s set to close the festival weekend. The singer, who along with Broccoli City calls the DMV home, stepped out to use the weekend showcase as the kickoff moment for his F*ck The World, It’s A Wasteland Tour. For the most part, Brent stuck to records from F*ck The World and Wasteland, though he did reach back into his discography for older and more one-off releases. From start to finish, Brent’s vocals were fully present for his performance and they were rarely drowned out by a backing track. He also opted for a live band that only amplified the experience that had its tone and mood set by onstage visuals that fit perfectly with the theme of Wasteland. Brent didn’t keep this moment to himself either, he made sure to share the stage with fellow DMV artists Joony and Tre’Armani as they joined him for performances of “FYTB” and “Addictions.” If Broccoli City was a dress rehearsal for Brent’s F*ck The World, It’s A Wasteland Tour, then I suggest you do what you can to get tickets.

LOW: Small Stage

The main action at Broccoli City Festival year took place at the Broccoli Stage. All the big names brought their best through performances there, but there were still a number of acts worth paying attention to at the City Stage, the festival’s smaller stage. Foggieraw was there to perform his beloved track “Pslam 62” while Ryan Trey performed fan favorites and even brought out Mariah The Scientist! Other names like OG Bobby Billions delivered solid sets as TiaCorine and Lola Brooke also highlighted performances at this stage. With all that being said, the City Stage could have had a better set up for these performances. It wasn’t the most inviting display, which would’ve been a nice quality to reel in fans to discover a new artist. The canopy that sat over the stage and audience space was certainly clutch for the rain, but more could’ve been added to the experience to make it more presentable.

Final Thought:

Broccoli City Festival was a hectic weekend, but in the end, it was a satisfying showcase. Strong performances from Asake, Rema, Ice Spice, Brent Faiyaz, Chloe Bailey, Coco Jones, and others made it all worthwhile — especially when the dastardly sun set for the day or was at least covered by clouds. Some improvements are definitely in store for the next edition of the festival, but the highs and lows of Broccoli City shouldn’t deter you from checking out their next showcase, especially if the necessary changes are made.

At the age of 96, music trailblazer Tony Bennett has died. After news of his passing was announced, fans of the entertainer and fellow musicians influenced by him took to social media to mourn the beloved star. Although Bennett’s official cause of death is unknown at this time, after years of battling Alzheimer’s disease, many believe that could be at the root of his death.

Lady Gaga, one of Bennett’s dear collaborators, witnessed how the condition has impacted Bennett. So, over the years, what has Lady Gaga Said about Tony Bennett’s Alzheimer’s disease? While promoting their second collaborative album, Love for Sale, Gaga recounted how recording their first project helped with moments of clarity during an appearance on The Late Show.

“Watching him begin his journey with Alzheimer’s years ago, I remember I wanted to make good on a promise I made to him,” said the singer referring to Bennett’s desire to record with her.

She later added, “Then a couple of years later, his Alzheimer’s just started to set on, and I said, ‘Let’s go into the studio now,’ and we did. And when I tell you that when jazz begins, this man lights up in a way that is such magic. It just reminded me that anybody that has a family member or somebody that they love that’s suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia, music is… music is magic. Music is a miracle.”

Unfortunately, as the disease progressed, those coherent moments began to fade. Some of these were captured as part of a 2021 profile piece by AARP. Lady Gaga hasn’t released a statement yet regarding the news of Bennett’s death.

The Dan Snyder era in the nation’s capital has come to an end. It was previously announced that a new ownership group, led by Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris, would pay a little more than $6 billion to take control of the team, and on Thursday, the league’s owners formally approved the sale. The price tag is a new record for an American sports team.

Harris’ group includes Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Magic Johnson, who adds the Commanders to a roster of teams from a number of different sports in which he owns a stake. In the aftermath of the sale, Johnson sat down with NBC’s Craig Melvin to discuss, among other things, the possibility that the team could be in for yet another rebrand.

“I think, Craig, everything’s on the table,” Johnson said at the 3:44 mark of the above video after Melvin asked about changing the name. “Especially after this year. We’ll see where we are with the name, but I can’t say right now.”

After years of controversy revolving around the team’s old name, Washington finally ditched that amid pressure from investors and went to a placeholder name — the Washington Football Team — back in 2020. That stuck around for two seasons before the team decided to go with the Washington Commanders in 2022, but as Melvin mentioned, the name wasn’t especially warmly embraced by fans.