Let There Be Light

“Like a running blaze on a plain, like a flash of lightning in the clouds. We live in the flicker -- may it last as long as the old earth keeps rolling! But darkness was here yesterday.”

― Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

I’m shining the light on another bespoke box from Kelly Snache, who loves to breathe new life into old objects. Kel will occasionally build something from the ground up, but most of his creations are built around an old box of some sort, into which he retrofits all manner of mayhem and mischief. At his best, Kel doesn’t even plan things out too far in advance, but rather lets the design take shape intuitively. In fact he actually calls his process “intuitive design”. In his own words, I listen to the wood and the design rather than meet the expectations of a concept.

“We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness”

― Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

In Blackout, he turned an interesting front hinged container of sorts into a steampunk themed dreamscape. The original container was open all all four sides, and Kel surmised it may have once held an old fashioned lantern. Closing his eyes, he envisioned a single candle flickering in the darkness. He brought that idea to life using curly maple and pau amarello for the candles, and setting them against a dark wenge background. The puzzle theme took shape as he went, as he shined more light onto and into it. Again from Kel, To give a metaphoric example... If I was driving to the big city late at night, two things are true. First is that I 'know' the road goes there for whatever reason, whether I have been there before or I have a map. I cannot see all the way there and my headlights only shine 200m ahead at anytime. The second thing I know is that as I proceed further so does my light now shine. I travel at great speed on this highway with faith and knowing it continues all the way to my destination.  

“It echoed loudly within him because he was hollow at the core.”

― Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

The lantern emerged from the darkness, so to speak, ultimately becoming a roughly twenty-two moves to open mystery that shines some light in the dark once you have discovered its multiple secret chambers. The side panels candles are dynamic, and Kel has built a number of hidden mechanisms underneath the lantern as well. Waiting inside, after you have fumbled around sufficiently in the dark, is the metaphorical antidote – a light.

Joseph Conrad’s famous novel Heart of Darkness seemed an appropriate reference for this toast, and provided the perfect cocktail. Jeff “Beachbum” Berry is a well known cocktail historian who has done extensive research in the tiki canon. Some credit him with the revival and survival of these drinks, which he resurrected from old menus, lost recipes and even the backs of matchbooks, to publish in his “Sippin’ Safari” series of volumes. He has been called a cocktail “archeologist” and many of these forgotten drinks can now be enjoyed at his landmark New Orleans bar, Latitude 29.

His “Hart of Darkness” cocktail (Beachbum Berry Remixed 2010) was an homage to one of his favorite rums, Lemon Hart 151. Lemon Hart and Sons rums are bourbon barrel aged and produced in the Demerara region of Guyana using the same centuries old techniques started at their founding in 1804. In his book Jeff explains, and I paraphrase, that although he loves this rum, it is so potent that drinking it straight could lead to waking up in a country where no one speaks your language, but you still understand they are all disappointed in you for some reason. He created this cocktail with that in mind. It dilutes things delightfully and deliciously. Even so, be careful – you have been warned. Cheers!

“The mind of man is capable of anything.”

― Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

Hart of Darkness by Jeff Berry

½ oz fresh lime juice

¼ oz fresh lemon juice

½ oz passion fruit syrup

½ oz honey mix (half honey, half water)

¼ oz soda water

1½ oz Lemon Hart 151 Demerara Rum

8 oz crushed ice

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