Month: May 2019

For 145 years, the world’s fastest three-year-old horses have lined up on the first Saturday in May to compete in the Kentucky Derby, and the world’s Kentucky-iest adult humans have lined up in seersucker and Fascinators  to slurp Mint Juleps and watch them run. 

In fact, the modern drinking straw itself was actually invented in the late 1800s for the sole purpose of sucking Mint Juleps into one’s face more efficiently (rye grass just wasn’t cutting it).

The classic Mint Julep is as basic as bourbon, mint leaves, simple syrup and crushed ice—you have to crush the ice—and while there’s nothing wrong with tradition, when it comes to the Derby, you get extra style points for mixing it up.

This year, Maker’s Mark commissioned four of the country’s best bartenders to cook up a minty superfecta—a series of next-level, reinvented Juleps that will elevate your cocktail game. 

It’s part of Maker’s #CocktailsForCleanups initiative, a collaboration with United By Blue to remove 75,000 pounds of trash—like plastic straws—from the world’s oceans and waterways in 2019, with events coming up in Chicago, San Francisco, Houston and Los Angeles. 

Maker’s takes its water very seriously—every drop used in its distilling process comes from its spring-fed, limestone-filtered lake at Star Hill Farm in Loretto, Kentucky, 1,000-acres of sustainably-managed forests and rolling hills that feel more like a sanctuary than a distillery. 

So if you make one of these delicious new cocktails and post it to Instagram with the hashtag above, you’re also saving the planet. 

Just don’t horse around with any plastic straws.

Sparkleberry Mint Julep – Washington, D.C.

Created by Succotash’s Darlin Kulla

• 1.5 oz. bourbon
• 1 tbsp. blackberry sauce (see recipe below)
• ¼ oz. lemon juice
• ½ oz. demerara sugar
• Pebble ice
• Splash Champagne or other dry sparkling wine
• 10 mint leaves
• 2 blackberries
• Mint sprig

Secret Ingredient: Blackberry Sauce 

To prepare the blackberry sauce, gather 3 pints of blackberries, ½ cup of sugar, ½ cup of maple syrup, and the juice of 2 lemons. Mix all of these ingredients together to form sauce (serves 4).

To prepare the mint julep mixture, muddle the bourbon, blackberry sauce, lemon juice and demerara sugar. Then, swizzle with crushed ice. Add in a splash of champagne and top the mixture with more pebble ice, forming a nice dome shape. Finally, garnish with blackberries and a mint sprig.

Carthusian Julep – Charleston, SC

Created by Edmund’s Oast’s Jayce McConnell

• 1 oz. bourbon
• 6 mint leaves
• ½ oz. green Chartreuse
• Pebble ice
• Mint sprigs
• Thyme
• Chartreuse powder (optional)

Secret Ingredient: Chartreuse

Muddle the mint leaves gently with Chartreuse in the bottom of a cup. Then, add the bourbon and fill halfway with pebble ice. Stir these ingredients briefly and then add a metal straw and pack the glass full of pebble ice. To finish, garnish with lots of mint and thyme; dust with Chartreuse powder.

Bless Your Heart – Chicago, IL

Created by the Sportsman’s Club’s Kristina Magro

• 1.5 oz. bourbon
• 1 barspoon Bonne Maman blueberry jam
• 2 large basil leaves
• Pebble ice
• 1 large basil sprig
• Powdered sugar
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

Secret Ingredient: Blueberry Jam

Muddle the bourbon, blueberry jam, and basil leaves. Top with pebble ice and garnish with basil sprig and a dusting of powdered sugar. For the final touch, add a dash of Angostura bitters on top of the sprig.

The Golden Gait Julep – Houston, TX

Created by Tongue-Cut Sparrow’s Alex Negranza

• 1.5 oz. bourbon
• Handful of mint leaves
• 2 tbsp. Champagne syrup (see recipe below)
• Pebble ice
• 2-3 sprays of absinthe (optional)

Secret Ingredient: Champagne Syrup

To prepare the champagne syrup, gather a bottle of champagne and add to a pot to be reduced. Reduce down by 50 percent and add in 3 cups of sugar. This will yield enough syrup to be used in several juleps. Store this syrup in an airtight container in the fridge to keep for later use.

To prepare the mint julep mixture, muddle the bourbon and mint leaves (save a few for garnish). Then, stir in the Champagne syrup and maraschino liqueur. Add in ice and garnish with mint leaves. As a final touch, spray absinthe on top.

Antarctica isn’t generally associated with luxury, but yacht and cruise company SeaDream Yacht Club is here to change that with a massive new ship that will set sail to the literal ends of the earth—from the South Pole all the way to the North Pole—and everywhere in between.

The new 508-foot megayacht is called the SeaDream Innovation, and offers 110 suites and a one-to-one guest to crew ratio for boutique luxury no matter where you are on the seven seas.

Nine decks aboard the ship put commercial cruise lines to shame, with roomy elegant suites ranging from 502 to 1,008 square feet offering walk-in closets, a dining space, seating area, and tasteful decor with clean, neutral colors. 

Other amenities on board include indoor and outdoor dining for amazing views of the ocean or port, three marinas, water sports once the ship docks, and—perhaps most importantly—incredible itineraries to some of the most beautiful places in the world, both arctic and tropical.

Innovation’s first voyage will be a 70-day cruise in September 2021 from London to Argentina, with stops in Spain, the Bahamas, Chile, and Antarctica. 

Other itineraries include an 88-day cruise from Argentina to Antarctica to see emperor penguins and then to Longyearbyen, Norway, to see polar bears—with stops in other, milder ports like Spain along the way.

After it sets sail in 2021 the ship will sail to 200 ports in 49 countries on all seven continents.

You can check out all of SeaDream’s voyages on the Innovation or the company’s other two ships right here.

Eminem’s feud with Machine Gun Kelly may have reached a stalemate, but the Detroit-bred rapper now has a new detractor in none other than Justin Bieber.

Posting to his Instagram story, the Biebs criticized Em for insulting younger hip-hop artists on 2018’s Kamikaze. 

“I just like Em’s flow but don’t like that he’s dissing new rappers,” he wrote following a screenshot of the album’s opener, “The Ringer.” 

“I like the new generation of rap he just doesn’t understand it,” he added.

As Complex notes, the track is largely a critique of today’s so-called “mumble rappers.” 

Eminem sniped at newbie hip-hop stars on the track (with a few notable exceptions), rapping, “I heard your mumblin’ but it’s jumbled in mumbo-jumbo / The era that I’m from will pummel you, that’s what it’s comin’ to / What the f*ck you’re gonna do when you run into it? / I’m gonna crumble you and I’ll take a number two / And dump on you, if you ain’t Joyner / If you ain’t Kendrick or Cole or Sean, then you’re a goner.”

Eminem also dissed Tyler, the Creator on “Fall” and MGK on “Not Alike.” 

The latter spawned MGK’s “Rap Devil” and then a scathing response from Eminem, “Killshot.”  

Bieber himself got a benign shout-out on Eminem’s 11-minute freestyle “Kick Off,” which was released late last year. 

“Justin Bieber in a Catholic school/Selling dust and reefer when your back is to him,” Em rapped.

Unfortunately for the Canadian pop star, Twitter users are now roasting him for criticizing Eminem’s understanding of the very genre he’s been a dominant force in for two decades. 

That said, a couple of people did agree with the Biebs’ comments. 

Are you #TeamBieber or #TeamEminem? 

Travis Scott’s highly anticipated collaboration with Jordan Brand on the Air Jordan 1 High OG is finally hitting stores on May 11.

The Houston rapper’s take on the iconic Air Jordan 1 features colors of brown suede and white leather, a reverse Swoosh, hidden heel pocket with velcro closure, Cactus Jack branding, an inner mid-panel with his own hand-sketched logo, and embossed heel and tongue patches.

This isn’t the first time Scott has had fun with Nike’s signature branding—his version last year of Nike’s Air Force 1 had detachable Swooshes, after all.

“These Jordan 1s are just a fresher version of my old play shoes,” Scott says. “The colors are from tones and textures of what I saw growing up and remind me of my backyard and playing outside.”

In addition to the kicks, billionaire make-up mogul Kylie Jenner’s baby daddy is also releasing a Cactus Jack x Jordan apparel collection with pieces like a graphic fleece hoodie, fleece shorts, a tracksuit, and t-shirts.

“The apparel collection is just another form of expression and design,” he says of the line. “It brings the creative of the shoe to other lifestyles pieces for the brand.”

The Travis Scott Air Jordan 1 and apparel collection releases globally May 11 and will be available at Nike SNKRS and other select retailers. 

Check out the full list of retailers here.

Brock Lesnar is “done” with mixed martial arts.  

The former UFC heavyweight champion and current WWE superstar says he’ll no longer be fighting for real in the Octagon, according to UFC President Dana White. 

“He told me he’s done,” White told ESPN. “He’s retired.” 

The UFC had previously attempted to make a fight between Lesnar and current heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, who called out the hulking Lesnar after defeating Derick Lewis at UFC 230. 

Lesnar last competed at UFC 200 in July of 2016. He beat Mark Hunt, but the decision was later thrown out after it was discovered that he failed pre-fight drug tests. 

With Lesnar out of the picture, the stage is set for Cormier to take on No. 1-ranked heavyweight Stipe Miocic. ESPN reports that both have verbally agreed to a title fight at a pay-per-view event on August 17 in Anaheim, California.  

Before Cormier claimed the belt at UFC 226 in July of 2018 via a first-round knockout, Miocic successfully defended the heavyweight title three times in a row. 

“I’m ready,” Miocic said. “I’ve been ready. And I’m going to take back what’s mine.”