SPY COCKTAILS!

SPYTails!

  

Our spy-themed cocktail night started out on the perfect foot when this strange, unidentified woman appeared at our door. 

 Soon the known agents gathered - including the youngest (double agent T. Bearskins) seen here slyly leaking information to David while appearing NOT to move his lips. Cunning.

Now Agent S.Goose is being incriminated. He appears to be the feared 'Puppetman' if this picture's any proof. Double-agent T. Bearskins is either the intended puppet or an unwitting participant in a ventriloquist act.  

 First drink of the evening- a creation of Agent Specs. 'Moonraker' has a planetary feel (partly do to the color and the satellite-shaped ice cubes). He wanted to do a James Bondish gin and tonic - which is just what this is. A great tip in making opaque ice cubes (when you're using a fancy tray) is to use flat tonic instead of regular water. The contrast when this hit the drink is spectacular-- and when they melt they don't water down the drink.

 Moonraker:
- splash of black vodka
- splash blue curacao
- double splash of gin
- pour tonic to taste
- add spacey ice cubes

When we returned from orbit it was time for my drink...

 The drink in question being prepped. But until the agents solved the cipher-- there was no dispensing of booze.

 Agent Ginger with her assignment

 Agent Fro -- prematurely cocky.

 Agent Specs

 Agent S.Goose looking very suspicious indeed.

 Agent Ham and Cheese accepting her assignment....

AGENT 000000007,

TOP SECRET. CONSEQUENCES COULD BE FATAL. THE FAT MAN MAY SING. THE EAGLE MAY CRAP THE NEST. TRUST NO ONE. THE PARTRIDGE HAS LEFT THE PERCH. THE TURKEY IS WEARING GAUCHOS. THE INDIAN IS DRUNK (BUT WHAT ELSE IS NEW).

DESTROY AFTER READING.

 The message was followed by a cipher. It was a substitution cipher--meaning they needed to KNOW the code word to re-order the alphabet and crack the code. It was in their hands-- but very hard to find.

 Agent Ginger went straight for it-- noticing immediately that there was a totally useless postage stamp on the corner of their assignment envelope-- she peeled it off and found the code word underneath (dumbwaiter). Luckily, no one else saw this stroke of genius-- many toiling on for agonizing hours (kidding-- minutes).

 Here's Agent S.Goose deep into his vortex.

 Once cracked the message read: Order a Honey Trap--- brilliant!

 Here come the Honey Traps to a roomful of thirsty agents.

 The Honey Trap:
- teaspoon honey
- 2 mandarin parts (and a little syrup)
- 3/4 ounce Benedictine
- sprig of thyme
- stir
- ice cubes
- top with orange juice

 Agent Ginger relaxing (or is she???) with T. Bearskins.

 Agent S.Goose entering the arena with his mind-erasing concoction-- the Bereshit-- inspired by the first word of the Torah (meaning 'In the Beginning'). Deciphering the Kabbalah will give greater meaning to the Torah. This potent delight has the strange ability to both enlightening and knock you out. Deliciously deep.

 Bereshit:
- 1 prune
- 2 dashes of Pechaud bitters
- 1/2 ounce of Hemel op Aarde
- 3/4 ounce Grasovka
- add club soda to taste

 The delicious forbidden prune

 And here comes the formidable Agent Ginger with her tray of mind-bending shots. The drinks came with a small wire hanger containing a mysterious scroll of text. Once unwound, the 6 text clippings each had certain letters circled in pencil. Baffling. We soon found that the letters were a red herring. Then where to start? We were given the clue that the presentation was a HUGE hint. Hmmm....

 Lovely drinks on a tray encircling a flame!

 So where is the clue?

 Here are some of the agents frantically trying to make sense of their fragment of script. No dice.

 Sadly, my scroll immediately fell into my drink. I suppose I was masquerading as Agent Butterfingers.
Arjen heated it over the flame....

 But nothing. The clues on my scroll were lost-- washed away!

 But wait a minute-- after MUCH thinking, many dead-ends, and more clues... WAS there something written on the scrolls. That could only be brought out over the flame????

 Ho ho! Here comes the message... the name of Agent Ginger's drink....
The Ginger Honey Trap!
Apparently great minds REALLY DO think alike-- both Agent Ginger and Agent Butterfingers coming up with an almost identical name! Holy moonballs!

Spelled out in lemon juice--- The Ginger Honey Trap

The Ginger Honey Trap:
-500 ml orange juice
-1 table spoon of pureed ginger
-Juice of 1 lime
-1 table spoon of honey
-2 ounces of gin









 

And here comes Agent Plaid with the last drink of the evening!

 The Casino Royale-- with a lovely, lemony Italian twist! And here is Agent Brown Paper Bag enjoying it with him. 

The Casino Royale:
- 1 ounce Limencello
- 2 ounces cranberry/blueberry juice
- shake over ice
- top up with sparkling lemonade

 My, how things have changed in the top-secret spy den in the last year.

   AND... and impromptu cipher Agent Plaid sprang on us-- way too complicated for Agent Butterfinger's feeble (pickled) brain.











Next Week:
Amazing Voyages and Intrepid Explorers!