• I compared three premade espresso martinis to determine which was the best.
• I thought the On the Rocks espresso-martini cocktail was bitter and had an odd aftertaste.
• The Ketel One espresso martini was the winner because of its smooth, sweet flavor.

Espresso martinis have been around for decades, but today, they seem more popular than ever.

I recently saw a few bottled and canned versions of the alcoholic drink — usually made with vodka, coffee liqueur, espresso, and simple syrup — at my local liquor store.

Eager to see which was best, I decided to try three brands of premade espresso martinis. To level the playing field, I made sure to prepare each drink the same way — pouring the liquid into a shaker with ice and straining the drink into a martini glass. 

Here's how each espresso martini stacked up.

The On the Rocks espresso-martini cocktail was my least-favorite beverage

A sales associate at the liquor store told me the On the Rocks espresso martini, which has 20% alcohol by volume, was a popular drink.

According to its label, this "rich and dark espresso martini" was made with Effen vodka and espresso-coffee liqueur.

In the glass, the deep-caramel-colored liquid resembled scotch. It smelled neutral, but it had an overpowering flavor when it hit my lips. It started out bold and bitter, then left an odd, lingering, acidic aftertaste well after I finished my sip. 

Overall, I wouldn't purchase this beverage again. 

The Cutwater espresso martini had a tasty, coffee-forward flavor

The Cutwater espresso martini came in a pack of four cans. According to the label on the box, each can contained at least two shots of "real spirits" and 13% alcohol by volume.

When I poured the drink into a glass, the aroma was exactly what I expected: coffee-forward with vodka overtones.

Made with coffee-cream liqueur, it had a nice cold-brew flavor and a light mouthfeel. Because the drink went down easy, the alcohol could definitely sneak up on you.

I think the Cutwater cocktail would be perfect for events like tailgates or fireside sipping.

The Ketel One espresso martini was my favorite of the bunch

The Ketel One espresso martini blended the brand's vodka with coffee liqueur. Though potent at 20.1% alcohol by volume, the Ketel One espresso martini was pretty smooth.

Its subtle chocolaty aroma and strong flavor were a nice surprise. The martini's dark-amber hue gave way to a velvety smooth, sweet drink with slight hints of a flavor that reminded me of hazelnut — mimicking exactly what one expects from a traditional espresso martini.

Overall, the Ketel One espresso martini's coffee-forward flavor dominated the competition, making it my winner.

Vice President JD Vance defended President Trump's contention that the tragic plane collision in Washington, D.C., was connected to diversity, equity and inclusion hiring practices within the Federal Aviation Administration.

Driving the news: "The president made very clear that he wasn't blaming anybody, but he was being very explicit about the fact that DEI policies have led our air traffic controllers to be short staffed," Vance said on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures." "That is a scandal."

• Trump did not provide evidence to back up his claims during a Thursday afternoon press conference where he railed against his predecessors and DEI initiatives, and drew widespread condemnation from Democrats and industry representatives.
• There are widespread shortages of air traffic controllers — but there's no evidence that DEI hiring policies have impacted aviation safety.
• U.S. Census Bureau and IPUMS statistics show air traffic controllers and airfield operations specialists are predominately male and white.

Driving the news: But Vance said during the interview that the "DEI regime" of the Biden administration led to air traffic control not hiring "the best and the brightest."

• He claimed the "elimination of DEI hires and DEI policies" will allow the FAA to hire "the air traffic controllers that we need."
• Vance argued air traffic controllers were not being hired because of "the color of their skin," claiming there is a "very direct connection between the policies of the last administration and short-staffed air traffic controllers."

Reality check: The standards to be certified as an air traffic controller are "not based on race or gender," said Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, in a Friday statement.

• Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy gave no evidence that DEI initiatives led to staffing shortages or safety concerns on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday, but he said the COVID-19 pandemic had a "huge impact" on hiring and training.

Zoom in: A 2023 inspector general report found that the pandemic prompted training pauses for nearly two years, significantly increasing air traffic controller certification times.

• Training can take more than three years, according to the report, which said the FAA has taken "limited efforts to ensure adequate controller staffing."
• Staffing did increase from pandemic levels under the Biden administration, per NATCA and FAA data.
• But Daniels told CBS just 10,800 certified controllers are doing the job when there should be 14,335.
• An internal FAA report said one controller was working two jobs at the time of the crash, AP reported. The second air traffic controller had left early that evening.

Catch up quick: Trump ordered a review of federal aviation hiring on Thursday, calling for a "systematic assessment of any deterioration in hiring standards and aviation safety standards and protocols during the Biden administration."

• The hiring language Trump railed against was included in FAA regulations during his first term and was promoted on the agency's website since 2013, according to the AP. The Trump administration removed it shortly after he returned to the White House.

Go deeper: What to know about the victims of the D.C. plane crash

• Brandon Medford started a luxury automotive brokerage firm in 2017.
• Since then, he's built a multimillion-dollar net worth through different businesses.
• He enjoys treating his kids to things like courtside tickets but says underneath he's still frugal.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Brandon Medford, CEO of Brandon Medford Enterprises. It has been edited for length and clarity.

When I was 22, I was working as the finance director for an automotive dealership. I was bringing home more money in a month than my parents made in a year. My annual income was about $500,000, and I had virtually no expenses because I was still living at home.

And yet, I still ended up broke. I was spending money on partying, travel, and $1,000 dinners. Most of my friends were making $50,000 a year, so I paid for everything when we went out. I wanted to take care of my people.

After three years of that, I had no money in the bank. I realized I needed to change my mindset about money. At the time, I was devastated, but looking back, I learned an important lesson: you should always budget and live below your means.

As my wealth grew, I looked for more frugal role models

I left that job in 2017 to found an automotive brokerage company. It took off quickly, and I started selling luxury vehicles. What set me apart was how I delivered cars. I would deliver cars anywhere, with a big bow and confetti. People wanted to celebrate the milestone of getting their new car, and I made that possible.

The business continued to flourish, especially after 2021, when I founded a loan program that specifically helped entrepreneurs purchase luxury cars. Suddenly I was selling Astin Martins, Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and other luxury cars like they were Hondas.

As I built my wealth, I realized I needed to emulate people who reinvested their money. I know someone who sold a business for $80 million and reinvested $70 million. You'd never know he had $80 million in liquid assets because he lived off the $10 million. I wanted to be like that, not like the fast-spending guy I was in my early 20s.

I want my kids to enjoy the fruits of my labor

I reinvested money in real estate, business investment, and other enterprises. Today, I'm a multimillionaire. I'm also a dad to three kids, ages 7, 5, and 4.

I still consider myself a very frugal person, but I'm not afraid to indulge in what my wealth can offer me. I want my family to enjoy the fruits of my labor. I helped connect my 5-year-old daughter with a modeling gig at New York Fashion Week, and now she goes to birthday parties with Dream Kardashian.

My 7-year-old son and I go to Knicks games and sit courtside, meeting the players. When I was growing up, my dad took me to one Knicks game every year, and we sat way up high. I used to point to the courtside seats and say, "One day, I'm going to sit down there." To be able to do that now with my dad and son is very meaningful.

At the same time, I take the kids to the modest homes of my family members in Queens. They know that not everyone is wealthy because they see it in their own family.

I sometimes revisit the Wendy's I used to work at

When you see someone driving a luxury car, you can react one of two ways. You can say, "Wow, he's flashy." Or, you can say, "I wonder what he's done to be able to afford that." I've always been curious — asking questions like that — and it's helped me build wealth.

Today, I sometimes drive my Ferrari to the Wendy's in Brooklyn where I worked when I was 16-19. I'll go through the drive-thru and tell the person at the window, "This is just the beginning." I want them to know I was where they were 13 years ago. With discipline, they could do the same thing I've done.

• Grady Stickney gained over 600,000 TikTok followers in four months.
• Stickney, a college student, told BI he's overwhelmed that his success came as a TikTok ban looms.
• President Donald Trump gave TikTok a 75-day extension to find a buyer or face a US ban.

The TikTok ban has left creators facing uncertainty over the past year. One of TikTok's fastest-growing creators says the pressure has been overwhelming.

The law that could ban TikTok went into effect in the United States on January 19 after the Supreme Court upheld it. The law requires TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest from the app.

While President Donald Trump issued an executive order on January 20 granting a 75-day extension for TikTok to find a buyer, the social media app's future in the United States remains in limbo.

Creators can often build large followings on TikTok faster than other social media platforms. One TikToker previously told BI that he gained over 3 million followers by making four to five 10-second videos a day.

So the possibility of a TikTok ban came as harsh news to Grady Stickney, who has gained over 600,000 followers and 155 million views on his account since November.

"One of the things that affects me the most is the fact that it happened so fast," Stickney said through tears in a TikTok video on January 18, a day before the app briefly shut down to US users.

Stickney told BI that his success on TikTok has been overwhelming.

In just four months, outside of the thousands of new followers and millions of views, he also said he got an offer to audition for a feature film. He said he struggles with the idea that "this could all be gone tomorrow," but is comforted that his videos have resonated with so many people.

"It's a little voice in the back of my head now that says, 'even if I don't get to keep the constant interaction with these people, people love the fact that I'm myself,'" Stickney told BI.

Stickney is a senior education major at a small Christian college in Indiana. He said the confidence gained from social media will help his teaching career.

"Now that this has all happened, it's more about the fact that I can go on after social media is over and know that I affected that many people in a positive way," Stickney said.

He said the support he has received on TikTok in recent months has been surreal. He receives compliments on his personality, his music taste, and his "willingness to be myself in front of this many people."

"It's just so validating," he said.

Stickney said his personality doesn't always mesh well with others because of his "raw" nature, but TikTok became a home for him to find a community that appreciates his sense of humor.

"It's all support, and so it's just so overwhelming to see this many people be this strongly affected," Stickney said.

It's a common misconception that — through ads and brand deals — a large social media following always comes with a large check. While some creators do rely on income from social media content, a survey from Influencer Marketing Hub showed that more than 48% of creators make less than $15,000 a year.

Stickney said he makes about "enough to pay for dinner."

Stickney's account mostly consists of videos of him dancing and making facial expressions inside a Spongebob-themed bathroom. Stickney told BI that he didn't expect to find success when he started posting regularly in November, but he decided to keep making posts after seeing how much attention they were getting.

"I posted one dancing video in my bathroom to a SpongeBob song, exactly how I do now, and threw up the rock finger gesture where, like the pinky and the pointer finger, and people loved it," Stickney said.

When asked if he is a SpongeBob fan, Stickney said, "No, that's the best part."

Stickney said his father — a community artist — painted the bathroom for him and his sister when they were kids and "apparently had an obsession with Spongebob."

"I love the show, but I'm not, like, this fanatic about SpongeBob that everybody assumes I am with this bathroom," Stickney said.

• I quit my job as a pilot to homeschool my kids, two things I never thought I'd do.
• The monotony of being a stay-at-home mom bored me to tears. So, we started taking educational trips.
• Now, I teach my kids by taking them on adventures with hands-on experiences. We're all happier.

I never planned to quit my job as an airline pilot or homeschool our kids.

I learned to fly at the age of 17, and spent countless hours in small planes getting more experience. By the time I was 43, I was flying for an airline, and my seniority afforded me the perks of a great schedule and salary.

I averaged eight work days a month and took full advantage of my travel benefits. Most of my airline friends thought I had the perfect job.

At the height of my career, an unexpected surprise derailed my future as a pilot: I was pregnant with twins.

It would've been difficult for my husband to work and watch the twins and our older son while I traveled, so I reluctantly quit my job to become a stay-at-home mom.

Being a stay-at-home parent bored me, especially once I started homeschooling my kids

As a pilot, I'd wake up in New York City and go to bed in Los Angeles. I'd look back on my day with accomplishment and pride.

As a stay-at-home mom, every day felt as monotonous as the last — and the only thing I explored was the never-ending mountain of dishes in the sink.

Bored to tears and homesick for travel, I counted the days until the twins started school so I could pursue my own dreams again

However, their kindergarten start date was a few short months away when the world came to a screeching halt amid the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

I didn't want the twins' first experience of school to include masks and social distancing, so I gave up my own plans and became a reluctant homeschool mom.

As the pandemic stretched into a second year, I continued to struggle at home, and I yearned to explore the world again. In a lightbulb moment, I realized I could combine my love of adventure and still teach my kids.

Now, I try to teach my kids through travel to encourage a lifelong love of learning

My main goal as a homeschooling mom is to encourage a lifelong love of learning — and why couldn't that be done through travel? I started to plan trips for us with educational moments and hands-on activities in mind.

Our first destination was Chincoteague Island in Virginia. We walked the beach and learned about tides. We gathered shells and horseshoe crabs and researched the history of both.

Then, we explored the NASA visitors center at the nearby Wallops Island and watched a shuttle launch to the International Space Station.

Once I realized how easy it was to educate through travel, we expanded our reach to explore other locations.

We learned about the three branches of government while we stood in front of the White House and visited Mount Vernon after we researched George Washington. We studied stalactites and stalagmites from a boat in a cave, then had our kayak propelled by a playful manatee while we learned about his habitat.

These were some of our more exotic trips, but we also travel locally.

We spend time in the nearby woods exploring fungi and waterfalls, head to science centers in surrounding towns, and visit local places of historical interest.

Teaching through travel entertains all of us, and I no longer feel like my days are meaningless and never-ending. The best part is that my kids and I are curiously exploring and learning about the world — together.

• Taylor Swift has set and broken numerous records throughout her career.
• She was once the youngest artist ever to receive the album of the year Grammy.
• Swift made history at the 2024 Grammys with her fourth album of the year win.

Taylor Swift made history at the 2024 Grammy Awards when she took home album of the year for the fourth time.

However, that's not the first time Swift has broken records … or smashed her own, for that matter. 

In 2010, Swift became the youngest artist ever to receive the album of the year award with "Fearless." She's since surpassed the likes of Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra, and Paul Simon, to become the most-awarded album of the year winner in history.

Following the success of her record-breaking Eras Tour, which grossed a whopping $2 billion, Forbes put Swift's estimated net worth at $1.6 billion.

Here's every time Taylor Swift has broken records throughout her career.

After Swift released her single "Our Song" in 2006, she became the youngest artist in history to have written and performed a No. 1 song on the Hot Country Songs chart.

Swift was just 17 years old when the song charted, making her the youngest artist in history to achieve the top spot on the country charts.

"Our Song" peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, becoming the third consecutive Hot 100 top-40 single from Swift's debut album, "Taylor Swift." 

In 2009, Swift became the youngest person to ever win entertainer of the year at the Country Music Association Awards.

"I will never forget this moment because in this moment everything I have ever wanted has just happened to me," she said as she accepted the award, E! News reported.

She was 19 at the time.

At the 2010 Grammy Awards, Swift became the youngest artist ever to receive the album of the year award with "Fearless."

"Country music is my home," 20-year-old Swift later told reporters in the Grammys press room, Billboard reported. "Country music is my love. But to have it organically crossover this year? It's just been fantastic. I think the healthiest thing you can do when making music is [to] remove stereotypes from it."

Billie Eilish later beat Swift's record as the youngest recipient of the album of the year award. Eilish was 18 when she won the award in 2020.

When Taylor Swift won the Grammy for album of the year for "1989" in 2016, she became the first woman to win the coveted award twice.

Swift also won the award for best music video for "Bad Blood" and best pop vocal album for "1989."

At the 2021 Grammy Awards, Swift became the first woman to win album of the year three times.

At the 2021 Grammy Awards, Swift won album of the year for "Folklore," her ninth studio album, which she wrote and produced entirely during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The album is regarded as one of Swift's best works and became the best-selling album of 2020, Rolling Stone reported.

The only other artists who have won album of the year three times are Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra, and Paul Simon.

Taylor Swift made history at the 2024 Grammy Awards as the first artist to win album of the year four times.

At the 2024 Grammy Awards, Swift made history when she took home the top award for her 10th studio album, "Midnights," becoming the first and only person to have won the award four times. 

In her acceptance speech, Swift thanked Jack Antonoff, her longtime collaborator and "Midnights" producer, and praised her fellow nominee Lana Del Rey.

"I would love to tell you that this is the best moment of my life, but I feel this happy when I finish a song or when I crack the code to a bridge that I love or when I'm shotlisting a music video or when I'm rehearsing with my dancers or my band or getting ready to go to Tokyo to play a show," Swift told the crowd.

Swift has won the most American Music Awards in history. She holds a whopping 40 awards.

Swift surpassed Michael Jackson, who holds 26 awards, and Whitney Houston, who holds 22.

Swift was also recognized with the "Artist of the Decade" award at the 2019 AMAs and performed a medley of some of her most popular songs.

Taylor Swift holds the record for most No. 1 hits on Billboard's US Digital Song Sales chart.

Swift broke the record, per Guinness World Records, with 29 hits, including recent releases like "Fortnight," featuring Post Malone, and classics like "Mine" and "Bad Blood."

Swift has been nominated for song of the year more times than any other artist in Grammy history.

She was nominated for six awards at the 2024 Grammys, including for song of the year for "Anti-Hero." This marked Swift's seventh nomination for song of the year, the most of any artist.

She broke the record again this year after she received a nomination for "Fortnight."

She has never won the award, but was previously nominated for "You Belong With Me," "Shake It Off," "Blank Space," "Lover," "Cardigan," and "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)."

Before 2024, she shared the record with Paul McCartney and Lionel Richie, who have six nominations in the category.

Following the release of "Red (Taylor's Version)," Swift broke Shania Twain's record for the most weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart.

Shania Twain previously held the record, spending 97 weeks at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart. However, Swift broke the record in 2022, spending 99 weeks at the top of the country charts.

Taylor Swift's "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" is the longest song in history to reach No. 1.

The song, which is just over 10 minutes long, beat out longtime record holder Don McLean, whose eight-minute track "American Pie" held the top position for four weeks in 1972.

Swift's "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" is an extended version of her original song, which was released on "Red" in 2012.

Swift broke her own record for most video of the year wins at the 2024 VMAs.

She broke her own record after her "Fortnight" music video, which she also directed, won the top prize. In her acceptance speech, Swift talked about the energy on set while she was making the video and publicly acknowledged Chiefs player Travis Kelce as her boyfriend.

"Something that I'll always remember is that when, when I would finish a take, and I'd and I'd say cut, and we'd be done with that take, I would always just hear someone cheering from across the studio where we were shooting it, and that one person was my boyfriend, Travis," she said in the speech.

Swift is the only artist in history to claim all top 10 entries on the Billboard Hot 100 in a single week.

All 10 entries were from Swift's latest album "Midnights."

At the top of the list the week that Swift broke the record was "Anti-Hero," the album's lead single.

Swift broke her own record for the most-streamed album in a single day in Spotify history with the release of "The Tortured Poets Department."

Swift previously broke the record for the most-streamed album in a single day in Spotify history upon the release of "Midnights" and "1989 (Taylor's Version)."

"Red (Taylor's Version)" also previously broke Spotify's record for the most-streamed album in a day by a female artist on the day it was released, as Business Insider reported, with 122.9 million streams.

Swift also broke a Spotify record as the most-streamed artist in a single day on the platform.

"On April 19th, 2024, THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT became Spotify's most-streamed album in a single day, and Taylor Swift became the most-streamed artist in a single day in Spotify history," a post from Spotify on X wrote.

Swift had previously set this record with the release of "1989 (Taylor's Version)" and "Red (Taylor's Version)." Streams of Swift's catalog totaled over 122.9 million on the day "Red (Taylor's Version)" was released in 2021, about three-quarters of which came from the new album. 

Swift had also previously set the record for most streams in a single day by a female artist.

Taylor Swift's Eras Tour is the highest-grossing music tour ever.

In December 2024, The New York Times reported that Swift's groundbreaking Eras Tour earned a record $2 billion, making it the highest-earning tour of all time for any music artist.

She is also the highest-earning female musician in the world with a net worth of over $1 billion.

Forbes reported in October 2024 that Swift was worth $1.6 billion, making her the world's richest female musician.

The outlet reported that she became a billionaire in October 2023, in part due to The Eras Tour.