How to Eat Like a Viking, Men’s Fitness

Sure, theMediterranean diet continues to take top billing as the world’s healthiest eating plan. Low in saturated fat and high in antioxidants and fiber, the Mediterranean diet’s balance of fish, olive oil, fruits, legumes and vegetables may actually help you live a longer life. But is it really the best-for-you meal plan on the planet?

North of the Mediterranean—way north—there’s another eating routine that’s geared toward guys who want more energy, better performance (in the gym and at home) and some extra longevity. It’s called The Nordic Diet, and it’s the everyday meal plan of Fitness-conscious, green-minded Scandinavians from Oslo to Reykjavik.

While you might associate the region’s cuisine with starch-ridden potatoes and the gravy-soaked Swedish meatballs you’re likely to find at IKEA, most Nordics eat simple food that’s raw and in season. Read More

The Best Things to Do in Nashville, Men’s Fitness

There’s always music playing somewhere in Nashville. It’s called Music City, after all. Deep in the heart of the Tennessee capital, visitors can also find lean eats(no matter how strange), all the live music they’ll ever want to hear—and some pretty cool duds.

Continue reading at Mensfitness.com.

Back in Black: The Healthiest Food Hue, Mens’s Fitness

Green or brightly colored vegetables and fruits have a horde of health benefits, but when it comes to nutrient-rich pigments there are benefits to going to the dark side. Onyx-hued veggies, fruits and grains contain higher levels of antioxidants than some of their lighter-colored counterparts. The anthocyanins, or near-opaque pigments, found in blackberries, beans or rice are packed with antioxidants.

“I encourage weekly, and in some cases daily, consumption of black foods due to high polyphenol, phytonutrient, antioxidant and vitamin and mineral concentration,” says Corey B. Schuler, functional medicine nutritionist at the Metabolic Treatment Center. Most raven-colored eats can also act as an anti-inflammatory agent, help lower risks of some cancer, diabetes and heart disease. It’s simple: Once you go black, you shouldn’t go back.  Read More

Former Maker’s Mark Distiller Revives American Whiskey, TheHoochLife.com

David Pickerell has a crystal ball. The whiskey distiller doesn’t have an actual bulbous glass that he rubs for knowledge, but rather a natural clairvoyance into the future of American whiskey. Formerly the master distiller at Maker’s Mark, Pickerell has a gift for finding a piece of whiskey past and reinventing it. A consultant for more than 20 whiskey producers in the country, Pickerell not only predicts whiskey futures, which he did by pushing the popularity of rye whiskey with WhistlePig (the first 100% aged rye in the country), but he doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty mashing things up. Read More

Drinking, Don Draper-Style, TheHoochLife.com

Don and his Mad Men crew can party like it’s 1959. Celebrate the holidays with classic, mid-century style.

Don Draper asks for an Old Fashioned. The befuddled bartender quips that a blind man must have set up the bar: “There’s no bourbon.” Draper graciously hops over the bar to assist. “Rye okay with you,” he asks the bartender, setting up two glasses with his concoction. “You look like you know what you’re doing,” says the bartender. Indeed. Draper muddles the sugar cube, bitters and water in a glass as he prepares a classic Old Fashioned.

The Mad man’s favorite (2 ounces bourbon or rye whiskey, one to three dashes of bitters, a sugar cube and splash of water) is just one cocktail that has survived the past six decades of new, experimental concoctions and remains a classic today, particularly during the holidays. Patrons are more inclined to try something different and more classic during the holidays, because it feels special. It’s out with the old and in with the, well, old.

At New York’s Employees Only, the Old Fashioned, and other ’50s-era classics, are on the menu during the frostier months and year round, but holidays are the perfect time to explore more wintry, fuller cocktails like the Manhattan, Tom Collins, White Russian, Sloe Gin Fizz, Sidecar, Whiskey Sour and other classic blends. Read more

Ole Smoky: 100 Years of Moonshine, TheHoochLife.com

 

Ole Smoky Distiller, Joe Baker.

Moonshine — white lightning, mountain dew, hooch — was illegally distilled by the light of the moon in the Appalachians for nearly half a century until 2009, when Tennessee lifted the ban on distilling spirits. And when that happened, the folks at Ole Smoky were ready. Set in the Smoky Mountains, the aptly-named distillery is the state’s first to produce now-legal moonshine.

Using a 100-year-old secret family recipe, Ole Smoky’s traditional corn whiskey is made of 80% corn, 20% of a secret ingredient, and is best for sipping. All Ole Smoky moonshines are 100-proof and come three additional varieties: White Lightnin’, a smoother, more distilled spirit for use in cocktails; Apple Pie, which tastes as warm and gooey as the real thing; and a Cherries version (fruits soaking in the old, Ole Smoky elixir).

Proprietor Joe Baker is no stranger to moonshine. He grew up on it. Baker made his first batch of (then illegal) moonshine before he was in high school. Born and raised in the Smoky Mountains, moonshine was always a part of Baker’s ancestry, and today it’s still a family affair. “When we say family business, we mean it,” says Baker, who prefers drinking his ‘shine neat. “Most of the people who work with us, we’ve known our whole lives. People sometimes tease that everyone in eastern Tennessee are cousins, but we really are. There are about 20 to 30 employees who are really related.” Read More

TAP Exclusive Interview: Shirley Manson (theaudioperv.com)

Garbage

Nearly 20 years since their self-titled debut, Garbage are aware that nothing will ever be like their first—and why should it? “We’ll never sound like the first record again,” says singer Shirley Manson. The Scottish-bred “Supervixen” admits that she felt like a complete innocent when she first joined Garbage, but that was a long time ago. If Manson felt naïve back then, it didn’t show as the raccoon-eyed, sex kitten crooned out dark, pop echoes of “Only Happy When it Rains,” reaffirmed the need for more female prowess in “Stupid Girl” or revealed a blatant girl-boy seduction in “Queer.” Manson, now 45, still oozes that sexy that some female front women work to attain. She’s even retained her potty mouth, randomly blurting out “fuck” in most sentences. Perhaps some things do remain the same, but almost two decades since their inception, there’s an older, wiser Garbage working on their fifth studio album, due out spring 2012. Read More