CNN, ESPN and Esquire recently went wild for a story featuring a local girl and a rabid raccoon. Rachel Borch of Hope, Maine, found herself in the spotlight after a violent encounter in the woods with a vicious raccoon that latched its teeth onto her hand, forcing the 21-year-old to drown the rabid animal in a nearby puddle. “A Maine story worthy of Hemingway. Fi- nally!” quipped one online commenter. J u ly / a u g u s t 2 0 1 7 3 9 A Furry Encounter T heGreat Pretende r For sale: A replica lighthouse in Durham, 10 miles from the coast, complete with a fourth- floor observatory deck ideal for watching imaginary ships sail past. Yours for $235,000. There’s a one-in-fifty million chance of even spotting one, and yet three have been reportedly caught off the coast of Maine. Given its rarity, and the fact scientists can’t fully explain the reason for its beguiling dual-col- ored shell, the Harlequin lobster is a biological enigma. “Just as bizarre as the asymmet- ric colored lobsters are the cases in which a lobster is male on one side and female on the other,” says Rick Wahle, Research Professor at the University of Maine School of Ma- rine Sciences and the Darling Marine Center. According to The Lobster In- Continued on next page By Blair Best Forget Chardonnay. Pete Dubuc and Amanda O’Brien are bringing a very different kind of wine to the table. The two Mainers will open Eighteen Twenty winery this summer in East Bayside, using locally grown rhubarb to produce “rha”–their flag- ship rhubarb wine. The brand name refers to the year rhubarb became available to buy on the public market in the U.S. And the taste? “It’s dry and acidic–like the fruit itself” says O’Brien. “As such, it goes nicely with fatty or sweet foods. We like it with goose pâté, sweet-cured ham, goat cheese, Camembert, and even chocolate- covered blueberries.” Overheating in the Old Port this summer? Head down to Gelato Fiasco and cool down Maine- style with a serving of Allen’s Coffee Brandy- flavored ice cream. The local liquor, also vilified as the Biddeford Martini or Bitch Whiskey, has reigned as the best-sell- ing spirit in Maine for the past three decades. The Washington Post once wrote that “Allen’s Coffee Brandy is popular enough that a Bangor news- paperman once suggested putting it on the back of Maine’s state quarter.“ Put that in your Thermos. Clockwise from top left: ansyvan; dustin delano facebook; megan dunlap; Vladimir Wrangel; courtesy photo