Crown Royal YHNH program kicks off this weekend!

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Bullz-Eye participated in the Capture the Crown fun-filled weekend at the Crown Royal Brickyard 400 last year, and what
made that experience so special was honoring a true hero and their family. And now, you get a chance to nominate this year’s hero, which the race will be named after in 2014.

As the cars roll into Phoenix this weekend at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race, the search for the namesake of the 2014 Brickyard 400 will officially launch, with the help of Packages From Home. The local non-profit organization, dedicated to sending care packages to active-duty troops stationed overseas, has teamed up with Crown Royal to kick off the brand’s “Your Hero’s Name Here” program, which honors a deserving American hero by re-naming the July NASCAR race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in his or her honor.

Packages From Home and Crown Royal will treat a group of local heroes from Luke Air Force Base to a VIP experience at this weekend’s NASCAR race. In addition to sending 20 military members to the race, two individuals are being recognized as the inaugural program nominees and will have the chance to have the legendary Indianapolis race named in their honor.

Consumers 21+ can visit CrownRoyalHeroes.com to nominate their own heroes for a chance to win naming rights to the race. Nominations will be accepted through April 13th, with finalists being announced at the end of April.

  

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Drink of the Week: The Rusty Nail

the Rusty Nail.Now that we’re finally just starting to settle down just a bit here at Drink of the Week Plaza, I thought it best to dip my big toe back into the waters of a weekly blog with a drink that is about as simple and easy to make as anything worthy of calling a cocktail.

Now, if you’re looking for an Oscar tie-in, there really isn’t one, except that the characters in “American Hustle” would undoubtedly be familiar with today’s drink, which wasn’t invented in the 1970s but pretty much embodies the spirit of a time when booze was pretty much strictly a means to a sweet end. It’s also not a horrible way to wrap up the trilogy of Scotch-based cocktails we’ve been working on for these last couple posts.

Today, I present you a drink that’s absolutely guaranteed to be more pleasurable than a bout of tetanus.

The Rusty Nail

2 1/2 ounces Scotch whiskey
1/2 ounce Drambuie
1 lemon twist (optional but desirable garnish)

Get a rocks glass and fill it with ice. Add  Drambuie — a reasonably tasty and unreasonably expensive Scotch-based liqueur — and then add some Scotch. Maybe throw on a lemon twist. Toast whomever the hell you please because this drink is perfect for people too busy to toast.

*****

In terms of ingredients and how to mix them, there are three big questions with the Rusty Nail. One is the brand of Scotch. David Wondrich tells us, not surprisingly, blended Scotches like your dad and grandpa drank are best for a Rusty Nail.  We’re talking Johnny Walker, Cutty Sark, Dewar’s and the like. I actually tried a very good single malt and my mouth instantly knew that something was amiss. Too much smoke, too much fire.

The next question is your proportion of Drambuie to Scotch. While I have a sweet tooth, I find using equal parts Scotch and Drambuie — as many older recipes have it — way, way, way too sweet. Even Wondrich’s 1/2 to 2 seemed a bit sweeter to me than I would prefer. Moreover, the boozy guru’s demand that we mix, instead of layering in, the ingredients wasn’t really working for me either. That, by the way, indicates the third big question of the Rusy Nail.

At that point, I found inspiration in my new neighborhood, or technically the next neighborhood over, as I visited a very accomplished 1970s boozery and eatery with surprisingly great food. I speak of Studio City’s the Oyster House — home of, among other tasty 1970s-esque delicacies, very delish oyster shooters, six for $6.00. Bartender Greg (at least I think it was Greg) made me a drink that was, I’m guessing, 1/2 to 2 1/2, in which he poured the Drambuie first and some Dewar’s White Label second. The result was pretty lovely, with the Drambuie at the bottom of the drink acting like a dessert t following the bracing, icy Scotch.  I went home and tried the same thing but with Grant’s, and the results were just about as good.

So what have we learned today? Well, I’m learning my new neighborhood has more than one great hangout in it. That’s lesson enough.

  

Movie Review: “Non-Stop”

Starring
Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Michelle Dockery, Corey Stoll, Scoot McNairy, Anson Mount, Lupita Nyong’o
Director
Jaume Collet-Serra

Because of Liam Neeson’s presence, some have described “Non-Stop” as “’Taken on a Plane,” but a more apt description would be “Speed on a Red Eye,” as in the underrated 2005 Wes Craven thriller “Red Eye.” There is a ticking clock that (conveniently) resets several times, a villain hiding in plain sight, and post-9/11 paranoia by the truckload. The beats and twists may be familiar, but it’s well executed, and director Jaume Collet-Serra wisely resists the urge to go turbo, as it were, resulting in a film that is not the action-packed thriller that its trailers suggest, and all the better because of it.

Bill Marks (Liam Neeson) is an air marshal boarding a plane leaving New York for London. A few hours into the flight, Bill receives a text on his secure server notifying him that a passenger on the plane intends to kill someone every 20 minutes until his demands are met (read: a wheelbarrow full of cash). Bill enlists flight attendant Nancy (Michelle Dockery) and seatmate Jen (Julianne Moore) to help him isolate potential suspects, but quickly has reasons to suspect that either of them might be in on the plot. While this is playing out on the plane, the media on the ground is running with the story that Bill is in fact the hijacker, and once the world hears of Bill’s flaws (divorced, temper issues, drinking problem), he not only loses the trust of the public and gives the news networks a sexy (if completely backwards) narrative, he also loses the trust of people on the plane, the pilots, and the co-workers on the ground assigned to assist him. Worse, he still doesn’t know who is taunting him or what their end game is.

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Reebok Classic announces the limited edition “Banner Question” sneaker for March 14th release

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PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 28: NBA player Allen Iverson reveals The Reebok Classic "Banner Question" at Mitchell & Ness on February 28, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Lisa Lake/Getty Images for Reebok)

How good was A.I. in his prime? Love him or hate him, Allen Iverson provided once-in-a-lifetime moments and that is a call for celebration. And once-in-a-lifetime athletes call for recognition.

Reebok Classic congratulates Allen Iverson on a memorable career that has earned him respect and recognition among the greats. Allen Iverson’s legacy will now live on high above the court where he first made his NBA debut in 1996 wearing the iconic Question Mid.

In honor of Allen Iverson’s jersey retirement, Reebok Classic memorializes a legendary athlete with an unforgettable iteration of the Question Mid. No detail was overlooked in creating a ceremonial version of this classic silhouette, from the custom sock liner to the jersey fabric upper.

Only 1996 numbered pairs of the Banner Question will be released on March 14th at select retailers nationwide for $160. Official retailers will be announced during the Sixers retirement ceremony on March 1st, so stay tuned on where to grab a pair.

Allen Iverson said, “Words cannot express what it means to have the 76ers organization retire my jersey. And to have Reebok make the Banner Question that’s symbolic of this event makes it even more special. The Sixers and Reebok are two partners that have always had my back and for that I’m forever grateful.”

  

The Light from the TV Shows: A Chat with Pam Grier (TV One’s ‘Unsung Hollywood’)

Fans of TV One’s documentary program Unsung, which shines the spotlight on performers whose mainstream profiles aren’t as substantial as they perhaps out to be, will be pleased to learn that the network is branching out with the series, expanding its coverage beyond the world of music and into the field of acting. Tonight marks the premiere episode of Unsung Hollywood, which kicks off with a look at the life and career of Pam Grier, and Bullz-Eye was fortunate enough to be able to sit down with Grier and discuss the episode and how it came about while also chatting a bit about her career…but without giving away too much about the program, of course.

Pam Grier as Kit Photo: Max Vadukal/Showtime Photo ID: LW3_21D-05

Bullz-Eye: How did you find your way to Unsung Hollywood? Did they pitch you on the idea?

Pam Grier: I had turned them down several times, because I wasn’t interested, but then I saw one of their episodes. My mom was so enthralled by one of the shows they had done on musicians – they did an excellent job – and she said, “I didn’t know that!” And, of course, no one knows what inspired the music and the tenacity of people to get their music played and all that except for the musicians. So we talked, and they said what they were going to do, and I said, “Okay, but you know it’s very difficult to get photographs.” Because as I learned from doing my book (Foxy: My Life in Three Acts), you have to have the rights if someone owns the photographs, and if someone else is in it, you have to get the rights from those people.

I said, “I don’t know if I can do that, because you’re going to get maybe five pictures, because a lot of people do not want to participate.” So I said, “I don’t want to marginalize it, but I can only give you so much, and I don’t know when I can do it.” But they kind of gave me an outline, and I said, “Oh, I think we can do this…so I just have to find the time!” And I did. And I think they did an excellent job.

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