Here at InsideHook, we love to write about the relationship between people and their cars, whether it’s a Shark Tank star waxing poetic about his enviable collection or average Americans giving us the lowdown on EV ownership. But there’s one aspect of enthusiast car culture that most owners like to ignore: the instances when things go wrong and their dream machines turn into scrap metal. Today, the writer Jesse Will has one such story, told to him by an acquaintance who — for reasons you’ll quickly understand — preferred to remain anonymous. — Alex Lauer
It’s just like they say — there’s a moment right before you hit the wall when time seems to slow down. The rear tires let go, and the steering feels light, like you’re floating. Then — bang — the car connects with concrete, hard. You’re still in one piece. But the car? The car is done. That was the moment I realized my $200,000 Porsche 911 GT3 was no longer my dream car. It was a heap of metal smashed against the wall of Circuit of the Americas.
Whether we’re thinking about the rise of savory cocktails, powerfully delicious N/A libations or throwback drinks with an unexpected contemporary twist, bar culture has recently gotten a much-needed high-velocity kick in the pants. Now that buzz is infusing the restaurant world. Younger adult diners, in particular, don’t just want better and more thoughtful cocktails, they want ones that pair seamlessly with playful, highly spiced, imaginative cuisine. And they’re willing to pay more for the privilege.
To say the Czechs love their beer is an understatement. In fact, Czechia has ranked as the world’s top consumer for 30 years in a row in one annual report, totaling 188.5 liters per person, per year. That’s far ahead of second place Austria, at 101.2 liters, and more than three times the 60.9 liters the United States consumes. One good place to understand why is in the city of Pilsen, where brewer Josef Groll unveiled the pilsner beer on Oct. 5, 1842. This revolution not only put Pilsen on the map but made the beer style the most popular in the world.
That said, wine wins more of the spotlight the further east you go into the Moravia region, which covers the eastern half of the country. It’s been producing wine since the ninth century and devotes around 40,000 acres to producing the grapes for it. Some of these are now going to Autentická wines. “Czechs have really created a space for themselves with natural wines in recent years,” says Elizabeth Zahradnicek-Haas, editor-in-chief of Expats.cz, an English news site for the country’s international community. “These bottles are produced in organic mode without chemical sprays and fertilizers that destroy the soil of the vineyard.”
