While vodka and sometimes gin happily make their home in the freezer during the summer months you wouldn't generally find a bottle of whisky in there. Famous Grouse seeks to change that with the first Scotch whisky created to be served chilled straight from the freezer. The Snow Grouse brand will be sold exclusively to international travel retailers for the first six months and distributed through Maxxium Global Travel Retail. It is matured in oak casks before being gently chill filtered. It's described as having a light vanilla taste and a "sweet, gloopy mouth-feel."

The Snow Grouse has a recommended duty free retail price of €19.99.

3G iPhone, check. Mercedes GLK, check. How to merge the two? Enter a new exclusive "pouch" (more like a Birkin for your cell phone), crafted from white napa leather and glittering in Swarovski crystals to stash your phone. Currently even trickier to come by than an iPhone last Friday, the pouch has been released in a group of just 40 limited editions to be raffled off during this week's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin. But they'll come to market in October 2008, along with the GLK, the "compact SUV" (oxymoron, anyone?) that made its stylish debut driving Sex and the City star Kim Cattrall to her first Berlin fashion show.

Swiss designer Albert "I cannot work with cheap fabric" Kriemler has gradually built his family-owned brand, Akris, into a luxury power seller. Now serious competition for longstanding luxury brands Armani and Chanel, Akris often outsells both in that elusive upper echelon of fashion. But you won't see the brand on many a young starlet. Akris is not for the trendy, despite a criticized attempt to change things up for the Spring 08 collection. Favored by women looking to be taken seriously -- Condoleeza Rice is a fan, as is Diane Sawyer -- Akris focuses on quality and timelessness, with the seasonless, highly packable fabric to prove it. Yet highly packable translates to highly priced: a cashmere/silk jersey dress is in the $3-4000 range. Check out selections from Fall at Bergdorf's and also at Neiman's. Then browse the gallery to see some evening pieces, and all those gorgeously cut pants. To see some new shapes and a few perfectly draped dresses, check out the Akris resort collection on Style.com, which isn't out quite yet.

Today's home has East Coast style with the luxury of West Coast weather. This compound is located in a colony of beach homes on Sand Point Road in the coastal community of Carpinteria, California. The five-bedroom estate includes both a main house and a guest house. The design takes the traditional Cape Cod style and lightens and brightens it with an exterior of bleached cedar shingles and an interior of large windows and white beams. The home is practically perfect (maybe the media room is a bit off but other than that, wow). Because it is Carpinteria though you'll pay through the nose for a home like this. It's listed at $32.5 million and doesn't even seem to have a pool.

For more prime properties and lush locations, see Luxury Homes and Mansions.

As their ads show, Shelter Point Distillery in Vancouver Island, British Columbia believes there is a little Scotch in all of us. They want to put a little whiskey in the hands of Canadians through their planned $2-million single malt whiskey distillery in Comox. The Vancouver Sun reports that ground has been broken on the project. The distillery will include an 8,000-square-foot building and distilling equipment will come direct from Scotland. Barley for the distillery will be planted next spring.

While customers will have to wait a decade or so for the whiskey to age, the distillery plans to offers some fruit and cream liqueurs in the meantime. Customers can also opt to buy a cask which will cost around $5,000. A bottle will likely cost about $100.

Eco travelers there is a new place to check out in Borneo. The Gayana Eco Resort is located on Gaya Island 10 minutes off the Borneo coast and the city of Kota Kinabalu. Gaya Island is one of the five coral reef islands that make up the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. The location is also home to a marine ecology research center which works with coral reef rehabilitation.

The resort has 44 luxury rooms all located over water and feature balconies, large bathroom with Harnn luxury amenities, in villa private bar, king or twin beds with luxury linens, feather pillows and duvet, LCD televisions and DVD players. Some villas also have steps directly from their balconies into the lagoon for that afternoon swim. The resort offers gudied kayak trips and nature tours and there is also a spa at the resort which includes double treatment suites with Jacuzzis. The resort's cafe Macac" sits beside the resort's infinity pool and offers cocktails, cool drinks and lunch specialties to the pool including pizzas from a wood fired pizza oven. The resort also includes the Alu Alu restaurant, an overwater restaurant which serves seafood and has over 15 display tanks of live seafood from spectacularly bright coral trout to giant lobsters, prawns and snapper. Rates start around $200 a night.

You know gas is expensive when it can substitute for a monetary prize in the Florida State Lottery. I'm not sure when exactly this started or how long it will last but the current winner will receive free gas for life...with a catch. Not knowing how high gas prices will continue to climb and not wanting to over commit themselves, the Florida State Lottery has decided to offer twenty-six prepaid gas cards of $100 each to the winner each year for the rest of their life. (I bet they are hoping that the winner is a grandparent and not an eighteen-year-old). Although I'm sure it is a great deal I have to say I would be more excited about winning a quarter of a million dollars...you?

This is certainly turning out to be a banner season for Kate Moss; it seems every time we turn around she pops up in another fall ad campaign. And we might add that despite all Kate's been through, she's looking more gorgeous than ever. We already told you about her Just Cavalli and David Yurman campaigns; the latest is for French fashion house Longchamp, for whom she has modeled several seasons running. The cinematic black-and-white ads were shot by photo duo Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott at the famed Café de Flore in Paris. Kate's co-star is French actor Gaspard Ulliel, who appeared in the last Hannibal Lecter film. Kate's been busy elsewhere as well. She recently posed topless in W magazine and is launching a new fragrance.

I am a certifiable tote girl -- need one for travel, one for daily errands, one for lugging my laptop to coffee shops, and one to fill at the farmer's market. So its no surprise I have gravitated towards the totes of all the bags available from Coach. The Bleecker line has a functional style without unnecessary accents, plenty of colors and materials to choose from, and a hefty size to handle any of my tote needs. Personally I'm a big fan of the classic brown with the all-important C-logo but then again I do have a serious crush on chocolate brown. From $298 to $598 depending on the bag it is sure to handle whatever you throw in it. (About 19" x 10" x 6" with varying strap lengths)

There are all-inclusive resorts, private villas and adult-only getaways but Cavalli Island is now offering resort style vacations with two exclusive options: only your private party will have access to the resort at one time or you share it with only one other party at one time, no more than six people total at the resort simultaneously. Located north of New Zealands Bay of Islands, Cavalli Island Resort & Spa is a retreat into paradise with inclusive personal chef services, spa treatments, water sports and other activities. Starting at $5000 per couple per night this is one intimate trip where you won't feel encroached upon.

[via Travmedia]

Dresses from the Oscars may have been auctioned for charity but accusations that a designer suit worn by Angelina Jolie at a previous awards was made by an illegally-employed tailor throws a spot-light on murky realities behind the glitz and glamour.

As the clouds of an economic downturn loomed, the world's top designer brands breathed a sigh of relief when agreement was reached over the writers' strike in time for the Oscars. Their red carpet is the planet's most famous fashion parade, the lion of all catwalks. This year Penelope Cruz wore Chanel Haute Couture, designed by Karl Lagerfeld, Cameron Diaz wore Dior, designed by John Galliano, while Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard wore Jean Paul Gaultier. Chopard and Bulgari provided their jewels.

Nothing has epitomized the adoring relationship between celebrities and high fashion like that between Hollywood and the Italian fashion house Dolce&Gabbana, with its label D&G. Over the years, movie stars Nicole Kidman and Angelina Jolie, as well as Julianne Moore, Tom Cruise, Will Smith and Colin Farrell have worn outfits designed by Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. "Hollywood is a constant for us because without it we would lack a language that is instant and universal," the design duo from Milan explain. They often think of a movie and character when designing. For decades D&G has influenced fashion trends amongst Hollywood's elite.

But if you watched the Oscars this year you would likely have missed the Italian fashion brand. No actresses wore Dolce&Gabbana at the awards, according to photos on the definitive Oscars.com. It was left to Jason Bateman, Sean Combs, Casey Affleck, Josh Brolin, and Josh Lucas to sport tuxedos from the brand, and none made the People Magazine's list of 'Best Dressed Celebrities.' Dolce&Gabbana's website on the stars they style could only present the non-nominated and not-so-famous Jonnie Lee Miller for their Oscars category - and that was from a party, not the awards.

It appears the Italian fashion label has lost some of its appeal with female superstars. Might what D&G stands for as a brand be part of the reason? In recent years nearly all A-listers have adopted a social cause, from climate change to war-torn Darfur. Ethical is no longer just cool but necessary. This has implications for the leading fashion houses they promote, like D&G. One indication of what's to come was the auctioning of dresses worn by some of leading ladies. The dress worn by model Heidi Klum was auctioned for Red Heart Earth, a health promotion charity. However, recent accusations about the labor conditions involved in the manufacturer of the clothes themselves, and even connections to organized crime, poses an ethical challenge to fashion that charity wont hide.

With the economy in its current state of disrepair, you'd think the premium liquor sector would be getting a little worried wondering whether people will continue to shell out for the good stuff. No doubt it's a big topic of discussion at Tales of the Cocktail, the big industry fest currently taking place in New Orleans. We asked one attendee, Rob Bryans of top-shelf 10 Cane Rum, for his thoughts on the subject. Premium liquor remains a "must-have" for consumers, he insists, despite the added strain on purchasing power.

Bryans, the brand's VP, says that 10 Cane for one insulated itself from market forces to some extent by striving for an excellence that consumers would consider indispensable. The "luxury rum" is made from the first pressing of virgin Trinidadian sugar cane in place of the molasses, a sugar byproduct, used by most others, and the process is overseen by Jean Pinneau, the Master Distiller of Hennessy in France. "Every step of the production process is painstakingly geared towards quality," Bryans tells Luxist. "This is an artisanal approach to rum making."

Instead of worrying about the economy 10 Cane is focusing on new ways of marketing its brand, such as the deluxe Mojito Kit they've come out with for summer, featuring a mixer from our personal favorite, Stirrings. Sounds like good business practice to us; there's nothing like a great drink for a temporary respite from economic pressures.

The last time I checked out a home in Honolulu, Hawaii the top home was listed at $10.8 million. Since back in April, that house has been reduced to $9.25 million and there is a new home in the top spot. Today's home is located in the Diamond Head area and has incredible water views. The two-story residence has three master suites with ocean views and private balconies, maids room and a three-car garage. It also has a particularly alluring feature, an infinity edge pool that faces the ocean. This home is listed at $10.75 million.

For more prime properties and lush locations, see Luxury Homes and Mansions.

He may be known for an empire built on cookware from Kitchen Aid, Circulon, Anolon, and Farberware but Stanley Cheng's newest venture continues his success with consumables -- namely wine. Stephanie Wines, named after Cheng's only daughter, are made from five Bordeaux varietals at his estate in Napa called Hestan Vineyards. The CEO of Meyer Corporation's debut release includes 2005 Stephanie Red Bordeaux Blend (940 cases, $65), 2005 Stephanie Cabernet Sauvignon (930 cases, $50), and 2005 Stephanie Merlot (475 cases, $40). The consulting winemaker is Jeff Gaffner who has also worked for Saxon Brown, Black Kite, and Xtant. These are just newly released and only to mailing list customers and select markets nationally so if you get your hands on some let us know what you think!

[via Wine & Spirits Daily]

The Backes & Strauss Regent 1609 AD limited edition watch packs a little history into a gorgeous package. The watch is named for the year when English astronomer Thomas Harriett made the first drawings of the moon . To celebrate the event the watch features a moon-phase indicator decorated with a 17-star constellation delineated in diamonds. The waches are produced in collaboration with Geneva's Franck Muller Watchland, which manufactures the movements and completes assembly. The watch also features a diamond set in the crown as well as on the bezel and lugs.

The Regent 1609 AD is currently on display in the Harrods Fine Jewellery and Watch Room opposite the de Beers boutique, until it is officially launched in October 2008. This is the first limited edition watch from Backes & Strauss and it is limited to 219 pieces (in two sizes) and available in different diamond combinations (from £17,000).