Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2019 i Esquire

Come bearing the gift of good booze for Thanksgiving dinner—or rather, for the post-dinner wind-down. Maker’s Mark got creative this year with the first whiskey in its Wood Finishing Series, the Maker’s Mark 2019 Release ($60). The intrigue is in the wood: The distiller introduced seasoned American oak staves to barrels of already matured bourbon to load it up with even more flavor, then bottled it at 108.2 proof. Your drinking companions will appreciate the familiarity of a Kentucky-bourbon favorite but take note of the baking spice and bright finish on the palate. So will you.…

Modern travel is an incredible privilege. It’s also an incredible pain in the ass. Most of the elements that make it so painful—big lines, small seats, interminable delays—you can’t do a damn thing about. But there are a couple crucial elements you can control, namely how you look and feel. Over the next ten pages, we’ll show you how to be the best-dressed guy stranded on the tarmac, with a bag full of cleverly packed essentials that’ll make the whole trip that much easier. About that bag: It’s the foundation of your whole travel vibe. It should work well, but it should also look great. And a little luxury goes a long way, too. FPM is a 73-year-old premium luggage brand that fuses two of Italy’s greatest strengths—modern industrial design…

Toothbrush? Check. Phone charger? Check. Blazer? Definitely check. Why? Because even on casual trips, fate might bestow an invite to a fancyish party or a last-minute dinner reservation at a spot where, no, I’m sorry, you can’t wear a denim vest here, sir. Yet packing a blazer presents a problem: How do you make certain it and everything else emerges from the suitcase looking as good as it did when it went in? With the right prep work, you can ensure you won’t resemble a scrunchie on the other end of the journey. 1. Choose your blazer wisely. For our money, the Balloon jacket, from the Japanese cult brand Ring Jacket, is the best travel blazer around. Tailored yet unstructured, it’s made of a high-twist wool that acts like a…

To get a sense of just how much the sneaker-collaboration game has evolved in its 90-year history, consider this: One of the first collabs featured a badminton player. From Canada. Today, the wildly creative partnerships between shoe companies and cultural icons—from Adidas and Pharrell to Converse and famed tattoo artist Dr. Woo—deliver not merely clean kicks but also cultural commentary rendered in rubber, leather, and canvas. Elizabeth Sem-melhack, who’s worked in the storied collection at Toronto’s Bata Shoe Museum for nearly two decades, breaks down the milestone moments in Collab: Sneakers x Culture (Rizzoli Electa), a study of more than 80 of the most significant sneaker collaborations to date. Her mixtape approach includes much-hyped alliances—among them artist Tom Sachs’s Mars Yard Nikes, designed for “the strongest minds in the aerospace…

Damon Lindelof was 13 years old when, in 1986, his dad gave him the first two issues of a new comic book called Watchmen. It was, Lindelof says now, like nothing he’d ever experienced. Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, shattered all expectations of comic books. It proved that the superhero genre could be as political, controversial, challenging, thought-provoking, and deeply human as any work of dramatic literature. The flawed, flesh-and-blood characters deal with ethical conundrums (who watches the Watchmen?) and anxieties (the threat of nuclear war). “What separates Watchmen from Superman or Batman or even Spider-Man is there’s a depth of psychological pain,” says Lindelof, a TV showrunner with Lost and The Leftovers on his résumé who’s adapting a version of Watchmen for HBO. In setting out to…

It’s not the sheer concentration of luxury spa hotels that makes Scottsdale seem so damn restorative. As soon as you land in this palm-filled northeast corner of the greater Phoenix area, you’re surrounded by hundred-year-old saguaros touching a cloudless, seemingly endless sky and rock formations that radiate a pre-civilization vibe. But you’re also not so “away from it all” that you can’t take it in from a jewel-colored pool with a blindingly good margarita in hand. For the Patagonia fanny-pack crowd, Scottsdale is an easy getaway where you can hike among the chollas as well as drink excellent cocktails, devour taco platters, and soak up life-affirming architecture in perpetual sunshine. And with a new wave of hotel and restaurant openings, the city has lost the country-club stiffness and gained a…

For decades, buying a pre-owned timepiece meant perusing pawn shops, weeding through dubious web domains, or paying a premium at auction. Then retailers like Crown & Caliber showed us a better way: verified-authentic, modern-classic watches from top brands including OMEGA, Breitling, Panerai, Cartier, and TAG Heuer, all offered online and under warranty. They’ve made it easier than ever to give the gift of a fine timepiece. The challenge now isn’t so much finding the right watch, but deciding which person should receive it. Need some suggestions? Here are a few potential candidates. THE NEW GRADUATE A fine timepiece is the perfect way to commemorate the early accomplishments of a man’s formative years. Not only as a symbolic gesture, but a practical one. Consider gifting a dress watch on a classic…

1 Go Boutique KNOW YOUR BRANDS OR WANT TO DISCOVER SOME? START HERE. Spending four figures on a watch is the beginning of a long-term relationship, so it pays to go through a respectable courtship period first. If you’ve already got your heart set on a particular brand, or just a couple, the monobrand boutiques will likely offer you the deepest and most knowledgeable service, both before and after they have nailed you as a customer. Maintenance is also something to consider, and service varies from brand to brand, so it’s a good idea to ask. Some will service on-site or at a local certified facility. But if you really put your watch through the grinder, they may recommend that it go on a lengthy and sometimes costly holiday in…

ONE THING YOU should know about Jeffrey Martinez is that he understands and has cultivated and applies fortitude to his life. It’s one of seven Lakota values his mother, Martha, instilled in him from a young age. The others are humility, respect, compassion, prayer, generosity, and wisdom, which Jeffrey can list off easily, because he really knows them. Fortitude is one of those words I knew was important when I first learned it, but that took time to understand, to practice, to be made a quality. The word is defined as “courage in pain or adversity.” This is one of the most beautiful definitions of a word not beautiful. I believe adversity can breed brilliance beyond what those with safe and comfortable lives are capable of. I’m not convinced that…

We learned a few things about Jason Momoa while making this issue. He’s a damn good time, enjoys a doggo, and knows his way around a pint of Guinness. What we already knew—outside of his fluency in Dothraki—was that he loves himself a scrunchie. In fact, the scrunchie he’d been spotted wearing quite often became the inspiration for his custom Fendi suit at last year’s Oscars. We lean in on page 62.…

The sensible advice: Build all of your outfits around the one pair of shoes that you’ll walk through security with—you’ve got TSA PreCheck, right? But on some trips, sensible just won’t work. Sometimes you want to wear the things you really love when you’re on the road. And at the end of the day, some variety in what you’re wearing can be better than a double espresso for your jet lag. So instead of building an entire excursion’s worth of outfits around one pair of shoes, go ahead and pack an extra. To maximize the space, stick your socks, belt, and even a rolled-up tie in there. The last step? Place your newly stuffed extra shoes in a lightweight, packable duffel. It’ll double as an additional bag for whatever you…

Aside from that oversize gift for your nephew, shoes are the most obnoxious thing to pack for a trip. They don’t exactly have a Lego-like fit in your bag, you’re always debating which pairs you’ll actually need, and, yeah, you have to throw a bag over them somehow. (Please tell me you do this.) Let’s cut down on one pretrip annoyance—or three, depending on the percentage of your shoe rack you tend to pack. It’s a simple fix: Invest in a pair of lightweight, travel-friendly white sneakers. First off, they look good with practically everything. If it’s the right pair, they’ll work for you on and off duty—looking just as at-home with a suit as they do with jeans. They won’t tip the scales—the shoes on the right are stacked…

How many miles do I travel per year? It’s enough that, honestly, I don’t know. And it’s enough that my everyday carry (EDC) has outgrown my pockets and is now a bag I bring everywhere, from lunch meetings to the plane. It’s not for a lack of discipline. I’m a light packer. But as crazy as some of these things are, I feel a little better having what I need, and even some stuff I probably never will, always at hand.…

How do you choose a favorite spiked seltzer, an innocuously flavored low-carb beverage? “It’s as hard as choosing the best dictator,” says Victoria James, who in 2012, at the age of 21, became America’s youngest sommelier and is now beverage director of Cote in New York City. “I grew up with white zinfandel and Zima,” she admits. “No one’s first taste of blues is like Grand Cru Burgundy.” So in the meantime, there’s always White Claw. We asked James to taste-test about three dozen flavors of spiked seltzers. Here are her favorites. White Claw Natural Lime In the world of spiked seltzer, Claw is king. And of the brand’s six varieties, there was one clear winner. “Lime was the least intrusive,” James says. “It has an almost Gatorade-like aftertaste. And…

Every year, there are more new must-use ingredients and technological advancements than could ever fit in your medicine cabinet. We spent months trying them so you don’t have to. Here are twenty-nine of the best products for every grooming concern, with some you didn’t know you needed. (Trust us: You do.) For a complete list, head to Esquire.com/GroomingAwards. Clean Prep Polish…

JASON MOMOA DID not steal the dog. He wants to make that absolutely clear. He’s just borrowing him for a little while. Sure, yesterday he walked off the set of his new Apple TV+ show, See, with the slobbery German shepherd puppy who plays one of a scrappy pack, and sure, he brought the puppy back to his Vancouver hotel suite to cuddle with him in bed for eight hours, and sure, he immediately renamed him Rama, which was the name of a dog once belonging to his wife, Lisa Bonet, but this is all just a temporary arrangement. That is, unless his wife says he can keep him. (The nostalgic name was no accident, you see.) Bonet, whom Momoa has been with for fourteen years and officially married in…

“Taikaaaa. Taikaaaa,” she whispers. In a Mediterranean-style house, built into the side of a hill in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, not too far away from Walt Disney’s first home, Taika Waititi’s assistant is trying to coax him out of his bedroom. She thinks he’s asleep. And the complex Swiss coffee machine seems to be on the fritz. So while I wait, I try to fix it. I’m about to implement the unplug-it-and-plug-it-back-in method when I feel something ping my back. I see a small object go skittering across the floor. A bottle cap? I turn and there is Waititi, wearing a tropical-print shirt and stylish drawstring pants and, while in a ninja-like pose, holding a large, capless bottle of Perrier. He has the boyish energy of a…

STORE INFORMATION For the items featured in Esquire, please consult the website or call the phone number provided. The Code, p. 21: FPM suitcase, modaoperandi.com P. 22: Vuarnet sunglasses case, vuarnet.com. Thom Browne passport holder, thombrowne.com. Bose headphones, bose.com. Victorinox Swiss Army watch band, swissarmy.com. RHA transmitter and earbuds, rha-audio.com. Roku Streaming Stick, roku.com Coach pouch, similar styles available at coachcom P. 24: Best Made Co. jacket, bestmadeco.com. Mark Cross passport holder, markcross.com. Aspesi jacket, aspesi.com. Ray-Ban sunglasses, ray-ban.com Drake’s jacket, drakes.com. Caruso jacket, email showroom.newyork@carusomenswear.com. Begg & Co. scarf, bergdorfgoodman.com. P. 26: Rimowa suitcase, rimowa.com. Moral Code loafers, moralcode.com. Anderson’s belt, thearmoury.com. Mr P. socks, mrporter.com. Patagonia duffel, patagonia.com Best Made Co. sweater, bestmadeco.com. Aspesi trousers, aspesi.com. P. 28: Prada jacket, sweater, trousers, belt bag, backpack, duffel bag, and…

Most people love to travel. My wife and I are not those people. Not after kids. Here’s what traveling looks like with a four-year-old and a one-year-old: hauling them, their luggage, our luggage (which is somehow smaller than theirs), and ourselves into a cab and through an airport so we can distract them for several hours on the plane before trudging through another airport and into another cab so we can carry out the same parenting duties in a different city. This past spring, however, my wife, Sally, and I went to Miami for four days on our first vacation without our daughters. The flight alone felt like a holiday. By the time we checked into our beachside hotel, we’d nearly forgotten we were parents. Turns out travel is amazing!…

Picture this: You’re racing through the airport and the leather messenger bag you just had to have is so heavy it’s about to give you a hunchback. Suffering for fashion hurts even more when you’re traveling. But there’s a better way. Decades ago, the Prada name was associated with a signature line of nylon bags. Now the fashion house is bringing them back in a more sustainable way. Available in several styles, the Re-Nylon collection is made of Econyl, a fabric created, in part, from depolymerized “ghost nets”—nylon fishing nets abandoned in the ocean. In addition to being eco-friendly, these featherweight bags are travel-friendly. They’re simple and subtle, and they don’t have that ubiquitous million-miler business-traveler vibe (even if you happen to be one)…

I always travel with a beanie, even when I’m off to someplace balmy. Why? It’s a lightweight solution for instant warmth on unpredictably cool nights, and it’s an easy way to get cozy on a freezing plane. A bit of hygge in economy class. And if the flight attendants aren’t handing out eye masks—i.e., you’re not in biz class—you can just pull it over your eyes and catch a nap. The key is to wear a not-too-thick cashmere number that’s ultra-soft and has a balance of warmth and breathability. Bonus: It hides bad hair days. —…

PREFLIGHT 1 Drink Lots of Water When the air is less humid, it “takes moisture from places that are more hydrated,” like your body, says dermatologist Dendy Engelman. Buy a big bottle of water after passing through security and finish it by the time babies are preboarding. 2 Take Probiotics Frequent fliers know that traveling can put your immune system through the ringer, so “boost your body’s immunity to the bad bacteria,” Engelman says. She recommends taking probiotics regularly. 3 Apply Sunscreen “The ozone layer and the atmosphere are much thinner in elevation, and the glass doesn’t filter out a lot of UV light,” Engelman warns. The “super sun” above the clouds hits you even if you’re sitting on the aisle, so put on sunscreen before you board (and reapply…

Maybe you’re looking forward to it. Maybe when you hear the word Thanksgiving, your nostrils fill with the summoned scents of rosemary and sage, and you smile inwardly as you imagine bowls of cranberry sauce and boats of gravy and platters of poultry being ferried around the table from one generation to the next, with gentle elders and eager cherubim joining hands in a fellowship of food. Nostalgia for the most gluttonous of Thursdays is practically a national birthright, which means that complaining about our collective rite of homecoming is like committing an act of American heresy. So let’s do just that. Try as I might, I can’t help but associate Thanksgiving with…work. It’s work to cook so many dishes (Uncle Marty will throw a tantrum if he doesn’t see…

1) Acne goes away. It’s perhaps the biggest advantage to growing older. But then your hair thins, but don’t think about that now. 2) Time doesn’t actually exist. However, in this impermanent world, the illusion that time is passing is a sign that points to what some physicists call this relative world. You do not exist in as I write this. Nor do I, at this age, in your world. But, on another plane we are one, happening simultaneously. [Letter skips #3 and #4.] 5) Grow-up 6) I want to assure you that you are enough. Don’t doubt this. You are just as God intended. 7) Learn to meditate 8) I will always be there to guide and give you advice. 9) Stop masturbating 10) One day you will not…

There is no beach where there once was a beach. There is a strip of sand that can hardly be called a beach, and on a cool afternoon at the beginning of September, seven kids were splashing through the waters at the edge of Grand Traverse Bay in that part of Lake Michigan that cuts into the lower half of the state of Michigan, providing a pinkie finger to the state’s mitten configuration. Not far from where there once was a beach, you can see a dock submerged just below the surface. The water is so clear you can count the boards. This is where Lake Michigan had come to rest at the end of the summer of 2019. According to the Army Corps of Engineers, water levels in the…

CERVANTES Ramirez Mixologist and painter, 43 “Wearing a hat is like wearing a Band-Aid on your nose. People don’t look at your face—they look at the Band-Aid. When you take it away, they can’t recognize you. Some people don’t recognize me without a hat.” THE TAKEAWAY If you’re going for an all-dark look, you don’t need to stick to black-on-black. In fact, layering in navy, hunter, or gray is a great way to add depth and subtlety to an outfit (implying depth and subtlety in the wearer, of course).…