Price supports rarely benefit small farmers.
Unicorns
What exactly is a unicorn? A mythical creature usually represented as a horse with a single horn projecting from its forehead? Sure. But ‘unicorn’ can also mean something that’s difficult to find or obtain. Since nobody in living memory has sighted a ‘real’ unicorn, those are really one and the same. So ‘unicorn’ is synonymous for something wondrous, rare, and covetable.
A cursory internet search gleaned further facts: Unicorns were depicted in early Mesopotamian art, and mentioned in ancient Chinese myths. Drinking from their horns was said to cure stomach ailments. They were (are?) forest-dwellers. And of course, only a young maiden was said to be able to tame this mythical beast.
There were some variant definitions that were less than family-friendly. And I found one essay which proclaimed that a unicorn, to a heterosexual woman, is ‘a straight, attractive, single, funny, monogamous, communicative, caring man who is interested in her.’ Well.
At Pour Richard’s, we use ‘unicorn’ to denote something both awesome and rare: the single vineyard Sancerre we got one case of, the limited edition whiskey everyone wants and nobody has, the once-and-only-once collaboration beer that disappears in minutes. In fact, we carry one brewery so rare that we don’t even mention it by name. We just post a picture of a unicorn; our best beer customers know what that means and come running.
A few weeks ago, someone asked me for something I considered unreasonable. Talking to Alecia afterward, I said that as long as we were looking for the impossible, I’d like a pony, please…no, NOT a pony, a unicorn! A multi-colored unicorn with a sparkly horn. Please.
Alecia got me a unicorn. Multi-colored. And quite sparkly, too.
And why shouldn’t we have a unicorn at the store? We have a boat, a bathtub, a roll-top desk, and a saddle. The unicorn fits right in. So while we’ll continue to have unicorn wine, beer, and spirits, now we also have a cuddly version. Kids love him.
Come on by and visit. His name is Bosco.