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If you want to get technical (and we often do), a “martini” is made with gin. The other basic ingredient is vermouth. It’s usually adorned with an olive or perhaps a lemon twist. Simple, elegant, clean, and surprisingly complex. No wonder it’s a favorite of the fictional secret agent James Bond (though many bartenders disagree with his whole “shaken, not stirred” philosophy), Joe Pesci, George Takei, and anyone else who prefers their cocktails mostly comprised of booze.

While gin is technically the main spirit in a martini, many people enjoy their martinis with vodka instead. Prepared this way, it’s a cleaner, less vegetal/ herbaceous drink. The trademark botanicals of gin are missing, which leaves the vermouth as the star of the show.

To gather some insight on where bartenders stand on the gin vs. vodka martini dispute, we asked some of our favorite mixologists to tell us which gins or vodkas they pour in their martinis.

Bluecoat Gin

Dorothy Rondomanski, bartender at Assembly Rooftop Lounge in Philadelphia

I’m definitely a gin fan, but temperatures here in Philly get to the point that a classic London Dry with heavy juniper notes just doesn’t work. Especially in the summer months. Give me something with a little lighter juniper balanced with some citrus. As a bonus, the Bluecoat distillery is right down the street from where I live, and with the state-run liquor stores in Pennsylvania closed for COVID-19, it’s one of the only places to get a bottle of gin right now.

Tanqueray 10 Gin

Danny Caffall, lead bartender at The Mansion Bar in Dallas

I think it’s that Tanqueray 10 uses fresh, whole citrus as opposed to dried citrus. In this day and age of ever-increasing amounts of botanicals showing up in western style gins, it’s refreshing to taste a bright, well-rounded spirit that sticks to its roots and adds just the right number of new flavors to compliment the juniper, not disguise it. My perfect martini is Tanqueray 10, a whisper of dry vermouth, and garnish with a lemon twist. Simple elegance.

Svedka Vodka

Robert Swain Jr., owner of OnTheRoX Bartending Services in the British Virgin Islands

Svedka vodka makes an exceptional martini. It has the perfect hint of sweetness, but still holds up the criteria of a smooth vodka. It’s always my go-to.

Gray Whale Gin

Nicole Quist, beverage director at Bartaco in Aventura, Florida

I am loving gray whale gin right now, light rocks, twist of lemon. This beautiful gin features sustainably sourced, fresh California botanicals foraged along the migratory path of the gray whale…Big Sur juniper, Baja citrus, mint, almonds, pine — you name it. This project also gives back to marine conservation, so you can do good while drinking well.

Hendrick’s Orbium Gin

Vance Henderson, brand ambassador at Hendrick’s Gin

Hendrick’s Orbium is a reimagining by Master Distiller Leslie Gracie of what Hendrick’s might taste like in a parallel universe. Orbium contains the same distillates in Hendrick’s Gin but is taken in an altogether new direction by infusing flavors that are traditionally associated with classic gin libations; such as quinine found in tonic (gin & tonic) and wormwood found in vermouth (martini cocktail). The final addition of blue lotus blossom balances the overall flavor. The combination of these essences creates a gin with surprising brightness and a finish that is perfect for the martini obsessed.

Peach Street Jackelope Gin

Katie Nierling, general manager at Ska Street Brewstillery in Boulder, Colorado

A martini drinker wants to taste the expression of the spirit. So a balanced spirit that stands on its own is key to making a classic martini. Peach Street’s Jackelope Gin is my pick. Locally picked Juniper berries highlight the flavor of the high desert valley, along with seven other botanicals (lemon and lime zest included) that give this gin a citrus nose that tempts your nose on aroma and finishes with that sharp and dry flavor any gin drinker is sure to relish.

Fords Gin

James Simpson, beverage director at Espita in Washington, DC

Fords Gin by Simon Ford is my trusty English dry in a great classic martini. Mix with Dolin Vermouth de Chambéry (1:1,) two dashes of orange bitters, and expressed lemon peel, because it’s the only true way to make the martini.

Beefeater Gin

Hayden Miller, head bartender at Bodega Taqueria y Tequila in Miami

If I’m making a martini, I usually grab one gin. It’s a classic and it works perfectly with vermouth. Beefeater gin is a bang on gin, no matter what.

Tanqueray Gin

Tim Wiggins, co-owner and beverage director at Yellowbelly in St. Louis

I usually stick to old school London Dry style gins in my martinis. I love Fords and Tanqueray right now. If I want something zestier, I will go for Tanqueray, and if I want something grassy, I will go with Fords. I usually split my martinis 50/50 with a fortified ingredient so I like clean gins with a bite and Fords and Tanqueray both offer that.

J. Rieger and Co Midwestern Gin

Brock Schulte, bar director of The Monarch Bar in Kansas City

I’ve been drinking a ton of Gibsons lately, I like to vary my gins. But in this COVID outbreak right now, we have been trying to support local. J. Rieger and Co Midwestern Gin is amazing. The formula was made in collaboration with Tom Nichol, one of the foremost Master Gin Distillers in the world who worked at Tanqueray for 40 years. It’s bright, bracing, citrusy and tastes amazing with a touch of vermouth.

Absolut Elyx Vodka

Kenneth McCoy, chief Creative officer at The Rum House in New York City

If I drink vodka it’s always in a freezing cold martini with an onion so I like to use a premium vodka like Absolut Elyx, to make it rich, silky smooth, and elegant without killing your wallet.

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The NBA is gearing up for a long-awaited return after the NBPA voted unanimously on Friday to approve the plan the finish out the rest of the season and the playoffs at a bubble location in Disney World Orlando. Beginning on July 31, 22 teams are set to finish out an eight-game regular-season schedule, followed by a play-in tournament to determine the final playoff spots.

The vote comes nearly three full months after the NBA went on indefinite hiatus amid the COVID-19 outbreak that has resulted in more than 100,000 deaths in the U.S. and an economic catastrophe, the full implications of which likely won’t be understood for years to come.

But the NBA feels confident that they can safely resume the season, while instituting strict precautions designed to keep league personnel to a minimum. With the announcement of the return came plenty of speculation about who might end up in Orlando, specifically whether injured players like Kevin Durant and/or Kyrie Irving might return given the extra time to rehab from injury.

Durant, however, squashed those rumors on Friday, saying definitively via Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated that he does not plan on suiting up for the Nets in Orlando next month.

My season is over. I don’t plan on playing at all. We decided last summer when it first happened that I was just going to wait until the following season. I had no plans of playing at all this season.

Curiosity has swirled around Irving as well, although Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Friday that if Irving does indeed travel to Orlando with the Nets, it will be only to support his teammates.

At 30-34 on the season, Brooklyn current holds the No. 7 spot in the East, but given the new format, their tenuous 2.5-game advantage over the No. 8 Magic could put them in a somewhat precarious situation as they fight for the last remaining playoff spots.

(The Undefeated)

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Here are your quick and dirty, editorial-free WWE Friday Night Smackdown results for June 5, 2020. This week’s show featured a Women’s Tag Team Championship match, a confrontation between Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy explaining his wreck from last week, and more. Make sure you’re here tomorrow for the complete Best and Worst of Friday Night Smackdown column.

WWE Friday Night Smackdown Results:

– Jeff Hardy opened the show talking about last week’s incident, and how he’s doubted himself but knows he didn’t slip. Eyewitnesses said they saw a man with “red hair and red beard” run away from the accident, which is why he returned to fight Sheamus. Sheamus interrupted, calling Jeff a junkie and insulting his family until Jeff attacked him. Sheamus hit a Brogue Kick and tossed Hardy into the ringside plexiglass.

– Mandy Rose and Otis lifted King Corbin’s crown. He was very upset.

1. Otis defeated King Corbin by disqualification when Corbin attacked him with a chair. Otis more or less no-sold the attack and hit Corbin with the Caterpillar.

– Throughout the show, Miz and Morrison hid in a van and played pranks on Braun Strowman, including giving him a shaken-up drink and trying to slime him but sliming Kayla Braxton instead. When that didn’t get the desired effect, they broke Braun’s car’s windshield with a bat and a golf club. An enraged Strowman flipped the van on its side.

2. Lacey Evans defeated Sonya Deville. Mandy Rose appeared on the video screen to distract Deville, leaving her open for Evans’ Women’s Right.

– Renee Young hosted a face-to-face confrontation between Intercontinental Championship Tournament finalists Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles ahead of next week’s match. Bryan convinced Styles to give Drew Gulak an opportunity tonight.

3. Drew Gulak defeated AJ Styles. Gulak countered the Styles Clash to score the upset.

– Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus is official for Backlash.

4. The New Day and Shorty G defeated Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro, and Mojo Rawley. Mojo fell to the Midnight Hour to take the loss for his team.

5. Women’s Tag Team Championship Match: Bayley and Sasha Banks defeated Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross (c). Cross countered a Banks Statement into a pin, but Banks countered that into a crucifix pin of her own to win the match. Bayley and Banks are now two-time champions, and Bayley is a current double champ.

The NBA’s return to play is coming into focus, as Friday gave word that both players and the league have agreed on the parameters they will use to finish the 2019-20 season in Orlando. With that news of team numbers, playoff format and warm-up games came some other news: no trips to Disney with family.

Oh, and the league might also use artificial crowd noise from NBA 2K to make televised versions of these spectator-less games sound more like traditional NBA games. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, video game effects are actually being considered for the TV broadcasts that will be the only way hoops fans can watch these games this summer.

– There could be crowd noise via NBA 2K video game sounds, but the NBA and NBPA is still discussing creative opportunities

Using video game crowd noise would certainly qualify as a “creative” solution to crowd-less games, but it’s not without its own controversies. Some fans have complained about European soccer matches in fan-less venues using piped-in crowd noise, which often gives belated reactions to goals or big plays because it’s essentially a person in a control room pressing buttons based on what’s happening on the field.

It would certainly make for a weird dynamic to these games, but also hide some more interesting problems with the setting including hearing everything players say on the court. Which, you know, may not be very TV-friendly in the heat of the moment. Still, not everyone was on board with the news, including some NBA players.

It was also a chance for some others to make some very good 2K-related jokes.

We’ll see if the suggestion actually takes place, but if it does there are a lot of basketball fans who will be hearing familiar sounds later this summer.

As expected, the NBPA voted Friday to unanimously approve the proposed restart of the NBA season, which will resume on July 31 at Disney World in Orlando and will include 22 teams and an eight-game regular season with a play-in tournament for the final playoff spots.

That schedule means the NBA Finals will go through mid-October, which subsequently entails a significant delay in the start of next season, as the league tries to figure out a way to fit in an offseason before another grueling 82-game schedule kicks off in earnest. The preliminary report was that the league tentatively planned on starting the 2020-2021 season on December 1.

According to the latest report from Shams Charania of The Athletic, however, the new season is “unlikely” to begin that soon, given that it would provide less than a month between the Finals and the start of training camp. There has been speculation that the league might shoot instead for a Christmas start date, although the NBA and the players’ union are still negotiating on that.

The NBPA told players on call today that the 2020-21 season starting on Dec. 1 is “unlikely” and plans to negotiate the date: https://t.co/OiSdQosgvU

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 5, 2020

The bubble scenario in Orlando will include a number of safety precautions amid the continued outbreak of COVID-19. Players will have to be tested daily, and although the league won’t shut down if someone tests positive, that player will have to enter a period of mandatory quarantine.

Resuming a full regular season so quickly after the Finals will present a number of other obstacles, all of which will have to be taken into account as the league tries to finalize the complex schematics of how it will move forward after a turbulent hiatus that will have long-lasting effects on the future of the NBA.

FX’s Atlanta is not currently airing new episodes, but a clip from one of its most memorable past airings has gained new appreciation online in the wake of recent protests about police violence against people of color. Donald Glover’s FX show is certainly not known to pull punches on racial issues, and it’s become a cultural touchpoint in recent days of protests as tens of thousands take to the streets to protest police brutality.

The cartoon, an ad for the fictional Coconut Crunch-O’s cereal, features cartoon children exploring what looks like a tomb with a police officer. The group then encounters a wolf, presumably the Wally the police officer on the box is admonishing.

The three children get the bowls of coconut cereal as Wally bursts out of his sarcophagus too late. As he approaches the children, though, he’s taken to the ground by the police officer, who insists he “stop resisting” and roughs him up while he’s cuffed on the ground. The children look on in horror, insisting Wally could have some cereal as the officer puts a knee into the wolf’s back and then, on his neck.

“He was trying to steal your cereal, right?” the officer asked, otherwise emotionally blank as the children tell him to stop and say he’s hurting the wolf. The scene is reminiscent of the disturbing images captured of George Floyd’s death, where a police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes as he died screaming for help.

The commercial continues as usual, but the children look horrified by what’s taking place in front of them in an otherwise cartoonish scenario. The in-episode commercial made waves in 2016 when it first aired during an episode in which the show’s main character appeared on a fictional cable news show. The cereal commercial was among the fake “ads” that played during the episode. But as the nation has fixed its attention on another swath of images of police brutality the video recirculated on social media, the similarities between the in-episode critique on police brutality has popped up online across various platforms. It’s a reminder that the events that have made Americans leave their homes to protest have happened across American cities for a long time, and Atlanta is just one of the places where that kind of violence has been critiqued long before 2020.