With April Fools falling on a Saturday, we figured we’d round up some of the best April fish fools for you.
Get Wild . . . On the Rocks! with New Battenkill Gin
If you’ve spent any time over the past few years perusing the shelves of your local liquor mart or the racks behind your favorite bar, you’ve surely noticed the rise of small-batch gins. Many of these are pushing the boundaries of what gin can be—adding a variety of botanicals, as well other less traditional flavorings—offering consumers a wide range of choices. Now, there is one more.
Orvis is proud to introduce—in collaboration with Vermont’s own Caledonia Spirits, makers of Barr Hill Gin—a revolutionary new option for lovers of the juniper berry. There has simply never been a spirit like Battenkill Gin, which offers a taste experience that connects to the history and traditions of the Orvis Company.
The genesis of the idea came from across the Pond, when Richard Banbury, Director of Export for Orvis UK, sat down for dinner at The Pig Hotel in Bath, where he fell in love with a Gin-Cured Trout Salad. The meal was so delicious that it stayed on his mind, and the next time he was enjoying that most British of drinks, a gin and tonic, he thought, “If gin-cured trout is so delicious, why not try it the other way ’round: trout flavored gin?”
LINK (via: Orvis)
Companies Give In to International Fly Pattern Authority
In mid-March, when the International Fly Pattern Authority (IFPA) issued its first official “Guide to Pattern-Naming Standards,” its rulebook for fly-name acceptability in wholesale and retail channels, few people in the fly fishing business expected any merchants to submit new fly names for review.
A surprise announcement today from the IFPA, however, reveals that two of the biggest fly-pattern retailers, FliegeFeder and Sivreaux Outfitters, submitted a complete list of new patterns for their fall 2017 catalogs, and that seven of those flies will be banned voluntarily following IFPA assessment. Peckatoe River Products, the third biggest fly-pattern retailer, refused to submit to review.
“We see this as a step in the right direction in the fight against obscenity and profanity in fly-tying,” IFPA president and founder Todd McRath said, in an interview exclusive to MidCurrent.com. “We’re protecting the gentlemanly art of fly tying from relentless, targeted obscenity.”
LINK (via: Midcurrent)
LOOP Opti Vision
Trump Tower to be built within Bears Ears
Washington D.C. — Speaking Saturday from the Office of American Innovation in the recently repurposed East Wing library, President Donald Trump announced plans for a new Trump Tower within Bears Ears National Monument.
Why Bears Ears — a location of protracted land-use fights — of all places? Under threats of a massive reversal of the freshly designated monument, Trump wanted to first see whether or not he “might like the place.” As the new head of the Department of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, prepared a trip to meet with opponents of the contentious designation, his aides produced a memo recommending that the monument boundaries be, not only maintained, but also possibly expanded — with a special focus on real estate development. The memo was then leaked to the Oval Office, at which point Trump, who is not an April Fool, said: “Zinke, you will not visit this place. I will.”
Four days later, after five rounds of golf in Moab, Utah, and a quick drive-by visit to Bears Ears buttes, Trump scheduled a special press conference from the Oval Office. “The spectacular and totally unique desert views remind me of one of my most favorite places in this beautiful country, Mar-A-Lago,” he said. He stopped for a moment, as Kellyanne Conway reapplied her lipstick out of camera view, and lifted up his hands (which didn’t look too small, but might have been a little swollen) as if signaling a field goal. “Picture this: White House West.”
“The potential for a world-class hotel would bring jobs, jobs, jobs!” the president added, suggesting that the OAI, headed by his son-in-law Jared Kushner, would spearhead the project.
LINK (via: High Country News)
With virtually every day looking increasingly like April 1st to me these days, I believe the old Fools Thing’s days might be numbered.
PS – Anybody want to fund my new Doggie Divan with Self-Serve Pooch Snacks Facility and Bar…?