Kidnapped

I’m stepping outside of the box, so to speak, for this puzzle box and potion pairing.  You might even say I’m escaping the elixir.  Deciphering the drink.  Sleuthing the solution.  All from my armchair!  I’m rather excited about this one as it’s something completely different, which is always nice now and then.  The box, actually a chest, is indeed a “puzzle box”, but not in the same sense as my usual offerings.  In this case, the case holds a case!  In case that wasn’t entirely clear, allow me to elucidate.  “The Kidnapped Crossworder” is a self-contained mystery puzzle in a box, delivered to your door by the “Armchair Detective Company”, the brainchild of three interactive media artists who have teamed up to create a fabulous experience.

The Kidnapped Crossworder from the Armchair Detective Company

The first of three planned mysterious cases, The Kidnapped Crossworder is presented inside a sturdy wooden chest locked up with a classic Chinese style lock.  Inside the chest are notes, documents, files, photographs, letters, and newspaper clippings, which introduce us to the story of our protagonist, who has now gone missing.  In addition, we finds odds and ends, cards, playing pieces, tools, oddities, and more chests, also locked up!  And so begins the mystery.  The Kidnapped Crossworder takes you on a journey which unfolds as you solve clues and crack codes, using tactile tools and items discovered in the chest.  There are layers upon layers to discover, subplots, and hidden secrets.  There are all sorts of codes to break, but fortunately you are provided with a little code breaking manual in case you are a little rusty.  The experience is incredibly enjoyable and extremely well thought out, and the details are wonderfully executed.  The physical objects and hands on clues are more satisfying than many comparable “escape room” type games, and the detective aspect turns you into Sherlock Holmes, a nice spin on the genre.  The additional locked boxes inside add the perfect layer of incentive to keep you going, as you get to know the characters and piece the story together.

A mysterious case inside this case ...

The team behind the Armchair Detective Company is composed of Shelby Arnold, Robert Sabuda and Simon Arizpe.  They are all award winning paper engineers, graphic designers and celebrated pop-up book artists.  You may recognize Sabuda for his amazing Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland reproductions, among many others.  They have carefully sourced items and materials for this tactile mystery box from around the world.  The items are all custom designed and made to feel like real artifacts collected during the course of an investigation.  If The Kidnapped Crossworder is any indication, the sequels promise to be absolutely incredible.  “The Druids’ Catacomb”, set in an ancient Celtic underground chamber, will feature no less than four nested boxes within boxes, opening sequentially as solutions are discovered.  The final mystery, “The Star-Crossed Scientists”, will take place in Victorian England, and will lead the explorer on towards the incredible finale, a mechanical drawing automaton which will sketch out the final clue ….

The Kidnap Cocktail by Trevor Easter

You might want to kidnap yourself an afternoon (possibly an entire day) to puzzle through this mystery.  A little sleuthing solution wouldn’t hurt to lubricate the gray matter.  A little Poirot potion, perhaps? I did a little sleuthing myself to dig up this one, the “Kidnap Cocktail” by Trevor Easter.  Easter created this drink for the 2010 winter menu at Rickhouse, one of the best whiskey bars in America located in San Francisco.  He introduces the drink with this statement: “We have your cocktail. Leave the money on the bar and wait to be contacted by one of our agents. If we see any cops, the deal is off and we send you back the cocktail glass in pieces.”  (Thanks to Camper English, the cocktail and spirits writer, who published the menu on his blog Alcademics.) The drink is a bold and brazen riff on the classic daiquiri, one of my favorite old cocktails with rum, lime and sugar.  This one uses Diplomatico rum, a wonderful aged Venezuelan molasses rum, but mixes things up with some smoky mezcal and funky Jamaican sugar cane rum.  The result will kidnap your senses.  It might not help you solve the mystery of the Kidnapped Crossworder, but you never know – it might just become the cruciverbalist cocktail of choice.  Cheers!

It may just kidnap your senses

The Kidnap Cocktail by Trevor Easter

1 oz Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva rum

½ oz mezcal

½ oz Jamaican Navy Strength rum

1 oz fresh lime

½ oz demerara syrup

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a favorite glass.  Garnish with ransom note or crossword lime peel.

You won't mind being kidnapped by this pair

For more daiquiri variations: