Coming soon: Malt Whisky Yearbook 2009, an indispensable guide to pretty much every whisky in the world. The breadth and depth is astonishing—there are more than 200 of the "tasting notes!" so excitedly blurbed on the cover. Our favorite section, though, is on single malts from Japan, which is timely, given that Yoichi's 20-year-old won Whisky Magazine's award for best single malt earlier this year. (Note to self: Try Hakushu sometime.) There's also some acknowledgment of recent economic hardship: A section on "Closed distilleries" begins with a black-and-white photo of one from the thirties. Looks like Americans aren't the only ones who could use a drink.
About $22, maltwhiskyyearbook.com

Bulletproof clothing is, apparently, one of the lesser-known trends for fall. Sruli Recht's limited-edition pocket square is made of "military-grade lemon Kevlar," though the designer's site doesn't inspire much confidence in its protective abilities: "[We] take NO responsibility for schmucks and wooden-heads who feel compelled to test the endurance or resistance of the textile in any way." Better bet? Stick to Miguel Caballero's collection of armored apparel. That, at least, has been road-tested.
Price TBD, available from liborius.is

[Like Cool]

Yesterday's spring preview at Coach's West Village boutique yielded few surprises on the men's side (and, sadly, no UFC champs), but a new addition to the brand's stable certainly caught our eye: the Jackson boat shoe. Coach's version is a traditional, white-soled topsider rendered in the label's signature supple leathers (and an ultrasoft suede), with contrast leather detailing at the heel. The style is a faithful interpretation of the Sperry original, but with a modern, narrower silhouette, and a great Nantucket red colorway. The only downside? They won't be in stores until March. Look for them then for about $198.

Although known for its graphic tees (and early-nineties color palette), Pegleg NYC has been growing toward a full collection for the last two seasons. This fall the line's designers have expanded into outerwear, even though they're obviously still rooted in the Clinton years (paying tribute to two of that era's iconic brands, Helly Hansen and Polo Sport). Pictured above is their raincoat, which is compelling on at least a couple of levels: It's stylish, sure, and also takes us back to the halcyon days of (you guessed it) the early nineties—a time when we knew more about swap meets than, say, credit-default swaps.
$250, available at peglegnyc.com

Looks like the "recession special" has made it to the black market. We recently had the pleasure of being introduced—in a social sense, honest—to a well-groomed young gent who also happened to work as a delivery guy for one of New York's infamous marijuana services. When asked about his particular industry's response to the meltdown, he told us about "The Big Boom," a deal whereby customers take a hit in quality in exchange for half a gram more green. Seems Wall Streeters—one of the company's largest client bases—aren't ordering like they used to (i.e., buying ounces at a time and then treating dealer and buddies both to rounds at the local bar). "Now, it's one or two [eighths] and the ballgame on TV," he sighed. "They're stunned." Well, sure—even if some of that is probably the weed.

We're inclined to agree with the experts at Wired who call Lenovo's new netbook the best they've seen all year. The IdeaPad S10 is a sleek little machine equipped with a 10.2-inch display, 160 gigabytes of hard drive space, and Windows XP. And while those features might be fairly standard, its price isn't: It sells for just $469, a fraction of the cost of comparable computers from other brands. In other words, this one's a white sale worth attending.
Available at lenovo.com

While Apple's humble market entry is mostly targeted at casual phone users, it also includes a number of business-friendly features—namely, push e-mail (a fancy way of saying you get your messages without delay). It was only a matter of time, then, before BlackBerry went on the offensive. In that vein comes the Storm, the brand's first touch-screen phone, which includes iPhone-beating functions like copy and paste, a video camera, and the brand's trademark flawless e-mail support. There are some major drawbacks, however: no Wi-Fi (blame the carrier, Verizon) and no trackball. (Selecting any icon requires two taps—one to highlight and another to confirm.) So while BlackBerry's first iPhone doesn't quite beat Apple at its own game, it might be enough to keep addicts from switching over.
Price TBD, available later this fall on Verizon, blackberry.com

As it turns out, Coach creative director Reed Krakoff is a man of diverse interests: travel and luxury, sure, but as his new book proves, extreme sports, too. Fighter is a collection of elegantly composed black-and-white pics of the stars of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, including Chuck Liddell, Georges St.-Pierre, and Forrest Griffin, the sport's current light-heavyweight title-holder (pictured). So what attracted Krakoff to the UFC? As he explains in the intro, "There's a timelessness and purity to their lives." He already dabbles in the martial arts, but whether that's enough to inspire him to actually start sparring remains to be seen.
$45, available Oct. 16 at amazon.com

Battening the hatches in a crisis like this one is really only the sensible thing to do, but luxury won't wither in the interim, as Dries Van Noten's shawl-collared cardigan attests. It takes confidence (both in yourself and the robustness of the economy) to brave the manic-print sweater, which marries a Southwestern influence with the designer's ultra-European sensibility. Think of it as a vacation to Taos the long way, via Antwerp—sans airfare and the crippling euro.
$785, available at South Willard, 8038 W. 3rd St., L.A., (323) 653-6153, southwillard.com

The first (and still best) Bond is the new face of Louis Vuitton, photographed for the company's latest campaign on a beach near his home in the Bahamas. Okay, so it's not a new film, but it's still intriguing—Connery's wearing a watch that reads "10:07." (You do the math, Lazenby.) As the Telegraph notes, this isn't the actor's first modeling gig: Back in '52, he worked as a life model at the Edinburgh College of Art. The upshot? We can think of far worse ways to bookend a career.

Elizabeth Peyton's sentimental portraits of those who inspire her—everyone from Kurt Cobain to Marc Jacobs—have made her into a media darling. That status isn't going to change anytime soon, especially not with the first major retrospective of her work opening today at Manhattan's New Museum (a fitting location for the downtown habitué). "There's something very daring in all of it," says senior curator Laura Hoptman. "When high and low mix together, it's volatile." Although the paintings of famous types will no doubt prove to be the draw, some of the finest works in the exhibition are of Peyton's friends, lovers, and New York itself (pictured), all of them rendered with typical intimacy. As Hoptman says, "The work is meant to come up and give you a big kiss on the mouth." Given everything else that's going on right now, we'll consider that good news.
Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton, through Jan. 11 at the New Museum, 235 Bowery, NYC, (212) 219-1222, newmuseum.org

Five things worth knowing today

- Britain's Teutons make merry at the London Bierfest, the city's salute to Oktoberfest.
- Matthew Marks hosts a fund-raiser at his Gallery Annex, selling limited-edition portfolios with prints by the likes of Richard Serra, Brice Marden, and Jasper Johns to benefit Obama's campaign. Even gawking will cost you at this one—it's $50 at the door.
- Potty-mouthed comedian—and fellow Obama supporter—Sarah Silverman returns to Comedy Central with The Sarah Silverman Project.
- Today in 2001, President Bush established the Department of Homeland Security to address terrorism and natural disasters in the United States.
- And today in 1970, actor, screenwriter, and reliable box-office draw Matt Damon was born. He's become surprisingly indispensable in American movies; just think what Bourne would be like without him: