Twelve years ago, I had an idea for what became Jabberwocky Audio Theater.

Eleven years ago, I knew the first show to kick it off: a space opera based on a fictional setting I’d been toying with since 1998. A pilot script was written. Auditions were held and a great cast assembled. “The Pilot” was recorded. More scripts were written. More recording. A lot of life happened in between, with plenty of starts and stops. However, as they say, theater is life with the boring bits cut out. So let’s deal with the now.

It’s twelve years later and the last episode of Rogue Tyger, episode 30, is done. It’s all ready to be broadcast and podcast starting Sunday, August 4th.

Those of you who listen to Rogue Tyger know that the fictional Tyger crew will kick back with a glass or several of kaoliang, a very real distilled liquor made from sorghum.

When I decided that the crew, and especially Enling, would favor this drink, I naturally had to do some research. The bottle you see above is one of the results of that research. Listeners more familiar with gaoliang — or baijiu in general — can let us know if this is a popular brand or not (it’s what was at a local liquor store that actually stocked baijiu). One of my happiest moments in writing “The Pilot” was confirming that people will drink shots of kaoliang chilled, and so I kept that scene with Aidan and Enling in the script. It’s always nice when things that work dramatically can reflect what’s been done culturally.

Yeah, that’s a paper towel to keep my hand from freezing. It’s not like I’m Tinker who can hold ice-cold bottles without a problem… Plus, robots don’t drink kaoliang (mostly).

And now, these many years later, we’re at the final steps of that journey of so many miles. I’m absolutely ecstatic about what we’ve been able to do with this first show… and so it seemed more than appropriate to celebrate the way the crew of the Tyger would. I hope you all listen in to the season finale on August 4th and, should you care to, enjoy some kaoliang (though I have to caution you from personal experience: not being a Spacer, I’m still getting used to the taste).

干杯 ( Gānbēi !)

— Bjorn Munson
Deepest Springfield, July 2019