Ferrari’s 612 Scalietti Supercoupe

A wobbly legged coffee table is no match for GOAT: A Tribute to Muhammad Ali, a 792-page homage to the champ that weighs in at a hefty 75 pounds. Taschen’s (www.taschen.com) recent release of the book coincides with the 40th anniversary of Ali’s initial defeat of Sonny Liston, a victory that earned him his first world […]

Even after a $125 million overhaul a few years ago, the Shore Club (305.695.3100, http://www.shoreclub.com), an Art Deco hotel on Miami’s South Beach, failed to create the same buzz as its Collins Avenue neighbors. Then Ian Schrager, the New York hotelier who was the silent partner behind Studio 54, became a part owner and introduced […]

When Antonio Citterio agreed to create a line of bath furnishings for the 10th anniversary of Hansgrohe’s cutting-edge Axor brand, he had a plan. “I wanted to give them something more than just a tap and a shower,” he recalls. “I am an architect, and for me design means finding solutions for interiors.” What began […]

In the late 1990s, Lucien and Karen Remillard, a husband-and-wife business team who had enjoyed success developing real estate and producing movies, ventured into the hospitality industry by purchasing the historic (circa 1870) and then-vacant Merchants Bank building in Old Montreal. While preserving its original sculptures and moldings, the Remillards began converting the structure into […]

Summer brings with it wanderlust, a yearning for broad vistas and the open road—the latter of which, in the United States, carries one past a parade of strange creatures and exotic monuments that are grouped under the heading of “roadside attractions.” These transcontinental wonders comprise a sort of postmodern pantheon that would have astounded the […]

Despite a new pool overlooking the Indian Ocean, a refurbished lobby, and a revamped restaurant menu and decor, Mauritius’ La Pirogue (+230.401.1688, http://www.lapirogue.com) remains a model of old-island charm.   Located off the coast of Madagascar, Mauritius is an isolated, unspoiled destination—and La Pirogue its finest place to dwell. The pool, lobby, and enhanced eatery […]

Ivana Stehlikova scans the assortment of books, CDs, and DVDs in the library at Prague’s Aria Hotel. As the music director for the Aria—the Czech capital’s newest and finest boutique hotel—Stehlikova manages the library’s music selection, assists guests with concert tickets, and shares little-known facts about the city. “Einstein lived in Prague,” she tells me. […]

“James Bond stopped by the other day,” begins bartender Colin Field. “I asked him if I could please make him my vodkatini, which is neither shaken nor stirred.” Bond acceded and, after taking a sip, uttered a one-word appraisal: “Lethal!” “So then I hung a sign above the bar saying, ‘Martinis recommended by Mr. James […]

I meet David McMillan on a crisp Montreal morning. Tall and broad-shouldered, with an intricate floral tattoo that covers much of his left arm, the 33-year-old chef and restaurateur is an imposing presence. Yet shortly after extending an enormous hand to greet me, McMillan charms me with his easy wit and disarming candor—and dispels any […]

Casino de Montréal occupies two Expo ’67 pavilions on a small island in the St. Lawrence River. Nuances, the casino’s bastion of nouvelle cuisine, takes full advantage of the view afforded by the watery milieu. Mahogany paneling frames the glittering city lights, while leather chairs and jewel-toned fabrics provide an intimate setting from which to […]

Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi Castello di Nipozzano 2000 Mormoreto Of the approximately 2,500 acres that the Frescobaldi family has brought under cultivation in 700 years of winemaking, the finest vineyards are located on three particular estates: Castiglioni in Chianti Colli Fiorentini, Castelgiocondo in Montalcino, and Castello di Nipozzano in Chianti Rufina. The latter belonged originally to […]

While NASA’s rover twins investigate Mars, an exhibit at the Sonoma County Museum (707.579.1500, http://www.sonomacountymuseum.com) in Santa Rosa, Calif., chronicles the exploration of an earlier frontier: the Pacific Coast of North America. Mapping the Pacific Coast: Coronado to Lewis and Clark, which runs through May 30, features 36 rare maps and illustrations from the Quivira […]

Indian Tabac 1992 and 1990 vintage If you enjoy mild- or medium-bodied cigars, you likely will welcome the two new offerings from Indian Tabac. The 1992 Vintage, a 10-year-old Ecuadoran Sumatra wrapper with a binder and filler of 5-year-old Dominican and Nicaraguan tobaccos, is a pleasant, tasty blend suitable for all but the most celebratory […]

Charlie Trotter is obsessed with culinary aesthetics. For more than 16 years, the Chicago-based chef, his shirt buttoned close to the chin, has relentlessly executed superior dining experiences at his namesake restaurant on the city’s North Side. His mastery in the kitchen is equaled, if not surpassed, by the precision service in his dining room—the […]

Erudite, urbane, and nattily attired, Avo Uvezian is the consummate cigar smoker. Or more precisely, he represents the romanticized version of the cigar smoker. A performer nearly all of his 78 years, Uvezian, the creator and spirit of Avo cigars, understands how to play a role and how to cultivate an image: His eight white […]

It was to have been nothing less than a triathlon of leisure, and I its bemedaled champion: 18 holes of golf in Scottsdale, followed by an afternoon of snorkeling in the crystalline lagoons off Cabo San Lucas, and topped off with a morning of perfect skiing in Telluride—all in a single 96-hour stretch. In the […]

The Goldens’ Nantucket lightship will return to the island around the same time as the annual Nantucket Wine Festival, and both might have to contend with the fickle New England May weather. One year, 75-knot wind gusts blew down the festival’s tent. Another year, the bounties of an under-the-tent cooking demonstration became saturated from the […]

Seated in the steamy confines of a rustic sauna, Kentucky small-batch bourbon in hand, the angler recounts to his cohorts highlights of a three-day float down a remote Alaskan river. Between sips, he describes steep gorges cut by the river’s incessant torrent, bald eagles soaring overhead, narrow canyons where glacial waters flow into deep pools […]

To qualify as one of golf’s hidden gems, a destination must meet three criteria: It has to offer exceptional golf, pleasant surroundings, and something extra. Additionally, of course, nobody can know about it. British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley fits this description to a tee—at least until it loses its anonymity in the paragraphs that follow.   […]

The Calibre DB-15, the latest offering from De Bethune (305.695.1435, +41.24.454.22.81, http://www.debethune.ch), features the company’s first movement conceived and crafted entirely in-house. This feat has enabled the young watch brand to achieve the coveted manufacture status. De Bethune has also applied for four different patents related to the DB-15’s design. Technical Managing Director Denis Flageollet […]

British suitmaker Timothy Everest (+44.207.377.5770, http://www.timothyeverest.co.uk) has never subscribed to the conventions of Savile Row. Instead, the protégé of legendary Beatles and Rolling Stones tailor Tommy Nutter follows his own sartorial rules from a restored Georgian house in the Spitalfields section of London. “Our ethos is to create garments that are traditional with a contemporary […]

At the turn of the 20th century, ranchers in Jackson Hole, Wyo., discovered that it was easier to wrangle city slickers than cattle, and thus the dude ranch, as well as a new tourist destination, was born. For decades, wealthy Easterners, corralled by the romantic notion of playing cowboy in the shadow of the majestic […]

Unlike so many of the jewelry houses that line New York’s Fifth Avenue, the latest to join the ranks is not rooted in Europe’s traditional artisanal centers of Paris or Florence. Instead, it draws on the ancient craft traditions of the Ottoman Empire. Gilan, a Turkish luxury jeweler with boutiques in Bursa, Istanbul, and Ankara, […]

It has become a popular practice for watch brands to introduce complicated movements as a means of elevating their status—regardless of whether they have any real experience in this genre of watchmaking. Consequently, tourbillons are common fare in the Swiss arena these days, with many brands merely procuring the movements from outside suppliers, an act […]

Conspicuous in a coat and tie, Frank Shattuck arrives for his regular morning workout at Kingsway gym on West 28th Street in Manhattan, where he has sparred almost every day for the last 14 years. Despite his boxing prowess and all the hours he has spent in the ring, he is known best among the […]

“Oh, I’ve already got that.” these words fall like a heavy blow when women of high style, bristling with shopping bags, range up to one another to size up the day’s booty. Even between men idly comparing watches, the barb loses none of its sting. The last thing you want to see when you have […]

Over the past 25 years, estate jeweler Martin Katz has acquired some of the world’s finest examples of period jewelry. In his continual hunt for an elusive Edwardian diamond engagement ring or an 18th-century Cartier sautoir necklace, however, he has discovered that the demand for beautiful period jewelry has begun to outweigh the supply. These […]

Since the enactment of the modern estate tax in 1916, its merits have been debated by the people it affects most: the nation’s wealthiest families. The Republicans’ successful maneuvers to phase out the estate tax by 2010 have been cause for celebration by many, but an unlikely crusader has emerged to argue for its restoration: […]

When our January 1990 cover asked readers, “Is this car an original?” without a doubt, few who correctly responded in the negative could elaborate on their answers. Only the most fanatical Ferraristi would recognize that this replica, unlike the Testa Rossas that rolled out of the Modena factory in 1959, had only three carburetors rather […]

The 2004 Monster 1000 is not Ducati’s top performance motorcycle, but many of the Ducatisti consider it one of the Italian manufacturer’s most aesthetically appealing machines.   The Monster is a naked bike, the designation assigned to a motorcycle stripped of its fairings, which exposes the bike’s inner workings for onlookers to admire. The centerpiece […]

By that same quirk of time that seems to improve spaghetti sauce and lost love, an initially competent automobile is typically much better the second time around. Such is the case with the new Jaguar X-Type sedan (www.jaguar.com), which has arrived after several years of what one British engineering executive described as “much beavering away […]

This decade may well be indexed in automotive history as the era of big brutes hidden within the shells of sleek and sexy coupes. Aston Martin initiated the trend at the turn of the millennium with its Vanquish, a striking, ultrahigh-velocity V-12 that saved its builder from sliding into irrelevance alongside Argyle pullovers, Norfolk jackets, […]

Luigi Chinetti Sr. did not consider his trio of victories at Le Mans his most significant professional achievement. The act earning that distinction occurred in 1954, after he retired from racing, when he opened North America’s first Ferrari showroom in New York City. This year, thanks in large part to Chinetti’s entrepreneurial spirit, Ferrari is […]

You don’t have to be a brain surgeon to recognize the racing merits of Ferrari’s stripped-down Challenge Stradale. You just have to drive the car. When he test-drove the Stradale—a lighter, faster, race-ready version of the 360 Modena—Joel Franck, a neurosurgeon from Durham, Maine, knew he had found a durable alternative to his more civilized […]

Maseratis are probably the prettiest, nimblest, and most enjoyable little cars that American buyers have never considered. Shame on us, for any Maserati carries a competition lineage that, over a four-decade span, is peerless. From the 1920s through the ’60s, legends Nuvolari, Shaw, Fangio, Moss, Hawthorne, and Gurney earned countless victories on the world’s grand […]

The late Sir Frederick Royston, a pioneer in the business of importing British cars to the United States, was normally the most affable of gents. But there was one thing that would send him around the bend. Every so often, while Royston was tooling around Philadelphia in his Bentley, some wiseacre would pull up next […]

Piaggio Aero Industries’ P180 Avanti was first certified in 1990, but as the company struggled financially during the ensuing decade, the plane failed to gain favor among business fliers. Piaggio ultimately declared bankruptcy in 1998, but that same year, a consortium of investors, including the Ferrari and Di Mase families, purchased the Italian company and […]