Rescuing a pet is an amazing and heroic undertaking.
7.6 million pets go into shelters each year, according to the ASPCA. And of those pets, about 2.7 million pets are rescued by humans who give them forever homes.
Moscow-based comic artist Bird Born experienced firsthand the power of welcoming a pet into your family when he adopted a dog.
Then his journey to understand his newest animal friend inspired an adorable and incredibly moving comic, too.
Follow this artist’s journey to help his new friend feel welcome in his home:
Rescuing animals is a big commitment, and of course it doesn’t come without challenges.
When adopting any animal, there’s fear and uncertainty about their past life. Were they abused? Were they malnourished? How will they respond to humans?
Despite this, Born persevered with his new dog. “It took a lot of love and care to prove this animal that she was loved and needed,” he writes in his comic.
Today, he can rest easy knowing one less dog is in need. And that’s proof enough that adopting a dog can make the world a better place.
It’s the show that took Bruce Willis from NYC’s most popular bartender to major star. It’s the show that gave Cybil Shepherd a well-deserved comeback. It was called Moonlighting, and it was funny and sexy and weird and had some of the most inventive bottle episodes of the ‘80s. And for years it’s been completely unavailable to stream (legally). But that, finally, thank god, is about to change.
As per Vulture, on October 10 Hulu will welcome all five seasons of Moonlighting to its streaming coffers. That’s 67 episodes of detective dramedy bliss, centered on an agency run by Shepherd’s Maddie Hayes and Willis’ David Addison Jr. — right up there with Cheers’ Sam and Diane as the decade’s great will-they-or-won’t-they? pair.
The news comes just under a year since show creator Glenn Gordon Caron swore he was working to get his baby online, as he did months after news of Willis’ tragic condition went public. Among the hold-ups was clearing the rights to all the pop songs they used, including the late Al Jarreau’s Billboard-charting theme song. That took some doing, but when Moonlighting hits Hulu, viewers will be able to watch it as it was watched from 1985 through 1989, with all the songs in-tact. (Whether it will be able to be streamed that way outside the U.S. remains to be seen.)
For its first four seasons, Moonlighting was a Nielsen’s juggernaut, making full use of the chemistry between its two leads, as well as the kooky supporting characters played by Allyce Beasley and Curtis Armstrong. It wasn’t afraid to think outside the box. In one episode they journey back to the Elizabethan era to do Taming of the Strew, completely with songs and double entendres. By the fifth season, internal clashes — as well as a time slot switcheroo that foolishly put it up against Murder, She Wrote — brought it to an untimely end. But now, belatedly, it will live on for a generation who weren’t even born when it ruled the airwaves.
With the hostilities between Cardi B and Nicki Minaj — and their husbands, Offset and Kenneth Petty — heating up again after a few years on simmer, you may be wondering how all this got started in the first place. Don’t worry; Uproxx has you covered. Here’s a timeline of just how the feud between Nicki Minaj and Cardi B got started and what’s happened since then. While there’s been plenty of speculation about who said what about whom, we’ll just stick with the facts.
The Beginning — 2017
In our original timeline of the Nicki/Cardi feud, we noted that everything likely starts with Cardi’s “Bodak Yellow” release. The ensuing fan and media frenzy surrounding it led to the song becoming the first by a solo female rap artist to reach No. on the Billboard Hot 100 chart since Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)” — a goal Nicki had pursued and fallen short of for nearly a decade prior.
However, the song was still several weeks away from its peak when Nicki Minaj’s fans, known as Barbz, began throwing shade at Cardi. At the time, it had been nearly three years since Nicki had last released an album. Perhaps the Barbz perceived a threat to Nicki’s dominance or simply wanted to see a fight, but either way, they got one — ironically, as a result of the two women’s attempted show of solidarity.
Open Conflict — 2017 – 2018
In October 2017, Migos added Cardi B to their Culture II single, “Motorsport.” This turned out to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. After the song’s video was released in November, news of behind-the-scenes drama between the two began to trickle out. Nicki and Cardi’s scenes were shot separately, leading to more speculation of tension between them, and after it was revealed that Migos added Cardi without consulting Nicki and that Nicki’s verse was allegedly changed at the request of Cardi’s label, Atlantic, there was no stopping the oncoming train wreck.
In April 2018, Nicki began openly throwing Cardi under the bus in interviews while promoting her 2018 album Queen, which was due just a few months after Cardi’s debut Invasion Of Privacy. Invasion turned out to be a coronation, Cardi’s victory lap solidifying her as a breakout star. In interviews, Nicki called out Cardi for being “ungrateful” and for not backing up her explanation for their separate shoot days, which involved a scheduling conflict with her hairstylist.
In September 2018, things erupted, as their meeting at a New York Fashion Week party that year led to a physical altercation in which Cardi threw a show at Nicki, getting a bump on the forehead from one of the older rapper’s bodyguards in return. Since then, they’ve returned to less open hostilities, settling into a cold war, complete with proxy fighters and accusations of sneak disses flying from fans on both sides.
The Cold War — 2019 – Now
Since then, the closest either side has come to outright beef has been in the wake of Nicki’s 2022 “Super Freaky Girl (Queen Mix),” which featured rappers Akbar V, BIA, JT, Katie Got Bandz, and Maliibu Miitch. In the weeks after its release, Akbar V and JT both lashed out at Cardi — ostensibly at the behest of Nicki Minaj, if you were to ask fans what prompted the exchanges.
Eventually, both feuds petered out though, returning to status quo until the 2023 MTV VMAs — the first time they’d both appeared at such a function since their NYFW fight. Now, details of the inciting event are murky, but it appears that some sort of exchange between the two rappers’ crews backstage took place that led to Cardi apparently being threatened but later boasting on Twitter that “I ain’t even flinch.”
Then, the next weekend, Nicki’s husband, Kenneth Petty, posted a video with his crew roaming New York, apparently looking for Offset. While Offset laughed off their threats, a judge apparently did not, slapping Petty with a probation violation (he is serving a suspended sentence for failing to register as a sex offender in California) and sentencing him to house arrest.
In the aftermath, Nicki seemed not to sweat the sentence, sharing a song snippet from her upcoming album Pink Friday 2 that references her husband’s “G” status and having shooters.
The key to all this might just be in that last bit, though; beef sells — supposedly — and with both rappers gearing up to release new full-length projects, don’t be surprised if this list gets longer in the near future.
Hip-hop podcast newbie Bobbi Althoff is back with another sit-down conversation. Since the TikTok influencer’s inaugural The Really Good podcast episode with Drake, Althoff has left fans of the culture torn over her interviewing style. That division was heightened when Lil Yachty made an appearance in July. It has been revealed that “Fan” rapper Offset will be the next rap superstar to join Althoff for an awkward conversation.
So when does Offset & Bobbi Althoff’s interview come out? According to the caption in Althoff’s latest Instagram upload, the episode will be released on her official YouTube page this Thursday, September 28.
In their forthcoming exchange’s teaser clip (inserted above), Offset cut right through Althoff’s typical “I don’t know you” shtick. When Offset began questioning Althoff about her interest in interviewing subjects, she revealed that she simply enjoys getting to know people on a deeper level. That response led him to ask why she wanted to chat with him; Althoff revealed that she didn’t have that same desire to learn about the former Migos member.
“Your team reached out to mine,” she said.
Offset quickly shuts her down. “Don’t cap, let’s not cap about that — flag on the play. Cap,” the entertainer replied.
The two exchange jabs, ultimately ending with Offset setting the record that she’s still relatively new in the industry. “They had to show me who Bobbi was. I thought they were talking about Bobby Boucher,” said Offset, referring to the fictional character played by Adam Sandler in the 1998 comedy film The Waterboy.
Althoff attempts to make a quippy comeback. “I never heard of you. I had to Google you,” Althoff interjected.
“I had to go on TikTok, I couldn’t even Google you,” Offset joked. “You’re not there yet. But you’ll be there. But you’re on TikTok.”
From the creators of Queer Eye, Hulu‘s Living for the Dead (good title) follows five queer ghost hunters, Alex Le May, Juju Bae, Ken Boggle, Logan Taylor and Roz Hernandez, as they explore spooky locations across the country. There better be an episode about a haunted baseball game in the Pacific Northwest.
“It’s so cool and enlivening that me and my best friend CJ Romero had this funny idea and now it’s a show,” Stewart, who also produced Living for the Dead, said in a statement. “It started as a bit of a hypothetical silly pipe dream and now I am so proud to have shepherded something that is as moving and meaningful as it is truly a gay old time.”
Stewart continued:
“Our cast makes me laugh and cry and they had the courage and heart to take us places I wouldn’t go by myself. And it’s a super cool maiden voyage for the company I’ve started with my partners Dylan Meyer and Maggie McLean. This is just the beginning for us and for Living for the Dead. We wanna one day have traipsed across the entire spooky ass country. Maybe the world!”
Living for the Dead premieres on Hulu on October 18th
With its arrival on Hulu, the wildly fun alien suspense thriller No One Will Save You has been bowling over audiences who can’t believe it didn’t get a theatrical release. The film follows Kaitlyn Dever as an anxiety-riddled young woman named Brynn that never wants to leave the house until she gets some terrifying visitors.
While opening up about the sci-fi film’s many inspirations, which include Minority Report and Total Recall, director Brian Duffield didn’t shy away from one of No One Will Save You‘s most surprising comparison: Marvel’s Groot.
The tree-like creature has been a staple of the Guardians of the Galaxy films (as well as appearances in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame) and is most known for communicating only through the use of “I am Groot.” While James Gunn has revealed that everyone of Groot’s lines has an English meaning, Duffield wants to go a different route with his aliens.
“What’s cool about Guardians is — they did such a cool thing in Guardians 3. Peter Quill understands what Groot is saying, and the audience doesn’t. Gamora spends the movie being like, What is this tree saying? And then at the end, she understands him, and the audience does, too. I think the fact that Brynn never understands the aliens means it would be a bit of a cheat for the audience to learn more than she does.”
Clearly a Marvel buff, Duffield expanded on the Groot comparison even further.
“Rocket and Quill know what Groot is saying all the time, but Brynn is baffled,” he explained. “She has no idea. But she’s recognizing that they’re saying the same thing to her a couple of different times. You can play with that and try to understand what they were saying all these different times to her? But I don’t think I’ll do a subtitle version.”
The more we learn about how Gareth Edwards’ The Creator was made (our interview with Edwards is here), the more unorthodox and unusual it sounds. He’s an original sci-fi film about a war between humans and artificial intelligence coming into theaters this coming weekend, shot on a modest budget in the $80 million range, but looks absolutely stunning and gorgeous.
Here’s something else unusual: the film has two cinematographers. One is veteran Greg Fraser, who shot Rogue One with Edwards, as well as projects like the two Dune films and The Batman. Fraser, as he says, had some overlap with Dune, so Oren Soffer was brought in. With this being his first big project, he had to quickly learn the unusual dynamic between Edwards and Fraser. A big part of that dynamic is that Gareth Edwards shoots on location and is his own camera operator. This creates a situation where the cinematographer is telling the director where the lighting is set up on a shot. But Edwards has his own way of doing things and doesn’t always care where the lighting is if something else catches his eye.
Fraser admits working with Edwards would not be every cinematographer’s cup of tea, but he and Soffer personally find it exciting. And ahead, the pair explain what it’s like to shoot a Gareth Edwards movie.
First of all, there are two cinematographers on this movie. That’s unusual.
Greig Fraser: It is. And it’s highly unusual the way that we worked. And I think what’s super interesting about it is that it worked so well. It was a very interesting experiment where basically the entire film is unorthodox. If you look deeply into the production process, it’s a very unorthodox film in the way that we approached it and the way that we shot it and the way that Gareth finished it. So at every stage of the process, it was a level of unorthodox-ness, if that’s even a word. That was quite exciting. So I won’t bore you and break down exactly where Oren and I started and stopped…
Well, I’d like to know some of that.
Greig Fraser: Let’s talk broadly then. Now I’ll talk broadly. So, I’ve been working with Gareth now since Rogue One – fortunate enough to do Rogue One with him. And the whole time we were talking about, “What’s next?” how to make a film next. And we tested cameras and lenses for the years leading up to the shoot for this. As he was writing, we were testing different configurations and talking about how we would make the film and how we would scout it and shoot it. And so we came up with all these different ideas. Now, unfortunately, this film pushed a little bit because of COVID – and there was a bit of an overlap for me and Dune.
So that was the reality of why I couldn’t, sort of, end up… I wouldn’t say finishing the movie, because I definitely did. But what happened was that Oren and I had a great overlap. And it wasn’t dissimilar to the overlap that I had say on The Mandalorian with Baz Idoine. He shot some episodes, I shot some episodes, but there was a very strong hand-in-glove overlap between us as cinematographers. And it was a very much thinking outside-the-box situation where even though I wasn’t able to be in Thailand with the team, I was helping support Oren and the team back in Los Angeles looking at footage, talking about setups, working on the volume loads with ILM. And then Oren and the team were sort of on the shoot there in Thailand. So it was very much an overlap and kind of a crossover. Almost a new role, creating new roles.
So how do you match each other’s styles? These aren’t different episodes, this is one movie.
Oren Soffer: I don’t think we cinematographers really think about what we do as having a “style.” Like a unique style that changes from person to person. We do have a taste, like every cinematographer has taste, and we have things that we like, and we have images that we’re drawn to. And I think the biggest advantage to start this whole process off was that Greig and Gareth already had a very extensive taste alignment process on Rogue One and in the subsequent years. So their tastes are similar. And I think my taste was sort of similar to them as well.
Gareth, he thinks about everything and he’s been thinking about this project for well over four or five years at this point. And so for us, it was really about stepping into Gareth’s world. And Greig and I both finding our role and using the prep time and the planning to figure out how we can support that vision. And how we can make sure that Gareth is going to be able to make the film in the way that he wanted to make it. And, of course, Gareth is operating the camera. So that’s another unorthodox aspect to the whole thing – having your director also be your camera operator.
So are you telling him what to do?
Oren Soffer: It’s impossible to delineate it in that way because, ultimately, Gareth is going to go where he’s going to go. And he’s going to point the camera and he’s going to react to things that are happening in real time. I mean, a lot of it isn’t premeditated. The whole point of the way that we set up the film was in order for Gareth to be able to react spontaneously to things that were unfolding in real-time, on real locations with real people. And so part of our job then becomes creating an environment in which he’s able to do that. And so sometimes I’m adjusting the lighting on the fly while he’s kind of turning the camera to look in a different direction. But Gareth’s a great operator. He has good taste. It was never as simple as just one decision being made and then that being delegated down, which is how it sort of typically works. But that was part of the fun.
Greig Fraser: What’s exciting, Mike, about our job on this movie or in other movies is that we always have to sort of meld ourselves to what the project needs. If it’s a big film where we’ve got three or four operators and the director doesn’t really care about the visuals? We’re the shape-shifters on every project to basically fill all the gaps that the director doesn’t have. And on this one? It was very much like we were shape-shifting to fill the gaps that Gareth needed, as Oren just said. Gareth didn’t need us to tell him where to point the camera. That wasn’t necessarily, that’s not what he needed. What he needed was support. That when he wanted to point the camera, that we had his back. That there was no trucks, no crew. It was all lit properly.
But can that be frustrating?
Greig Fraser: There are so many frustrating things on set. But ultimately, again, part of the job is to just go with the flow. I’ll tell you a little story. On Rogue One Gareth was operating a shot. He was in a spaceship. I was outside. I was lighting at the lighting desk. And I said, “So, Gareth, who are you going to look at first, which direction? Just give me a starting point. Just show me the shot.” And I think he pointed it at Felicity Jones, let’s say. And I was like, great, perfect. I lit it. I was like, great, ready to go.
So standby, roll camera… he turned around. Now, he didn’t turn around to be a douche about it. He turned around because he found something behind him. The actor was doing something. So that’s Gareth in a nutshell. He’s instinctual. He responds to how he feels. He’s very much kind of a… I wouldn’t say a loose cannon, because that’s a negative connotation. He’s like a genie out of a bottle. You let him out of the bottle and he’s finding these great things. So it’s super exciting.
A lot of loose cannons have made some very interesting things. To be fair.
Greig Fraser: I mean, loose cannons, I wouldn’t be using that as a quote, but I’ll tell you what I’d be using is something like he’s highly instinctual. And he very much uses that instinct for the betterment of the film.
Oren Soffer: I had the advantage of stepping into the Greig and Gareth dynamic that already existed. So Greig was able to, for example, tell me that story and other stories from Rogue One. So when I started working on the project, I sort of had an idea of what Gareth is like, and then I spent four months on the road with Gareth location scouting. And so that time was just really valuable for myself and Gareth to start to learn each other’s taste, and especially for me to learn Gareth’s taste. By the time we were shooting, it wasn’t frustrating because you know what you’re going to get. And like Greig said, there’s a million other frustrations on set, but that one was just the thing you had to let go of right away and just embrace it and just jump in the river and have it take you down.
Greig Fraser: If you embrace it the right way, it’s actually fun.
Oren Soffer: It is.
Let me word it this way. It does sound like there are cinematographers out there who wouldn’t love this process, even though you two both found it very exciting and different. Is that an accurate way to put it?
Greig Fraser: I think that’s a very good way to put it. And you’re correct, you’re correct. Because, again, talking about my job starts here and ends there, some people like to work that way. And that’s more power to them. And I don’t think it’s good or bad, I just think that that’s the way it is. But yes, you’re right. You go into a film with Gareth and you need to know what you’re in for. As in you need to know how to best support him. Which I think it’s the more accurate way of describing the situation because, ultimately. we are all in there of support of Gareth. And if Gareth needs you to be 100 miles away and not talking to him, that’s what you need. If he needs you to be there adjusting the light or moving things around, that’s what you need. And I think that, from my perspective, and I think Oren’s the same way, you don’t get experiences like that very often.
Making a living as a touring musician can be a challenge, especially if you’re not a household name act who gets tens of thousands of fans out to every concert. Live Nation Entertainment, the parent company of Ticketmaster, recognizes this, and now they’re doing something about it.
Today (September 26), the company announced a program called “On The Road Again,” and if that reminds you of Willie Nelson, it should, as they’ve teamed with the country icon to launch the initiative. There are two major factors here that serve to help making touring a more viable commercial enterprise for musicians.
One is that at all of Live Nation’s club-sized venues (of which there are 77, as Consequence notes), artists will no longer have to pay fees to sell merchandise, which has been known to take as much as 30 percent of an artist’s merch sale income. The second is that Live Nation clubs are also “investing in developing artists by providing $1,500 in gas and travel cash per show to all headliners and support acts, on top of nightly performance compensation.”
They company notes, “By helping with these core expenses, we aim to make it easier for artists on the road so they can keep performing to their fans in more cities across the country.”
Nelson also said, “Touring is important to artists so whatever we can do to help other artists, I think we should do it. This program will impact thousands of artists this year and help make touring a little bit easier.”
The program will also provide “financial bonuses to local promoters that help execute at shows, tour reps that live life on a bus, as well as venue crew members that have worked over 500 hours in 2023.”
Learn more about “On The Road Again” here and watch the announcement video above.
Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce may or may not be dating… that’s cool, whatever, I don’t care about that (no shade if you do). What has me a lot more excited is Taylor Swift’s feet! Or more precisely, her footwear game, as Esquirereports that Swift showed up to last Sunday’s Chicago Bears vs the Kansas City Chiefs game showing team spirit, dressed in red and white from head to toe, including a pair of New Balance 550s White Team Red.
The 550 is currently one of New Balance’s most beloved silhouettes after it was reintroduced to the public via Aimé Leon Dore’s 2020 International Friendship Through Basketball collection, which brought the 550 out of New Balance’s archives. The sneaker features a simple leather build and a minimalist design, and was such a big deal in the sneaker world that ALD’s founder and creative director, Teddy Santis, gained a creative director position at New Balance.
But Taylor rocking the sneaker isn’t just a case of a big celebrity wearing a popular sneaker, it’s deeper than that.
Have you ever wondered why Taylor is the cultural force that she is? It’s because everything she does is layered in meaning, this gives her every move a level of depth that most pop stars/cultural icons just don’t share.
Taylor wearing the White Team Read 550s, with its mix of white, red, and black trim (which perfectly echoes the Chef’s logo) wasn’t just her showing support for Kelce’s team, it was also simultaneously a way for her to embody her latest era as she gears up to release the much anticipated album, 1989 Taylor’s Version.
Guess which year the New Balance 550 was first released? I’m hoping you guessed 1989, because that’s the right answer. Only Taylor could make a public appearance that strengthens dating rumors into something of a symbolic gesture that slyly references her latest project.
Looking to buy a pair of New Balance 550s? Hit up the New Balance webstore right now where the White Team Red is still available. Get it while you can.
Your typical big brand nationwide restaurant chain has about two or three margaritas on the menu. Four tops. But not Chili’s. Chili’s is a different beast altogether. Currently the restaurant has over ten permanent margaritas on the menu (and they’re available both in-restaurant and to-go).
That’s a lot of margs. You could even argue that it’s too many (could you though? Could you really?).
If you’re rolling up to Chili’s, you’d better be coming with an insatiable thirst for tequila because even if you’re a hardcore drinker, there is no way you can try the entire margarita menu in one sitting. I mean you could but you’d probably die a horrible death from alcohol poisoning. And trust me my friend… you don’t want to die in a Chili’s.
So we’re here to help you choose the right margarita for you. Over the past few weeks I’ve been on a quest to try every single permanent margarita on the Chili’s menu in an effort to rank them from most inessential to the most delicious. This way you know exactly what you order when you’re rolling through.
Aside from the 11 core margaritas, Chili’s also has a seasonal margarita that they rotate in and out. Currently it’s the September Sunrise (tequila pineapple and grenadine), and before that it was the Sangrita (Sangria with a tequila twist). Both drinks are delicious but because there is a high chance you’ll be coming to this ranking at a random time of the year, I decided not to rank these. I will say this though — in my experience the seasonal margarita is always worth a try!
Let’s drink!
11. Chili’s House Frozen Mar-Go-Rita
Chilis
Build: Tequila, Triple Sec, Ice, Margarita Mix
Tasting Notes & Thoughts
Candy sweet with a salty lime finish. Very little tequila flavor, but the ice slush is smooth and a treat to drink.
If you’re a fan of frozen margaritas, I’m sorry but it’s Chili’s weakest, both in flavor and in alcohol strength. I couldn’t get a straight answer about what type of tequila is used here, at one Chili’s I was told it was El Toro, another told me it was El Jimador but at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter.
This is a drink for people who don’t really care about tequila. They just want something sweet to drink that’ll give a buzz. In addition to the classic flavor you can order this mango, strawberry or wild berry. Pick your poison but I can only speak for the classic.
The Bottom Line:
Sweet and people pleasing, unless you’re a tequila snob.
10. Tiki Beach Party Rita
Chili
Build: Bacardi Silver Rum, Jimador Silver Tequila, Blue Curacao, Coconut and Pineapple
Tasting Notes & Thoughts
Heavy notes of vanilla and orange with a hint of tart lime citrus, and faint echoes of piña colada, without the emphasis on cream. You get the slightest hint of tequila’s bright bite on the backend, but it’s muted by the sweetness.
This wouldn’t be my first choice — or frankly, my second, third, or fourth — but the intense sweetness and tropical vibes of this drink are addicting. But the tequila is definitely an afterthought here, don’t let that ‘Rita’ added to the name fool you.
The Bottom Line:
Good but more of a rum focused tropical drink than something that should be in the margarita family.
9. Chili’s House Mar-Go-Rita
Chili
Build: Tequila, Triple Sec, Margarita Mix
Tasting Notes & Thoughts
Very candy sweet and sugary with a zesty artificial lime flavor and hint of salt on the backend. It’s your standard restaurant margarita, nothing special, gets the job done. If you’re going to order this I highly suggest you elevate it by choosing one of Chili’s better tequila brands like Casamigos or Patrón.
Like the frozen version this is available in classic, mango, strawberry, or wild berry. Again, I can only speak to the classic, which was nothing special.
The Bottom Line:
Your standard restaurant margarita. Sweet, weak, and nothing special.
8. Grand Coconut Margarita
Chili
Build: Lunazul Blanco Tequila, Malibu Coconut Rum and Grand Marnier with Coconut, Margarita Mix
Tasting Notes & Thoughts
Rich vanilla, oak and brandy flavors paired with creamy coconut, some lime zest, and a bright vegetal agave finish with some black pepper spice. I like this much better than the Tiki Beach Party Rita.
Apart from the sweet tropical flavors, this drink really packs a punch and feels more deserving of the “margarita” name.
The Bottom Line:
Tropical and sweet, but heavy on the alcohol with a noticeable (but pleasing) bitterness on the backend.
7. Patrón Margarita
Dane Rivera
Build: Patrón Silver, Citrónage, Margarita Mix
Tasting Notes & Thoughts
Bright and vegetal with smooth vanilla notes, soft orange flavors, and a sweet artificial lime flavor. Incredibly easy to drink but I feel like this option is a bit of a trap for tequila novices.
The use of Patrón and Citrónage would have you believe that this is a premium margarita, but all the nuance of that alcohol is drowned out by the sweetness and artificiality of the high fructose corn syrup infused margarita mix.
The Bottom Line:
Don’t let the Patrón and Citrónage fool you, those more premium alcohols are ruined by the sweetness of the margarita mix. If you want an elevated margarita from Chili’s look elsewhere on the menu.
6. Skinny ‘Rita
Chilis
Build: Teremana Blanco Tequila, Fresh Sour, Splash of Soda
Tasting Notes & Thoughts
Mellow cooked agave flavors peak out of a heavy dose of sweet and tart citrus with a pleasing spicy pepper-backed finish. The splash of soda helps to reign in the tartness and keep the drink from coming across as too intensely sweet.
I have to admit I was a bit disappointed by what this drink could’ve been. Generally a “Skinny ‘Rita” is made with actual lime juice instead of margarita mix, putting it more in line with a real margarita. This one isn’t, it’s made using fresh sour instead, which has lime juice in it, but is a lot sweeter than the real thing.
Still, it’s a significant step up from the margarita mix-based margs on the menu.
The Bottom Line:
Similar to Chili’s House Margarita, with more of an emphasis on the tequila. Still incredibly sweet though.
5. Presidente Margarita
Chili
Build: Lunazul Reposado Tequila, Citrónage Extra Fine Orange Liqueur and E&J Brandy, Margarita Mix
Tasting Notes & Thoughts
Hints of vanilla and roasted agave hover over a sweet orange base with some woody oak notes, some floral qualities, zesty citrus, and a sweet artificial lime finish.
There is a lot going on with the Presidente Margarita, which is probably why it’s one of Chili’s bestsellers. Of all of Chili’s margarita mix-based cocktails, this one is by far the best thanks to the combination of tequila and brandy. It’s sweet, but not totally drowned out by it to the point of tasting like candy.
The Bottom Line:
It has a strong alcohol flavor that is nicely balanced with some artificial sweetness.
4. El Niño Margarita
Chili
Build: Espolon Reposado Tequila, Gran Gala & Citrónage
Tasting Notes & Thoughts
Sweet vanilla, tropical pineapple, and roasted agave with layers of sweet orange, citrus tart, and a gentle kiss of amaretto on the backend.
I like this one a lot but it’s going to be divisive and entirely depends on how much you like orange flavors in your margarita. It doesn’t have that same tart bite as a lime-based margarita, but it’s sweet and inviting without tasting like straight up candy.
The Bottom Line:
A bright sweet orange dominated margarita with an almond finish and a lot of bright agave representation.
3. Patrón Blackberry Margarita
Chili
Build: Patrón Reposado Tequila, Cointreau, Shaken with Blackberry
Tasting Notes & Thoughts
Sweet honey, vanilla, and roasted agave with a hint of oakiness, strong citrus flavors, and a juicy tart finish.
This drink is both delicious and incredibly appetizing to look at. The blackberry representation is very faint, despite its beautiful color, but it’s present enough for you to taste it. I don’t have any complaints about this drink, the only thing that could make it better is some actual lime juice, so squeeze the wedge garnish into your drink and give it a gentle stir.
The Bottom Line:
One of Chili’s best margaritas. Fruity, with a vanilla and honey forward tequila and some high quality orange liqueur. This will be someone’s favorite, it’s just not mine.
2. Henny ‘Rita
Dane Rivera
Build: Premium Hennesy VS Cognac, Teremana Blanco Tequila, Fresh Sour
Tasting Notes & Thoughts
Spicy cinnamon with a mix of rich vanilla and chocolate and some delicate floral notes followed by tart lime, green grass and a bright pepper-forward finish.
This drink begins with the Hennessy notes dominating before the tequila takes over for its bright finish. The drink is garnished with a lime and orange wedge, both of which I suggest you squeeze into the drink for a bit more natural sweetness.
I was incredibly close to giving this one the top spot, but I think I like my number one choice just a bit more.
The Bottom Line:
Strong yet mellow and rich with the right amount of sweetness to balance it out. One of Chili’s finest.
Roasted agave, cocoa, pineapple and mango with sweet citrus and bright lime with a gently spicy finish.
Straight up, the Casamigos Margarita isn’t the most exciting drink on Chili’s menu, it’s not a fun spin on a classic margarita, it’s just… a classic margarita. But nothing really beats that, does it? A great-yet-classic margarita is the best kind of margarita.
My ideal margarita is simple: good tequila (which Casamigos is), a solid orange liqueur (which Cointreau is), and the juice of one lime (which “fresh sour” is not quite but is kinda close). If I’m making drinks for friends who expect something a bit sweeter, I might add a bit of agave syrup for some added sweetness.
The Casamigos Margarita is the closest thing Chili’s makes to a real traditional margarita and since its using fresh sour in place of real lime juice, it strikes a nice balance between the flavors of alcohol and people-pleasing tart sweetness.
You can’t go wrong with this drink.
The Bottom Line:
Is it exciting? No, but it’s a drink that puts premium ingredients at the forefront, actually tastes like tequila, and isn’t sickly sweet like most restaurant margaritas are. There is enough here to please both seasoned tequila drinkers and a more casual fan of margaritas alike.
This is where your round of drinks at Chili’s should begin. Start with the Casamigos Margarita, hit the Henny ‘Rita immediately after, and BOOM — you’ve got yourself a good night ahead of you.
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