When the Malt Whisky Yearbook '09 arrived the other day, we paid particular notice to the section on Japanese single malts. Not ones to trust another man's opinion, we decided to get some in to sample for ourselves. We skipped over Suntory (too cliché) and Yoichi (too sold out) for Yamazaki, an 85-year-old brand whose whisky is aged in Japanese oak casks. (And whose name appealingly sounds like "kamikaze.") This supposedly produces an "Oriental flavor reminiscent of sandalwood," according to the guide. Our take? Maybe. The 12-year-old whisky is moderately smoky, with an appealingly strong nose (which matches the strong finish). Good stuff—perhaps not the best whisky we've come across, but certainly not the worst.
$46, parkavenueliquors.com

Recommended viewing: ESPN's sit-down with Dallas Star and former Vogue intern Sean Avery. The hockey player's interest in fashion is well-documented, but the video's worth its full eight minutes for Avery's grandiose (yet plainspoken) pronouncements. He weighs in on the NHL's marketing platform (terrible, he could do better), the possibility of his own line (nah, he'll just style, thanks), and the Freudian heart of the matter: "It's probably my desire for dress-up that brings me back to the whole women's clothing thing." After watching the clip's footage of Avery pummeling guys twice his size—interspersed with shots of him at Marc Jacobs' S/S 2009 show—we're inclined to agree with whatever the guy says.

[via The Cut]

Supreme has long had a thing for art-world superstars—Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, and Marilyn Minter have all designed skateboard decks for the company. But its latest collaborator? Downtown cult-favorite Christopher Wool. Best known for his eighties-era stenciled-text paintings, Wool brings his raw, old-school sensibility to three limited-edition decks emblazoned with scrawled characters, smeared spray-paint, and gestural splatters. And at (a relatively affordable) $78 each, they're priced to be used (not displayed). "For us, it's about introducing kids to cool artists they may not know and giving them that knowledge," says Supreme founder James Jebbia. Mission accomplished.
Supreme, 274 Lafayette St., NYC, (212) 966-7799; Supreme Los Angeles, 439 North Halifax Ave., L.A., (323) 655-6205; supremenewyork.com

Infinity's new, top-of-the-line Prelude Forty speakers are a handsome way to mark the company's anniversary (you guessed it—its 40th). The elegant housing comes in high-gloss black, cherry-, or rosewood (pictured) and contains four midrange transducers and two eight-inch side-firing woofers capable of delivering incredibly clear sonic resolution. The only downside is, of course, the price: They're six grand a piece, which makes owning even just one sound like a luxury.
For more information, visit harmonkardon.nl

Some things have a way of coming full circle (and not just because they're, you know, round). Case in point: the new Instrument Series watches from Ernst Benz. They sport faces and hands inspired by cockpit gauges the brand produced in the sixties and seventies—and those, in turn, were inspired by (you guessed it) mid-century watch design. In this incarnation, the 47-mm timepieces come in one of two dials: black matte (left) or carbon-fiber mesh, with hands in either white or orange. (To pilots, the latter means "emergency.") The result has a, well, timeless quality—good thing, because the limited-edition pieces start at a recession-unfriendly $5,100.
ernstbenz.com

Trading floor aside, this is a good time for Japan: The country's cult menswear lines have been taking the U.S. by storm, first at Opening Ceremony's USA vs. Japan showcase, and now at Blackbird, which has just received a shipment of Diet Butcher Slim Skin's rocker-styled collection. (We assume something's been lost in the translation, given that the brand's Web site is, uh, metalburger.com.) Fans of Number (N)ine and the goth-ier, waif-friendly looks from Hedi-era Dior Homme will find plenty of the items covetable. We like this loose-cut mohair and wool raglan sweater—good news for American guys who, unlike their Japanese counterparts, might hover closer to welter- than featherweight.
$495, available at blackbirdballard.com

...Olga Kurylenko (whose appeal we've remarked upon before) starred in L'Annulaire, a 2005 French film about a young woman who goes to work for an increasingly controlling scientist. Why you care: The hardworking lads at The Sun turned up the film's red-band trailer, and—surprise, surprise—it's NSFW. For those stuck at W, the family-friendlyish version is below:

Chicago's traditionalists got a new home away from home this week: Paul Stuart's three-story flagship, The Townhouse, which is the brand's second U.S. store (located, natch, in the country's second city). Styling, as you'd expect, is Stuart-classic—more elder-statesman's quarters than Magnificent Mile. But prodigal sons needn't feel left out: The Townhouse will carry the full Phineas Cole diffusion line.
107 E. Oak St., Chicago, (312) 640-2650, paulstuart.com

It's no secret that we're fans of Nordic design, and, as last week's festival in Helsinki proved, that's for good reason. Inspiring near-total levels of participation citywide, the exhibitions offered a bounty of high-caliber projects, not to mention access to renowned Finnish studios and manufacturers like Woodnotes and Artek. The designs themselves were a mix of the traditional and the more-or-less experimental, often featuring both those instincts in tandem. (Take Fireplace by Ilkka Suppanen, pictured here, a sculptural piece which is fueled by ethanol and composed of tempered glass.) The upshot? No reinventing the wheel here, but plenty that was working toward perfecting it.

Click here for a few of our favorites >

Tomorrow night's season premiere of The Graham Norton Show sees the Irishman in typically top form, trading wits with Eddie Izzard and Harry Shearer. The pressing issues covered? Izzard's role in Valkyrie, The Simpsons' longevity, and, of course, whether baboons are evil. It's worth setting the DVR just to see Norton's response to that last, but if you can't wait, see the video below:

Saturday, Oct. 11, 10 p.m., BBC America

Hey, it's refreshing to see that someone on Wall Street still has a sense of humor.

[Gothamist via Gawker]

- The not-quite-timely Millionaire Fair comes to Shanghai today, offering Midas-level luxury goods to whoever can still afford them.
- Copenhagen's Day of Culture keeps all of the city's various cultural attractions open until midnight.
- Butchers-about-town Tom Mylan and Joshua Applestone are among the geniuses behind the first annual Big Brooklyn Pig Roast, cooking up a 200-pound heritage hog to be served alongside beers from Brooklyn's Sixpoint Brewery.
- Today in 1845, the Naval School (later renamed the U.S. Naval Academy) was founded in Annapolis.
- And this day in 1955 marked the arrival of the great David Lee Roth, lead singer of Van Halen and pioneer in the field of self-mockery as self-promotion: