Triple Threat

Five Cubic Course – Salad

omne trium perfectum – latin phrase

The Old English saying that “third time’s lucky” has provenance of use for the past few centuries but no clear derivation. I like the story of John "Babbacombe" Lee, who was convicted of murder but survived three attempts at being hanged and was eventually set free after serving his term. I’m not sure how “charmed” that is, and it happened in 1885, well after use of the phrase had been documented, but it’s still a good story.

Third times a charm may or may not apply to this set of puzzle boxes, the HexTrios by Eric Fuller and Matt Dawson. That depends on whether you find devilishly puzzling mechanisms to be charming or not. Back around 2010 Matt came up with an idea for a pair of puzzle boxes that were identical in appearance but reciprocal in function and could only be opened when paired together. Robert Yarger (aka Stickman) brought the idea to life and these appropriately named “Ambidextroux HexDuos” became Matt’s exchange puzzle at the International Puzzle Party that year. Matt explains that a box has six sides, which is “hex” in Greek, and indeed a cube is also known as a regular hexahedron.

Matt contacted Eric a while back to see if he would be interested in making more of the original puzzle, and sent him a copy. Eric liked the idea, but saw opportunities for improved efficiency of production and new mechanisms. He came up with a few novel ideas for the boxes that he could incorporate into the original puzzle, and literally “cubed” the set. The first box in this new trio is the original concept, while the second box uses an opposite mechanism to achieve the same result. The third box is a complete “left turn” which adds elements and layers that don’t reset easily, and is the most challenging of the set. Third times a charm? That’s one word for it, I suppose!

To toast this trio of hexahedrons we turn to the sustainable and deliberate talents of Devin Kennedy, head bartender at New York’s Pouring Ribbons. His self-described cocktail style is “very simple”, and while that sentiment does capture his basic approach, there are also elements of efficiency, practicality and purposefulness built into it. Like finding a more efficient way to build a puzzle box, which simultaneously conserves materials and increases production and margins.

His Rule of Three cocktail is a Spanish style martini, broken into three parts. It starts with a Spanish gin from the isle of Manorca (I used a French gin with a similar profile), and includes a Spanish blanc vermouth. These two ingredients are to be expected for a classic martini. Kennedy also adds an unusual Spanish sherry to the mix, Palo Cortado, which adds a new freshness, acidity and “pop”. I used Amontillado sherry, which is a close substitute for Palo Cortado, although every style of sherry is unique. Finally there is a dash of pink peppercorn tincture (a simple infusion in neutral grain spirits or vodka) which amplifies the gin. Kennedy suggests drinking this on the beaches of Jerez with a few friends, which sounds pretty good to me. I’ll meet you there. Cheers!

Rule of Three by Devin Kennedy

1 oz gin (preferably  Xoriguer Gin de Mahon)

1 oz blanc vermouth (preferably Lustau Blanco)

1 oz palo cortado sherry (preferably Lustau Penisula)

3 drops pink peppercorn tincture

Grapefruit peel

Express the grapefruit peel into a mixing glass and add it plus all ingredients. Stir with ice and strain into a favorite glass. Arrange a new peel to cast a shadow “3” when the light hits it.

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