You sell trust. You can talk all you want about your investment knowledge and prowess, your financial planning skills, but at the end of the day it all boils down to trust. Except for your odd punter-client, mostly you act as a personal guide to prudent investments. No doubt being so prudent can make one stir crazy. In fact, we also know that many of our fat cat readers do enjoy the occasional guilty pleasure. Here are three items the editors of Rep. think you need to know about: the hottest scotch, suit and camera on the market.
The Glenivet Cellar Collection 1969
Why on earth would you spend $750 on a bottle of Scotch when you have a perfectly decent $40 bottle stashed in the cabinet? Well, for starters, Glenlivet has to find a way to pay back that master-distiller — yes that's what he's called — who hand-selected the 10 casks that would produce this whisky's smooth orange and hazelnut flavor. What's more, like so many valuable things do, the liquid malt in these bottles has been sitting in a cool damp basement for 38 years. But really, these bottles are one-of-a-kind (or one of 800): Glenlivet only releases one new vintage a year, and in the United States only 800 bottles will be available. The whisky in the Glenlivet collection is not chill filtered (a process many believe robs the drink of its intense, smoky flavor), so it requires just a drop of water to call forth the velvety rush and warm burn of this beautiful single-malt. Were you still drinking your dram on ice? Time to step up.
The Glenlivet Cellar Collection 1969, $750, only 800 bottles released this September; 877-800-1969.
Duncan Quinn's Bespoke Suits
If it's a distinguished but contemporary look you're hunting for, check out Duncan Quinn's rakish bespoke suits, which combine Quinn's English aristocratic taste with a touch of Rock n' Roll swank. We don't mean skinny suits for bigger men, and we're not talking metrosexual. It's all about clean lines, unusual fabrics (uh, like guanaco blends woven from the belly hair of Andean mountain goats) and attention to detail. Starting at $3,500 (Maybe clients Jeremy Piven and Sean Combs can shell out for the top of the line, where prices hit $35,000), Quinn will personally select the cut and cloth that reflects your personal style. It can't hurt that Duncan Quinn is a former private equity attorney; maybe he can help you do a little business for clients on the side.
Duncan Quinn, with locations in New York, Los Angeles, and new this fall, Houston; Duncanquinn.com
The Leica M8 Camera
Everyone seems to have a snappy digital camera these days: tiny, compact and barely visible. But if you want the real thing — a true photographer's camera — if you want to record really beautiful high resolution images, you ought to take a look at the Leica M8, with its 10.3 megapixels. Yes, it retails for $4,800. But Leica, which manufactured one of the very first 35 mm cameras back in 1913, is meticulous with every model — it doesn't just spit these things out like the other guys. The first in the M-series, introduced in 1954, is still used today. The M8 is the first digital model in the M-series, and it has an iconic Leica design (an aesthetic that hasn't changed much in more than 50 years) blended with the sleek functionality of an iPhone. With a shutter speed of 1/8000 of a second, you'll actually have to try to miss the moment. You may or may not be interested to know that both Seal and Brad Pitt own this camera. By the way, Seal loves his; check out the web, the guy can't stop blogging about it. (See rangefinderforum.com.)
Leica M8, available in black or silver, leica.com