Nailed It

Bill Sheckels has been crafting fine furniture for over fifty years. He has been fortunate to run a successful small business over the years in pursuit of his life’s passion. His beautiful craft is highlighted by Scandinavian and Shaker style sensibilities and the simplicity of form that follows function.

Bill also has a passion for puzzles and makes them in his spare time (which he has more of lately, certainly good news). His designs, like his furniture, are elegantly simple in appearance and offer the satisfying feel of a hand-crafted object. While his puzzle shop offers a wide range of interlocking and put-together type diversions, I am of course most fond of the puzzle boxes he has made. He recently thought up an idea for the classic “nail box”, an old puzzle box trope which uses a few nails to keep the lid secured, unless you know the clever trick. I cannot claim to know the exact origins of this puzzle mechanism, although Bill points to a design called the “Johnny Walker Trick Match Box” which was patented by Herbert Taylor in England, 1910. The reference is found in Slocum and Botermans “New Book of Puzzles”, 1992, and the puzzle can be found in the Lilly Library archives. The mechanism was incorporated in Nob Yoshigahara’s famous Cross Puzzle (Dualock) in 1981, and again in Akio Kamei’s innovative Top Box. Bill wanted to introduce a new spin on the old idea, and succeeded. Characteristically simple in appearance, with a nice color contrast of cherry and wenge woods, his nail box is very unassuming. You are compelled to perform the classic move, if only to confirm it will not do the trick here. Eventually, a thought may occur to you, which you might dismiss out of hand, thinking, well, that would be clever and fun, but it couldn’t possibly work like that, how could it? The truth is, Bill did not set out to make the box work in this way (I am being obscure on purpose, of course), yet succeeded nonetheless. It’s a brilliant new twist on the old design, and another milestone on the timeline of this classic.

Speaking of twists on old classics, there has been a growing interest in non-alcoholic spirits in the last few years, using various distillation and extraction techniques. One of the earliest companies to do this well is Seedlip, whose head distiller relies on techniques and recipes from a 1651 book about herbal medicine by John French called The Art of Distillation. Using these age old methods and real copper pot stills, he has created a series of distilled non-alcoholic spirits using farm grown botanicals and herbs that each evoke a distinct profile. They may be reminiscent of common alcoholic spirits, but are not meant to be compared directly. Their “Spice” spirit is full of cardamom, allspice and citrus.

Another company making waves (and winning awards) in the non-alcoholic spirits space is Lyre’s, whose range of offerings is directly meant to mimic their alcoholic doppelgangers. The Australian brand is named after the Lyre bird, a true imposter that can mimic the cries of twenty other birds. I’ve been on a quest to create a non-alcoholic daiquiri (rum, lime, simple syrup) that is hard to distinguish from the real thing, and I think I’ve finally nailed it using a combination of Seedlip Spice and Lyre’s spiced rum substitute. There’s also a delicious coconut and cucumber syrup in there that doesn’t hurt either. The drink is without question the tastiest “zero-proof” cocktail I’ve ever made, and offers a new twist for anyone looking for a way to enjoy a drink while staying healthy. Cheers!

Nail Trick

1 oz Seedlip Spice

1 oz Lyre’s Spiced Cane Sugar spirit

¾ oz lime

¼ oz orange

¾ oz cucumber coconut syrup

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a favorite glass. Garnish with a nail trick lime wedge.

Cucumber coconut syrup: Measure equal parts coconut water and sugar, and blend with half a peeled cucumber per 1 cup liquid. Strain and bottle for use.

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