Monterey-based dry craft Ratel Cider's crazy backstory.

Surreal elements attend the tale of Ratel Cider (238-3857), a locally sown dry-hopped hard apple cider that debuts this week. (And proves to be damn good.)

They include stories behind the name of the craft cider (a synonym for badger), why that name came up (paintballing plays a part), and how martial arts helped it come to be (jujitsu can be handy). And why its creator was into making high-end custom jewelry in the first place (aerospace engineering doesn’t demand much creativity).

One moment proves most surreal. It came as part of the armed robbery that inspired Ratel’s creator, Bryan Laschiver of Monterey, 37, to abandon his jewelry career and go all in on cider.

Nov. 6, 2013, he was working at La Renaissance jewelry store on Dolores Street in Carmel, like usual, where he helped handcraft custom rings, pendants, bracelets – with the precision of “a gnat’s eyelash.” Suddenly three men busted in. Two carried guns. When they moved to disable a security camera, beeping started. That alerts the store staff the device is no longer doing its job, but Laschiver told the thieves it was an alarm and they didn’t have long before cops arrived.

They grabbed what they could from the safe and a display case and ran out.

Laschiver yanked his hands free of the zip tie around his wrists and took chase.

A neighboring businessman joined him. That man, Steve Kaufman of Ladyfingers Jewelry, shouted a question to Laschiver as they sped down the sidewalk.

“Are they armed?!” he shouted.

“Yes! With guns!”

“So… why are we chasing them?”

Kaufman slowed down and watched Laschiver run on.

~ ~ ~

Why? would be the operative question in this whole thing.

Why Ratel as the name? His home-brew-and-paintball crew was called the Badger Brigade. After Laschiver adopted the same label as the team’s logo, similar naming became a natural extension. Ratel is another name for honey badger; cobra-hunting honey badgers were made infamous via a YouTube video called “The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger,” now viewed 77 million times. (Narrator Randall’s refrain “Honey badger don’t care” became a meme in a major way.)

Why cider? “Because everyone does beer and the wine market is flooded,” Laschiver says, “and I wanted to do something unique.” And he was good at it. Ratel, which looks like bright auburn Rosé in the glass, provides a floral nose followed by a crisp and balanced flavor, edged with a touch of tart, minimal sweetness and a 7.2 percent ABV that has no business being so smooth. He sources apples from a range of orchards he’s keeping closely guarded, achieving a difficult interplay of clean, sharp and bitter. After eight years of making it in a spare room at his house, he knows what he’s doing.

And yes: Why chase armed criminals? Because Laschiver’s calculations were surprisingly clear. As the stickup unfolded, he experienced a calming feeling he still can’t quite explain. He speculates that after seeing his boss’s eyes get awfully big, observing his client’s breathing accelerate into hyperventilation – “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god” – and detecting the edginess of the assailants, calm was key.

“It was very surreal,” he says. “Something in my head told me, ‘If I don’t get some control, someone could get hurt.’” He concedes training in jujitsu and different forms of karate had something to do with it.

Laschiver considered making a move on the man who held him, but realized that would be stupid because of the grip the thief had on his neck, with the gun pushed into his sternum.

When the burglars moved to zip tie their captives’ hands behind their backs, Laschiver quickly offered his wrists so they’d hopefully do it in front of him. They were too nervous to think about it. Then he flexed his wrists out, or as he says, “made my hands a little extra big.”

After the “alarm,” that made it possible for him to snap the tie and begin pursuit. He kept his distance, but could see them get in their vehicle. He relayed the make and model to the authorities, who set up a local grid on offramps and onramps.

The thieves were apprehended on Imjin Road in Marina. The police confiscated $175,000 in jewelry and few thousand more in cash.

“Bryan is a very fast-thinking guy,” shop owner Mario Agacanian says. “He had the guts to go after them. He saved the whole thing.”

Laschiver was left to think over life and death.

“I told the boss, ‘If I owned my store, maybe it would be worth the risk,’” he says. “I told him I want to pursue my love of hard cider.”

This piece hits the streets as Laschiver celebrates the debut of Ratel with vendors and friends at Melville Tavern in downtown Monterey. (See this issue's review of Melville here: "Melville Tavern wins with warmth and smart takes on classic food stuff.")

His growing list of carriers includes Melville, Carmel Belle, The Tuck Box, Cost Plus World Market and Post No Bills. The 22-ounce bottles go for around $14 in restaurants. Places like Melville, which will be Ratel's signature location (hosting parties and doing specials), already have it on draft.

So there’s serious momentum already. That fits with the theme. As Laschiver likes to say in his promotional materials: “If you know anything about the honey badger, you know that he’s serious. That’s what we’re bringing to you, serious cider.” With serious backstory.

~QUICKBITES~

• Crab House has opened on Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey with everything from crab nachos to crab Wellington. More on the blog.
• Props to Weekly contributor Stuart Thornton. His California Road Trip just took an Independent Publisher Book Award Gold Medal earlier this week.
• Third annual Taste of Spain ($79) with paella and a ton of bocadillos and pintxos by Executive Chef Tom Snyder, plus local wines from Morgan Winery, beer from North Coast Brewing and classical Spanish guitarist Catherine Broz, all happens at Esteban (1-800-222-2446) 5:30-9pm Thursday, April 21.
• Mondays at The Wharf Marketplace (649-1116) means $3 pints, $10 pitchers, $3 sliders and $5 quesadillas 4:30-6:30pm; the same time Thursday it’s free wine tastings with rotating wineries.
• A fresh monthly event called Soft Moon brings on a variety of Afro-soul, house, old-school dance beats, techno, hip-hop and disco from DJ Ana Lola Roman, an NYC transplant, at Cibo Ristorante. The 9pm-2am Saturday, April 16, installment also showcases Poppy’s Boutique and Goodful Slow Food.
• Hallelujah: It’s National Garlic Month.
• Montrio Bisto (648-8880) now does new desserts beyond items like the white chocolate brioche bread pudding and brown butter almond cakes. It also does smaller “sweet bites” (think s’more cups and red velvet cheesecake “sambas”), loaded coffees like the Mexican stand-off and dessert cocktails like the Pancho Villa and XXX Float.
• Bonus bone thrown from Montrio B: Every “Wine & Whiskers” Wednesday till Labor Day, $1 from every glass of wine benefits AFRP and pups get a dog treat created by Chef Tony Baker while enjoying the dog-friendly sidewalk patio.
• Anton & Michel (624-2406) has new menu items like paella Valencia, crab ravioli, Moroccan-spiced barramundi and Guinness-hoisin braised short ribs. Wine flights ($20) are new too.
• Will’s Fargo (659-2774) has its own new goodies like grilled bacon with “easy” eggs and chimichurri, burrata alla panna and asparagus-and-asiago ravioli.
• Mark Twain: “Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is.”