Month: April 2022

Summer is nothing if not the prime time to fire up your grill with a cold beer in hand, but it’s rare to find a brand taking as sustainable and thoughtful an approach as Napoleon, which is only part of the reason why its new Rogue Electric BBQ Series is so admirable.

It’s the perfect way to electrify your outdoor grilling set-up, with the sort of groundbreaking technology not found anywhere else. Notably, the new Rogue Electric BBQ Series is billed as the first line of grills featuring IoT (also known as the “Internet of Things”) capability, using sustainable electric functionality to deliver perfectly seared steaks and burgers.

For now, you’ll have to register to get updates on the latest Napoleon grill, but it’s a journey worth taking.

As Napoleon notes, most electric grills were, in the past, limited in size, scope and utility, owing to the hard-won nature of blending tech and old-school grilling. That’s not the case anymore, insists Napoleon Co-CEO  Stephen Schroeter.

“Napoleon’s goal has always been to manufacture grills with the most advanced features on the market yet make them attainable to the grilling enthusiast,” Schroeter said in a statement announcing the new grill. “With our Rogue EQ Series, we’re making sustainable technology and alternatives mainstream with a full-size electric grill at an affordable cost.”

Grilling is now as easy as managing the controls from your smartphone via a connected app, and the grill itself notably features a 7-inch LCD screen for easy management and viewing.

The Rogue Electric BBQ Series is remarkable in every way imaginable, even if you consider yourself a seasoned grill master. For one, even through its new and innovative design, the grill will still meet or exceed the maximum temperature of most traditional gas grills.

Plus, three modes of cooking give you plenty of range and versatility via the Rogue Electric BBQ Series: Take your pick between traditional grilling, an oven mode or a smoker mode for the most choice cuts of BBQ.

The company has designs on expanding its sustainable approach to grilling in the seasons and years ahead, added Schroeter.

“This launch is a preview of what’s to come,” he said. “As one of the first grill manufacturers to offer infrared grilling technology to the consumer at an affordable price, this product demonstrates our commitment to continued industry-leading technology.”

Finetuning your favorite summer recipes might be tricky at times, or it might spring from the reaches of your memory after a cold winter, but one thing is clear: Napoleon’s new line of connected grills could become your secret weapon as you man the grill any time of year.

For more on Napoleon’s high-end grills, check out the brand’s matte black Phantom Grill Series here.

You’d be forgiven for being unfamiliar with Wiesmann, a small low-volume German brand that produced a handful of BMW-powered sports cars with classically-styled shells from 1988 to the 2010s before succumbing to bankruptcy.

Now Wiesmann is staging a comeback, and a pure EV dubbed the Project Thunderball is leading the charge. Though seen topless exclusively in provided art, Road & Track reports that the carbon fiber two-seater is being billed as “the world’s first electric convertible” (disregarding the original Tesla Roadster) with a 92 kWh battery pack running on an 800-volt platform.

Two rear-mounted electric motors will spin the wheels with 680 horsepower and 808-pound feet of torque in a car that keeps weight down. An aluminum spaceframe helps keeps the weight down to just 3,747 pounds, on the low end by EV standards. Low mass maximizes the potency of the powertrain’s output, which is good enough for a 60-mph time of 2.9 seconds with the pedal down and a range of around 310 miles of range when driven conservatively.

Other features include an adjustable suspension and roll bars, six-piston brakes in the rear, four-piston brakes in the front, Wiesmann’s own 21-inch rims wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, and posh-looking brown leather seats and carbon fiber trim on the interior.

Prices, U.S. availability and a launch date remain to be seen, but the preliminary design and specs point to one cool little electric sports car.

If you’re anything like me, drinking your cannabis has always been the goal, which is why I’m toasting the folks at Wunder for their sparkling seltzers. 

Let’s be honest: it’s hard to have an easy time consuming cannabis, even in 2022, even in legal parts of the country. Most places frown on smoking and vaping, which usually means you’re going to have to head outside for a fix. Edibles? Maybe with a trusted brand, once you’ve given them a test run. And while I marvel at my friends who can do a dab and then walk me through the latest updates in astrophysics a third time, I’m not joining their ranks. 

The issue is simple—most cannabis products don’t give you tight controls on the taper of your high. Enter Wunder and their sparkling beverages infused with CBD, THC, and delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol.

Cannabis beverages logically seem like they’d behave the way other “edibles” would—a long wait followed by a gradual or sudden onset of effects. 

The beauty of Wunder, though, is that if you’re casually and comfortably sipping one of their cans, you can effectively spread that 8 mg or 20 mg dose out over twenty minutes, half an hour, an hour—however long you take to finish a can. 

Wunder, which launched in San Francisco in the summer of 2020, was the result of founder Alexi Chialtas’ stressful Silicon Valley job at the time. Employed at Zynga, Chialtas was leaning on alcohol to deal with job stress, and wanted an alternative.

Wunder was designed to deliver a relaxing body high while maintaining a clear head and presence. It’s the promise sativa lovers are always making about how their favorite strain leaves you high but socially engaged.

If he was looking for a replacement for a happy hour cocktail, he found it, in not one but two formats.

Higher Vibes

Higher Vibes is the high-octane format for Wunder: a 12 oz. can containing the biggest hits of THC. The cold beer on the porch, the mint julep in the afternoon sun, the tiki drink with an umbrella while you’re under a larger umbrella—it’s hard to describe the experience of Higher Vibes.

Crush a pack of four of these and you’ll be entirely burnt out, but enjoy one during happy hour or with brunch and, well, you’ll feel the muscles in your neck unclench. The nice thing about Higher Vibes is that there wasn’t a perceptible full-body high from a single can when you took your time with the beverage. Drinking it slowly spreads those good feelings out with the same satisfying ease of a master baker spreading icing on a cake. 

Sessions

A chiller beverage option, Sessions delivers 2 mg of Delta-9 THC, 2 mg of Delta-8 THC, and 4 mg of CBD in each beverage. These had an expectedly more subtle effect, and it felt most appropriate at the end of a weeknight after dinner. I had a pleasant experience treating Sessions as a bedtime beverage, like a cup of chamomile tea or a cold glass of milk. It was relaxing, but not dominating.

Flavors vary slightly, but across both formats you’ll find Grapefruit Hibiscus, Blood Orange Bitters, Blackberry Lemon, Watermelon Basil and Lemon Ginger. 

The herbal flavors were bullseyes—just the right pop of dry flavors without sickening levels of sweetness. The citrus flavors were a bit punchier but still refreshing first and foremost—all straight out of the can.

It’s the kind of thing you’ll want to throw in the cooler for the next few months, especially as things get warm, and the idea of a cold beer or seltzer just doesn’t offer you the right vibe.

$20 – Pack of Four

It would have been easy for winemaker Matias Riccitelli to follow in his father’s footsteps. Instead he packed his back and set out to travel the world, cutting his teeth at vineyards around the world. Eventually, home called him back.

Now, he’s dedicated to Mendoza, Argentina. Picture this: vineyards as far as the eye can see, crowned by snow-capped mountains on the horizon, all within a short drive of the city. Riccitelli is flexing the region’s terroir through deeply rich Torrontes, Malbec, Bonarda, and Sauvignon Blanc.

The Malbec is energetic, pure, and fruit-driven; a more vivacious of a Malbec compared to the more sinewy, chocolate-y Malbecs found around the world. It’s pure and fruit-driven, with rich plum and lovely length of the fruit. Floral on the nose, with rich plum and lively raspberry with silky tannins that balance out the juicy fruit. $32

Kate Dingwall is a WSET-trained sommelier and seasoned spirits writer. Her work has appeared in Wine Enthusiast, Eater, Forbes.com, and others, and she pours wine at one of Canada’s top restaurants.