Safe Hold / Soft Hold
A baby monkey has quietly stolen the internet’s heart.
Punch, a young macaque at Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan, wanders the enclosure carrying a stuffed orangutan toy he’s become deeply attached to. See Article Here.
One thing that stands out is how Punch clings, sometimes to the toy, sometimes to the keepers who raised him, a small moment of care that shaped this drink into both an alcoholic and a non-alcoholic version built from the same structure.
Safe Hold
(Alcoholic)
Toasted rice–infused shochu
Japanese whisky
Sencha tea syrup
Sudachi
Saline
Soft Hold
(Non-alcoholic)
Sencha tea
Toasted rice syrup
Sudachi
Saline
Tea brings the grounding, rice adds warmth, sudachi keeps the structure lifted, and saline pulls everything into focus. Both versions are served cold over a single clear block in a rocks glass, finished with a shard of senbei resting on the ice.
Two drinks built from the same idea, inspired by the quiet care between Punch and the keepers who helped him find something to hold on to.