Posts Written by Vic Arkoff

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Crocs are hot again, at least in the limited-edition game. Their latest drop is an over-the-top collection by LA-based artist Steve Harrington. Colorful and cartoony, each clog and slide in the collection includes Jibbitz charms of Harrington’s whimsical psych-pop characters. A Footlocker exclusive.

Ernest “Papa” Hemingway wrote about lots of adventurous things, like bullfighting, hunting, and skiing. But there’s nothing he had more experience in than drinking, with rum being his go-to. Papa’s Pilar Rum honors the adventurer’s spirit by blending premium rums from the Caribbean, Central, South, and North America.

It’s not often that belts do more than keep your pants from falling down. We’re grateful for that, but also very much like that Arcade Belts helps fund nationwide wildfire prevention through sales of three vintage-inspired Smokey Bear belt styles. Smokey’s also good to have around in case your pants are on fire.

The Dominican Republic has a passion for passion fruit. So do the Florida spirits connoisseurs who created Chinola, a deliciously sweet ‘n’ tangy, all-natural liqueur with the juice of six passion fruits in each bottle. It’s lovely to sip on its own and plays well with others, like rum, vodka, tequila, and bubbly.

It took 56 people four years to build Gremlin Symphony inside Convergence Station, Denver. The room is an art installation made from trash sculpted around instruments that play themselves using robotics or can be played by a human. Reggie Watts got together with co-creator Meason Wiley to give it a test run.

Sugar Lab’s mad scientists went batty for Halloween, using 3D printers to make edible sweets in seasonal shapes like Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Apple Covered Caramels turn the classic inside out with a caramel and apple butter filling, while Day of the Dead Glitter Skulls dissolve into edible glitter when plopped into cocktails.

The brewers of Shiner beer want to remind you that “beer tastes better outdoors” so they teamed up with Magellan Outdoors to create a bunch of limited-edition gear. We especially dig the party-sized cooler, the sorta-bottle-shaped mummy sleeping bag, cornhole set, tailgating canopy, and – hold my beer – keg-shaped charcoal grill.

While tasting their latest barrels, Frey Ranch’s farmer-distillers came across a firecracker with their highest proof yet. The 140.18-proof Hazmat Single Barrel yielded only 126 bottles of dark mahogany bourbon, rich with notes of orange peel and oak. Drops 10.8.22 only at Frey Ranch Tasting Room in Fallon, Nevada.

Want a proper job where you get to drink and report to the world’s highest-paid athlete? MMA star Conor McGregor is hiring a “Professional Partier” to introduce Proper Whiskey across the US. The full-time gig involves pouring and preaching Proper, hosting parties, and kicking social media ass, so Conor doesn’t have to kick yours.

Bottling at the whisky’s natural cask strength was the Scottish custom before the 20th Century. Nearly 200 years later, The GlenDronach revives that tradition with Cask Strength Batch 10 Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky, a limited expression that master blender Rachel Barrie aged in Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry casks.

The brainchild of Discommon’s Neil Ferriar, Blok is a cool analog watch that Ferriar calls the first “proper Swiss watch for kids.” We call it a gateway to Rolex collecting thanks to its timeless design, ETA quartz movement, anti-shock mechanism, 33 mm plant-based case, 100 M water resistance, 10-year battery, and unique rotating bezel.

Preserve your noggins, people. Thousand’s Chapter Mips Helmet provides extra protection for cyclists and skaters with its Mips safety system that lessens the rotational motion of impacts. It’s a good-looking multitasker, too, with a taillight that can magnetically attach to the helmet or bike with a multi-use adapter.

Two whisky cultures unite in each bottle of Glendalough 7-Year Single Malt Mizunara Cask. The rare whiskey expression was first triple-distilled from Irish malted barley in the Wicklow mountains. It then matures for seven years in bourbon casks before being transferred into Japanese Mizunara oak casks for another 8-12 months.

Happiness is a warm puppy… with a surfboard ready to shred waves. Eco-friendly Brazilian shoemaker Cariuma salutes everyone’s favorite beagle on their cotton canvas OCA low-top sneakers with a cork insert and slip-resistant rubber. Charles M. Schulz would be stoked that two trees are planted for every pair sold.

If you’re even a halfway decent golfer, a rangefinder is an essential tool to boost performance. The Cobalt Q6 Slope Rangefinder calculates distance and slope like a tech-whiz caddy. It has premium optics, an integrated display, an adjustable diopter, and a waterproof aluminum housing to prevent water hazard disasters.

Hate it when work emails interrupt vacation? Thanks to Visit Iceland, you can go to their website to “out-horse” your out-of-office email replies to a real Icelandic horse. The clever tourism team “taught” three of the country’s unique native horses to type on a giant keyboard, resulting in messages like “wFwhxsqjnzgmsrqaaaa.”

The stylish Transfer 2-Way Tote is a zippered daily-carry bag that converts to a backpack with adjustable and removable shoulder straps. A spacious main compartment stores all the day’s essentials, and a padded, faux-fur interior cuddles a laptop up to 16 inches. Pockets hold everything from inks to drinks.

For those of us mourning the loss of the Choco Taco, the Choco Tacotini cocktail will aid the healing process. Cody Goldstein of Brooklyn-based hospitality group Muddling Memories has created a dreamy, sweet ‘n’ salty dessert cocktail featuring Tequila Cazadores, amaro, cold brew, cream, peanuts, and fudge-shell chocolate.

There’s no law that golf clothes must be boring. Iconic Australian fashion house COOGI lends its bold sweater patterns to a collection for Birds of Condor, a streetwise Aussie golf brand. A kaleidoscope of colors update classic polos, ring-neck tees, hats, and accessories in moisture-wicking organic cotton and recycled poly.

All Bentleys are custom, but not to the degree of this one-of-a-kind tribute to late sportscaster Craig Sager. This special Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible was built for a 2023 auction to benefit SagerStrong Foundation’s fight against blood cancer, with a design inspired by Sager’s bright, eye-catching blazers.

Beware, vegetarians. The rascally rabbit on the label hints that Bosscal Mezcal isn’t just made with agave, per usual. It’s made with meat. Organic agave is triple distilled in Durango, Mexico. During the third distillation, a skinless rabbit is suspended in the still, allowing the liquid vapors to pass through it.

We always appreciate barware that makes us look like we know what we’re doing. Made of lead-free crystal, with a silver-plated finish over a stainless-steel dasher top, Cocktail Kingdom’s bitters bottles add finesse when a drink calls for a dash of bitters, house bitters, or absinthe. Also available with an Engraver’s style typeface.

Puncher’s Chance Bourbon is a knockout, a one-two punch of 5- and 6-year-old Kentucky straight bourbons made from a mash of 75% Corn, 13% rye, and 12% barley. The 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition gold medal winner won a 95-point review from The Tasting Panel. We give it two boxing-gloved thumbs up.