Coasting Along
Coaster Box
Watching a coast as it slips by the ship is like thinking about an enigma. There it is before you, smiling, frowning, inviting, grand, mean, insipid, or savage, and always mute with an air of whispering, "Come and find out". ― Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
Coaster Box by Felix Ure
According to Wikipedia, the use of drink coasters dates back to 1760. At that time they were commonly used for decanters, or wine bottles, at the fancy dinners of the posh. Once the servants had retired (is that even allowed?) the wine could be given a gentle nudge across the table, and coast on over to a thirsty recipient. Beermats made of cardboard appeared in 1880 Germany, followed soon thereafter by wood versions. It took until 1920 for advertisements to appear on the coasters, first seen in pubs in England. It should come as no surprise that people collect beermats and coasters, as a hobby. These odd practitioners are known as tegestologists, from the Latin teges meaning covering or mat. Imagine what might occur if a tegestologist ever met a metagrobologist. Luckily these two hobbies are unlikely to ever cross paths ….
the coast is clear
Of course, hypothetically speaking, for a friend, if a mixologist, who is not a tegestologist (technically … yet), were to see a beautiful set of hammered brass coasters (which had no prior inanimate intentions of actualizing themselves as anything other) made by a prominent and talented puzzle craftsman from the UK, and if, hypothetically speaking (of course) said mixologist also happened to be a metagrobologist (technically, verified, sanctioned, vetted, addicted), what would be the appropriate, expected, inevitable outcome, I wonder? Asking for a friend?
coast to coast
Felix Ure makes pretty metal objects. His drinks coasters, made from brass, aluminum, copper, and antiqued brass, are almost too lovely to place a drink upon. They are also made to last and it would be a shame not to actually use them. Getting them out of the bespoke box they come in is the real dilemma. Felix hadn’t actually thought to include them in a case locked with a puzzling mechanism, until a friendly request came along. He kicked around a few ideas in his head, over the course of a few months, as he is wont to do, until settling on a great idea which ensured it would be hard to open the container to get the coasters out of the box, but easy enough to get them back in again. He also did not want it to be extremely challenging. He hit upon a suitably clever mechanism which achieves those goals and perfectly utilizes all the components. Some of the work on the coasters was then outsourced – Felix explains: “I used a blacksmith in the UK called Rob Hills who is incredibly talented, and someone I’ve worked with over the last 5 years through various businesses. Manually hammering 80 coasters would have been too much for me. Rob sourced, cut and hammered the coasters, then I file and sand the edges, and polish/brush/antique them. The antiquing is done using a vinegar-based fluid which I apply bit by bit over several days. I also heat them using a blowtorch which makes the end effect more random and natural. All the other pieces are cnc-machined from solid aluminium, brass and copper billet.” It’s a brilliant bit of barware that any self-respecting metagrobolotegestolomixologist simply cannot be without.
Coast to Coaster
Mental effort, I would argue, is relatively rare. Most of the time we coast. - Daniel Kahneman
A toast to the coast is clearly in order. I suppose we could have put absolutely any drink on one of these coasters, and that would have been perfectly appropriate. But I love a Negroni, and all of its many permutations, and it just so happens to be Negroni Week, an international charity event held at fine establishments across the globe. So let’s have a Negroni, or one of its many permutations. If you are not familiar with the drink, allow me to introduce you to this potent mix of gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari which was invented over one hundred years ago in Florence. Go out and enjoy one at your local watering hole and support a good cause with a good time.
toast to the coast
I call this version the “Coast to Coaster”. Negroni variations are simple enough affairs. Simply change up the basic ingredients with something different from one or more of the categories. For example, rather than gin, let’s use apple brandy, from America’s oldest continuous distillery, Laird and Company. Laird’s apple brandies have been raising spirits since 1780 from their home in Pennsylvania, on the east coast. Heading west to the opposite coast brings us to Alameda Island in the San Francisco Bay, where the St. George distillery has been making award winning quality spirits that push boundaries and delight palates. Their Bruto amaro, with its citrus, cinnamon, sandalwood and forest woodspice notes, takes the place of Campari here. Finally we need a vermouth to balance and compliment the apple, citrus, and spice, and I chose a sensational blood orange and black pepper sweet vermouth aperitif from Mommenpop in the Napa Valley. Negronis don’t typically have bitters, but just for fun, along the way across the country from coast to coast, somewhere over Minneapolis in the Midwest, I grabbed a dash of Titze’s Wood bitters, for a nice hint of autumn essence which really rounds it all out. Happy Negroni Week, all – cheers!
Coastal living
Coast to Coaster
¾ oz Laird’s apple brandy
¾ oz Mommenpop blood orange aperitif
¾ oz Bruto
Dash Titze’s Wood bitters
Stir ingredients with ice and strain into a favorite glass. Garnish with a double “c” lime peel
explore more: