All Greek to Me

It’s time for another installment of “Locks and Libations”, the occasional puzzle lock digressions of a puzzle box collector. This unique creation comes from the mind of Greek American Constantine Bovalis, a mechanical design engineer from Illinois. Constantine notes that the inspiration for his puzzle creations comes in a roundabout way from traditional Japanese puzzle boxes, which he says yield up their secrets fairly easily after simply moving a few things around here and there. He does everything he can to make his creations the exact opposite! He believes that a good puzzle is logically deducible despite being tricky, and that a real challenge is to design something which is difficult to solve while remaining perfectly visible. With that in mind he prefers to have everything on display in his puzzles, with nothing at all hidden.

Bovalis Lock

He created an original puzzle box with transparent acrylic sides, full of gears and exposed mechanisms. It proved quite popular and led to a collaboration with an avid collector from Texas, who requested he make a new puzzle in the shape of a padlock. The object would be to release a trapped coin. From this modest description the Bovalis Lock was born, rather quickly, as it turns out. Constantine has a quick mind and immediately sat down to design the lock, producing a working model within two weeks and a functional prototype a week after that. 

Fine gears drive multiple overlapping mechanisms

He 3D prints most of the parts himself using a very smooth PLA filament and does the final constructions. He outsources the complex gears which have such tiny notches he is not satisfied with his own printing efforts. The locks are a great example of what can be accomplished these days with 3D printing.

The puzzle is just as described, a fully visible mechanical enigma full of gears and levers. Every interaction can be seen, but it is not immediately apparent what must be done to free the coin. The colorful parts add to the enjoyment. The lock even won an award, for best mechanical / geometrical design (also known as the “Euclid” award) at the 2018 Megistian Aenigma Agon, the premier puzzle competition held on the Greek Isle Kastellorizo and hosted by Pantazis Houlis.

The Preppy Handbook, an "unlocked cocktail"

As with many of the previous Locks and Libations pairings, I’m offering another “unlocked cocktail” to complement the Bovalis Lock. This is my name for “zero-proof” cocktails, aka non-alcoholic, aka “mocktails”, a term I avoid for fear of being mocked. In lieu of high proof spirits with actual alcohol, zero-proof drinks often employ other ingredients with strong or interesting flavors as a base ingredient, then add other components often found in a classic cocktail. They don’t skimp on the culinary effort and can rival anything else on the menu. These days there are also non-alcoholic distilled spirits available as well, which evoke complex flavors recognizably similar to common spirits but without the proof.

Seedlip Garden, green tea and berry jam

The first non-alcoholic distilled spirit, and one of the best, is from the Seedlip distillery, which makes a range of three different varieties. This recipe uses the “Garden”, full of fresh green peas, hay, and flavors from the English countryside. I’ve made a traditional sour with crisp fresh lime juice, and added some green tea for a more complex and unexpected twist. I used a special green tea as well, zhuyeqing, which is also known as Bamboo Leaf due to its shape, and is a prize winning tea from modern China. Finally the sweetness is derived from berry jam, which adds texture as well as a vibrant pink color.

The combination of pink and green made me think of the old “preppy” uniform from the eighties, which is how I came up with the name. Unlock this cocktail for yourself sometime, for something different, like the transparent creations of Constantine Bovalis. Cheers!

Unlock this pleasant pair

Preppy Handbook

2 oz Seedlip Garden

1 oz fresh lime

½ oz green tea

1 tbs berry jam

Shake ingredients together over ice and strain into a tea cup. Garnish with a lime twist.

For more Locks and Libations see: