Kakoi

Playing Koi

Inspiration comes from unlikely places. It’s always interesting to me to discover the source of what sparked an artist to create something special. Japanese puzzle box artist Shiro Tajima has been inspired by the Japanese Zodiac to create a whole series of animal themed boxes over the years, and more recently, by the Japanese language itself. Japanese writing combines a mix of three different character sets: the Hiragana and the Katakana (which together form the syllabic Kana characters), and the Kanji, a set of several thousands of representative characters. The Kanji are “ideograms”, in that each character represents a separate idea or word. Even more words and complex concepts can be created by combining Kanji.

Kakoi by Shiro Tajima

The Kanji for “Kakoi” (which is itself just an English transliteration of the character) looks like a classic hashtag symbol inside a square, like this: 囲. The meaning is broadly translated as “to encircle” or “to enclose”, or even to “fence in”, but I do not claim to be interpreting it correctly. The meaning is secondary here. Tajima has created a puzzle that reflects the appearance of the kanji. Kakoi is actually his second such puzzle – his “Tagai” puzzle, another incredible creation, is also modeled after a kanji symbol. In Kakaoi, he merges dual colored woods using Black Walnut and Monarch Birch to produce a striking contrast. The puzzle is a cube with a light and dark half, topped again on each side with alternating woods. The movements are fluid and interesting, and the solution is truly inspired. Indeed, the puzzle won a Jury Grand Prize at the 17th annual Nob Yoshigahara Puzzle Design Competition.

This one speaks to you, symbolically

Since the meaning of the name is somewhat irrelevant here, I’ve taken liberties with it as well for the drink pairing, focusing on the second half – “koi”. In fact I’m really just using the letters K, O and I to inspire this toast, although I put them together for the drink’s garnish. Using the letters, I gathered the ingredients Kina Lillet, orange bitters, and Italicus liqueur, to create a complex and refreshing martini variation. “Kina” Lillet is an homage to the original Lillet, a French aromatized wine made with 85% Bordeaux region grape wines, and 15% orange citrus liqueurs, all blended and aged to perfection. The original recipe from 1887 included bitter quinine flavor from cinchona bark, making the aperitif what was known as a “quinquina”, which is why it was called Kina Lillet. In 1985 the quinine flavor was removed in an effort to match tastes of the day, and like all good things, has been replaced again since 2018, now that modern tastes have caught back up with the past. Current Lillet is again Kina Lillet, albeit with a less bitter profile.

KOI Martini

Italicus is another aromatized wine, technically known as a rosolio due to the infusion of rose petals into the mix, an idea with roots in the fifteenth century. This modern interpretation uses a recipe from the 1800’s, blending bergamot peel, Cedro lemons, chamomile, lavender, gentian, yellow roses and Melissa balm together in a unique aperitif. It adds another layer of sweetness to the complex flavors in his martini. The Lillet and Italicus play well together and compliment the honeyed gin I used for the base. It’s all tied together with orange bitters, a classic component of the original martinis from the antebellum era. A simple citrus twist will work perfectly for this martini, but if you want to freeze a citrus peel koi fish inside a clear ice cube, be my guest. Here’s to finding inspiration in unusual places – cheers!

A duo of unusual aromatized wines replace the typical vermouth

KOI Martini

2 oz gin (lighter juniper profile best, such as Barr Hill)

½ oz Lillet

½ oz Italicus

5 dashes orange bitters

Stir ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Orange twist.

These two are playing koi ...

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