What’s Happening: With the help of Moët Hennessy and master distillers, the superstar debuts a velvety whisky deeply rooted in her Texas heritage. It’s even scooped a number of prestigious awards ahead of its September launch.

The Download: In “Ameriican Requiem,” the first track from Beyonce’s latest studio album Cowboy Carter, she proudly sings about being the “grandbaby of a moonshine man.” Whiskey indeed runs in Queen Bey’s DNA—her paternal great-grandfather Davis Hogue was a Southern farmer and moonshiner during the Prohibition era, stashing whiskey bottles in the empty knots of cedar trees for his loved ones to enjoy covertly. She’s now paying homage to his legacy with the launch of SirDavis, a first-of-its-kind whisky brand in collaboration with Moët Hennessy. The LVMH subsidiary tapped Dr. Bill Lumsden—a Master Distiller known for working on scotch whisky brands Glenmorangie and Ardbeg—to spearhead SirDavis across numerous tasting meetings and recipe trials, in which Beyoncè was intimately involved.

Much like anything Beyoncé lends her hand to, SirDavis doesn’t disappoint. Departing from American whiskey norms, SirDavis’s mash bill includes 51 percent rye and a high 49 percent malted barley. The concoction is finished in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks, lending it a velvety feel that delivers waves of spice before settling into subtle sweetness. To validate the quality, the liquid was anonymously submitted to prestigious spirits competitions prior to launch; it won Best in Class for American Whiskey from the SIP Awards, outperforming 100 other entries. Besides the potential to bolster Moët Henessy’s mild presence in the American whiskey market, everything about SirDavis reflects Beyoncé’s Lone Star State roots; SirDavis is headquartered in Houston and bottled in Texas, something she can raise a glass—or an exquisitely ribbed bottle emblazoned with her signature horse emblem—to with pride.

In Their Own Words: “I’ve always been drawn to the power and confidence I feel when drinking quality whisky and wanted to invite more people to experience that feeling,” says Beyoncé, a devoted enthusiast of Japanese whiskies. “In partnering with Moët Hennessy, we have crafted a delicious American whisky that respects tradition but also empowers people to experience something new and unique in the category. You can taste it better than I could ever tell you.”

Surface Says: With Cé Noir perfume, Cécred hair care line, a “wearable album” with Balmain, and now SirDavis, Beyoncé’s crossover appeal has never felt more vital.

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In June, Surface announced that the 2024 Jar of Love Fund opened applications for New York City artists to receive $5,000 in unrestricted grant funding. Now, the microgrant initiative spearheaded by ArtNoir, Sotheby’s, and with Dr. Samuel Ross MBE’s Black British Artist Grants Program has opened applications for its inaugural round of U.K. grants. POC artists in London are invited to apply for unrestricted $5,000 funding awards. Applications will remain open until September 15; winners will be announced in October during Frieze London.

For the past five years, Stòffa operated a private salon on the second floor of an unassuming building in New York’s SoHo neighborhood, an “if-you-know-you-know” purveyor of casual made-to-measure menswear in high-quality fabrics. (New customers, as the story goes, have fanatically dispensed with their entire wardrobe to make room for Stòffa garments they plan to keep for decades.) The brand’s founders, Agyesh Madan and Nick Ragosta, who met while working for Italian label Isaia, were itching for a more public-facing store to coincide with their recent foray into ready-to-wear. Its newly opened flagship, a 2,000-square-foot Grand Street boutique awash in earth tones and vintage furniture, feels like a true arrival.

Cream-colored paint and original terrazzo floors strike a meditative tone, echoed by a sparse shop floor outfitted with ikebana-style flowers, earthen ceramics, and vintage furniture lined in lamb suede. Linen lace curtains beckon to the store’s rear private rooms, where handcrafted dark-stained ash cabinets and a like-minded table by Studio POA nod to the label’s specialty in made-to-measure outerwear. That’s where tailoring appointments take place; Madan and Ragosta can spend upwards of eight hours per day working directly with clients, and it accounts for a majority of their business, so the environs needed to foster focus and serenity. A dramatic skylight shrouding the room in calming streams of sunlight gets the job done—and may illuminate some intricacies in menswear you never before noticed.

Tucked amid the tram cars and soaring office buildings of Sydney’s Central Business District, JAM Record Bar shines brightest after the area’s nine-to-fivers have clocked out. While it’s open from 12 P.M. daily, its magenta glow is unmistakable after hours thanks to the joint vision of Akin Atelier and founder Justin Hemmes. The haunt stems from a stroke of genius that took root when Hemmes and Akin Atelier’s Kevin Ho traveled together to Tokyo.

Its record library counts 15,000 vinyls, with serious acoustics to match. Pink fiberglass insulation, left exposed rather than drywalled over, was the jumping-off point for the bar’s monochromatic vibe, and inspired the duo to forge ahead with pink plywood throughout. A mix of vintage lighting and contemporary pieces, like burgundy table lamps by Danish brand &Tradition, sets the scene for a night of inventive cocktails—like the Togarashi Margarita, made with habanero agave—enjoyed over well-spun tunes.

When: Aug. 22–Sept. 22

Where: Saturdays, New York

What: The architectural photographer has started his morning routine at the fashion brand’s Nolita store and coffee shop since it opened in 2009, making it a fitting venue for his latest collection of photographs exploring the textures of New York. Complementing the show is a zine offering fragmented details isolated from the original shots, which reveals even more dimensions to his vision.

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Original BTC was founded in 1990 by Peter Bowles. Breaking convention, Bowles was the first designer to use bone china in lighting, paving the way for his pioneering investment in British manufacturing. Original BTC has since grown but remains committed to using the best quality raw materials to their utmost capability, and paying great attention to concept and form.

Surface Says: The lighting across Original BTC’s collections celebrate British craftsmanship. From nautical Ship’s Well Glass lights to the factory-inspired Titan Pendant fixtures, the brand’s products carry on a tradition of well-machined style.

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Madalena Studio grows a logo for a beverage brand out of live bacteria.

The internet is (still) gagged over the “bucolic daydream” of tradwife content.