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Happy Saturday, all! Welcome back to Man of Many’s Staff Favourites for this week’s round of top picks from our discerning team. This is the place where we showcase the items, services, entertainment, and experiences that have caught our eye over the last seven days, and this week has been a doozy.
We get to try so much of the cool, novel, and chic on a daily basis, but these encounters don’t always result in full write-ups or reviews. Instead, we collect them here for you, in the hope you’ll find something new and exciting to give your weekend a lift. Let’s go!
Sullivans Cove 17 Year Old French Oak Cask Strength (TD0297)
Scott Purcell – Co-Founder
I’ll put my cards on the table and say that Sullivans Cove is one of my favourite whiskies of all time (which should be no secret if you’ve read any of my Staff Favourites previously). It’s definitely at least my number one Australian, and I’d back it against most Scotch on any given day. So when the PR firm of the Hobart distillery offered to send through a sample of their latest Old & Rare release, a 17-year-old French Oak ex-Tawny bottled at a hefty 61.3% ABV (yes, cask strength!) I couldn’t get the email back fast enough to say “YES!!” Cask TD0297 spent 17 years quietly maturing (fairly rare in age for an Aussie whisky) in a 300-litre French Oak cask that previously held Tawny, and the result is something special.
On the nose alone, you get this incredible layering of grapefruit skin, glacé pineapple and old Barossa Tawny depth, wrapped in that signature Sullivans Cove waxiness that fans of the distillery will recognise instantly. It’s the kind of whisky that stops you mid-conversation. On the palate, it has that iconic oily, full-bodied feel, but what was surprising was a touch of smokiness and chocolate. The finish lingers beautifully through choc-orange, jasmine and shortbread.
Just 343 bottles were drawn from this single cask, each presented in a handcrafted Tasmanian Blackwood box with a personal letter from Distillery Manager Heather Tillott (but I had to settle for this thimble of a sample, which I’m not complaining about!). At AU$2,500, it’s not an everyday pour, but this is Sullivans Cove at cask strength for the first time in their age-statement range, and for a distillery that once took home World’s Best Single Malt, that feels like a milestone worth celebrating.
Chessnut Evo: The AI Chess Board that Might Finally Make Me a Decent Player
Scott Purcell – Co-Founder
Another one from me. If you couldn’t already tell from last week’s GoChess Wizard Lite pick, I’ve gone full chess nerd. My Chess.com rating is still hovering around the 350-400 mark (don’t judge), but that hasn’t stopped me from going deeper down the rabbit hole. After writing about the GoChess board, I came across this insane self-moving board on Instagram, so I reached out to the Chessnut about their Move board, and they came back with, “Why don’t you try the Evo instead?” Twist my arm. (And hopefully a review of the Move board is incoming soon…).
Where GoChess focuses on coaching with those LED move suggestions, the Evo is a completely different beast. It’s got a 12.3-inch touchscreen built right into the board, running a full Android system on an 8-core processor. The thing that really sold me is the direct integration with Chess.com and Lichess. Same idea as the GoChess in terms of playing online on a physical board, but the Evo does it through its own screen rather than needing your phone beside you. Everything lives on the board itself.
The standout feature is the Maia engine, an AI trained on millions of real human games. So instead of playing a ruthless computer (trust me, it will humble you very quickly), Maia actually mimics how a human at your level thinks and plays. You can even feed it a specific player’s game history, and it’ll build a custom bot that plays like them. At my level, I probably wouldn’t notice the difference, but the concept is genuinely cool.
At around USD$789, it’s a step up in price from the GoChess. But if you’re after an all-in-one board that doesn’t need a phone or tablet propped up beside it, and you want to play online opponents on real wood with real pieces, it’s seriously impressive. Plus I can play with my niece while she’s in New York virtually but on a physical board!
Disclosure: The Chessnut Evo was gifted to me by Chessnut for review.
Favourite Article of the Week: Xbox Gaming Copilot AI: RIP to the YouTube Walkthrough?
Favourite Video of the Week: We Caught Up with Liam Lawson for a Round of Rapid-Fire Questions During the GP Madness
Clarks Wallabee Shoes
Frank Arthur – Co-Founder
My dad used to wear these when I was a kid, so they’ve always stuck with me. Finally picking up a pair myself feels like a full-circle moment.
They’ve been around since 1967, and that longevity makes sense. The Wallabee is a simple, timeless shoe that hasn’t needed to change. The clean moccasin-style construction and signature crepe sole give it a distinctive look and comfort. The fact that they were worn by hip-hop greats from Wu-Tang to Slick Rick to Biggie is something I’ve always appreciated, too. They’ve popped up across different eras and scenes, and the design still holds up today.
I didn’t think twice when I saw them on sale. At the time of writing, Clarks has some pretty wild discounts on its online store. I picked these up for $59, down from $260, with pretty much everything on the site heavily reduced. Safe to say they’ll be getting a fair bit of wear. (But most importantly, tags kept on or off?).
Favourite Article of the Week: The Best Watches from the 2026 Oscars
Oura Ring 4
Amelia Navascues – Head of Social & Production
After years of wearing chunky fitness watches that incessantly buzzed with notifications and spiked my anxiety, I finally made the switch to the Oura Ring 4. The difference is night and day; it feels like high-end jewellery rather than a gadget, and because it doesn’t have a screen to distract me, I actually leave it on. Plus, as a chronic fidgeter, I’ve found spinning a ring is far more satisfying than messing with a watch strap. I just pop it on the charger while I’m in the shower, and it’s back to full strength before I’ve even finished my skincare routine.
What’s truly cool is how the ring maps to my natural biology. I’ve always been a morning person, and the data confirms I’m part of that Early Morning chronotype that’s so common in Australia. Because my biological clock is skewed so early, using this Oura ring helps me time my wind-down perfectly so I’m not fighting my own DNA. It’s still early days, but the more I wear it, the more it learns my specific baselines, and I’m keen to learn more!
Disclosure: The Oura Ring 4 was gifted to me by Oura for review.
Favourite Article of the Week: Louis Theroux’s ‘Manosphere’ Doco is Compulsory Viewing for Dads Everywhere
Favourite Video of the Week: Can the Man of Many team Split the G?
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