His own company, Steven Smith Teamaker, sells small-batch teas in restaurants and stores like Williams-Sonoma, Zabar's and even Eddie Bauer.

WSJ: Steven Smith, Teamaker: The All-Star Alchemist of Top-Shelf Tea | Creating

Its a small-batch bourbon that, in its modern incarnation dates back to 1987, although family-lore traces the recipe to the 1830s.

FORBES: Same Price as Maker's, Twice the Flavor

And it is this innovation that helped pave the way for the US craft beer scene and inspired the burgeoning small-batch brewery movement taking place in countries like Sweden and Italy.

BBC: Brewing a love of beer in Brussels

Colorado has the second most breweries in the United States, the great majority of which make small-batch craft brews.

FORBES: An Open Letter To Frommer's From The 'Napa Valley of Beer'

Much like the run-up to the previous flagship product launch, Qualcomm-backed Xiaomi has just announced that it'll be selling a small batch of pre-production second-gen Xiaomi Phones, in the hopes to get some keen users to perform last-minute checks before mass production.

ENGADGET: Xiaomi Phone 2 pre-production units available on September 22nd, limited to 600 lucky buyers

While the original family-run roasters still prosper, and most of Australia remains content with a simple latte or short black (perfectly made, of course), the cities are now in the grip of coffee's third wave: single origin beans, premium small batch roasts, terroir and alternative brewing methods such as the Clover syphon, filter and cold drip.

BBC: Caffeination: Australia's coffee culture

Besides the footballs and baseballs, Leather Head recently produced a small batch of peach-basket-era laced basketballs for Converse, and he dabbled in rugby balls after an inquiry from Ralph Lauren.

WSJ: Jason Gay: Is This the Perfect Football?