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Maxwell drinks the mescal, eschews the worm in season opener of 'Booze Traveler' What book are you currently reading? "I read cultural books from around the world and unfortunately I can't read in different languages although I speak a few words in different languages. I pick up books in different places – Cuba, Russia, Madagascar – to learn about the culture. So I'll go through those ..." What did you have for dinner last night? "I was with some ... very good friends of mine. His wife's a wonderful cook, so she made this really nice, beautiful pork meal with mushrooms and onions and gravy over mashed potatoes ... and we drank some nice wine." What is your next project? "I don't have any immediate projects right now, but I filmed two 'Booze Traveler: Best Bars' specials for Travel Channel recently that aired in October and I hope that turns into a series. It's a really fun and different look into the best bars and drinks in the U.S. I'm also hoping I get to do a fourth season of 'Booze Traveler.' " When was your last vacation, where and why? "I hate to put it this way because there is a lot of hard work involved and a lot of traveling, but 'Booze Traveler' is a vacation for me. ... But if you're talking about a vacation away from the show to go away, I don't remember when the last one was, sadly, but I hope to take one soon." BY GEORGE DICKIE No one has to remind Jack Maxwell that he's a lucky man. After all, as host of Travel Channel's "Booze Traveler," which returns for its third season Monday, Dec. 12, he gets to travel the world, meet different people, experience new cultures, and of course, sample the local adult beverages. And get paid for it. Who wouldn't like that job? "We never forgot that it's all a celebration of all the cultures of the world, and yes, we do it through the lens of a cocktail glass or whatever they happen to be drinking," Maxwell says. "But it's never been about anything more than the people and the culture and really a celebration of that as we get to learn about who they are and what they drink and why they do. ... I will be eternally grateful to Travel Channel for that, and for the people in my life who not only allow me to do it but allow me in their lives and share their food, their friends, their families and of course their drinks." This season, which Maxwell says is his favorite, takes the native Bostonian to a wide range of destinations, among them Tanzania, Cuba, Madagascar, Ireland, Israel, Siberia, Cambodia and Australia. In Monday's season opener, Maxwell lands in Mexico to try the traditional drinks raicilla, an agave-based liquor; pulque, a strong drink that Maxwell compares to moonshine; and one famous (or infamous to some) in this country, mescal – which in Mexico, is served without the worm. "I only saw worms in the touristy version of the perhaps lesser quality," Maxwell says. "When you think about it, it's like when we were kids. When I was a kid, in the cereal that nobody wanted to eat there was a toy at the bottom of the box so that the kids would want to buy that cereal and hound their parents. The good cereals sometimes didn't have them. Well, same with this. "You don't have to have the worm if you have a nice product," he continues. "The worm is just a gimmick for people who want to drink on the cheap and then want to talk about the worm. It's a novelty more than anything." Jack Maxwell Page 8 December 12 - 18, 2016 star Joe Schilling takes on Victorio Lermano and Kevin Ross takes on Alessio Ar- duini. (N) SATURDAY 8:00 p.m. SBT2 UFC Fight Night: VanZant vs. Wa- terson Paige VanZant vs. Michelle Waterson; Sage Northcutt vs. Mickey Gall. From Sacramento, Calif. (N) rugBy FRIDAY 3:00 p.m. NBCSN Rugby Sevens World Series: Cape Town. (N Same-day Tape) skating SUNDAY 4:00 p.m. WNDU 0 Fig- ure Skating ISU Grand Prix Final. From Marseille, France. 6:00 p.m. NBCSN Speed Skating ISU World Cup. (N Same-day Tape) soccer TUESDAY 2:40 p.m. NBCSN English Premier League Soccer Everton FC vs Arsenal FC. From Goodison Park in Liverpool, Merseyside, En- gland. (N) WEDNESDAY 2:55 p.m. NBCSN English Premier League Soccer Crystal Palace FC vs Man- chester United FC. From Selhurst Park in London. (N) SATURDAY 9:55 a.m. NBCSN English Premier League Soccer Teams TBA. (N) 10:00 a.m. CNBC English Premier League Soccer Stoke City FC vs Leices- ter City FC. From Bet365 Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England, United Kingdom. (N) 12:30 p.m. WNDU 0 En- glish Premier League Soccer West Bromwich Albion FC vs Manchester United FC. From The Haw- thorns in Sandwell, West Midlands, England. (N)

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