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Gin, tonic, and a twist of lime. One part gin (or more if you’re a juniper and booze fan) to three parts tonic. Add a squeeze and a wedge of lime and you have the makings of one of the simplest and most refreshing summertime cocktails ever conceived.

The history of the gin and tonic, like many classic cocktails, is shrouded in mystery. It’s believed by many that, while refreshing, the cocktail wasn’t created to fight off thirst on a hot summer’s day but to treat malaria. In the 1800s, members of the British East India Company were required to ingest quinine to keep themselves safe from the disease. To make their medicine go down smoothly, they mixed it with gin, water, lime, and sugar.

You may not be worried about malaria in 2021, but this simple gin-based highball endures. And it’s downright perfect for August weather if you have the right gin. You can’t just crack open a plastic handle of bottom-shelf gin and expect your cocktail to be refreshing and flavorful.

To pick the best gins for a classic g & t, we set up another blind taste test. But instead of simply sampling a handful of gins and picking the best to mix into the iconic drink, I literally whipped up cocktails for each taste. Check the results below!

Part 1: The Taste

I selected eight well-known, highly respected brands. My recipe was the same for every bottle — two ounces of gin to four ounces of Fever Tree Tonic and a lime wedge (squeezed over the drink and dropped in the glass). Here’s the lineup:

• Hendrick’s Gin
• Monkey 47 Gin
• The Botanist Islay Dry Gin
• Plymouth Gin
• Tanqueray London Dry Gin
• Beefeater London Dry Gin
• Sipsmith London Dry Gin
• Bombay Sapphire Dry Gin

Let’s do this thing!

Taste 1:

Tasting Notes:

This is a floral, herbal gin and it’s obvious in the cocktail’s nose. There’s also plenty of citrus peels (the lime is responsible for part of that) and various spices. The juniper is definitely there on the palate, but it doesn’t sit at the center and, in this case, that’s okay. The floral, spice, and citrus make this a really well-rounded cocktail.

Taste 2:

Tasting Notes:

This smells like a gin that was designed to be mixed with. It’s very floral, filled with citrus notes, and has the right amount of juniper aroma. Sipping it revealed more floral flavor as well as lemon peel, pine, coriander, and a nice “freshness” that can’t be pinpointed.

Taste 3:

Tasting Notes:

The nose of this cocktail is very citrusy. There’s also a good amount of juniper and a nice herbal quality. The palate is more muted than I’d expect. There’s lemon, lime, and quinine, but the juniper and other herbs aren’t as bold as I prefer in a gin and tonic.

It’s… pretty bland, in all honesty.

Taste 4:

Tasting Notes:

The nose is like a double whammy of juniper and citrus zest. It’s a great start for a classic, crisp g & t. There are also noticeable spices, especially coriander and clove. Sipping it brings forward hints of juniper, pine needles, lemon zest, herbal flavors, and a nice, gentle kick of spice at the finish.

From my notes: “This one wowed me.”

Taste 5:

Tasting notes:

The nose is like a field of fresh flowers that evolves into citrus rinds, herbs, and a nice kick of juniper. The palate is juniper-centric with tangerine, lime, lemon, and light spice. All of these flavors work in unison with crisp tonic water.

Taste 6:

Tasting Notes:

I was knocked back by the heavy juniper aroma on this one. This was followed by slight spices and just a hint of very muted citrus. In fact, I felt that the only citrus I smelled was the lime I included in the drink. The flavor was more of the same with juniper taking center stage with a lot less citrus than I’d prefer. There also weren’t many other noticeable herbs and botanicals.

Taste 7:

Tasting Notes:

Nosing this cocktail revealed strong lemon, lime, quinine, slight spices, and just a hint of juniper. Once again, the juniper is more muted than I’d hoped — this time significantly so. The palate is filled with floral, spicy, citrus flavors, but not enough juniper presence to keep me interested.

Taste 8:

Tasting Notes:

One whiff of this drink makes me think that its base is a very complex, well-rounded gin. There are obvious notes of juniper, citrus, and a nice herbal, fresh quality. Drinking it brings me notes of lime, fresh mint, pine, and juniper berries. These flavors give the drink a very balanced flavor.

Part 2: The Ranking

Blind taste tests are a lot of fun. Most of the time, I’m sampling whiskey, gin, rum, or other spirits neat. What makes this one extra exciting is that the gin is already mixed into a cocktail. So not only do I not see the label, I have to sample it already mixed with tonic and lime. Surprises are bound to happen.

Which gin takes the top spot in my gin and tonic ranking? Keep reading to find out and click the prices if you want to buy a bottle of your own.

8) Beefeater London Dry Gin (Taste 3)

ABV: 45%
Average Price: $25

The Story:

Beefeater touts itself as the world’s most awarded gin. It makes sense, the brand has been around since the late 1800s. Its flagship gin is its London Dry. Made with nine simple ingredients including juniper, Seville orange, lemon peel, and a few other botanicals and herbs, it’s dry, crisp, and well-suited as a base for this classic cocktail.

Bottom Line:

No gin on this list is bad — I intentionally picked winners. It’s just that this one tastes a little… cheap. And it relies a little too much on the citrus components.

7) Tanqueray London Dry Gin (Taste 6)

ABV: 47.3%
Average Price: $28

The Story:

A popular choice among bartenders, this award-winning gin has been made the same way since its inception in the 1830s. It’s known for its well-balanced flavor that makes it a great base for your favorite gin-based cocktails. This absolutely includes the classic gin & tonic.

Bottom Line:

This isn’t a bad gin but it’s definitely gin for fans of heavy juniper and not much else. The floral berry pushes everything else to the wayside.

6) Bombay Sapphire Dry Gin (Taste 7)

ABV: 47%
Average Price: $30

The Story:

Bombay Sapphire is one of the most popular gins in the world for good reason. It’s made with juniper berries, licorice, coriander, cassia bark, lemon peel, orris, and a few other herbs and botanicals. Each is expertly selected to make this gin a proper base for your favorite gin-based cocktail.

Bottom Line:

Like many of the other lower-ranking gins, this expression wasn’t as balanced as I’d hoped. The juniper presence was a lot lower than I desire for a cocktail base.

5) Monkey 47 Gin (Taste 1)

ABV: 47%
Average Price: $50

The Story:

England and Scotland are some of the biggest gin producers in Europe. But these aren’t the only countries that make the spirit. Monkey 47 comes from Germany with its 47 ingredients (including bramble leaves, lingonberries, spruce, and angelica root) coming from the famed Black Forest.

Bottom Line:

The only thing stopping this gin from being ranked higher is the slightly muted juniper flavor. Everything else is there. It could just use a boost of juniper.

4) Hendrick’s Gin (Taste 2)

ABV: 44%
Average Price: $40

The Story:

Hendrick’s Gin is one of the most popular gin brands in the world and has been since its inception in 1999. While it’s made with eleven herbs and botanicals, the main flavors are cucumber and rose. This gives it a truly unique flavor that was formulated to be mixed into a cocktail.

Bottom Line:

This gin — with its citrus and floral qualities and the perfect amount of juniper — gave my cocktail a very fresh, thirst-quenching flavor that I won’t soon forget.

3) The Botanist Islay Gin (Taste 8)

ABV: 46%
Average Price: $40

The Story:

The Botanist Islay Gin is an interesting spirit. This extremely popular, reasonably new gin is made by Bruichladdich (well-known for its whisky) on an island known for Scotch. It’s made from 22 botanicals and herbs that were hand foraged in the Inner Hebrides.

Bottom Line:

This is a high-quality gin with a ton of ingredients for sure. Sometimes that can leave things muddled but this tested well with me. A gin & tonic is light enough to draw out the spirit’s many flavor notes without masking them.

2) Sipsmith London Dry Gin (Taste 5)

ABV: 41.6%
Average Price: $35

The Story:

Sipsmith is one of the newest gin brands around. Since its launch in 2009, it’s managed to make one of the most awarded London dry gins on the market. It’s dry, refreshing, filled with juniper and other botanicals, and quite lovely in a g & t.

Bottom Line:

Balance seems to be a top priority for me in gin & tonics. In all honestly, it’s hard to top the complexity and balance of this gin. It’s well-suited for the bite of a nice cocktail.

1) Plymouth Gin (Taste 4)

ABV: 41.2%
Average Price: $35

The Story:

Plymouth Gin is one of the most respected brands in the world. It’s made with seven, simple ingredients including juniper berries, coriander, orange peels, lemon peels, angelica root, cardamom, and orris root. It’s as classic as gin gets and well-suited for mixing.

Bottom Line:

This is the best gin on the list for a classic gin & tonic. It’s floral, citrusy, juniper-centric, and bold. It’s hard to beat the balance of flavors. I’ll definitely come back to this gin this summer.

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As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive a commission pursuant to certain items on this list.

The American public has recently learned an awful lot about the bathing habits of Hollywood’s most famous parents. There was Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, who admitted they rarely bathe their kids, or themselves, only throwing them in the tub or the shower when “you can see the dirt on them.” That got a lot of reactions, but turns out they’re not the only ones.

On a recent episode of The View, Kristen Bell confessed that she and her husband, Dax Shepard, are also infrequent bathers of their two children. “I’m a big fan of waiting for the stink,” she said, laughing. “Once you catch a whiff, that’s biology’s way of letting you know you need to clean it up.”

She added, “There’s a red flag. Honestly, it’s just bacteria; once you get bacteria you gotta be like, ‘Get in the tub or the shower.’”

As it turns out, Kunis and Kutcher went public with their bathing habits on Armchair Expert, the podcast hosted by…Dax Shepard. Kunis said that “when I had children, I also didn’t wash them every day,” adding, “I wasn’t that parent that bathed my newborns — ever.”

Bell said she doesn’t “hate what they’re doing. I wait for the stink.”

Shepard also weighed in, saying, “We bathed our children every single night prior to bed as their routine, then somehow they just started going to sleep on their own without their routine and we had to start saying [to each other] like, ‘Hey, when was the last time you bathed them?’”

For what it’s worth, what they’re doing isn’t particularly unhygienic. The American Dermatology Association says children from 6 to 11 should have a bath once or twice a week. Given that Bell and Shepard’s kids fall into that category, it’s really not that weird.

(Via Page Six)

The same day Florida’s controversial governor Ron DeSantis stood defiant against Joe Biden, telling him that he, uh, won’t tolerate the president trying to save his constituents’ lives, another state leader took what was essentially the opposite stance. During a public appearance, New Jersey’s Phil Murphy singled out anti-vaxxers, admonishing them for their stubborn stupidity, even greeting them with an old-timey, PG-rated insult.

The governor was at Union City, where he formally signed into law a bill that extended eviction prevention and utility assistance for those struggling during a once-in-a-century public health crisis. Also in attendance were people helping ensure the pandemic remains a major concern: Anti-vaccine protesters, who were there with signs that read “No forced injections,” “Medical choice is a human right,” and more. Murphy noticed them, and he made sure to give them a piece of his mind.

After admitting that cases were “actually coming down a little bit,” Murphy reminded people that “we are still in the fight” against COVID. He then directly addressed the naysayers in the back.

These folks back there have lost their minds — you’ve lost your minds!” he shouted. “You are the ultimate knuckleheads, and because of what you are saying and standing for, people are losing their life.” He pleaded with them, not only to get vaccinated, but to “look in the mirror.”

Murphy’s address came a day after Bill de Blasio, mayor of neighboring New York City, announced proof of vaccination would be required for parts of the metropolis’ social life, including entrance to restaurants and gyms. The decision has angered many Republicans, some of whom, like DeSantis, haven’t let the fact that their followers overwhelmingly comprise the current number of COVID cases and related deaths.

But others gave the Jersey governor a lot of love.

(Via The Hill)

The NBA world has gotten intertwined in cryptocurrency in a number of ways in recent months, sometimes to disastrous results. NBA Top Shot got fans buzzing with an explosion of interest in non-fungible tokens, and a number of stars have invested or taken interest in diversifying their portfolios with decentralized finance.

But don’t expect to see Charles Barkley join that group of crypto enthusiasts anytime soon. In an interview with CNBC, Barkley said he’d looked into investing in things like Bitcoin but was told by his financial advisors it wasn’t worth the wild fluctuations the market had seen in recent months.

“My people do not believe in crypto,” Barkley tells CNBC Make It. “I got a couple of financial guys. One of them said, ‘If I ever put you in crypto, you should fire me on the spot.’”

“And listen, I know that [crypto] is all over the place, to be honest with you, but my people don’t believe in [it],” he says.

Barkley didn’t elaborate on exactly what has turned him off from the wide array of crypto that’s out there these days, but it’s an interesting way to address the marketplace that plenty of athletes have found enticing. Then again, Barkley summed up his best financial advice in a way that certainly applies here.

“Learn to say, no,” Barkley said. “And don’t feel bad about it.”

[via Benzinga]

The point guard class is the headliner of this year’s NBA free agency, and after the three veteran All-Stars at the top (Chris Paul, Kyle Lowry, and Mike Conley), Spencer Dinwiddie figured to garner the most interest as teams looked for a lead creator for their backcourt.

Dinwiddie had his breakout in 2018-19 and followed that up with an even better 2019-20 campaign, averaging 20.6 points and 6.8 assists for the Nets, and was hoping to show his value in a different role alongside Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant this past season. However, just three games in, Dinwiddie suffered a partially torn ACL that ended his season and saw the Nets go out and trade for James Harden.

As a result, Dinwiddie’s market was a bit muddled. There is obviously high upside, but coming off a knee injury teams had some trepidation about meeting his desires for a long term deal. As the first night of free agency came and went on Monday, the point guard market seemingly began drying up. The Bulls signed Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso to fill their needs, while the Pelicans replaced Ball with Devonte’ Graham. The Heat signed Kyle Lowry, and the Mavs seemed more interested in pursuing Goran Dragic from the Raptors than using their cap room to make a big pursuit of anyone left on the point guard market.

That left Dinwiddie with relatively few suitors, but one that many expected to be in the mix after the Russell Westbrook trade, the Washington Wizards, emerged just after midnight on the East coast, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

While Washington didn’t have cap space, they did suddenly have a number of movable contracts from the Westbrook trade to make a sign-and-trade happen, it was just a matter of working out the final contract number with Dinwiddie and a deal with the Nets. Per Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, the Wizards and Dinwiddie were approaching a compromise on a number at around $20 million per year for three years as their meeting in Los Angeles stretched into the night.

However, for the next 36 hours there was little reported on the Dinwiddie front as the focus shifted from contract negotiations to trade negotiations between the Nets, Wizards, and other teams, but Shams Charania of The Athletic broke word on Wednesday evening that Dinwiddie was indeed headed to Washington on a 3-year, $62 million deal, with the Nets getting a pick swap and a future second rounder in return.

Dinwiddie confirmed his new team with a cheeky tweet.

Adding Dinwiddie to Bradley Beal certainly gives the Wizards a potent offensive backcourt, and with Westbrook’s salary now in L.A. and getting Dinwiddie at just over $20 million per year, they are in position to have more to spend in building around those two in the future, should this be enough to keep Beal of the belief the franchise is on the right trajectory.

The Wizards had to send some salary out to make Dinwiddie’s new deal work, but the Nets obviously didn’t want to take on anything given their tax situation. As such, Chandler Hutchinson is headed to San Antonio, per Woj, who also detailed the pick details for the Nets. The deal will officially be a 5-teamer, as the Wizards deals with the Lakers and Pacers will all be folded into this one, massive trade when the league year officially opens.

That 2025 pick swap is not a first round swap but a second round swap, meaning Wizards fans concerned they had given up too much in this when the initial reporting emerged can enjoy a sigh of relief courtesy of ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.

The Nets get a second rounder and clear a big traded player exception with the deal that they could use, if they want, to add a significant addition at some point. For the Wizards, they manage to keep all of the players they got from the Westbrook trade and land Dinwiddie without having to give up any real draft assets and that has to feel like a significant win in the nation’s capital.

Eviction seemed imminent for Dasha Kelly, 32, and her three young daughters Sharron, 8; Kia, 6; and Imani, 5, on Monday. The eviction moratorium expired over the weekend and it looked like there was no way for them to avoid becoming homeless.

The former Las Vegas card dealer lost her job due to casino closures during the pandemic and needed $2,000 to cover her back rent. The mother of three couldn’t bear the thought of being put out of her apartment with three children in the scorching Nevada desert.

“I had no idea what we were going to do,” Kelly said, according to KOAT.

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But things changed for Kelly on Monday when she was featured in a CNN “Out Front” segment on the eviction moratorium. During the segment, she rummaged through her bare apartment. She was forced to sell her TV, laptop, and bed just to stay afloat.

She needed money so badly that she was donating blood plasma.

“You know it’s happening when we start talking about it… it’s bringing all of my emotions.”

Dasha Kelly is a sin… https://t.co/psGm6yCiPm

— OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN)
1627948622.0

At the end of the segment, a reporter mentioned that Kelly had started a GoFundme page to raise $2,000 to cover the back rent she owed. “We owe $1,900 for rent alone not including utilities. I will figure out utilities by pawning a few things. As you all know it is entirely still too hot to be homeless,” she wrote.

In just 24 hours the campaign raised over $172,000 from more than 2,700 donors. As of the writing of this article the campaign has eclipsed $200,000.

CNN caught up with her on Tuesday and she couldn’t believe her good fortune. “I just want to tell everybody thank you so much,” Kelly said as tears ran down her face. “I’m still in denial.”

“Our bills will be paid now, and the landlord has been great to us, will now be paid off for the whole lease,” she wrote in a follow-up post on the GoFundme site. “My family can afford a vehicle again so I can return to work.”

She also opened a savings account for each child and hopes to pay some of it forward to help another family in need. “I just want to make sure I do the best that I can to help the next person that is in my same situation,” she said.

Dasha Kelly and Cori Bush on CNN’s Erin Burnett Outfront

www.youtube.com

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new, “temporary” moratorium on evictions on Tuesday.

The new order, which continues until October 3, covers counties experiencing “substantial” or “high” levels of COVID-19 spread. A source familiar with the moratorium said that currently includes about 80% of U.S. counties, or 90% of the U.S. population.

“The emergence of the delta variant has led to a rapid acceleration of community transmission in the United States, putting more Americans at increased risk, especially if they are unvaccinated,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said. “This moratorium is the right thing to do to keep people in their homes and out of congregate settings where COVID-19 spreads.”

The thought of a 7-year-old being picked on is heartbreaking, but the way this incoming second-grader chose to respond to being bullied is filling hearts with joy.

Rowyn Montgomery of Tiverton, Rhode Island, has been making motivational videos for his classmates and even grownups are finding them inspiring.

The wisdom and positive attitude this kiddo exudes is just awesome. Watch the message he has for his class as they get ready to tackle the second grade:

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Tiverton 7-Year-Old Has a Motivational Message for his Classmates

www.youtube.com

“God knows how many grades there’s gonna be!” Holy hilarious, Batman. But Rowyn is right: “Believing in yourself is always the right thing to do.”

Rowyn’s mom, Michelle Montgomery told FUN 107 that the 7-year-old regularly has conversations beyond his years. “He’s so funny,” she said. “He’s an old soul. You can talk to him about such deep things.”

Check out Rowyn’s advice for kids who are being picked on.

“I have a unibrow and I used to be picked on because of it. But, I don’t care because I’m myself!” he says. “With bullies, it doesn’t matter what they think about you, it matters what you think about yourself and it’s good to embrace yourself and tell other people who you are.”

Right on, little man.

Embrace YOUrself!!

www.youtube.com

“When I make videos, it makes me feel happy that other people can watch them and feel happy,” Rowyn said, according to ABC 6. “If they’re getting picked on or if they’re shy or something, they can watch the videos.”

Dealing with bullying is hard for people at any age. To see such a young person not only internalize a message of self-worth and confidence, but also be able to so eloquently share it with others, is truly inspiring.

Rowyn’s mom works in the behavioral health field and Rowyn himself hopes to be a counselor one day so he can keep helping and motivating others. Judging by his videos, he’s got a bright future ahead of him.

Rowyn’s videos can be seen on his YouTube channel, Rollin’ with Rowyn.

Ask any true barbecue lover the “right” season for barbecuing and they’ll undoubtedly say, “any time!” Though summer weather inspires many of us to fire up the grill, the passion of die-hard barbecue fans defies rain, sleet, and even snow. Just ask legendary pitmaster, Moe Cason. This BBQ maven has traversed the globe year-round showcasing the art of ‘cue.

Cason is a Des Moines, Iowa native — self-taught with guidance from the traditions and techniques practiced by his grandmother. Upon leaving the U.S. Navy as a young man, he bought a home, fixed it up, and flipped it in hopes of buying a top-notch smoker. The sale allowed Cason to purchase his first trailer, too, which he drove to a cook-off in 2006 at the Iowa State Fair.

“I remember seeing all these different trailers, pits, and cookers,” Cason says. “I was just like, ‘Man, it’s just really cool! This is where I need to be.’”

After showing his skills in some 20 cook-offs that first year, the would-be chef was hooked and began branching out further to Texas, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Tennessee. In the years since, Cason has competed in hundreds of barbecue contests in various countries. He’s also been a contestant, judge, and star on Destination America’s BBQ Pitmasters and BBQ Pit Wars — solidifying his reputation as one of the best in the game.
After meeting “Big Moe” at Austin’s Treaty Oak Distilling last month, I was amazed by his immense barbecue knowledge and his incredible heart. During our conversation, I asked him about his intro to ‘cue and managed to snag a seven-step guide to barbecuing his specialty, brisket.

Who or what got you involved in barbecuing?

My grandmother had 17 children – an awesome woman. And my mom had to work two jobs to take care of two kids. So my grandmother watched us a lot. My grandmother cooked a lot, and she did everything from scratch. So I observed and just took in when she was doing all the time cooking. A lot of that passion for cooking kind of came from watching my grandmother make really good food. I watched my grandmother cook all these awesome dishes. She was just cooking to feed her family, but she was just a really good cook.

Then, I would cook off and on in my backyard. We had a little 55-gallon drum cut in half. I would just kind of fire the grill up, and with a little charcoal and I’d be cooking whatever I could. I’d catch fish and grill them; hot dogs, pork steaks, hamburgers… and I just kind of always had a great affinity to the grill.

As a young man, I was in the Navy. When I got out of the Navy, one of the first things I bought was a smoker. It was a little smoker I got at Walmart, and I just cooked a lot of stuff. I’d try new things – ribs, pork butt, bone-in chops — and I’m just cooking to feed my family too. Then, I start seeing these barbecue TV shows which were totally new to me. I was just fascinated by it.

What I really admire about the barbecue community is how close-knit you all are. Who do you admire and consider also to be your competition?

I’m a confident man, but I’m very humble. So I don’t look at other people as competition. I never have. Even though you’re at a cook-off and you’re trying to win, I try to look at it as the competition is myself trying to execute my game plan. That’s a full-time job just worrying about me and then let the chips fall where they fall. I know that when it comes to competition, it’s all subjective. Your food is your food. I just never wanted to be that guy to kind of play the game and try to cook whatever everyone else is cooking just to get a call. I’ve always been confident in who I am. If you like it, that’s great. If you don’t, that’s still going to be great, because this is who I am. I believe in myself.

There’s a lot of good barbecue people out there. A small percentage of them that are arrogant, but they kind of exclude themselves because of their behavior. As far as who I admire, there are very few people that I do. Ronnie Killen is a friend of mine and Tuffy Stone is a friend of mine. Those are the guys that I respect. They’re just good people and they just try to do the same thing I’m doing. Ronnie’s doing obviously a much bigger scope because he’s got restaurants. He’s a really good dude and he’s helped me out.

You’re self-taught, but I feel like everyone has a mentor or someone that’s given them solid advice. So, what would you say has been the best piece of advice you’ve been given as a pitmaster?

That’s a good question. I learned by just doing it. I would say the person that has given me the best advice is Ronnie Killen.

And what advice was that?

When I was making my rubs, he kind of schooled me on ingredients – not recipes, because they’re all my recipes – but testing out and tasting because I made all my rubs in my kitchen. It was like make sure they bring in different black peppers because each black pepper berry has a distinct flavor. I learned that when I make my rubs, I only use the best ingredients that I can afford. I’m not impressed with a lot of rubs out there. They may have a catchy name, but they don’t do justice to the protein. That’s just my personal opinion. I really feel like a rub must be there in the beginning and at the end of the cook. It must lend itself to that protein and make a great flavor. That’s one thing I learned.

I love barbecue. I’m the stereotypical Texan through and through. Would you say it matters what type of wood a pitmaster uses?

Wood, like a seasoning, that’s what you do. If you cook steaks on mesquite or cook steaks on oak, they’re going to be two different flavors with the same rub because of what the mesquite is giving to flavor that meat. Same with the oak. I treat wood like a seasoning. To me, that’s important. I’ve settled on certain flavors that I like, like post oak and pecan. I use that for almost all my meats. My seafood is a little different. I go a little lighter. I go with the apple. I may go with a cherry. I might go with peach. It all depends. As far as most of my big protein meat, it’s pecan and post oak. I love the combination of the flavors – what it puts on the meat. And that’s the seasoning to me.

Fat cap: to trim or not to trim, Moe?

The fat cap on meat, I trim to a certain point. If there’s a really heavy fat cap, I’ll trim some of it. I always cook all my meat fat side down. I’m working hard to create a beautiful part and I don’t want it to be ruined by having the meat side down on the rack and having all that scraped off and bits and pieces of knocked off as the meat’s cooking and as it’s being moved around. A lot of these books that you buy say fat side up because of gravity. It’s the quality of the meat that’s gonna determine how good that piece of meat is – the marbling. The collagen, the marbling – that’s what’s going to determine how flavorful and moist that piece of meat is; it’s not because of the fat cap. The fat cap can be used as a buffer depending on the pit. That’s why I leave it on the backside.

I’m all about presentation. I’m a competition guy. So, if I create this beautiful crust, I don’t want it to be disturbed by being flipped up the other way.

What would you consider your staple and how can we imitate it?

I’d say brisket, collard greens, black-eyed peas with Jimmy Dean sausage, jalapeño cheddar cheese cornbread, and my hot pepper mac ‘n cheese.

Oh, that sounds so good. Now, I’m getting hungry. What’s a good tip for us in terms of how to do the brisket perfectly? [We’ve numbered these directions for ease.]

1. Obviously, start with the best quality you can get. Not everybody’s going to spend the money or want to spend the money on a prime or wagyu; but at least get a prime because with beef brisket, the higher quality of meat you get as far as marbling, the better that brisket is going to be period. It’s just a fact. So start with a good piece of meat. And that’s with all proteins anyway.

2. Find the seasoning that you want. I like to use a season that complements the protein. I got a couple of rubs – a beef rub and a brisket rub. It’s basic salt, pepper, and garlic, but it’s got some other stuff that makes it more savory.

3. I use a binder. I use oil or you can use mustard or whatever. I like to put oil down on the piece of meat after I trim the fat off on the meat side. Then, I’ll sprinkle my rubs on it as a nice coat of rub on there.

4. I let it sit for about an hour, and then it’s ready for the pit. By this time, I’d already have the pit up to temperature just waiting for the meat. So, I can cook at various temperatures on different pits. A good number is 230-240 degrees for a 17- or 18-pound brisket will take you about eight or nine hours.

5. Once the brisket gets to about 170 internal temperature, you’re going to need to wrap because you want to try to preserve that color on that brisket and once you wrap it, it’ll help speed it up and getting it done at a good time. I wrap it in butcher paper. I have a technique I do; I do two sheets of foil and the meat and then butcher paper on top of that, then clip it all around. So, then the butcher’s paper is on top that allows the moisture on top of that brisket to escape without making it mushy.

6. I put it back on the pit and I put the probe back in the center of that brisket for the remote thermometer and then once I reach 203-204, I start checking it. It should be tender. If you pull that probe out and push it in and out in the same position, it should be smooth and should have no resistance whatsoever. If there’s still resistance, that means it’s not done. But generally, 203, that brisket is going to be done. If you’re cooking a really high-grade wagyu or Kobe, you might need to go to 205 because of the higher marbling.

7. Then, once it’s done, the big kicker is letting that brisket rest. Pick a dry cooler, like an Igloo or Yeti or whatever and put that brisket in, don’t unwrap it. Let it rest for 2-4 hours. And that’s the magic of making really good brisket. Letting it rest is so important. It’s almost as important as cooking the brisket. During the cooking process, the juices are trying to push their way out from the center to the surface. Once you reach 205 and you start slicing it, you’ll get a lot of juice on the cutting board. It may look really cool, but that’s not a good thing. You want those juices to stabilize inside that brisket. Once you let it rest for 3-4 hours when you go to slice that brisket, just the brisket face will be juicy. You won’t have a pond of juice on the cutting board. You’ll have a little bit, but most of those juices will be held inside that brisket.

Hollywood has a long, unfortunate history of ignoring non-white people, both on-screen and -off. Indigenous Americans have arguably had it worst than most. Not only did they spend decades portrayed as blood-thirsty savages in classic Westerns, but they were usually played by white actors. It’s not much better now, as the showrunner for the upcoming FX series Reservation Dogs — about Native American teens in rural Oklahoma — pointed out.

As per The Wrap, Sterlin Harjo, who created the upcoming comedy with Taika Waititi, talked about the show during FX’s TCA press tour. It’s a rare thing to see a show starring Indigenous characters, played by Indigenous actors. In fact, it’s rare to see Indigenous actors, period. Harjo, who is of Seminole and Muscogee heritage, had a theory for that.

“The thing is, Hollywood makes a western every few years where Native actors get to come and get killed in front of a camp. It’s just not the most exciting work,” Harjo explained. “So, they’re not in L.A. beating down the door, trying to get these parts.”

So when the show needed Indigenous actors to play its Indigenous characters, they had to do some traveling.

“You have to go to these communities to find the actors,” Harjo said. “We went and cast in the communities, we went and got tapes from all over in indigenous communities. The talent is there. It just doesn’t happen to be on Hollywood Boulevard.”

Reservation Dogs — which follows four teenagers who get involved in crime, as befitting its Tarantino-influenced title — is the first show to ever have a writers room staffed entirely with Native Americans.

“Having an all-Indigenous room helped us not be afraid to go hard and tell the truth and also to be funny and sort of push the envelope,” explained Harjo. “There was a shorthand between all the writers and we were able to just go and write and try to make it the funniest, best and pull from our own experiences and make it real.”

Reservation Dogs premieres on FX starting Aug. 9.

(Via The Wrap)

Miami Vice is a cultural institution that still resonates today. While 90s kids are watching their clothing and aesthetic replicated by Gen Z, the 80s staple starring Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas has its fingerprints on basketball jerseys and anyone who insists on attending a wedding without a reasonable dress shirt. And it turns out the show’s long run on network television included a wild array of actors who went on to have much bigger careers than their crime-filled roles may have projected.

An artist and photographer named Daniel Holland went viral on Wednesday when he started sharing screenshots of notable actors who had fairly small roles on Miami Vice. Though it ran just five seasons, the show had 112 episodes of thugs, drug runners, and people with punchable faces cross television screens across America. And as the lengthy thread on Twitter made clear, many of them turned out to have long careers after the show’s run on NBC ended in 1990.

Holland started with a pretty jarring one: Married… With Children father figure Ed O’Neill as a coke dealer.

The show featured actors who went on to be some of the biggest names in moves, too. Both Bruce Willis and Julia Roberts got early mentions in the thread, which you really need to experience in full to appreciate.

Some of the tweets contain mild spoilers, but it’s really worth it to know that Willie Nelson once beat the hell out of Steve Buscemi on network television and it was considered normal in the 1980s.

Seinfeld star Michael Richards and Liam Neeson involved? Sure are!

There were a ton of musicians given parts as well, including Little Richard and… a very threatening Leonard Cohen?

The whole thread is something to experience, as there are simply a staggering array of people included here. It was enough to make “Miami Vice” trend on the platform on Wednesday, and maybe make a good number of people check out the show to point at their TV like Rick Dalton on their own time.