Simpleton

Simple Lock 1

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler – Albert Einstein

Here’s a simple concept – pair a puzzle with a cocktail. Easy enough to understand, but try explaining it to anyone with no interest in one, or the other, or even both. But of course, I’m theoretically preaching to the converted, so I’ll smile and keep it simple. Welcome to another installment of “Locks and Libations”!

Simple Lock 1 by Simple Puzzle

Simplicity of design and elegance in motion can make for historically great inventions or products throughout history. The same can be said for puzzles. Mechanical puzzle enthusiasts, on the other hand, tend to be drawn to objects which appear complex and full of mysterious detail. Locking in on this analogy, take, for example, the T11 Popplock, which looks like a medieval fortress daring you to scale its defenses. Indeed, it remains one of the great puzzle locks of modern times. Yet there is something equally compelling about a pure, smooth object that promises a depth of complexity belied by its simple appearance. This “Apple-esque” aesthetic is at the heart of the Simple Lock 1, a brilliant new design by French mechanical engineer Benjamin Baley, who shared his story about the puzzle and his process.

plan B

“I’m Ben. I’m 25 and I’m French. I have always been interested in understanding how things work, disassembling every objects and creating all sort of crazy ideas. I have always been interested by puzzles but when I discovered the world of collectibles puzzles around 3 years ago, it was really something else. I was immediately extremely interested and I started devouring all the puzzle reviews on You Tube and others.”

Ben has an inventive mind and has been bringing his puzzling ideas to life for some time already, but Simple Lock 1 is his first “commercial” product. Even so it was simply born out of his desire to share a great puzzle with the rest of the world. “As a mechanical engineer, I quickly started creating and building my first puzzles. With time, I developed increasingly complex and interesting mechanisms. The Simple Lock 1 is the first one that I am selling but it is definitely not the first one than I created. At the beginning, I was creating this puzzle for myself, and for the pleasure of making real the mechanisms I had in mind. But after seeing my friends testing them, I realized that it would be a shame not to share them with puzzles lovers around the world. So I decided to create « Simple Puzzle ». I chose this name because I really like the idea of creating something with a great complexity into a really simple looking object. I also like the paradox that these puzzles are not simple at all. Simplicity and complexity are often very close in the end.”

lo(o)cks can be deceiving

From the moment you begin to explore (and try to solve) the Simple Lock 1, it becomes clear that Ben is a clever fellow simply made for making puzzles. Without spoiling any of the experience, I’ll just say he draws you in immediately and forces you to pay attention. Whatever you may have thought before picking up this lock rapidly becomes irrelevant, and you are hooked. The lock pays homage to another one of the great puzzle locks of all time, in it’s own truly unique way. There is plenty here to discover, if you can – some things are extremely well disguised – and rest assured there is an elegant solution. Despite how impossible that might seem at times!

observation here is key

“When I start a new puzzle, I often base it on a main idea that popped out of my mind (I find them during a shower most of the time). Then all the rest is built around this one. I pay a lot of attention to the rhythm, the originality and the fun of the solving. I make, remake and modify prototypes until I’m completely satisfied. After that I make the final 3D plans for machining and selling. All the Simple Puzzles are made in France and they are assembled by myself in my workshop.” Ben has completed an initial run of locks, each with its own number for posterity, but to avoid disrupting the clean aesthetic, he has placed these numbers inside, and you will need to open the back of the lock to find it. Doing so will also allow you to marvel at the elegant design, and explain any remaining confusion in your mind – or not! Just try not to do so until after you have solved the puzzle. Ben will be making more of the locks, so you can head to his website to order one, and keep an eye out for his future designs.

The truth is rarely pure and never simple – Oscar Wilde

The Simple Highball

The best cocktails are often the simplest. Many of the classics even have “simple” mixed in – simple syrup (sugar water), at any rate. Searching for “simple cocktails” online will yield any number of these simple recipes. One of my all time favorite simple cocktails (and cocktail in general) is the classic daiquiri, which is merely the simple combination of rum, fresh lime juice and simple syrup. It remains one of the absolute best ways to enjoy rum. But to celebrate this Simple Lock required something a little less … simple.

a simple preparation

Like the lock itself, the drink had to look uncomplicated, unfussy and elegantly pure. It had to look simple. Of course, it couldn’t actually be simple. On the contrary, it needed to be extremely complex! The premise for the drink, having thus been established, needed a template. One of the simplest cocktail templates in history is the highball, which is basically a base spirit plus soda water. Whiskey soda, rum and Coke, gin and tonic. You know the highball, whether you know it or not. For the Simple Highball, however, things get a little complicated. The base spirit here is an aged tequila, an anejo, which by definition means it has rested in an oak barrel for one to three years, a process which imparts a warm amber or darker hue reminiscent of aged whiskey (for the same reason). However, this particular anejo has then been carefully filtered to remove all the color, rendering it crystal clear again! A trick of the senses ensues. Using this exceptional tequila in a cocktail is a bit reckless (most advocate sipping it neat). That alone with soda water would make for an elegantly deceptive highball. Yet there is still much more at play inside this glass, with bitterness and depth provided by Salers, a historical French aperitif produced in the Auvergne region, and subtle sweetness, which enhances all the flavors, from Chareau, an aloe based liquor produced in California. Topped off with tonic water, it’s simply sensational. Cheers!

the simple things in life

The Simple Highball

1.5 oz Don Julio 70 crystalino anejo (or substitute standard blanco tequila)

½ oz Salers

½ oz Chareau (or substitute simple syrup)

Tonic

Build ingredients in order in a tall glass with ice (use clear ice for the full effect). Top off with the tonic and stir gently to combine.

explore more: