We visited McDonald's global headquarters in Oak Brook, Il., and the company gave us a peek inside its test kitchen.

Tucked within the walls of the Campus Office Building, the Culinary Center seems to be in a peculiar place. It's surrounded by endless cubicles and corporate-folk.

But inside the kitchen, there's serious work being done.

"It's not just chefs playing in the kitchen," said Chef Jessica Foust, a nutrition and culinary manager at the test kitchen.

Every menu item takes years of planning to develop and organize. Different countries, screening, volume — it's quite the effort, she said.

So, what's it look like in there? See for yourself. 

Disclosure: McDonald's provided travel and accommodations for the trip.

Tucked away at the McDonald's C.O.B. — or Campus Office Building — is the test kitchen, where the fast food chain comes up with all sorts of products.

The kitchens are up on the top floor on Big Mac Blvd. Yes, McDonald's names all the "streets" in its global headquarters office building.

Here's what Big Mac Blvd. looks like. Kitchens on the left, cubicles on the right.

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Each week we take a look at how much house you can expect to get at a specific price point. This week, we’re looking at homes priced around $150,000.

Lexington, KY

1605 Clayton Ave, Lexington, KY
For sale: $146,500

This charming home in Lexington features hardwood floors, a living room fireplace and a custom-built deck. The 1,360-square-foot house is full of character with 4 bedrooms and 1 bath.

Idaho Falls, ID

376 11th St, Idaho Falls, ID
For sale: $150,000

There’s nothing like a cathedral ceiling to make a spacious statement. This 3-bedroom, 2-bath home in Idaho Falls is framed by tall archways and beautiful hardwood floors.

Spokane, WA

7810 N Ash Ln, Spokane, WA
For sale: $145,000

This contemporary split level resides in Spokane’s desirable Five Mile Prairie. The home is family friendly with 3 bedrooms, a deck and large backyard — not to mention a master bedroom with en suite bath and walk-in closet.

Albuquerque, NM

3900 Goodrich Ave NE, Albuquerque, NM
For sale: $149,000

The high-demand Albuquerque neighborhood of Northeast Heights is home to this newly available ranch-style house. With a finished, unheated sunroom and vinyl, thermal windows, the home is a perfect escape from the desert heat.

Macon, GA

601 Chastain Pl, Macon, GA
For sale: $154,500

Perched between tall trees and a well-landscaped yard is this Macon home. The 2,007 square feet come with oodles of closet and storage space, as well as a jetted tub in the master bath.

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Investment-banker-turned-sex-therapist Mike Lousada made headlines recently for his comments on bankers with erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation—problems related to performance anxiety in a high-stress job.

Of course that's not the only high-stress job.

Vivia Chen at The Careerist learned from Lousada that several senior lawyers also number among his clients.

 "Professions like banking, law, accountancy are very mind-oriented," explained Lousada. "Sitting in front of a computer screen is not what their bodies are supposed to do."

And while his answers for male lawyers were pretty standard — erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation — his answer that female lawyers suffer from "a loss of femininity" was an interesting concept. 

While there are medicines that can help men work through their problems, Lousada has specific advice for women. 

"I’m not saying throw out the career. I support integrating both parts of you," he told Chen, adding that women need to be able to drop their masculine, high-power side at the bedroom door. "The essence of the feminine is to be in the moment, and to fully experience the state of being while the masculine is more goal-oriented."

SEE ALSO: Law Students Do The Harlem Shake In The Library Made Famous By A Girl Who Filmed Porn There

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Grammy-winning music producer, musician, and songwriter James William Guercio (occasionally credited as Jim Guercio) is selling his Quietus, Montana ranch for $25 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The ranch is listed through real estate agency Hall and Hall. It has more than 32,400 acres and includes two equipment-storage sheds, a barn, a cookhouse, and eight solar-powered wells.

The main log home is 2,265 square feet and was originally build in 1892. The ranch was the headquarters of the Kendrick Cattle Company until the 1990s, when Guercio became the sole owner.

It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and is even on the National Register of Historic places.

The ranch, called OW Ranch, is a one-hour drive north of Sheridan, Wyoming and sits on 32,400 acres of deeded property.

Source: Hall & Hall

Guercio originally bought 6,000 acres of the ranch in the early 1990s, and became the sole owner after the previous owner died.

Source: WSJ

The ranch was originally the headquarters of the Kendrick Cattle Company — one of the most famous cattle empires in the late 1800s.

Source: Hall & Hall

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Hollywood invaded New York for this season's Fashion Week showcasing designer lines for fall 2013.

Miley Cyrus and Willow Smith sat front row with their moms, Rachel Zoe's latest accessory is her son and Heidi Klum still knows how to work a runway.

See which celebrities attended which runway shows and of course, what they wore.

Christina Ricci went for a crop top for Marc Jacobs' Fall 2013 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

Not to be outdone, Miley Cyrus showed off her toned tummy next to designer Marc Jacobs while backstage after his show.

A day prior, Cyrus, sitting in between her mother and Cosmopolitan editor Joanna Coles, looked surprised by the Rachel Zoe fashion show.

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INFLATION may have ruined "How to marry a millionaire" as a good film title, but there is still something magical about $1m. 

How long would it take for an average person to earn that special sum?

To find out The Economist looked at how much the main breadwinner in an average household makes each year (before tax). On this measure, America creates the swiftest millionaires, and also the most (around 5m households, or 4% of the total). South of the border, Mexicans can expect to toil for three centuries to earn the same. For those struggling to imagine $1m, consider this: stacked up and denominated in $100 notes, it would reach over a metre high and weigh ten kilograms (22 lb).

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Kim and Charles Githler founded MoneyShow in the 1980s as an investment trade show and grew the business into a success. Now they're selling one of the fruits of that success, their gorgeous Sarasota home, for $14.9 million (h/t WSJ).

The 5 bedroom waterfront home sits on 1.2 acres and boasts a wine cellar, home theater, outdoor kitchen, bocce ball court, pool, and two docks.

Linda Dickinson and Nora Johnson of Michael Saunders & Co. have the listing.

374 S Shore Dr, Sarasota

374 S Shore Dr, Sarasota

374 S Shore Dr, Sarasota

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The good old days for the wealthy are now back.

A survey from Northern Trust found that three quarters of millionaires surveyed said they are better off, or as well off, as they were in 2007 — the peak for both wealth and sheer numbers of America's millionaires. Most cited improved investment returns as their reason for feeling better off.

(Read More: US Will Add Five Million Millionaires By 2017)

That confidence may soon start translating into hiring. Eighty percent of wealthy business owners say they plan to recruit more workers or keep their staff levels stable over the next 18 to 24 months. One in five plan to make capital investments in upgrading computers and other technology over the same period. 

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Menswear is a retail segment on the rise, but some cities have been quicker to embrace new style trends than others.

Custom suitmaker Arden Reed found the best-dressed cities in America when it comes to men's fashion, looking at regional Google search results for "men's style" and their own figures on apparel expenditures per person.

No big surprise — New York City topped the list, and Los Angeles ranked second.

Oddly, Irvine, Calif. —which ranked first on a recent list of the most stylish cities for women — came in dead last on Arden Reed's list.

Check out the infographic for the rest of the results.

The Best Dressed Cities in America – An infographic by the team at Arden Reed

SEE ALSO: This Is The Most Fashionable City In America

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It may seem like the life of a traveling auto writer is all unicorns, rainbows, and thumping V-8s (or V-10s or V-12s), but track-testing a new car can be tough.

You have to learn a new track as you learn a new car, typically in a very short period of time and in a limited number of laps. In high-horsepower, expensive cars, the risk factor rises even higher.

But sometimes, it can be borderline magical.

A couple of weeks ago at the Streets of Willow, the tight, small course set off to one side of the famous Willow Springs Raceway, the 2013 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT was my unicorn, and it spread tons of smoky rainbows from its rear end with the aid of its thumping V-8 and Tommy Kendall on its back.

That thumping V-8 has been updated for 2013 and the arrival of the new SLS AMG GT name: 12 horsepower stronger at 583 total, though torque remains flat at 479 pound-feet. The extra power shaves 0.2 seconds off the 0-60 mph time of the previous non-GT SLS AMG, down to 3.6 seconds.

Also new for 2013 is a re-tuned version of the AMG Adaptive Performance Suspension, enabling electronic adjustment of the ride and handling characteristics. The seven-speed dual-clutch transmission has also been sharpened, offering quicker shifts and more seamless application of power to the rear wheels.

It's Not Perfect

But underneath the extra power and new gadgets, the SLS AMG GT is still very much the car it was before: it likes to get loose. Turn in to a corner too quickly (or trail brake a touch too much), stomp on the gas a bit early at track-out, or otherwise ask for too much traction with a lateral load applied, and you'll find the rear end is the one that gives up first.

This oversteer-biased nature makes for a lively drive, to say the least, and helps the rather large and heavy SLS AMG GT feel like a smaller, nimbler car in slower or tighter strips of road or track. But in high-speed elements, the rear-happy handling can make the car feel nervous and twitchy--a feeling you don't want when attempting to corner at a buck fifty.

All of that said, we've always preferred a slight bit of oversteer to the other alternative: nose-first plowing understeer. It seems a much more difficult balance to achieve for most manufacturers, with the understeer dialed in to many cars--even high-performance sports cars--from the factory tending more toward terminal than toward the mild, easy-going sort that helps plant the rear and improve lap times.

Why does the SLS AMG GT tend so noticeably toward oversteer? In part, it's a conscious decision to make the car feel more lively at lower speeds. In part, it's probably due to the 47:53 front:rear weight distribution. And in part, it's probably due to the 583 horsepower trying to turn those expensive 20-inch rear tires into delicious whitish-blue smoke.

Still A Luxury Car

Of course, the SLS AMG GT is also a luxury car, and while we didn't get to test the new gullwing (or roadster) on public streets, our time spent sitting in the pits in the cabin was refreshing. Updates to the interior over the years since the SLS AMG's introduction have accumulated into a classy, modern look that avoids any kitschy, trendy feel.

A clear and well-laid out control set on the center console matches to simple and straightforward steering wheel (with the nice big paddle shifters mounted to its back). The optional quilted seats are a beautiful touch, and suit the SLS AMG GT well. Throughout the cabin, you'll find quality materials and a clear attention to each detail.

That's not to say there aren't some issues with the SLS AMG GT's cabin. If you're tall, or even tall-ish, you'll note the lack of headroom in the gullwing coupe--with a helmet on, few of those over six feet will fail to rub the ceiling. When it's time to get out, however, those six-footers will hope they do have a helmet on, as it's easy to forget those gullwing doors are hovering at just the right height to brain you on a careless exit. Shorter drivers will be left flailing for the handle if they forget to grab the door on their way down into the seat. It's an imperfect system, however sexy it is.

The Roadster skips most of these problems thanks to its much more conventional power-retracting soft top. It's also the more comely of the two to our eyes, wearing the long and low proportions of the car well, and exposing the gorgeous interior to more eyes with the top down. It also exposes the ears to the song of the superb 6.2-liter V-8 under the hood. Another bonus.

On track, the Roadster isn't markedly less agile or able than the coupe. Even driving them back-to-back, it's not a massive difference, despite the Roadster being a bit less than 100 pounds heavier and a tick less rigid. If you're after the SLS, and you want the Roadster, you'll get no complaints from us. Both are very fast. Scary fast.

At the end of a too-short day on track with the 2013 SLS AMG GT, would we buy one? Definitely.

Who needs a house, anyway?

For more details on the 2013 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT, be sure to read our short-take overview here at Motor Authority and the more in-depth take at The Car Connection.

Mercedes-Benz provided airfare, food, and lodging to enable us to bring you this first-drive report.

Watch the video review:

TEST DRIVE: The 2013 Range Rover Is More Car Than You Will Ever Need

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German photographer Paul Schneggenburger takes pictures of couples sleeping together throughout the night, and the results are both intimate and eery.

"What happens to lovers while they are sleeping?" Schneggenburger wonders in his artist statement. "Is it a sleeping just next to each other, each on his own, or is there a sharing of certain places or emotions? Is it a nocturnal lovers’ dance, maybe a kind of unaware performed tenderness, or does one turn the back on each other?"

Each picture from "The Sleep of the Beloved" series was shot as black and white, long-time exposures taken over the course of six hours. The room with the bed was in the artist's live-in studio — Schneggenburger would turn on the self-constructed "timer" of the camera and leave while the couples slept.

The project began as his thesis work at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna in 2010, but has since become a long-term project that anyone can take part in.

The photos are currently on display at the Azenberger Gallery in Vienna.

The couples are photographed in a bed set up in Schneggenburger's studio.

Source: Azenberger Gallery

The exposure takes place from midnight to 6 am with Schneggenburger's camera and self-constructed timer.

Source: Azenberger Gallery

The room is lit with candles so that the movements and positions of the couples are exposed on film.

Source: Azenberger Gallery

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Singapore is one of the richest countries in the world.

The city-state's 5 million people, crammed into an area barely larger than Chicago, generate the 6th-highest GDP in the world.

It has the highest percentage of millionaire households in the world, according to BCG, and is known for its sophisticated investing environment (though some allege it is also a tax haven).

It wasn't always so.

Click here to see old images of Singapore >

For years, Singapore was a sleepy colonial backwater of the British Empire. Even after it became independent, many believed it literally would cease to exist as a functioning community.

Lee Kuan Yew, regarded today as the founder of modern Singapore, had this to say about growing up there:

The population was less than a million and most of Singapore was covered by mangrove swamps, rubber plantations, and secondary forest because rubber had failed, and forests around Mandai/Bukit Timah took its place.

When he took control of the country in the '60s, not very much had changed.

He had to launch a campaign to help Singapore "survive and prosper."

Thanks to images taken by Flickr user Yin Biao Boey, annotated by us with contemporary New York Times reports, we take you back to this uncertain era in the country's history. 

This is Singapore today. It has six of the world's tallest buildings.

And the 30th-tallest thing in the world, the Singapore Flyer Ferris wheel.

They host their own auto races.

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Not all things are bigger in Texas.

The state is home to three of the cheapest places to live in the U.S., according to the sixth annual cost-of-living index by the Council for Community and Economic Research.

This year, Harlingen, Texas still reigns as the No. 1 most affordable city in the country, with prices for consumer goods that are nearly 19 percent lower than the national average. 

The composite index is based on six areas: housing, utilities, grocery items, transportation, health care, and miscellaneous goods and services. It's representative of most households in the top income quintile, CCER said.

We've rounded up the top 10 cheapest cities, as well as the average costs of basic necessities like housing, utilities, health care and gas. 

10. Ashland, Ohio

Cost of Living Index: 87.6

Based on 307 urban areas; national average is 100

***

Housing: Rent ($538), Mortgage ($777)

Utilities: Phone ($25), Electricity/Energy ($137)

Health: Optometrist ($88), Doctor ($88), Dentist ($93)

Gas: $3.50/gallon

Source: ACCRA Cost of Living Index

9. Pueblo, Colorado

Cost of Living Index: 87.1

Based on 307 urban areas; national average is 100

***

Housing: Rent ($708), Mortgage ($713)

Utilities: Phone ($27), Electricity/Energy ($128)

Health: Optometrist ($77), Doctor ($107), Dentist ($67)

Gas: $3.37/gallon

Source: ACCRA Cost of Living Index

8. Muskogee, Oklahoma

Cost of Living Index:  86.9

Based on 307 urban areas; national average is 100

***

Housing: Rent ($533), Mortgage ($741)

Utilities: Phone ($32), Electricity/Energy ($136)

Health: Optometrist ($75), Doctor ($90), Dentist ($113)

Gas: $3.33/gallon

Source: ACCRA Cost of Living Index

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I'm not a big theater guy.

Despite being a native New Yorker, the last Broadway show I saw might have been "Beatlemania," back in the 1970s. (Great show!)

But my kids are into the performance thing. They're always staging "plays" and shooting "movies," etc.

So for a few years I have been thinking that someday I should take them to a Broadway show.

Then I sat next to a money manager at a dinner the other night who was raving about the new "Annie."

I had seen the movie "Annie," so I figured I could manage to sit through the play. I knew it would be expensive--one good reason to avoid Broadway is the mind-boggling expense--but I figured "Annie" wouldn't be more expensive than any other show. And I also figured there was relatively low risk that my kids would hate it (an important consideration). My kids had seen the movie of "Annie," and they liked that. And they had only seen the movie about seven times, so I figured they would be at least modestly interested in the play.

(Seven times is only moderate exposure for kid-repeat-viewing in the iPad age. Mine have probably seen "The Two Towers" fifteen times.)

So I decided to take the family to see "Annie."

I cracked open my computer.

The first thing I discovered is that buying tickets for Broadway shows is easier than it used to be. Last time I went to one, we had to go wait in line at the theater. Or Ticketron.

Now you just go to TicketMaster online and search for the show. And you get a calendar with dates.

Once you pick a date, you actually get to pick out your seats!

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Iconic French chef Paul Bocuse got a rapturous welcome this weekend in the United States for the inauguration of a new restaurant bringing his culinary prowess to American palates.

Despite a bout of ill health last month, the 87-year-old chef, among the most accomplished in history, did not hesitate to cross the Atlantic for the launch of The Bocuse Restaurant.

The Culinary Institute of America last year closed its Escoffier Restaurant, named after "the king of chefs and the chef of kings" Auguste Escoffier.

After renovations, the menu was revamped to feature contemporary French fare after some of Bocuse's best recipes at CIA's first new restaurant in 40 years.

Escoffier had helped make haute cuisine available to family kitchens thanks to cookbooks and restaurants at the Ritz in Paris, London's Savoy and other distinguished institutions.

At the CIA's campus on the banks of the frozen Hudson River, hundreds of students attended Bocuse's lecture on Friday to hear him speak about his life and dole out both advice and encouragement.

"Cook the way you like, with local, quality products," Bocuse told the students. "This is very important."

Donning as always his chef's hat and apron, he was surrounded by several of the biggest names in French cuisine in New York — Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Daniel Boulud and Thomas Keller — and his son Jerome.

They paid tribute before a packed audience to the storied chef during a talk on the future of French cuisine.

"All cuisines are created equal — be they French, Italian, Chinese or American," said Bocuse, while also highlighting France's unique assets: "a huge aquarium, a huge orchard and a huge vineyard."

In honor of his birthday on Monday, the students had prepared a gigantic cake of five layers with a big "B" on top as a surprise.

Nearly a thousand people then launched into a happy birthday song, in both French and English.

Bocuse, a three-star Michelin chief since 1965 who the CIA named Chef of the Century in 2011, then autographed cookbooks and posters celebrating his restaurant's opening.

In the evening, he officially inaugurated the restaurant by breaking a replica of a very large soup tureen like that used for his famous black truffle soup VGE created in 1975 in honor of former president Valery Giscard d'Estaing.

"Paul Bocuse is simply stated, the most important chef in history," said CIA president Tim Ryan.

About a hundred guests — many of whom had earlier posed to snap up photographs with Bocuse — savored a dinner that mobilized the efforts of about 50 students in the kitchen and two dozen in the dining room.

The menu included a peach of foie gras, lobster with champagne and caviar and filet mignon of beef with marrow custard. And for dessert, the guests were treated to grapefruit sorbet with vodka, a plate of three chocolates by pastry chef Gaston Lenotre and mini-pastries.

"Mr Paul," who arrived on Thursday from Europe, could not stay until servers cracked open the 1926 Armagnac wine.

He had to travel to Florida with his son, who now heads up the Chefs de France restaurant at Walt Disney World's Epcot theme park.

But the French chef said he was delighted by his new restaurant and the honors he had received.

"It's wonderful," he told AFP. "These 3,000 students who will introduce Bocuse cuisine to guests each year" and work on a menu "adapted from Bocuse and other French dishes."

The aging chef now walks with difficulty, and revealed that he can't hear very well, but those are small matters to him.

Asked about his legacy, he preferred to speak about the future.

"For me, it's not a problem," Bocuse said. "Because after me, there are still many very good chefs, so we still have some great moments ahead. Yesterday, we were with a group of friends in France and today, we're with a group of friends around the world."

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A Japanese city devastated by the 2011 tsunami has received anonymous gifts of gold worth more than $250,000 in a phenomenon dubbed a "goodwill gold rush" ahead of the second anniversary of the disaster.

The president of the company which operates the port in the northeastern city of Ishinomaki last week received a parcel containing two slabs of gold each weighing one kilogram (2.2 pounds).

"Since it was labelled as 'miscellaneous goods,' I casually opened the box," thinking it must be books or the like as it was heavy, said Kunio Sunow, president of the Ishinomaki Fish Market Co. Ltd.

"I was stunned because what's in there was 24k gold in two plates. One was wrapped in brown paper and the other in a page taken from a magazine -- both were sitting in bubble sheets," he told AFP by telephone on Saturday.

The parcel had been sent anonymously from Nagano city northwest of Tokyo with no message.

"Just looking at 24k gold can encourage people as it has a presence. It's great to know we haven't been forgotten," Sunow said, adding he had not yet decided how to use the gift.

Japanese media said a non-profit group in Ishinomaki that has been supporting its revival had also received two kilograms of gold bullion and at least one more group got more than one kilogram.

The gifts have mystified Japanese people, prompting the mass-circulation Asahi newspaper to call the phenomenon a "goodwill gold rush" in Ishinomaki.

The city, some 350 kilometres (220 miles) northeast of Tokyo, was devastated by the 9.0 earthquake and massive tsunami it generated on March 11, 2011.

The disaster killed nearly 19,000 people, including more than 3,000 in Ishinomaki, and sparked the world's worst nuclear accident in a generation.

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For some destinations, a reputation precedes them. They are thought to be expensive, inaccessible, and out of reach for many travelers.

But don't judge them on their pasts. Far-flung places like Hawaii, New Zealand, Russia, and even China are becoming easier to get to, and some recent deals are too good to refuse.

So in the interest of challenging stereotypes, consider these 10 destinations that just might be more affordable than you think.

Note: Deals listed are meant to illustrate a trend and many will expire soon; however, similar offers are likely to follow so check back with the providers mentioned for the very latest.

Moscow, Russia

Hawaii

Over the past several years, faraway Hawaii has increasingly landed on SmarterTravel's affordable destinations lists (most recently, our Top Five Bargain Destinations for Winter 2012/2013). But thanks to an early 2013 sale from Hawaiian Airlines, the Aloha State just went from affordable to bargain-basement cheap, with fares from San Jose to Kahului starting at just $250 round-trip and from Oakland to Honolulu for as low as $335.

Other airlines have been making waves as well. For example, American has launched a sale matching some of Hawaiian's routes but also adding a few of its own, such as $479 from Las Vegas to Kona and $536 from New York to Lihue. Allegiant Air has been expanding into the Hawaii market, most recently with service from Phoenix to Honolulu beginning on February 8. Sample fares start at $343 round-trip for March departures.

Another option is to look for airfare-and-hotel packages. Pleasant Holidays, for example, lists a three-night Oahu deal from $479, which also includes a free mid-size car rental. As for hotels, Aston Hotels & Resorts has a slew of spring deals starting at $99 per night on Kauai, Oahu, and Maui; book by March 15 for travel through June. Air Canada is offering free nights on the islands when you book airfare. Deals like these have been the norm lately, so keep an eye out for new ones. The Hawaii Tourism Authority keeps a list of current promotions.

Peru

Land of adventure and now a burgeoning culinary destination, Peru has been catching the eye of many travelers lately. In fact, OneTravel.com just dubbed capital city Lima as one of its top five international travel destinations for 2013. Recent deals have made it more affordable to reach than ever.

LAN Airlines kicked off the New Year with a big sale featuring flights to Lima starting at $499 from Miami, $599 from New York, and $699 from Los Angeles or San Francisco. While that sale has ended, others will likely crop up. For instance, a flex search on Kayak yields fares from between $444 and $679 for New York departures in March. Also be sure to check with airlines like Taca and Copa, which both have extensive route networks for South and Central America.

Airfare-and-hotel packages make planning especially easy since you can book two components with one transaction. Go-Today is offering a four-night Lima escape from $899. Tack on Cusco and Machu Picchu and pay $1,599 for six nights total. Hotels offer affordability as well. At Terra Andina Hotel in Cusco, winner of TripAdvisor's Travelers' Choice 2013 Award, rates for 2013 start at $149 per night. And Sonesta's Posadas del Inca Puno, set on Lake Titicaca, has two-night packages with breakfast for two from $204; add $25 for a Peruvian dinner. Posadas del Inca Yucay in the Sacred Valley of the Incas offers a similar package; however, you pay only $160 for February stays.

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Earlier this month Maker's Mark bourbon announced that due to rising demand it intended to lower the amount of alcohol in its liquor.

The plan, leaked to the New York Post, was to drop from 45 percent alcohol by volume, or 90 proof to 42 percent alcohol by volume, or 84 proof. 

Understandably there was outrage amongst whiskey drinkers, who didn't like the idea that their favorite drink would be diluted, yet still cost the same price.

Maker's Mark listened, however, and a notice posted on its website today announces that they have changed their plans.

Here's the full announcement:

You spoke. We listened. And we’re sincerely sorry we let you down.

So effective immediately, we are reversing our decision to lower the ABV of Maker’s Mark, and resuming production at 45% alcohol by volume (90 proof). Just like we’ve made it since the very beginning.

The unanticipated dramatic growth rate of Maker’s Mark is a good problem to have, and we appreciate some of you telling us you’d even put up with occasional shortages. We promise we'll deal with them as best we can, as we work to expand capacity at the distillery.

Your trust, loyalty and passion are what’s most important. We realize we can’t lose sight of that. Thanks for your honesty and for reminding us what makes Maker’s Mark, and its fans, so special.

We’ll set about getting back to bottling the handcrafted bourbon that our father/grandfather, Bill Samuels, Sr. created. Same recipe. Same production process. Same product.

As always, we will continue to let you know first about developments at the distillery. In the meantime please keep telling us what’s on your mind and come down and visit us at the distillery. It means a lot to us.

Sincerely,

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Milton, 25, has been working as a part-time doorman in a Greenwich Village rental building for the past 3 ½ years.   

It is his first job as a doorman. Here’s what he had to tell us about resident mood swings, off-the-books services and what makes someone a nightmare tenant. 

How did you become a doorman?

A family friend introduced me to the super and the super liked me, so I got the job.

What kinds of qualities do you think are important to succeed as a doorman?

You have to be presentable, clean-shaven -- the average man could do the job, it’s not hard.

What is the most exciting or interesting part of your job?

(Grinning) The tenants’ mood swings.

What are some of the weirdest mood swings you’ve seen?

The Saturday night drunk ones where they slip and fall.

What do you do when that happens?

You try to make them feel comfortable and not embarrassed. 

Is that the most challenging part of your job?  If not, what is?

Just making sure you’re doing the right thing….that and no cell phones are allowed.  Staying off the cell phone is the hardest part of the job.

What makes someone a good tenant in the eyes of a doorman?

Greet us – that’s all we ask.  Sometimes the tenant will walk by and not even say hi or good morning.  That’s not polite – at least that’s not how I was brought up.  

What makes someone the worst possible tenant?

That -- not greeting.  There are some tenants here that still don’t greet.

Does a tenant ever ask for something that’s not in the job description? Where does a doorman draw the line?

We just speak with the boss – my super.

What are some of the things that tenants have asked for?

Sometimes they ask for us to clean their apartment windows and that’s not in our job descriptions.  If it’s ok with the super we charge them a separate rate that most of them agree to.

Do most doormen take money for extra services?

Sure – window cleaning, dog walking – nothing too crazy.

What kind of tips do you expect at Christmas?

Anything is ok with us but anything extra is a beautiful thing.  

What’s one of your strangest or most striking memories as a doorman?

I haven’t really handled strange situations yet. Maybe a leak that happens and it’s 12:00 at night and you’re like, who's going to help me at 12:00 at night?

So what would you do?

I get in contact with the super, call a 24-hour plumbing company – that’s the strangest thing that’s happened here. I guess that’s a good thing.  

So, as one relatively new to the profession, what advice would you give to someone who wanted to become a doorman?

You’re not going to grow standing a lot. We do a lot of standing here.  

Does that get tiring?

It does. It wears on your knees but still, you gotta do it.

Tips from a Doorman features interviews with assorted New York City doormen, in an effort to get the inside scoop on the intriguing life of a Big Apple doorman. Because in New York apartment buildings, doormen don’t just open the doors – they pick up your packages, keep track of your friends and family, and they sometimes keep intimate secrets.

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This post originally appeared at BrickUnderground.

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Maker's Mark sparked a big bourbon controversy when it decided to lower the amount of alcohol in liquor.

Loyal customers spoke out and Maker's Mark ended up reversing the decision quickly.

Geoffrey Kleinman at Drink Spirits spoke with Maker's Mark COO Rob Samuels and his father, chairman Bill Samuels, Jr., about what happened.

The pair talked about the moment when they realized they had totally screwed up.

"It was quickly," Rob explained to Drink Spirits. "After a day or two."

"Yeah, we came into the office Monday thinking that all our friends would accept our rationale for messing around with our whiskey and found that we were like a little bit wrong," said Bill.

"It takes a little while to get your head wrapped around that because our feelings were hurt and our ego was hurt. Then we actually started listening, and the folks were all saying essentially the same thing, and in reflection it made a lot of sense."

Ego is a major factor when it comes to reversing corporate decisions. Sometimes, a company will stick with a decision simply because execs think they know better than their customers and it ends up backfiring spectacularly.

This wasn't the case at Maker's and the folks at the top aren't hesitating to admit that the plan was boneheaded.

“We got the picture quickly and we are not quite as stupid as we were at this time last week,” Bill told Forbes.

It wasn't easy to get over the crushing blow, but they recovered, and it looks like this is going to be a win for Maker's Mark.

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