The toast to the Monolith takes us all the way back to colonial era America in the second half of the eighteenth century. A popular drink of the era to be found in pubs was a hearty mix of rum and apple cider known as a “Stone Fence”. There is a famous story about the raid and capture of Fort Ticonderoga from the British, a strategic victory for the Americans at the start of the Revolutionary War. The raid was led jointly by Benedict Arnold, a commissioned officer, and Ethan Allen, head of a northern militia, who joined forces. The night prior, they got drunk on Stone Fences at a local pub, then set out in a predawn raid to overtake the poorly guarded fort.

Perhaps toasting the Monolith with a Stone Fence is a bit of a misnomer, since a monolith is singular and the fence implies many stones. But if we place all ten Monoliths side by side we may have something. The Stone Fence has changed over the last two hundred and fifty years, and is now more commonly made using bourbon. Mixing apple cider with bourbon is one of my favorite winter potions, served warm with a bit of seasonal spice added. For the Monolith variation I paid homage to the past with an equal dose of strong rum and rye whiskey, plus a touch of Amaro di Angostura, which tastes deliciously of baking spice. Any combination along the theme with a proportion 2.5:1 of cider to brown spirit will work well, so mix up your own and start planning a revolution.

Monolith (A Stone Fence cocktail)

1 oz rye

1 oz dark rum

¼ oz Amaro di Angostura

5 oz apple cider

Add ingredients to a glass with ice and enjoy. Lemon peel monolith garnish. Also delicious warmed up on a cold night.

Since the monolith has appeared in Houston, all manner of mysterious mayhem has been unleashed. Stay tuned for an interstellar series into outer space …