A spirited journey through the world of collectible artisan puzzles
Pairing craft cocktails with crafty puzzles


Voyages Extraordinaires – Part I
In 1866 (so the story goes) nations around the globe begin sighting a mysterious sea monster.

A Day at the Circus
What has 114 individual parts, weighs almost 1.5 kg, pays homage to a petting zoo, the circus, an Angel, Harry Potter, and has been confused with a berry?

Coasting Along
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



Brass Monkey 5
What’s heavy and made of brass, has six pieces that fit together, looks the same as four other things and is totally different?

Brass Lighthouse
Whenever I am visiting a destination where there is a lighthouse, I find a way to fit that into the journey and see it with my own eyes. So here we are again taking a little tour, or detour, to another.


The Joy of Hex
From the mischievous minds at play in the Two Brass Monkeys workshop in merry old England comes their most raucous achievement yet, a set of twelve hexagonal burrs stick puzzles that are sure to make you blush.

Monolith
Just when I was beginning to get melancholy for having to say goodbye to Wonderland and head back through the looking glass to reality, aliens have landed to distract me. A giant silver monolith has appeared out of nowhere and may hold the secrets of the Universe, if only we are clever enough to decode them.

Canfield-Shaker
I’m about to shake things up here at Boxes and Booze – figuratively, literally and otherwise.


Beer-Stein
“Beer, if drunk in moderation, softens the temper, cheers the spirit and promotes health.” – Thomas Jefferson

Feed the Monkey
“The higher a monkey climbs, the more you see of his behind.” – General Joseph Stilwell




Brass Monkey
The burr, for the uninitiated, is an ancient mechanical puzzle likely dating back centuries. There is correlation with the classic six piece interlocked burr, a fusion of six sticks with internal notches that fit together in a specific way, and Chinese joinery techniques from the fourth century B.C.E.

Popplock T9
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Rainer Popp’s fabulous T9 puzzle lock, regarded by many as one of his very best.