How Facebook Created the Bourbon Boom—and Then Killed It

For better or for worse, the infamous social network's black markets completely changed the way we drank the spirit this decade. If you have trouble reading this message, view it in a browser.       You Can Thank Facebook for Bourbon. You Can Thank It for Ruining Bourbon, Too.   On June 13, 2019, at 1:45 p.m. EST, a private Facebook group with around 55,000 members, known simply as "BSM," was shut-down by site administrators. Was this some group where goateed Oakley dudes posted racist memes? Maybe a place for QAnon followers to spread conspiracy theories about the Deep State? No, BSM, or Bourbon Secondary Market, was simply a spot for drinkers to re-sell bottles of coveted American whiskeys. Read More           John Lewis Is Still Alive   On September 19, 1803, the Irish revolutionary Robert Emmet addressed the British imperial court that had condemned him to death for having led an abortive rebellion. His "speech from the dock" is the Irish equivalent of the Gettysburg Address, having supplied generations of Irish schoolchildren with grist for their rhetorical competitions. The most memorable passage came as Emmet was winding things up. Read More           5 Reasons Whistler Is the Ultimate Ski Destination   Created by Esquire for Whistler Canada   Pack your passport and put in your PTO—this world-class resort belongs on your winter calendar. Read More           The Song From The Witcher Is Actually a Low-Key Fantasy Banger   Original songs in high fantasy series are nothing new. Going all the way back to Tolkien, the Lord of the Rings author loved to write little songs into his epic tales of elves and dragons and hobbits. Who could forget Pippin's song in Return of the King, sung on the eve of the climactic battle? There were even a few musical moments in Game of Thrones—lush with cameos from Sigur Rós, Coldplay, and unfortunately even Ed Sheeran. These are always tracks with some Olde European twang, and sing-songy medieval magic, they speak to the oral tradition of storytelling from bards and court musicians and traveling minstrels. Just look at the massively popular new book series, The Kingkiller Chronicle, that follows something of a fantasy rockstar hero named Kvothe. (That Lin-Manuel Miranda is turning it into a TV series should be enough evidence of the intersection of music and magic.) Read More           The Best Albums of the 2010s Showed Music Can Spark Revolutions and Change the Soundtrack of Our Lives   Music, more than any other form of entertainment, serves us like a memory scent. We take songs and albums on the road and into our lives, letting them soundtrack first dances and funerals and late night ragers. In our private moments, they console broken hearts and anxious minds or, on better days, prompt solo dance parties. In pivotal moments, a music release changes the culture, as rallying cries carry marches through the streets. So to remember what came out—and, even more, what took off—is to remember who we were, then. Read More           This Line From Casino Royale Made Daniel Craig Want to Play James Bond   Daniel Craig has played James Bond for nearly a decade and a half. And while he doesn't seem to have loved every minute of the experience—he infamously said after shooting Spectre that he'd rather "slash [his] wrists" than make another Bond movie—he's now played the iconic role longer than any other actor in history. (That is, if we're not counting Sean Connery's 1983 "unofficial" 007 turn in Never Say Never Again.) And in an interview with Empire Magazine, Craig revealed just what line from Casino Royale made him certain that he wanted to play James Bond in the first place. Read More         Read More on Esquire.com       Follow Us     Unsubscribe  Privacy Notice   esquire.com ©2019 Hearst Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hearst Email Privacy, 300 W 57th St., Fl. 19 (sta 1-1), New York, NY 10019