While Donald Trump has gone from praising Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine to awkwardly backpedaling, another former host of The Apprentice has been handling the issue much better. Last week, Arnold Schwarzenegger released a moving video, in which he pled with the Russian populace to see through their leaders’ lies about why they’ve attacked a neighboring nation. And Russian state TV is not happy about it.
As per The Daily Beast, a bevy of Russian personalities have come out in force against the actor and former governor, who’s quite beloved in the country, in part because he played a KGB agent in 1988’s Red Heat. (Also because he wipes out an entire army singlehandedly at the end of Commando.) One of them was Vadim Gigin, who railed against the actor on the state TV show Sunday Evening With Vladimir Solovievon.
“That face is the cover page of American imperialism and colonialism,” Gigin roared over the video. “Not the caricature image of Uncle Sam, but this Schwarz, in a Hollywood production.” He added, “He, in California, will tell us, who live here… the truth?! That is their approach towards us.”
Gigin took particular umbrage with the second half of Schwarzenegger’s video, in which he discussed the cup given to him by champion weightlifter Yury Vlasov. That set Gigin off. “Vlasov couldn’t transfer any of his brain [to Schwarzenegger] with his handshake and the gifted cup,” he steamed.
Then host Solovievon chimed in. “Schwarzenegger twice traveled to Iraq to support the American troops and never tried to tell the Iraqi people why they’re being destroyed,” he asserted.
Russian powerlifter champion Maryana Naumova also trashed Schwarzenegger in a column published by Russian tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda. While struggling to claim Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky can be a Nazi even if he’s Jewish, she also dove into the actor’s filmography.
“Do you remember how in the second part of the Terminator your hero goes back in time to prevent the creation of Skynet, which would bring the death of all mankind?” she asked the actor. “Russia’s special military operation does not aim to destroy the Ukrainian people. It is aimed at the neo-Nazi Skynet, which over the years has completely subjugated Ukraine and was about to turn into an uncontrollable monster, dangerous for all of its neighbors, not only for us… Don’t side with Skynet, Terminator.”
Writer Zakhar Prilepin also tried to use Schwarzenegger’s movies to hang him. “In his video message, Schwarzenegger, who killed three million Russians in his films, told the Russian people how much he loves us and how wrong we are about Ukraine,” Prilepin wrote on Telegram. “This Austrian, the son of his father, who served in the SS and was wounded near Leningrad, is trying to act as the good cop.”
Neither Putin himself nor his cronies in power have yet to comment on Schwarzenegger’s video, which he posted not only on Twitter but also on Telegram, which is used almost exclusively by Russians. But Russian powers and propagandists ought to have seen enough of his films to know what happens when you cross him, even if you’re Sinbad.
Nick Smith — head distiller and director of distilling operations at Bardstown Bourbon Company — is one of the shooting stars of Kentucky bourbon. Smith, who grew up in Bardstown, a stone’s throw from some of the biggest whiskey distilleries in the country, has a passion for whiskey that shines through in every release.
As the head distiller for Bardstown Bourbon Company, Smith makes whiskeys for one of the freshest distilleries in Kentucky, while also chaperoning a contract distilling operation for a long list of whiskey brands. While the former is easy enough to understand, contract distilling is a frequently maligned process, misunderstood by the average whiskey drinker and likely completely unknown to the passive whiskey drinker.
It can take millions in start-up capital to get a distillery up and running, not to mention the years of aging. That’s where the contract distiller comes in. Often times, brands will hire a contract distiller to produce their whiskey from start to finish, well before they can build up their own production capacity. Other times contract distillers work with heritage producers just looking to get some extra juice aging to meet skyrocketing demand, over and above what those producers can make on their own.
Of course, there’s a lot more to the process than that. Smith and Bardstown are making juice for some of the hottest names in whiskey right now, from Blue Run to Kentucky Owl to Belle Meade to Pursuit United, running 40 different mash bills in 2021 alone. We figured that if anyone could help shed light on this process, it was him.
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
So what is the difference between contract distilling and sourcing bourbon?
With contract distilling, the big difference is with us is customization from the very beginning on. Every customer we have is definitely different, from start-ups that might not know anything at all about the bourbon industry but they want to get started in it, to people who already have an established brand and know what they want but just don’t have all the details. That then goes all the way up to big names that have been doing this for over 200 years and just need a little bit of extra juice. Where we come into play is to be able to customize what it is that they’re looking for. We’re able to do any bourbons or whiskeys. The customer can sit down with us and go through that process step-by-step to customize it just for them.
And then on the sourcing whiskey side, you’re just going to be purchasing what is available on the market. So, no customizations. It’s just going to be what’s already being produced, and, usually, you’re not able to get too many new fill barrels. It’s going to be something that’s aged, and, currently, it’s hard to find any good products out there because a lot of people aren’t releasing as much of it as they used to.
So, let’s stick with the contract distilling side and walk through the process. How much influence do you, as a master distiller, have over the actual customization? Are you helping them select grains? Are you helping them select yeast? What’s the process there?
It’s definitely customer-dependent. But where I come into play is definitely how we do things here at Bardstown. You know, how our equipment runs, our beer age, our aging, where it’s going in the warehouse, the char of the barrel, the coopers that are available. As you said, the yeast we use. Everything from very start to finish.
So, say if it’s a new customer who doesn’t have any idea what they want, but they want to get into this industry and know how many barrels they’d like to start laying down, it all starts at the very beginning with a flavor profile. So, what we’ll do with a brand new customer is, we’ll go into the lab and I’ll pull out a wheated bourbon with a low wheat percentage, a wheated bourbon with a higher wheat, a wheat whiskey. Then we’ll move into a lower percentage rye bourbon, a high rye bourbon, and then some rye whiskeys, a four-grained bourbon, and then into American single malts as well. And we’ll go through all those profiles and try to see which one they’re most interested in for the grain profile that they would like to start with or the spirit type.
Once they get that and say, “Oh, I’d really like, say, wheated bourbon. That’s what I want to go with. I like the one that had a little higher percentage than the lower percentage.” we’ll dial it in from there.
What’s being dialed in?
So, if they say, maybe it was a 38 percent wheat that they tasted and they want to run one at a 36 percent. Then we’ll ask, “What percent corn do you want? Malted barley percentage?” And then we’ll dial it from there. After we get our grain recipe, we ask, “What yeast strain do you like? Here are the ones that we’ve used, the flavor profiles that you’d be looking at.” And then we go over the proofs, entry proof. What proofs do you want it off the still? Off the doubler, for those flavor profiles?
And then here’s the cooking process. That’s where I come into play, especially with the new customers. I’m working on the temperatures the grains are going to go in. I’m designing the actual procedure.
But then if you jump over to an established brand, they know exactly what they want. They’ve been running this same recipe for over 100 years or more. They come in and it’s more of how does our equipment run compared to their equipment? Things like what temperatures I set for our facility versus theirs. And with a lot of the technologies that we have in place, if they have the specs that they know that they like to run to produce at their facility, we can plug those same specifications in here to run the most similar product to what they’re producing at their facility. So you’re not going to see a big difference in that inventory whenever it comes of age.
Bardstown Bourbon Company
How much customization can you do on the hardware side? I mean, you know, some people have Oregon pine fermentation tanks that are open, while other folks have stainless steel fermentation tanks for their mash. Some people want column stills, some people want pot stills.
On that, it’s more of a what we have situation. So with that type of customization, we don’t have, like you said, the different types of fermentation tanks. We’re operating all stainless steel fermentation tanks here. So, that’s what our process would be.
A customer that I do have — he’s a craft distiller down in Arkansas — what he produces in one year is what we produce in one day. So for him, it was like, “What’s in my best interest? Am I best to expand my facility, have that overhead, the extra labor, everything? Or partner with these guys and I can get that extra volume in a very short amount of time?” And with him, he runs a pot still. We have column stills here, so that’s where things are a little bit different.
But to make the most similar product on the grain side, I’m bringing in his Arkansas corn that he uses at his facility. His Arkansas wheat that he uses at his facility. He has two yeast strains that he uses. We’re using both those yeast strains and the yeast nutrients he likes to do in fermentation. So we run it as similar as we possibly can, but we’re handcuffed to the equipment that we do have here on site. That said, we have looked at possibly putting in a pot still and things like that, just to make us a little bit more complex.
That’s fantastic. And you’ve answered my next question about bringing in grains.
You name a grain, we’ve probably used it here. That’s all customized as well. We definitely use the main four grains the most, but we’ve also used, you know, popcorn, black popcorn, red, blue. We’ve used your bloody butcher heirloom corn, your hockey blue, white wheat, smoked mesquite malt. We use a lot of different grains here; Munich malt, 360 caramel malt. So, a lot of different varieties and different things for that customization for the customers.
How much advice do you give your customers in the barreling process? I feel like there are a lot of ways you can go with sizes, times, woods, and so on.
Yeah, we definitely give the customer as much advice as possible. If they want to do something, we will do that for them. But we will give advice like “this is what’s possible to happen if you do go down this road instead of a traditional route.”
But with the aging process, you know, it starts by what cooper they want to use. We’ve used maybe nine different ones here. Our main one is Independent Stave Company which, you know, they’re the world leader for a reason. So putting our product in those barrels would add top quality. We actually have a contract with Independent Stave Company to do a certain percentage of our barrels from them. We also use West Virginia Gray Barrel Company, Bayside, Kelvin, Barrel 53, Canton Cooperage, Zach Cooperage.
So you lead them in the right direction as best you can.
We use a lot of different ones and we’ll give our advice on which ones we prefer. But if the customer wants to go with a different cooper, then that’s fine. Then once we have the cooper, we’ll dial into what entrance proof they want to put it in at. I’ll give advice on what different proofs can provide. You know, a lot of the big guys that are looking to make the dollar at the end of the day, they’re going to go with that max 125 proof. If they know that they’re going to come out with a product in four years that’s going to be 90 proof, they’re going to be cutting that down to 90 proof by adding a lot of water. That means that they’re going to get the max amount of bottles out of that production. So they’re looking at the money side of things.
On the quality side of things, you can get different flavors if you go in at lower entry proofs. But you might not have as much volume at the very end because you’re not going to be cutting that spirit down. But you could have a lot better flavors coming out of that barrel. So, we’ll give all that advice for which direction they want to go. We have a lot of samples here, as well, to be able to pull from different entry proofs to show that aging out and let them try those.
Bardstown Bourbon Company
What about warehouse placement?
Currently, we’re somewhat handcuffed on that because we are still a new distillery. We’re filling warehouses as they’re being built. You know, we only maybe have a two-week window on a warehouse being ready before we run out of space. With that, we have to kind of fill the warehouses as we can until we start pulling a lot more barrels out to re-gauge as these barrels get older. That will give us a lot more spaces available where we can kind of pick and choose, see where some customers might want to go.
That naturally leads to getting these whiskeys into bottles. Are you providing blending rooms and blenders to help them along that process? Do they bring in their own people? Is it a mix of both?
Everything. We definitely are involved on the blending side of things. We just don’t do the custom distillation here. It’s also custom blend, custom bottling, everything from pretty much start to finish. You know, we even have compliance in place for all those tricky things and getting your colors approved on your bottles, every single thing like that.
A lot of these new customers, they’ll need to get a product going right away. Of course, they want to wait at least four years, usually, on aging their bourbon. So a lot of times, these new customers, once we get a couple of years into their bourbon being aged, if they have some source material or anything like that that they’ve purchased, that’s where we’ll come together. Usually, it’s me, our quality manager, Travis Cantrell, Justin Willis, the head of operations, and then the big player in all the blending is Dane Calloway, our VP of new product development.
So, we’ll all get in there with the customers. We’ll work on the blends with the products they have available or any source material we might have available that we could sell them. And then that kind of gets their product going as they’re waiting on their units to age. So, once we get that blend ready to go, we’ll go to the bottling side of things and Johnny Caldwell, our bottling operations manager, takes it from there and they’ll go through bottle designs, label designs, cap designs — every single thing like that for the product, start to finish, to be ready to go. And usually, they’ll release that before their product that we have in the distillery is aged. That way, they can get their brand started and name out there, ready to go for people.
Is there a sort of acid test you have for which people you’re going to take on? Obviously, if somebody comes to you with 200 years of tradition and just needs that extra juice to keep up, it’s very different than somebody who’s wet behind the ears with more money than they know what to do with. What’s the selection process for Bardstown?
There is somewhat a selection process, you know. We would definitely prefer to help out the smaller guys or the start-ups or the established ones looking for a little bit more of that juice. A lot of ones that are getting into this industry right now are investors. So you know, it takes money to make money, right? So, a lot of investors are seeing that you know, “If we can lay money into bourbon and maybe let’s say we produce 1000 barrels and we’ve got the money to pay for them, it’s no big deal to sit on them for four years, six years, whatever it might be and then quadruple that value when we can sell them as a four-year oak.”
So, that’s become kind of popular, that a lot of these investors are getting into it so they can make some more money off of it in the long run. We do produce for people like that, but I would much rather produce for the ones that are truly wanting to start their brand and build their businesses, things like that. Instead of just an investment opportunity.
It’s interesting because, at the end of the day, you’re putting out stuff that you’re putting your blood, sweat, and tears into and you’re not even on the label, you know? It’s somebody else’s label. It’s somebody else’s story. What sort of pride do you feel when you see something go out there and it actually pops and lands in the market and makes a dent? As opposed to, you know, do you feel a sort of regret when it doesn’t?
I definitely take pride in it. I’ve always said that I take pride in every single thing that I make. One day, it’s going to be really cool that I’ll be able to go and sit down at a bar anywhere, any bourbon bar, and look on the shelf and probably be able to pick out 30-40 different brands that I created the product for. Which you know, name, recognition might not be on the bottle, but that’s no big deal to me. I’m not chasing fame or anything like that. I just have a passion for making bourbon. As we’re building our brand, it’s really great that we’re able to help out these other ones.
About eight years ago, Tracy Morgan got into a horrible traffic accident. A Walmart truck crashed into a minibus in which he was traveling, causing a chain reaction crash. The accident killed his friend and collaborator, James McNair. Morgan spent two weeks in a coma, along with suffering multiple injuries. He eventually returned to showbiz, but his recovery wasn’t easy, as he recently told Conan O’Brien on his podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.
Morgan recalled the first time he did showbiz after his accident, after he returned to SNL in October of 2015, about a year and a half after it happened. (It took him almost a year to do his first interview.) “I was hosting Saturday Night Live and at rehearsals, I decided that night, let’s go to The [Comedy] Cellar,” he recalled. “I grabbed the mic, and I remember it felt so good to be welcomed back. It really did. And that day, I didn’t think I was ever going to touch the microphone again.”
At this point, Morgan broke down, crying as he recounted how nervous he was to go back to performing. “I didn’t think I was going to walk again, and I did. I just fought,” he said. “I fought to come out of the coma. I’d seen my daughter in the coma saying ‘daddy come back’ and she was only ten months and I fought and came out of the coma. Then I just wanted to be better.”
One of the issues is that he was worried he wouldn’t be able to bring it like he had before. “Bones heal but when you got traumatic brain injury, uh-oh, when you mess with somebody’s mind!” he said. “When I came back I didn’t even know how to eat. They had to teach me how to eat.”
He went on:
“My daughter was only ten months so she was just learning how to walk. But she was scared of me when I first came home. I stayed in the bed for two weeks. I don’t even remember that. I stayed in the bed for two weeks and then my daughter wouldn’t even come to me ’cause she was scared of the wheelchair. And that really hurt me. She learned how to walk at fourteen months. And when I’d seen her take a few steps, I got out the wheelchair … and I took my first few steps. So me and my daughter learned how to walk together.”
Morgan wound up suing Walmart and settled for an undisclosed amount. It was revealed that the driver of the truck had been up for 24 hours at the time of the accident. Morgan later forgave him. Three years after the incident, he dedicated a Netflix special, Staying Alive, to the episode that nearly claimed his life.
You can listen to audio of Morgan’s story at Mediaite.
White sand beaches probably aren’t first thing that come to mind when thinking of Scotland. That honor probably belongs to golf, or whisky. But this is a country full of surprises, and even if the grassy dunes and rocky highlands don’t exactly conjure a Corona ad in your mind, the fact is, Scotland has a staggering 11,602 miles of coastline between the mainland and its many islands. That’s as much as California and Florida combined. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that this beautiful corner of the world is rife with beaches. Yes, even white sand ones.
When it comes to accessing the best of these, the Inner Hebrides are your best bet. While the Outer Hebrides (the isles of Lewis, Harris, and Stornoway), have huge, dramatic vistas and surfable (if chilly) waves to recommend them, the Inner Hebrides beaches are slightly more accessible for day trips, and, in this writer’s opinion, just as stunning.
Below, we’re going to shout out five Inner Hebrides beaches on five islands. These are the beaches we think are worth your time and effort to actually enjoy if you’re heading to Scotland (if still only a small introduction to the hundreds of beaches there awaiting the serious adventurer with more time to explore)
Fair warning, a lot of these are very remote (which, for those of us who appreciate serious seclusion, is half the point). You’ll need a car to get to most of them (though hitchhiking is still popular on the smaller islands), and then an additional hike for some of them. Make sure you eat a full Scottish breakfast that morning, those calories will come in handy. And yes, we are talking about the northern reaches of Europe here and not Hawai’i. The weather can turn brutal in a hurry, especially in the fall, winter, or spring. So pack accordingly, and expect these beaches to be more pink/grey/brownish when the sun isn’t out. But, hey, that’s all part of the charm.
While you may not be able to enjoy them in shorts and a tank top, these spots are idyllic, offering a chance to experience Scottish culture firsthand. Most of these beaches are near fishing villages, where you’ll be hard-pressed not to find amazing smorgasbords of freshly-caught fish (did someone say seaside fish and chips?). Then there are the distilleries, often just a stone’s throw away, if not on actually on the sand. And, lastly, don’t be surprised if you make a few (or a lot) of dog and sheep friends along the walk to and along the beach. These beaches really are Scotland at its most picturesque and quintessential.
The Isle of Mull is about a 45-minute ferry ride from Oban. The island is very close to the mainland, all things considered, but once you drive or step off that ferry, you’ll feel like you’re a million miles away. If you drive the tiny, single-lane roads towards the northwest of the island, you’ll come to a very secluded white sand beach that you’ll likely have all to yourself.
While this is on the far side of the island (about an hour from the ferry at Craignure), you can drive right up to this beach and park easily. There are a few houses dotting the southern hillside but that’s about it when it comes to civilization. The beach is westward facing and surrounded by a “machir” which is a sort of lowland grassland/woodland, which is bursting with wildflowers in the summer.
There isn’t a place to stay on the beach, but Mull has a lot of options for B&Bs all over the island. If you not heading to the island for a day drive from Oban, the best bet is to start near Craignure at a place like Isle of Mull Hotel & Spa. The whole setup is one long building overlooking the sea with common areas with rip-roaring fireplaces centered in sitting rooms and spa pools/amenities in between. It makes for a nice home base for heading out in any direction around the island. Expect to pay around $160 per night for a room, depending on the season.
There actually is a place to grab a bite on the beach (well, near the parking lot on the northside of the beach). Robin’s Boat doles out scoops of local Mull ice cream from an overturned boat with an ice cream shop built right on top of it. While the local ice cream is the main pull, you can also get some chips, a Scottish pie, and a warm cup of coffee. Though be warned, this place is closed from late fall to mid-spring.
This list probably could have just been beaches on Islay, but that would’ve been a bit of a cheat. Kilchoman Beach in the middle of Machir Bay is a stunner. The beach sits between rocky outcrops on the southside and rolling farmland on the east and north. While this beach is very remote, you can still get there, thanks to the Kilchoman Distillery about three minutes up the road.
There’s a small parking lot at the end of a dirt road about a two-minute walk from the beach. You’ll walk over some green sand dunes next to a pasture full of hearty sheep down to the beach, which stretches for nearly two miles of soft sand. It’s the sort of beach where you’re more likely to see a farmer walking his sheepdog than anything else. Since this beach is westward-facing, it has a mild yet consistent surf and is a prime location to watch the sunset (especially after an afternoon the distillery).
The Islay Cottages overlook Machir Bay from a hill amidst the green pastures above the beach. While this is a super remote side of the island, a stay here does offer you a chance to truly disconnect, as cell service is pretty much non-existent in the area even at the distillery down the road.
The self-catering cottages are homey and quaint while offering serious comfort, and enough modern amenities to make sure you don’t feel completely cut off from reality. Each one is a semi-detached house with white-washed walls and black trim, which is very Islay. And the best part is that you can literally walk out of your door and into nature for the whole day. The experience doesn’t come cheap: expect to pay between $500 and $700 for a cottage that sleeps four to six guests.
Kilchoman Distillery is your best (and only) bet for a good Scottish meal. If you walk in just when they’re opening up, you’ll smell the bread baking in the ovens and the seafood chowder — Cullen Skink as it’s called there — simmering on the stove. It’s hard not to fall in love at first smell. There’s also plenty of in-house-made pastries and cakes and a solid coffee shop in case you need a sugar and caffeine boost. Oh, and you can also do a full whisky tasting at Islay’s only family-run distillery in the same building. That’s a lot of wins, folks.
Ah, Skye. The northernmost of the Inner Hebrides and so big that it nearly reaches the Outer Hebrides, this island is rugged Scotland at its best. That also means there are plenty of beaches from top to bottom.
Coral Beach is one of the most interesting beaches on the whole island. The beach starts off with black craggy rocks that turn into black pebbles that then fade into white sand along the northern stretch. It’s kind of the best of both worlds, with the iconic rocky beaches of Scotland meeting white sand over a two-mile stretch.
The beach is also pretty remote all things considered. It’s basically a two-hour drive from Kyle of Lochalsh (the main bridge onto the island) to the Claigan Coral Beach Car Park. From there, you’re going to walk about a mile-and-a-half along the coast to reach the beach. You’ll want sturdy shoes for this short trek, as the craggy coast, pastures, and wildland is pretty uneven, and can be waterlogged. But once you make it to the beach, you’ll be detached from all modernity and civilization, except for a few good dogs with their owners. Make sure to head to the northernmost point of the beach and pop up on top of Coral Rock for the best view over the beach.
Skye has a good balance of being both super remote and rustic but still pretty well set up for tourism. You can camp a few miles south near Dunvegan Castle at the Kinloch Campsite if that’s your jam. If you’re looking for more upscale accommodations, make your home base around Portee, about 45 minutes east of the beach by car. Spots like Cuillin Hills Hotel offer everything you want in Scotland — local wild foods on the menu, plenty of whisky, isolation, and modern comfort. Rates start at around $190 per night.
The nearest place to grab food is going to be in Kinloch (about 20 minutes south of the beach by car). There are plenty of B&Bs and inns that’ll have a restaurant that’s usually open to the public. Or you can drop into The Old School, which is, well, an old school pub in the old schoolhouse. They do a really good fish and chips and have a pretty solid seasonal/rotating seafood and foraged menu of local and fresh treats. It’s especially nice if you can snag a table right next to the fireplace.
We’re getting more and more remote on this list as we go. Isle Iona is only reachable via another island, Mull, on a ten-minute ferry ride that only fully operates between March and October. But this island is full of great white sand beaches that are pretty much untouched.
The beach is a mix of grassy sand dunes that lead you to a white sand beach with black rocky protrusions and crystal clear, blue-hued surf. The small beach has a northeasterly setting with a large island off short. That means it’s very calm. That crystal clear water gently laps at the white sand and black rocks, the epitome of chill.
To get there, you’re going to drive north from the ferry at Baile Mor until the road just sort of ends just past a farmhouse (don’t park at the farm, just find a spot on the side of the “road”). From there, you’re going to walk about 10 minutes through the pasture to the beach (basically keep walking straight from the end of the road and turn left, following the footpath until you reach the beach). Once there, you’ll have a little strip of paradise all to yourself. The best part is if you turn right instead of left, you’ll still hit a white sand beach on the other side of the pasture, fully north-facing toward the open sea. So you’re getting two beaches for the price of one.
Iona is tiny, under two miles from north to south and less than a mile from east to west. That makes it very walkable if you don’t have a car for whatever reason. It’s also sparsely populated. There are plenty of B&Bs and hotels around the ferry terminal at Baile Mor, where you can expect to pay anywhere from $100 to $250 a night.
That spareness also means that the food options are pretty slim out on Iona. Your only real bet is to hit one of the handful of hotels when their restaurants are open during the day. Expect extremely local food, usually grown on-site, alongside lamb, beef, and plenty of seafood. Realistically, you’ll probably want to hit a grocery store on Mull or even back in Oban before you venture out here.
Balevullin Beach, Isle of Tiree
Reef Inn
The Beach:
The Isle of Tiree is the westernmost of the Inner Hebrides and reachable via ferry from Isle of Coll, which, in turn, is reachable from Oban on the mainland. Once again we’re going so remote, you have to island hop to hit these white sands. But we also saved the best for last. This island — which some call the “Hawai’i of the north” — has some truly stunning and massive white sand beaches that are worth the long trip.
Balevullin is probably the most fun if you’re into water sports. There’s a hut right on Balevullin beach that rents out surfboards and windsurfing kits. The beach is a huge destination for local and international windsurfers looking to harness the dramatic winds of the North Atlantic. The sport is enough of a draw that this tiny island actually has its own equally tiny airport if you’re looking to get there a little faster than local ferries.
The beach is pretty easy to get to once you’re on the island. From the ferry terminal, it’s about a 15 to 20-minute drive west. The drive is cut in half from the airport. You basically take some dirt roads past plenty of farms until you hit the beach and the Blackhouse Watersports shed, where you can pick up a board.
Self-catering cottages are the standard on Tiree. You’ll pay anywhere from $75 to $200 a night depending on where and what you want. Most of them will be in the interior but still plenty close to the beach on this small island. If you’re looking for a more “hotel” vibe, then hit up Reef Inn right by the airport. The hotel is both modern and minimalist, letting the beautiful nature surrounding the hotel shine. Expect to pay around $160 per night for a real slice of luxury in the middle of the wilds of Scottish isles.
The easiest bet is to hit the Reef Inn, even if you’re not staying there. The menu is as local as it can get with modernized Scottish classics and a pretty damn good bar for a post-surf-sesh cocktail hour. And, of course, there’s a ridiculous amount of local seafood on the menu. Yes, there’s whisky too.
Still, Tiree is the sort of place where you take life as it comes. As you bounce around the 10-plus beaches on this island, you’ll find plenty of friends and dining options to enjoy with those new friends along the way.
It’s not only the voices in your head. Manifest‘s fourth season is really coming, and it’s been filming since November 2021. All of this went down after Manifest fans (including one Stephen King) raised a ruckus over NBC’s cancellation, and the show’s now getting the Lucifer treatment with a resurrection. Fortunately, the will have a 20-episode order, which obviously isn’t the six-season run that creator Jeff Rake had hoped for, but it’s hopefully enough to wrap up what truly went down with Flight 528.
As far as a firm date goes, that question has been on viewers’ minds, and that includes King as well. The horror maestro recently tweeted at Rake with three questions: “1. When does it come back? 2. How many times will a character say ‘Trust me’? 2-A. How many times will a character say ‘It’s complicated’?”
All very pertinent questions, and Rake duly answered the call: “Re: #1, I’m hearing November. Re: #2 and #3, if you’re proposing a drinking game, I’m in.”
From there, we’re left to wonder whether we’ll see all 20 episodes drop (November seems too speedy for that route), or if Netflix will take a recently popular route, which would be a split season. According to a new update from TV Line, that’s the ticket:
Due to be delivered in multiple parts (of a quantity and frequency TBD!), the supernatural drama’s farewell flight is on track to take off “late this year.”
Now, as far as when the series finale will actually air, there’s no telling. It would be something, though, to think of this in terms of a series “death date,” which is a huge concept in the show. And it sure looks like, if Rake and Netflix decide to play that card (and this is simply a morbidly cute theory) that (as noted by Reddit) this would happen on June 2, 2024 to match the “death date” of Flight 528 passengers on the show. That would be quite a wait, but hey, fans might still dig it.
Game shows are arguably more popular now than they’ve ever been, for reasons good (Amy Schneider and Matt Amodio’s historic Jeopardy! runs) and not-so-good (Jeopardy!’s hosting drama; all the Wheel of Fortune contestants who can’t solve simple puzzles). The Price is Right has largely avoided such drama, though host Drew Carey did emerge from quarantine with some rockin’ long locks. But now it’s looking to do something neither Jeopardy! nor Wheel of Fortune has tried.
As per AP, the longtime late morning game show in which people guess the prices of consumer products may be coming (on down) to your city. This year the program is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and to celebrate, it will hit the road for what’s been dubbed the “Come On Down Tour.” It finds a traveling version of the tour hitting 50 cities, among them Denver, Dallas, New Orleans, Nashville, and St. Louis. (A full list of stops will be made public on Friday at this address.)
Mind you, it’s not the regular version of the show. That means, host Drew Carey, who’s been with the show the last 15 of those 50 years, will be staying put in Santa Monica, California, where the show is recorded. Instead, while the TV episodes are recorded as usual, a trailer will cruise the nation, offering locals the chance to play Plinko, compete in Showcase Showdown, and whatever other games are easily transportable. What’s more, the traveling Price is Right will customize for each stop, having contestants weigh in on local, not national goods.
The Price is Right celebrating half a century is somewhat misleading. The original version debuted in 1956. It was revamped in 1972, with host Bob Barker, now 98, who remained on the show for another decade after besting Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore.
Again, the full list of stops on the “Come On Down Tour” will be unveiled on Friday, March 25.
Saturday Night Live returns from a brief hiatus on April 2nd (now that Pete Davidson isn’t going to space), with host Jerrod Carmichael and musical guest Gunna. Carmichael’s hosting debut comes right after the premiere of his new HBO comedy special, directed by Bo Burnham, Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel on April 1st — a perfect day for jokes! This will be Carmichael’s first appearance on the show.
Next up will be Jake Gyllenhaal with musical guest Camila Cabello on April 9th. Cabello’s upcoming album Familia drops the day before. The former Fifth Harmony member last performed on the show in 2019.
Gyllenhaal will be promoting his upcoming thriller Ambulance which also hits theaters the day before. Back in November, Gynenhaal’s ex Taylor Swift famously sang their breakup anthem “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” on the late-night show. Gyllenhaal didn’t seem to mind, so maybe they will poke fun at it? Will he bring back to scarf? Probably not. Will he apologize? Definitely not.
Finally, Lizzo will pull double duty as a first-time host and second-time musical guest on April 16th. Lizzo’s upcoming reality showWatch Out For The Big Grrls premieres this week on Amazon Prime, and her next album is “100% done.” Here’s to hoping we get a musical short with Lizzo and her flute.
When she’s not gracefully opting out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction race, Dolly Parton is quietly sustaining her entertainment empire. After producing and starring in a number of successful Netflix projects, Parton is set to produce and star in Run, Rose, Run based on her new novel co-written with novelist James Patterson.
The novel was released earlier this month and has already topped the New York Times bestseller list. The story follows a young singer-songwriter named Rose who flees to Nashville to escape her troubled past. The novel comes with a companion album of the same name.
For its film adaptation, Parton is working with Reese Witherspoon and her production company, Hello Sunshine. The actress says, “Growing up in Nashville, I’ve loved Dolly since the moment I heard her magical voice and saw her luminous personality shine onstage. Beyond her magnetic presence as an artist and performer, she is one of the greatest songwriters and storytellers of our time…I couldn’t feel more honored to be working alongside her and James to bring this remarkable story to the screen.” Co-author James Patterson is also set to produce. Hopefully, Witherspoon will keep them out of her NFT schemes.
Parton is no stranger to the movies, as she famously starred in the hit musical 9 to 5 and the classic comedy Steel Magnolias. Recently, Parton starred in a Netflix Christmas movie, Dolly Parton’s Christmas On The Square. She is also a huge fan of reading and famously sends free books to young readers.
Spring might just be the perfect time to crack open a porter — the lighter sibling of the more robust stout, which dominates March drinking (hello, St. Patrick’s Day). Without getting too into the weeds, stouts tend to have a lower (or more sessionable) ABV, while porters can be a little heavier on the alcohol. But that’s not a hard-and-fast rule, and it’s dependent on which brewery you’re standing in.
The main difference is in the recipe. Very generally, a porter is made with roasted malted barley, yeast, water, and hops. A stout has all of that plus roasted unmalted barley. That ingredient adds that little bit more bitterness, coffee notes, and a deeper chocolate vibe. These details often go out the window any time a brewer decides what they want to call their dark brew, since there’s no “law” governing any of this.
Okay, school’s out, it’s time to actually drink some. That’s where the experts come in. We asked some well-known craft beer experts, brewers, and beer professionals to tell us their favorite porters to drink now (and any time of year, really).
Breckenridge Vanilla Porter is an incredibly smooth and delicious beer that really hits the spot, especially when you’re looking for a porter that has a little more to offer. You vanilla gives it a velvety smooth mouthfeel finish.
Anchor Porter is my pick. What flavors make it great? It’s roasty, rich, and velvety and tastes like a walk in Portrero Hill — probably because that’s where the fine folks on Mariposa Street are brewing another batch of Anchor Porter.
Samuel Smith Taddy Porter is one of my first porters and still one of my favorites. It’s extremely unique in the sense that the brewing liquor comes from an 18th-century well and the beer is fermented in stone squares, also known as Yorkshire squares. It’s very approachable with a five percent ABV. It’s malty, roasty, and earthy with a little fruitiness. There’s a full mouthfeel with extreme drinkability.
I haven’t seen this one around lately, but I drank it regularly when I lived in the St. Louis area where it was available, fresh, and inexpensive. It’s a robust yet medium-bodied American-style porter with a noticeable herbal hop bite. It’s roasty, bitter, and a little hoppy without any harshness.
One of my favorite porters has always been Mayflower Porter, brewed in Plymouth, Massachusetts. It has a rich chocolatey malt profile without being too sweet. A local bar regularly had their porter on cask, and I would find myself there quite often for a pint or two.
Maui Coconut Hiwa
Maui
Rob Day, senior director of marketing at Springdale Beer Co. in Framingham, Massachusetts
I have to go with Maui Coconut Hiwa. This captures a sense of place for me that feels comfortably Hawaiian. It’s rich up front but finishes dry and the touch of coconut is seamless. Sweet, roasted barley, and coconut, you can’t go wrong with this one.
Fifty Fifty Donner Party
Fifty Fifty
Garth E. Beyer, certified Cicerone® and owner and founder of Garth’s Brew Bar in Madison, Wisconsin
I try to select beers that I know our guests will enjoy, but there are still a few beers I stock at the bar because I love them. The Donner Party porter by Fifty Fifty Brewing Company is one of those beers. It’s all of the oatcakes, molasses, and espresso chocolate flavors you want out of a dark beer, but on the more drinkable side of the spectrum.
Domestically, I’ll buy Jack’s Abby’s Framminghammer Baltic porter whenever I get a chance. The smooth chocolate, big malt flavors, silky mouthfeel, and roast all play so well off of each other with a firm hop bitterness holding everything together.
Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald
Great Lakes
Brian Jaszewski, director of product management at Sprecher Brewing Co. in Glendale, Wisconsin
Edmund Fitzgerald from Great Lakes Brewing Co. in Cleveland, Ohio is my pick. The malty flavor and body are so important to this style and Edmund Fitz captures it so well. Coffee aromas and a light chocolate note are showcased in this classic porter.
Deschutes Black Butte
Deschutes
Jeremy Ragonese, president of Uinta Brewing in Salt Lake City, Utah
There’s only one answer to this question and that’s Deschutes Black Butte. I’ve had many terrific porters, but many lean too much on the hoppy side of the style — almost black IPAs by some standards. Black Butte is such a classic that it set the standard within American craft and it remains a go-to because of its balance and flavor. It’s one porter, of very few from out-of-state producers, that we even see in Utah, and I’m thankful we do.
Asheville Ninja Porter
Asheville
John Swanson, brewing supervisor at New Belgium Brewing in Asheville, North Carolina
ABV: 5.6%
Average Price: Limited Availability
Why This Beer?
Dark ales and lagers are my favorite styles of beer. Locally, Asheville Brewing Company’s Ninja Porter is fantastic all year long. It’s smooth, rich, indulgent, and features flavors of chocolate, freshly-brewed coffee, and just a hint of hop bitterness at the finish.
Alaskan Smoked Porter
Alaskan
Brian Bergman, brewing director at Sycamore Brewing in Charlotte, North Carolina
I’m a big fan of smoked porters, so I’m going to go with one of the OGs, Alaskan Smoked Porter. This beer has just the right amount of smoked malt character, which pairs well with the roasted coffee, dark and milk chocolate, and bready malt flavors in the beer. Not cloyingly sweet with enough hops to balance everything, this is a go-to if I can find it in the store.
Maine Beer’s King Titus is a great robust porter. It is a classic interpretation with bitter chocolate and licorice notes. Bold, dark, and delicious, it’s a great beer to enjoy as you head into spring.
I’m a longtime fan of Northbound’s Smokehouse Porter. I brewed a lot of smoked beers early in my career and it’s just so well balanced that I can’t resist it when I visit, even in the summer heat. Smoke, roasted malty flavor, chocolate, coffee, it has it all.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court, gave her opening statement at her confirmation hearing on Monday, March 21. She currently sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and will face questions from the U.S. Senate committee’s 11 Democrats and 11 Republicans over two days.
The proceedings are sure to be contentious, but Jackson’s opening statement showed that she has the calm demeanor and humility necessary to be appointed to the highest court in the land.
After thanking President Biden for the nomination she showed the primacy that faith has in her life.
“And while I am on the subject of gratitude, I must also pause to reaffirm my thanks to God, for it is faith that sustains me at this moment,” she said. “Even prior to today, I can honestly say that my life had been blessed beyond measure.”
She then thanked her parents for giving her the hope that she can reach her potential, even in the face of prejudice.
“My parents taught me that, unlike the many barriers that they had had to face growing up, my path was clearer, such that if I worked hard and believed in myself, in America I could do anything or be anything I wanted to be,” she said.
She also shared her judicial philosophy while ensuring that it’s secondary to the power of the Constitution.
“I decide cases from a neutral posture. I evaluate the facts, and I interpret and apply the law to the facts of the case before me, without fear or favor, consistent with my judicial oath,” she said. “I know that my role as a judge is a limited one—that the Constitution empowers me only to decide cases and controversies that are properly presented.”
Why Ketanji Brown Jackson’s hair matters: The significance of appearance isn’t just about styling choices. It’s about identity, life experience and perspective. via NBCNewshttp://dld.bz/j835J
Judge Jackson made it clear that she understood the importance of the past and the historical significance of her appointment.
“During this hearing, I hope that you will see how much I love our country and the Constitution, and the rights that make us free. I stand on the shoulders of many who have come before me, including Judge Constance Baker Motley, who was the first African American woman to be appointed to the federal bench and with whom I share a birthday,” she said.
“And like Judge Motley, I have dedicated my career to ensuring that the words engraved on the front of the Supreme Court building—”Equal Justice Under Law” — are a reality and not just an ideal,” she added. “Thank you for this historic chance to join the highest Court, to work with brilliant colleagues, to inspire future generations, and to ensure liberty and justice for all.”
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April shows!!!
