Wardrobe Malfunction
Oleg’s Wardrobe
Enter a winter wonderland that is just in time for the holidays courtesy of Dee Dixon, master storyteller at DED Wood Crafts, who presents his most whimsical puzzle adventure yet in the form of a magically mysterious wardrobe. Like many of Dee’s more fanciful creations of late, the wardrobe comes with its own backstory, which has undergone various iterations and may or may not have been heavily influenced (completely written by) another well known blogger with a penchant for swagger and an overactive imagination. The official tale has Oleg the evil Ogre King stealing the “Orb of Prosperity” from the happy hamlet he overlords and hiding it craftily away inside his magic wardrobe. He sounds very grinchy. Your task, brave knight, is to retrieve the Orb from the apparently empty wardrobe, if you can. The task might just drive you insane!
Oleg’s Wardrobe by Dee Dixon
The wardrobe is truly lovely, an abstract work of art to display proudly on your favorite shelf, or perhaps next to all your other fairy doors, be they dark or lighthearted. Dee spent some time considering the detailed look of the front door, and thankfully agreed to spend the extra time and effort required to produce the stunning textured carved effect seen here which makes the whole piece pop. The dagger door handle is another marvelous touch and also elevates the final piece. Dee relates, “My son made the daggers using his resin printer. We worked on the design until we thought it looked appropriate. I thought black would look the best. The appearance is something that I think an ogre would use. An ogre “upcycle”. Lol.”
Ogre and out
The wardrobe had an original story which was deemed too dramatic and upsetting for public consumption. Dee would probably prefer I never mentioned it. So I officially deny having any knowledge of how it got here. “Oleg is King of the Ogres. He’s king because he is the only ogre that has the ability to produce golden boogers. All fear him because he has wealth, power and influence. Everyone is after his prized possession which he hides deep inside his magic dresser. You, as the solver, take on the role of a pauper in a far off village destined for greatness. Bring prosperity and wealth to your community by sneaking into Oleg’s kingdom and stealing his most precious boogers and bringing an end to his evil reign. I present to you “Oleg’s Booger Box.””
get Ogre it
Dee told me the story of his new creation. “Oleg's Wardrobe evolved out of a small keepsake miniature cabinet with drawers that I made in between making puzzles. As is often the case, I thought, "How can I turn this into a puzzle?" I like to box myself into a corner and make a puzzle out of an item instead of coming up with the idea and designing the puzzle around that. It's not always successful, but when it does work, I feel it enables me to think in creative ways to solve the problem. One aspect of this approach is I often go through more prototypes than with other designing methods until I land on a design I like. In the case of Oleg's Wardrobe, I went through nearly 20 prototypes. The process I follow is adding or removing portions with each subsequent prototype until I reach a puzzle that is well-rounded or until I run out of room. Generally, when I design a puzzle, I don't know what type it will end up being. I just go with it, and it ends up being what it is. It could fall into a specific category or several categories all in one puzzle.
peek performance
When it came to naming the puzzle, I thought it looked whimsical, and the first things I thought of when I saw it completed were fairies, ogres, wizards, and dragons. I'm a fan of fantasy movies, books, games, and make-believe things where the imagination has no limits. I landed on an ogre's wardrobe, and what better name for an ogre than Oleg? Like Angry Walter, this puzzle just needed a story. I enlisted the help of a friend and fellow puzzler we all know, and we came up with the story of Oleg's Wardrobe and the solver's place in the story. It's silly, creative, and wacky and fits the theme I was going for. The creative process behind this puzzle was really fun. As the hero of the village, I hope the solver finds it as much fun as I did. I personally like the door and the central mechanism. The door takes the longest to make but the texture looks so good that I couldn't resist. It was just such a fun puzzle to design and build.”
don’t Ogre estimate it
You should not resist this puzzle either. Dee will be releasing it soon so be brave and carpe diem. The wardrobe lures you in quickly with false excitement and a stern warning, and you are left wondering what you may have missed. Beware, deep in the wardrobe lie many secrets that will eventually have your head spinning in confusion. I spent many evening peeking inside to see if I could spy Narnia, or at least find the elusive Orb which was ever out of reach. There is something very surprising going on here, and a series of complicated mechanisms thanks to that very ornery Ogre. Beware – and make sure you are up for the challenge!
Hot Buttered Bourbon
The Orb of Prosperity was not the only thing that Oleg, King of the Ogres, stole from his happy hamlet. The town loves to celebrate the wintery season with something cheerful and warming, a most delicious potion of bourbon, butter and spice. The Hot Toddy is a classic cocktail traced back to the 1600’s in India, when it was a British colony. Hot water was added to alcoholic spirits with local spices for a warm drink on a cold day. Butter found its way into these drinks, whether made with whiskey or rum, later on, but cocktail historian David Wondrich points out that butter had been added to hot drinks since the time of King Henry VIII of England. Hot Buttered Rum was likely invented in colonial New England, when “batter” was added, and saw a revival here in the 1940s during the original tiki craze.
sounds like Thunder …
I’m keeping warm with a decadent version of the classic cold weather drink that features a very special bourbon. My friends at Cali Distillery, a small batch producer of fine handcrafted spirits in California started by a school teacher and software developer, recently shared a bottle of their new whiskey with me. They make delicious liqueurs and a few highly creative whiskeys, including their phenomenal Three Rivers Rye. They have a new project aligned with their love of music, and have teamed up with a few country music recording stars to produce a line of special bourbons, including “Thunder”, a spicy bourbon with smoked mesquite and partnership featuring Nashville singer KC John’s newest album title. The mesquite compliments the whiskey perfectly and works well in classic cocktails when a subtle smokiness is desired.
Holiday cheer
Hot Buttered drinks can be prepared with a simple pat of butter in the bottom of a glass, but are more commonly made with a “batter” of butter and brown sugar, mixed with seasonal spices. I made a browned butter batter, which is completely unnecessary, but oh so over the top, and why not rock out while using some thunder bourbon. The batter will keep for a few weeks in the fridge for some impromptu late afternoon inspiration when contemplating any magical adventure the season might provide. Cheers!
Hot Buttered Bourbon
2 oz bourbon
1 oz brown butter batter
2 oz apple cider
2 oz hot water
Prepare the batter: if making browned butter (highly recommended), add 1 stick unsalted butter (8 tbs / 4 oz / ½ cup) to a sauce pan and heat on medium. Watch closely and whisk frequently. Butter will melt, then foam, then settle and start to form brown flecks at the bottom of the pan. The butter will burn if cooked too long at this point so once the browning starts to increase remove from heat and pour into a cool bowl. If skipping the browning step, which is ok, just place the soft butter in the bowl to begin with. Add 1 cup brown sugar (can reduce to ¾ cup and add ¼ agave syrup as well), ¼ tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp allspice, 1/8 tsp ground cloves, 1/8 tsp nutmeg and a pinch of salt, beat well to incorporate. Roll butter batter in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge.
To make the drink: Place a generous dollop (about 2 tbs / 1 oz) of batter in the bottom of a mug or glass. Top with 4 oz of hot water (I like to split mine with cider as well, true decadence) and stir. Add the whiskey and enjoy. Cinnamon stick ogre’s club, optional.
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