Lorde fans were so looking forward to the singer’s return that they consistently made her trend on Twitter, even without new music. So of course, her listeners were over the moon when the singer announced her upcoming Solar Power album and tour dates. But they’re now running into a road block as her tour dates are selling out in minutes.
Lorde fans took to Twitter to air their grievances about having a hard time securing tickets to her 2022 tour. Many detailed waiting in a Ticketmaster online queue for hours, only to see the show sell out right before their eyes.
— andwele | solar power! (@itsandwele) June 24, 2021
waited all week for lorde tickets to go on pre-sale this morning only to be put in a queue and then have all the tickets sell out pic.twitter.com/KFQmrAUyZK
One fan was so excited about the chance to see Lorde live that they bought tickets on their phone while visiting an active volcano site.
Anyway here’s me with a literal active volcano in the back trying to secure my Lorde tickets! – see ya at the Solar Power tour in DC and Boston 🙂 pic.twitter.com/LgPtsRZWBt
While fans need to wait until next year before seeing Lorde live, they can rest assured knowing her Solar Power album is just about two months away from an official release. Lorde has only shared the LP’s title track thus far, but she did recently note some of her songwriting inspirations. “The album is a celebration of the natural world, an attempt at immortalizing the deep, transcendent feelings I have when I’m outdoors,” Lorde said in a statement. “In times of heartache, grief, deep love, or confusion, I look to the natural world for answers. I’ve learned to breathe out, and tune in. This is what came through.”
Solar Power is out 8/20 via Republic. Pre-order it here.
Irish whiskey is much more than a simple base for an Irish coffee and a shot to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. The triple distilled tipple from the Emerald Isle is specifically crafted to be a subtle, workhorse whiskey both sippable and mixable. Notes of grain, honey, florals, and fruits take center stage while leaning into the tradition of aging in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks.
While there’s no wrong time of year for this Irish import, the soft, sweet, mellow flavors are best suited for summer sipping, especially if you’re making an effervescent highball or citrus-forward cocktail. This is the time of year when that lightness in your whiskey is deeply enjoyable and the syrupy, leathery, and overly spicy firestarter whiskeys that warm your soul in the winter might not hit the sweet spot.
To find the best Irish whiskeys for summer, we turned to the pros for advice. We asked a handful of our favorite bartenders to tell us the best Irish Whiskeys to drink this summer (and in general). Check them all out below and click on their prices if you want to try any of these yourself.
Two Stacks
Two Stacks
Chris Hennessy, bartender at Dylan Whisky Bar in Kilkenny, Ireland
Two Stacks Irish Whiskey, with their transparent blending, is a breath of fresh air for the bar industry. On the labeling, they break down the exact distillate percentages and maturation casks, helping bartenders to pinpoint flavor profiles to best suit their guests. This then helps people find the best expression to enjoy during the summer months.
Roe & Co
Roe & Co
Eoghain Clavin, brewery ambassador for Guinness in Dublin, Ireland
The old Guinness power station across the street from the Guinness brewery, in the heart of Dublin City, is the home of Roe & Co. Irish whiskey. Their distillery is one of Ireland’s newest, and I was lucky enough to get to visit the distillery when it opened in 2019. It’s truly an amazing experience and home to some outstanding whiskey. Flavors of soft spice and mellow spun sugar along with warm hints of spiced pear and woody vanilla make this the foundation for many great Irish whiskey cocktails.
I wish more people knew about Writer’s Tears Copper Pot. Their product represents a blend of single pot still and single malt whiskies. This is a relatively new label that pays tribute to Ireland’s long history of brilliant, but miserable writers. It might be expected to go harsh on the palate, but the opposite is true. Writers Tears may be the easiest drinking Irish whiskey you will come across.
West Cork Distillers’ Bourbon Cask whiskey is great this time of year. There are a lot of pleasant grain and citrus notes from the whiskey itself, and the bourbon cask gives it a nice caramel dessert finish. It’s a high-quality spirit and you can get it at a price point that doesn’t empty your wallet.
I’m a huge fan of The Sexton Irish Single Malt Irish Whiskey, which I think is often overshadowed by the usual competitors on the market. The nose is dominated by stone fruit while the palate is filled with flowers, honey, and dried fruits that make for an incredibly smooth and robust drinking experience. And the packaging is unlike anything else we see on the shelves.
A nice showpiece for summer parties.
Teeling Small Batch
Teeling
Austin Zimmer, bartender at Le Privé in New York City
I wish people knew more about Teeling, especially for those looking for a light summer mixer. It’s a very smooth Irish whiskey with a sweet vanilla taste, caramel touch, smooth creamy finish, and lively spice notes. I especially enjoy their Small Batch. It’s definitely not to be missed.
Tullamore D.E.W.
Tullamore D.E.W.
Francisco Fonseca, bartender in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Tullamore D.E.W. is a great summer sipper and mixer. It’s a mild blended whiskey thanks to spicy lemony and malty notes with charred wood undertones giving it a soft, buttery, rounded flavor that lingers in the mouth.
Green Spot
Green Spot
Evan Charest, owner and director of operations at Severence Melrose in Los Angeles
Green Spot is my go-to. I wish I could scream to the hilltops about the beauty of single pot still Irish whiskeys. The category gets dragged in the mud for its sole use in highballs and Irish coffees. Green Spot specifically has a wonderfully smooth-yet-subtle taste with a slight hint of brininess and is perfect over a small cube or two on a hot summer day.
My go-to is Powers Gold Label Irish Whiskey. It’s great for cocktails but also works well as a sipper because of its nice, honey finish. It’s very smooth and memorable.
Redbreast 12
Redbreast
Joseph Fredrickson, bartender at Society Lounge in Cleveland
This pot still whiskey gives a more robust flavor profile while still coming off incredibly smooth with that hint of honey and oats that makes me think of Irish whiskey.
As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive a commission pursuant to certain items on this list.
Jennifer Aniston was nominated for five Emmys for her performance on Friends, winning once. Six-time nominee Lisa Kudrow also won an Emmy, while Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer all received at least one Emmy nomination over their 10 seasons on the hit NBC comedy. Of the main cast, Courteney Cox was the only “Friend” who was ignored by Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
“When every single cast member was nominated but me, it definitely hurt my feelings,” she told Howard Stern on his SiriusXM show this week. “I was happy for everybody, and then when it was finally like, ‘Oh, I’m the only one?’ It hurt.” Cox could have been resentful of her co-star’s success, but “I want[ed] them to win. I’ve never wanted to take anything away from anyone. I just sometimes want to be included in certain things… These girls on the show and the guys, everyone deserved every [nomination].”
“The only thing that made me feel good — because they’ve all won and they’ve gotten so many accolades — I got nominated for Cougar Town the first year [out] — a Golden Globe. And I want to say, ‘Oh, who cares?’ It meant everything to me,” Cox explained.
Cox is being too modest: no one else in the Friends cast can say they won the Choice Movie – Chemistry award at the 2000 Teen Choice Awards for Scream 3. She and then-husband David Arquette beat Jason Biggs and the pie from American Pie!
The surfboard is much cooler than the dumb Emmy trophy.
Sleater-Kinney has a reputation as a strong live band, and now they’re giving fans a taste of that without having to leave their homes: Today, they have released a new EP, Live At The Hallowed Halls, exclusively on Amazon Music.
The four-song EP runs for about 15 minutes and consists of the title track, “Method,” “High In The Grass,” and “Worry With You.” The performances on the EP were originally featured in the band’s special “Sleater-Kinney Presents ‘Path of Wellness,’” which originally streamed live on June 10 via the Amazon Music Twitch channel. Aside from the songs, that broadcast also featured some comedic segments.
For those who like what they hear on Live At The Hallowed Halls, they’ll get the chance to hear it in person, as Sleater-Kinney has some tour dates with Wilco coming up this year. Once they’re on the road, though, it’s not clear what lineup they’ll have on stage. A few days ago, the group debuted a new lineup while performing on The Late Show, which featured Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker backed by four additional musicians.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
Faye Webster is as versatile as they come. As Pitchfork succinctly noted in their review of her 2019 album Atlanta Millionaires Club, “Few R&B albums have a pedal steel; few alt-country albums have a rap feature.” Her jack-of-all-trades (and arguably a master of all of them) ways were part of Webster’s life well before that album and they remain central still.
Tomorrow, the Atlanta-based artist follows her 2019 LP with a new one, I Know I’m Funny Haha, which has everything from a twangy number about not getting her security deposit back from her landlord to a bedroom R&B jam about being in love with a baseball player. Elsewhere, there’s a Forrest Gump-ness to Webster’s vast and varied array of resume-worthy achievements and trivia facts, which could populate the most impressive and entertaining LinkedIn profile on the site:
She’s an accomplished photographer who has had shoots with rappers including Killer Mike, Offset, and Lil Yachty. (She was previously classmates with Yachty and she began her music career on the hip-hop-focused label Awful Records.) Also, Backpack Kid.
She’s a huge Atlanta Braves fan and even got to sing the national anthem at one of their games.
The list goes on, and a few weeks ahead of I Know I’m Funny Haha’s release, Webster got on the phone with Uproxx and talked about it. She also touched on creativity in the pandemic, working even more musical ideas into her songs, and the music from Animal Crossing.
I’ve seen you described as an introverted person, so I was wondering how you’ve handled quarantining and the pandemic.
I’ve been pretty bored, but I feel like I like being bored. So I thankfully have been doing OK just staying at home. I live really close to my family, both my parents. It just feels like after tour for me. This is what I would be doing if I wasn’t touring anyways.
What impact has this pandemic had on making the new album?
I have been struggling a little bit creatively just because I feel like there’s even more pressure than ever for musicians and artists to make music. I feel like it probably sucked all the fun out of it for me, if that makes sense. But I feel like it was a good challenge and obviously I am about to put out a record. So I think it’s been a success, but I have struggled a little bit.
When you’re finally back to doing concerts, what’s going to be a bigger thrill for you: Being on stage and playing a song or being on stage and doing a yo-yo trick?
[laughs] Definitely songs, because I feel like that’s probably what people want to see more. But I’m honestly excited for both.
Do you have some sort of a connection about how yo-yoing is like music, or is there no connection and it’s just fun and that’s it?
I think it’s just fun. But at the same time, when you compete in competitions, you have to perform to music. Depending on what division you’re competing in, there are different lengths for different songs. It’s been really cool at competitions to see what songs people will choose. When I was at the World Yo-Yo Contest in 2019, I literally made a playlist of songs that I heard people perform to. I was put onto some really cool music and I feel like when people do perform to music, it’s kind of like this synchronized swimming feeling. So, I don’t know. It’s kind of both.
How did you first get involved in the world of yo-yoing?
I just got one for Christmas, just as like a shitty stocking stuffer. It was right before we went on tour, so I just brought it not thinking that I’d actually use it every day. It wasn’t really until I found other players online and connected with them and actually saw what it could escalate to. That’s when I realized how fun it is.
When you released the I Know I’m Funny Haha title track, you explained how it came from a more casual approach to songwriting and perhaps not gatekeeping your own thoughts as much. Is that a philosophy that’s present on the album beyond that song?
Yeah, I like to think so. I just feel like in general, I truly mastered being extremely comfortable in songwriting and just saying whatever I feel like I want to say, and not, like, changing words because it makes me feel weird. I think that song specifically, as you said, is a good representation if you haven’t listened to anything else.
Your albums include influences from a variety of genres, more so than a lot of other artists. Were there any new genres or musical ideas you tried to work into this new album?
With this record, I definitely chose to make it a little more string-heavy than usual. Even though I did have strings on my last record, I thought that it really worked [this time] and I liked doing it. I’ve also put synths in the record a couple of times, which is something that I have never done and never really wanted to, but I just think it was like the perfect thing at the moment.
As a pretty accomplished photographer, I’d imagine you put a lot of thought and importance into album art. How did you end up with this album cover?
I have worked with the same team on this record as I have Atlanta Millionaires Club. One of my really good friends, Eat Humans, is of the top photographers in Atlanta has taken my album covers, so I kind of just let him do that. And then I worked with my brother [Luke Webster], who’s a graphic designer, on my albums as well. I feel like just us three together, it always ends up with something really great. I was inspired by a bunch of different things and then I think we just all came together.
I’m sure once the album drops, there will be a lot of laudatory press quotes about it, but can any of them measure up to having a song from it included on Barack Obama’s top songs of 2020 playlist?
It’s very, very different. I feel like when I saw that, it was just like so random and I was just like, “What?” That was so strange. I mean, it’s cool, but yeah, it’s very random. That’s kind of just like a cool thing to say.
It’s a nice story for the kids and grandkids someday.
Right, exactly.
I’ve seen videos of you and your old classmate Lil Yachty in the studio together. Has he influenced you at all or have you otherwise learned anything from him?
Yeah, for sure. We basically came from the same place and were doing the same thing, so it’s really inspiring to see him thrive. You know, it makes me feel like, “OK, well if I work really hard, too…” I think just sharing ideas with him… What we do is so different, but when we’re together, it doesn’t feel that way at all.
I would say also what you guys have in common is that you have both done well while showing that you can be open and outward about having fun and not take things too seriously.
Yeah, for sure. I’ve always respected how he has a “f*ck it” mentality. He just does not care what anybody thinks of him, which I am trying to learn to do.
I was doing a deep dive on your socials before this and it looks like you’re a pretty big gamer. Over the past year, you were playing a lot of Rocket League and Animal Crossing and Pokémon. Do you have a favorite video game song or overall soundtrack?
I really liked “5PM” from Animal Crossing: New Horizons. When I bought the game and I heard that song while I was playing it, I literally found the YouTube link and I showed it to my band, and I was like, ‘Is this us? Like, did they secretly record us? Why do they sound so good?’ It’s funny how good the music on Animal Crossing is.
Which of your own songs would you most like to hear K.K. Slider cover?
I heard a K.K. Slider cover of “Kingston” before. It was really funny, especially the chorus.
I Know I’m Funny Haha is out tomorrow via Secretly Canadian. Get it here.
Following the recent FX on Hulu documentary episode, The New York Times Presents: “Framing Britney Spears,” the groundswell of support for the (hopeful) end of Britney’s conservatorship has only grown. It’s been a long thirteen years for Britney under her father’s financial thumb, and that followed a few years of public chaos, which I’m sure no one can forget. Her fans have long rallied for her “freedom,” given that Britney has vowed not to work again until she can make her own decisions again. This week, the 39-year-old singer gave testimony that was both heartbreaking and infuriating and included details about how her father controls every aspect of her life. That even allegedly includes a prohibition on removing her IUD device, which is a chilling revelation to behold and one that Planned Parentood has branded as “appalling.”
In the aftermath of Britney’s testimony, the public has rallied around her as well as the musical community, including ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake, who previously faced backlash for revelations in the documentary about his behavior towards her regarding public perception and the press. Now, a surprising voice has arose to support Britney: the cantankerous Piers Morgan. He of course, generally abhors everyone (except the Queen), but even Piers can’t stomach what he’s seeing happen.
“Britney Spears is a legal slave,” Piers tweeted. “[W]ho can’t control her own money, career or even her womb and MUST be freed from this torment to finally live the life she wants.”
*NEW COLUMN* Britney Spears is a legal slave who can’t control her own money, career or even her womb and MUST be freed from this torment to finally live the life she wants. https://t.co/i2Pah433UZ via @MailOnline
We’ve been told for years via endless cruel briefings to the media that Britney’s so mentally unhinged that’s she totally incapable of thinking, speaking or acting for herself. That wasn’t the woman I heard yesterday. It was stunning to hear the brutal reality from Britney’s own mouth, in her own powerful, eloquent, often rapid-fire words. It was like she couldn’t wait to finally have her say, and who could blame her for the obvious frustration and anger?
The last time she appeared in front of Judge Penny, in 2019, Britney’s testimony was sealed… This time, it was made public so there could be no doubt or self-interested ‘spin’ about what she was asserting. ‘I have a lot to say,’ she began, ‘so bear with me. I don’t think I was heard on any level when I came to court last time.’ That’s the understatement of the year. There’s no doubt that Britney’s still a troubled woman, but it seems apparent that many of her current demons are now being driven by the way she’s been treated as a direct result of her conservatorship that she says has ‘enslaved’ her.
The entire column is worth a read, as Britney’s own words about feeling “traumatized” continue to reverberate, after she described her conservatorship as “abusive.” You can also read Britney’s testimony at NBC in transcript form.
The club sandwich is a summertime classic. Well, it is for me anyway. I spent a summer living in New Hampshire a million years ago. I ended up golfing about three times a week for three months straight. After every round, we’d head to the clubhouse and I’d get a club sandwich (with an old fashioned to wash it down).
The problem with getting a club sandwich at “the club” — or any restaurant, really — is that they’re extremely hit and miss. Who could screw up a BLT that’s topped with a turkey sandwich? On paper, not many. But dry turkey plagues this summer treat. The turkey club at the golf club I frequented that long-ago summer had their roast turkey breast on lock. It was moist, well-seasoned, and offered a perfect counterpoint to the salty and smoked bacon below.
Turkey like that isn’t the norm, though. I’ve had way more shitty club sandwiches — with dried-out or plasticky turkey — than good ones.
To avoid the dried-out turkey death sentence, I’m changing things up. I’m going the turkey schnitzel route. A properly shallow-fried turkey cutlet is the perfect way to add always-moist turkey to a club. Plus, schnitzel sandwiches rule in general. So a turkey schnitzel sandwich stacked atop a classic BLT? That feels like the ultimate version of this classic sando.
This is all pretty easy-to-find stuff from your local grocery store. The turkey breast cutlets I’m using are thin slices from a whole turkey breast. You can usually get these from a butcher shop pretty easily. Otherwise, you might have to buy a whole raw breast and slice a cutlet from it yourself. I’m not pounding these out to a super-thin Viennese-style schnitzel. This is going to be closer to a katsu sando in thickness with a Germanic culinary tradition. I also ended up using two three-ounce cutlets instead of one large cutlet. It’s just how things shook out at the butcher shop.
As for the rest, it’s again pretty straightforward. Roma tomatoes, iceberg lettuce, mayo, brown mustard, and white bread slices are some of the easiest things to find at any grocery store. I’m using pretty thin bacon for the BLT element simply because this is already huge. In the end, just make sure you get high-quality ingredients.
Zach Johnston
What You’ll Need:
Large, heavy-bottomed saute pan
Cast iron skillet
Wire rack and cookie sheet
Plate
Cutting boards
Kitchen knife
Bread knife
Plate
Paper towels
Tongs
Butter knife
Three medium plastic bowls (for dredging)
4 cocktail sticks
Zach Johnston
Method:
Start by making the schnitzel. Salt the turkey cutlets on both sides.
Place the flour, egg, and bread crumbs in three separate plastic bowls. Scramble the egg and add a big pinch of salt and a few cranks from the pepper mill to the bread crumb.
Dredge the cutlets in flour, egg, and bread crumbs in that order. Set on a plate or the cutting board and let rest while you prep the rest of the sandwich and heat the frying oil.
Add about four cups (one liter) of sunflower oil to a large, heavy-bottomed saute pan. It should be about an inch deep. It’ll be ready when it hits 350F.
Preheat an oven on your lowest setting and ready a cookie sheet with a wire rack for draining and keeping the turkey schnitzel warm.
Place four slices of bacon in a cold skillet and put it on medium heat.
Once the oil reaches temp, gently lay in the cutlets. Use the tongs to flip after about 30 to 45 seconds. The coating should be a copper brown. Flip again after another 45 seconds.
After another 45 or so seconds, remove the schnitzel from the oil and place it on a wire rack to drain. Immediately hit the schnitzel with fresh lemon juice. Place in the oven to keep warm. (If you’re worried about doneness, use a meat thermometer to make sure you’ve hit 150f)
Use tongs to flip the bacon as it browns. Once it’s nicely browned, place the bacon on a plate with paper towels to drain excess fat.
Pop the bread in the toaster.
While that’s toasting, ready leaves of iceberg lettuce and slice the Roma tomatoes.
Once the bread is toasted, retrieve the schnitzel from the oven and get ready to build the sandwich.
Spread mayo on the bottom toast slice. Add lettuce, tomato, and bacon in that order.
Spread mustard on the top slice of toast and place mustard-side down on the bacon.
Spread mayo on the top of that slice.
Place the schnitzel on the mayo-spread toast slice.
Place the iceberg and tomato on that.
Finally, spread a layer of mustard on the top toast slice and place it on top of the sandwich.
Add a large cocktail stick in each corner quadrant of the sandwich and press down to compress this very large sandwich into something you can get your mouth around.
Use a large bread knife to cut into quarters.
Serve.
Zach Johnston
Bottom Line:
Zach Johnston
There was no dry turkey breast here. The schnitzel was moist, crunchy, and added a pretty hefty layer to the club.
The BLT on the bottom half was on the lighter side since I purposefully used thin-cut bacon. It still ruled. The bacon combined with the schnitzel was a big win in the flavor department.
The mayo, mustard, iceberg, and tomato lent a nostalgic feel to the whole sandwich. It really felt like I was eating at an old-school deli (or golf clubhouse) that actually cared about their food deeply.
Did this need the middle slice of toast (or the club slice)? Probably not. I think the breading on the schnitzel kind of covers that element. However, that club slice with the extra mayo and mustard was a nice touch that helped keep things saucy and moist.
Overall, this was a massive lunch that absolutely didn’t need fries or chips on the side to make you “I need a midday nap”-level full. That’s not a bad thing on a hot summer day.
Texas trio Khruangbin expanded their psychedelic funk sound with their third LP Mordechai. But now, they’ve entrusted their music with a number of musicians who they admire for the upcoming 10-track effort Mordechai Remixes. Officially announcing the project, Khruangbin share the project’s lead single and reveal that they’re hitting the road for a tour this summer.
Khurangbin shared a hip-swinging remix of their Mordechai track “Pelota” Thursday, re-imagined by producer Quantic. In a statement about their decision to organize a remix album, the band said:
“We write our music to be interpreted; this is another wonderful interpretation of the music. There is something very vulnerable about letting others work on your music. But through the correspondence with the different artists, we gained a bigger connection to the songs themselves.”
Check out Khruangbing’s Mordechai Remixes album cover, tracklist, and 2021 and 2022 tour dates below.
Dead Oceans
1. “Father Bird, Mother Bird (Sunbirds)” by Kadhja Bonet
2. “Connaissais de Face (Tiger?)” by Ginger Root
3. “Dearest Alfred (MyJoy)” by Knxwledge
4. “First Class (Soul In The Horn Remix)” by Natasha Diggs
5. “If There Is No Question (Soul Clap’s Wild, But Not Crazy Mix)” by Soul Clap
6. “Pelota (Cut A Rug Mix)” by Quantic
7. “Time (You And I) (Put A Smile On DJ’s Face Mix)” by Felix Dickinson
8. “Shida (Bella’s Suite)” by Ron Trent
9. “So We Won’t Forget (Mang Dynasty Version)” by Mang Dynasty
10. “One To Remember (Forget Me Nots Dub)” by Harvey Sutherland
07/30/2021 — Newport, Rhode Island @ Newport Jazz Festival
07/31/2021 — Aksarben Village, Omaha, NE @ Maha Festival
08/08/2021 — St. Charles, IA @ Hinterland
08/29/2021 — Lexington, KY @ Railbird Festival
09/15/2021 — Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Bar-B-Q Waller Creek Amphitheatre
09/16/2021 — Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Bar-B-Q Waller Creek Amphitheatre
09/17/2021 — Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Bar-B-Q Waller Creek Amphitheatre
09/18/2021 — Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Bar-B-Q Waller Creek Amphitheatre
09/20/2021 — Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
09/21/2021 — Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
09/26/2021 — Franklin, TN @ Pilgrimage Festival
10/23/2021 — Raleigh, NC @ Band Together Benefit
10/29/2021 — San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands
10/31/2021 — Live Oak, FL @ Suwannee Hulaween
11/03/2021 — Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
11/04/2021 — Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
11/05/2021 — Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
12/02/2021 — Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern
12/03/2021 — Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern
12/04/2021 — Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern
03/09/2022 — New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
03/09/2022 — New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
Mordechai Remixes is out 8/6 via Dead Oceans. Pre-order it here.
The New England Patriots, in their quest to find a long-term replacement for Tom Brady, selected Alabama quarterback Mac Jones with the No. 15 pick of the 2021 NFL Draft. Jones, a Heisman finalist who put up huge numbers as the Crimson Tide marched to a national championship this past season, was viewed as a tier below the top quarterbacks in the 2021 Draft, but brings a number of traits — namely accuracy to all three levels of the field — that a coach like Bill Belichick covets.
All of that is fine and dandy but dear lord do we need to talk about what Madden thinks he looks like. An image of Jones in his first edition of the game, the upcoming Madden NFL 22, hit the Twitterverse recently, and I think it is very important we talk about it. Take two seconds to scroll to the very top of this post and look at Jones. I’ll wait.
[twiddles thumbs, takes a bite of a sandwich]
Ok, cool? Well, apparently, instead of the babyfaced Jones who has a pretty normal looking hairline, EA Sports believes he looks like Paul Giamatti’s exponentially less famous brother or something.
In the immortal words of American philosopher Taylor Twellman, what are we doing, Madden? Sometimes you can squint and see what the game was going for, and while one of these renderings of an athlete is bad, you can make out how we get to that point. This one, absolutely not. That is Mose Schrute with a larger forehead.
Listen, making a video game is really, really hard work, and the fine folks at EA Sports legitimately do their best to give all of us reasons to buy Madden every year. This won’t be something that keeps anyone from picking up a copy of this year’s game, but it absolutely does put the L in Madden NFL 22.
The Whiskey Smash is a base of simple syrup and lemon wedges muddled together. That’s then shaken with fresh mint, a double dose of bourbon, and plenty of ice. It’s an easy shaker that you’re going to master this summer after reading this recipe.
The only thing you really need to worry about is the bourbon you use. I like to go a little higher-end when it comes to simpler shakers like this. For me, Legent Bourbon (from Jim Beam) is the perfect simple cocktail bourbon. It’s complex enough to still stand out in drink while being soft enough to act as a supporting actor for the rest of the components.
Zach Johnston
What You’ll Need:
Pre-chilled rocks glass
Cocktail shaker
Cocktail strainer
Fine-mesh strainer
Muddler
Jigger
Paring knife
Method:
Slice half a lemon into three wedges and pick out a nice sprig of mint.
Add the lemon and simple syrup to a cocktail shaker and muddle. Try to bring out the oils and juices without breaking apart the wedges too much.
Add the bourbon, mint sprig, and fill with ice about halfway.
Affix the lid to the shaker and shake vigorously for about 15 seconds or until the outside of the shaker is ice-cold and frosting over.
Remove your glass from the freezer and fill it with new ice.
Remove the lid and double strain the cocktail over the ice (the fine-mesh strainer will aerate while catching all the little bits of broken lemon and mint).
Garnish with a fresh mint sprig and serve.
Bottom Line:
Zach Johnston
This is about as refreshing as a cocktail can get, especially when it’s 100 outside and you don’t have air conditioning.
The bourbon is a nice base for mint, sugar, and lemon. The muddled lemon means there is serious citrus depth and brightness thanks to the juice and oils infusing themselves into the drink.
The mint is a lovely counterpoint to the lemon candy aspect of the drink. The bourbon functions as this woody/vanilla/spicy base that just works and brings this sweet treat back to earth. I could drink these by the gallon.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
(@Sydney_Halpern) June 24, 2021
