Spirit Box
Let the Spirit Move You
It’s everyone’s favorite holiday again and it wouldn’t be Halloween without another episode of “Boxes and Boos”! This year I’ve got just the thing to send shivers down your spine. We are going on a séance to commune with the dead. It’s a journey that’s sure to raise your spirits.
Spirit Box by Dee Dixon
Dee Dixon of DED Wood Crafts has been incredibly productive with new designs lately, and shows no signs of slowing down. His boxes are beautiful affairs made of rare and exotic woods, with little accents and fine finishes. His recent designs have involved lots of interactions with external components on the boxes, and how they secretly interact with hidden parts inside. Here’s something a little different, a tiny box with a springy top and a spooky story. Dee explains, “For a new puzzle, I wanted to make a design that was smaller, more accessible to beginners, and a little lighter on the wallet than some of my previous designs have been. Spirit box came to me after attending a séance in a dark forest where a helpful entity told me to make this particular design--just kidding!”
Trying to raise the DED
As the name suggests, this box is meant to summon things – wraiths, ghouls, and certainly the courage to open it. Again from Dee, ”I knew that I wanted to do a ghost, supernatural, or slightly macabre theme. I struggled for the longest time with naming it. I'm a fan of paranormal type shows, and while watching one of these shows, I learned that they use a device to communicate with ghosts that they call a spirit box. Which, by the way, absolutely works--no doubt about it. Lol! Other names suggested by some puzzle friends were ghost box, sepultura box, death box, or tomb box. But "Spirit Box" just spoke to me--pun intended.” As usual, the “Spirit Box” is lovely, made from European Beech and Granadillo woods. The description makes no secret of the fact that you will spend time pushing the top down, over and over, which is fun but gets you nowhere. You may need to commune with the afterlife to release the spirit within this box, although you will probably succeed in this lifetime. Spirit Box is a fun little fidget object that rewards you with a trick and a treat.
Calypso by Matteo Zed
On Halloween I have a tradition of drinking port, a habit I learned from a friend. It’s one of those ideas that really doesn’t need much of an excuse. I love port! This exceptional drink, which features port, is a bit surprising for a fall weather cocktail. It includes pineapple juice, which makes it distinctly tropical - but don’t let that scare you! It’s still a Halloween cocktail. It’s just wearing a costume.
That’s the spirit!
The drink was created by Rome’s Matteo Zed, the “Amaro Evangelist” and author of The Big Book of Amaro, when he ran the bar program for Armani / Ristorante 5th Avenue in New York. He recalls, “That cocktail was born because I like to make Tiki drinks in a classic way, and also to give more colors to the bar program of Armani, that was so old and basic. Italicus had just arrived in the US so I imagined a drink citrusy and fruity, exotic with sweet and sour ingredients.”
The drink is named Calypso, after French ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau’s famous ship, but I’m leaning in toward the origins of the name. In ancient Greek, Calypso means “to cover”, “to conceal”, “to hide”. Calypso (“she who conceals”) was a sea nymph who lured Odysseus away and prolonged his endless journey home. Perhaps she is a hidden spirit, hiding concealed inside a beautiful covered box which hides a secret? Who knows, but there’s no hiding how tasty this rum and port cocktail is, sweetened as it is with a touch of bergamot orange and rose liqueur. It’s most definitely a treat. Cheers!
Trick and Treat!
Calypso by Matteo Zed
1 ½ oz Barbados Rum (eg Mount Gay Eclipse)
¾ oz Tawny Port
¾ oz pineapple
¾ oz lime
½ oz Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto
½ oz simple syrup
Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a favorite glass. Garnish with a sage leaf or lime peel ghost.
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