EWE EFO

A Rollicking Good Yarn

Tales of the Monolith, Part V

The fancy that extraterrestrial life is by definition of a higher order than our own is one that soothes all children, and many writers - Joan Didion

With all of the recent UFO sightings (since the arrival of the Monolith), it seemed inevitable that someone would eventually take control of the situation and hijack one of the ships. I just never imagined that it would be the sheep. I’ve always thought of them as, well, rather sheepish.

Yet it appears that is exactly what has occurred. From the mischievous mind of Canadian woodworker and puzzlemaker Kelly Snache comes an absolutely interstellar space ship themed puzzle box that comes with its own silly story. Every community has its band of renegades, I suppose, and it seems that this rebellious group of ewes would rather rock the flock than sit around chewing grass all day. Something about a haircut spurred them on to road trip it into outer space aboard their stunning shiny “Ewe” Flying Object. I’m sure ewe ain’t seen nothing like it before.

On board we have a merry band of bandits. There’s Fran, the captain, along with Fern, Flo, and Fanni. These make up the fabulous four on tour. But, their number one fan and groupie, wee little Fay, has had enough of the wild ride, and just wants to go home. The space ship is beautifully crafted in colorful exotic hardwoods and full of fun detail. There’s even an emergency hatch underneath a raised platform, which gives the UFO the illusion of appearing to hover. Each side features a porthole through which one of the characters can be spied, and on top we see Fay peering out, bleating a plee to help her.

Kel relates the inspiration for the puzzle: “First, hearing how NASA was releasing more and more UFO information was intriguing and I thought that a UFO themed design would be fun, but not being confident on how I would make a disc shaped craft I had to resort to other design elements. I suppose a little late night reading had me learn a few tidbits on how they propose to poke a hole in space to reach a destination, which meant traditional air stream efficiency was not required, lol. So a cube was something I could make.” Kel designed the puzzle as a core which could be built separately and then secured inside the cubic frame, with further mechanisms to secure the external walls all around. At every opportunity he added to the theme, even commissioning an artist to create the eccentric ewe crew that peer out from each port hole.

EWE EFO is a fabulous creation and one of Kel’s finer sequential discovery puzzles. There are many, many layers to navigate on this journey, and tricks that are sure to pull the wool over your eyes. What you can see from the start is pretty enough, but you are also treated to additional stunning visuals as you penetrate these layers. Behind each outer wall (once breached) is an inner chamber as well, each with a uniquely themed door and puzzling mechanism that must be solved in sequence, often requiring interactions with and from different areas of the box and utilizing the many tools discovered aboard the ship. Succeed, release Fay, and access the ship’s core. Kel says this is not really a puzzle box, since there is no practical room inside the core to store anything, and only a view into the inner workings. But a look inside the box would seem like a fair prize for any space ship, and besides, when has there ever been a lot of room inside a space craft? It’s a puzzle box in my book, and one with universal appeal.

I’m toasting the terrific team of space sheep with an unusual tipple that captures the spirit of this close encounter of the heard kind. What kind of cocktail might ewe like, asks the polite bartender upon peering over the counter at the petit patrons. Might I suggest, carrot? Indeed, sheep love to munch on carrots, but finding a carrot in a cocktail is rather odd, which makes this particular cocktail strangely perfect. Created by New York bartender Jarred Weigand, it features carrot eau de vie – a brandy which has been distilled with lots and lots of carrots. Flavors of raw and roasted carrot, with fennel, walnut and hops permeate the palate. Weigand uses the incredible product from Reisetbauer in his creation. I made my own carrot infusion with gin for a serviceable home option, but make no mistake, that is not the same as distilling an eau di vie and won’t replicate the true experience. Reisetbauer uses ninety pounds of carrots to make a single liter of their spirit, after all.

The cocktail also features amontillado sherry, an unusual type of sherry which undergoes two aging periods. Sherry begins aging under a veil of yeast known as flor and drier style sherries like Fino and Manzanilla stop there. Amontillado, however, continues aging after the flor disappears, allowing oxidation to occur which imparts complex new flavors. Weigand won the 2017 US Sherry Cocktail Competition with this knowledge, blending amontillado with the carrot eau di vie, herbal aquavit, lemon, and a wonderful complimentary blend of sweet flavors including almond, honey and ginger. It’s strangely delicious. Cheers!

Strange Encounters by Jarred Weigand

1 ½ oz amontillado sherry

½ oz aquavit

½ oz carrot eau di vie

1 oz lemon

¼ oz orgeat

¼ oz honey syrup

¼ oz ginger syrup

1 dash aromatic bitters

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a favorite glass. Garnish with a lime and carrot space ship.

A Rollicking Good Yarn

Tales of the Monolith, Part V

Architecto

Space Case