“No pressure, no diamonds.” – Thomas Carlyle
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Diamond Case by Juno |
Junichi Yananose is a well-known puzzle designer and crafter
who for many years collaborated with Brian Young in Australia. His forte was in creating beautifully complex
interlocking burr type puzzles. In 2016
he started his own business, Pluredro, with his wife Yukari, and the puzzle
community rejoiced. The following year
he began to introduce puzzle boxes unlike anything seen before. Naturally his mathematical mind and skill with
complex interlocking mechanics lent themselves to some seriously interesting
creations. His first box was a very
complicated interlocking burr puzzle with a compartment, the Framed Burr Box. The follow up to that was purposefully more
understated, a small case with simpler mechanics which everyone could approach
comfortably. Simpler does not mean
easier though – one must never underestimate Juno.
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Only for expert skiers |
His Diamond Case became the first in a wonderful series of
card suit puzzle boxes. The box is small
and comfortable to hold in one hand, featuring two prominent diamonds and
crafted from Silver Ash, Bubinga, Queensland Maple, and Jarrah woods native to
Australia. Yukari relates that they had
a lot of Silver Ash timber stock on hand at the time which was about the right
size for the main compartment, so Juno began designing the puzzle based on that
element. There is a little notch on one side which plays an important role in
opening the box, a fact that becomes obvious the moment you pick up the
box. A little exploration reveals what
needs to be done, but it takes more than a little to accomplish it. Eventually, you may also come to the
realization that there may be more to discover as well, because despite your
best efforts, the box remains closed. Juno
actually came up with the final “Aha” moment first, and added the initial sequence
after, both to make the puzzle more interesting and to distract from the final
solution. Diamond Case is a wonderful little box with a few great surprises and
sets the stage well for the other boxes in the series.
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Diamondback c. 1950 |
The Diamondback cocktail hearkens back to the era of boozy
stirred drinks. Which doesn’t really mean much anymore, since we are living in
the era of boozy stirred drinks once again. This one, with a hefty dose of rye
whiskey, a bit of apple brandy, and the key ingredient, herbal Chartreuse, to
round it all out and give it some balance and character, functions as a
surprising variation of the Old Fashioned.
Chartreuse, it turns out, adds both herbal bitterness and sweetness to a
drink, so here it works as both the sugar and the bitters.
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Boozy classic |
The drink was named after the Diamondback
lounge, and was the house cocktail there at the Lord Baltimore Hotel in
Maryland, where it was invented by a bartender now lost to the fog of
time. The drink makes its print debut in
Ted Saucier’s “Bottoms Up”, a racy cocktail book from 1951 with a great title
edited by the former publicist for the Waldorf-Astoria. This cocktail has a
wonderful comeback story. Bottom’s Up,
out of print for decades, was republished in 2011 with reproductions of the original
12 art plates from well-known artists of the day. And the Lord Baltimore Hotel, a historic
landmark in the city built in 1928, was purchased by an international hotel
group and renovated to new glory in 2013.
If you’re in the mood for something truly classic with a bit of panache,
this one’s ready for prime time again.
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This pair has some sparkle |
Diamondback c. 1951
1 ½ oz rye whiskey
¾ oz apple brandy
¾ oz Chartreuse
Stir with ice and strain into a favorite glass. No garnish necessary unless you’re feeling
dangerous. In which case, make a
Diamondback snake lime twist. Which, it
turns out, is completely misguided. You
see, the Diamondback cocktail was not named after the venomous snake, but
rather the friendly terrapin, which anyone from Maryland would have known. I am from Texas, by way of New Jersey, and
stand corrected. Cheers!
For more about Junichi Yananose:
https://www.pluredro.com/Four Goodness Sake
Feeling Corny
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