To celebrate ⅓ of a decade, we dug into the mailbag for some of the choicest correspondence we’ve received from you loyal readers over the last 365 days (give or take; we’re not mathematicians). Enjoy. And thanks for writing. (And reading.)

To NPH and your wonderful team…thanks.

Curious, do you ever get tired of hearing how amazing, witty, quasi informative and fun your Wondercade emails are? Because they are. Would love to know how you come up with the topics and how far in advance something that looks so effortless, which makes it masterful, takes to create? A look behind the curtain @wondercade perhaps?

Anywho, not sure how many emails you’re able to read, so I hope you see the “thanks” at least in the subject line. Because your weekly correspondence brightens our day and we thought we’d take a moment to share our bit of joy and appreciation with you.

Keep up the much needed good work in this crazy (and getting scarier) world!

With peace and gratitude,

—Cher D.

NPH: Thanks for your kind words, Cher. (Only quasi informative though?!) Idea generation involves me taping notecards of random topics onto a dartboard, drinking an espresso martini, closing my eyes and tossing a dart (not a euphemism). Whatever the dart lands on goes into the issue. It’s a fairly unsafe though extremely scientific method.

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I read the latest Wondercade and was impressed with your dark spirits review.

So…Scotch. I’m sure you are familiar with the Scotch Advent calendar by Drinks by the Dram? It’s amazing and annoying at the same time because you get to imbibe these amazing Scotches that can’t be bought in the USA, sigh. So yes I’d love to read anything more you have to say on Scotch!

Cocktails: LOVE, love, love me a great Penicillin, but be wary: in some bars in NYC it is made with rye whiskey, not Scotch — so make sure when ordering to ask for a specific Scotch. Lastly, the Celtic Guey: an amazing blend of whiskey and tequila. (Courtesy of Food Republic.)

INGREDIENTS:

• ¾ oz. Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition Whisky
• ¾ oz. Espolòn Tequila Reposado
• 1 oz. St. George Spiced Pear Liqueur
• ½ oz. fresh lemon juice
• ½ oz. fresh orange juice
• ½ oz. simple syrup
• 2 dashes Cocktail Punk Smoked Orange Bitters

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine ingredients into a tall Collins glass filled with crushed ice.
2. Use a swizzle stick to blend from the bottom up.
3. Add additional fresh crushed ice on top of the blended drink, pack down tightly and garnish with mint spring, brandied cherry and a straw.

Thank you for putting out such an informative and entertaining email!

XO

—Kymm H.

NPH: Hi, Kymm, and thanks for passing along the Celtic Guey recipe. I’ve never tried it, but I’m into Scotch and tequila, and as a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup diehard, I’ve learned that two great-tasting things can sometimes taste even better together. But yes, Scotch is, as you wrote (a few times), amazing. Both the drink and the clear tape. Did you read about my trip to Scotland back in the summer of 2023? You might like it. Lots of whisk(e)y. And Advil. Which also go well together.

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Greetings Narrator,

I wanted to take the time to thank you for your time.

Your hard work spent creating these wonderful issues each week always brings a smile to my face and a few new tidbits of information to add to my mind palace.

You are spreading true joy and inspiration.

My sincerest thanks,

—Shelby H.

NPH: Passing this one off to my alter ego colleague, The Narrator.

The Narrator: Thank you, Mr. P-H, and thank you, Shelby! As my high school health education teacher, Mr. A. B. Stain, used to say, spreading joy beats spreading the clap.

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A riddle by Ralphy

I am continuously growing.

Many people study me but no one will ever truly know me.

Eventually everyone and everything becomes me.

What am I?

—Jessica R.

NPH: One of the many submissions we received for our readers’ riddles issue! Scroll to the very bottom of this email for the answer.

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Hi NPH!

I am a huge fan, and insanely impressed by all the cool things you do. My favorite is your very comedic (and iconic) role of Barney Stinson in HIMYM! I have been bingeing it these past few days (I’m not joking when I say I started less than two weeks ago and I’m already on season 6!) Please tell me Barney and Robin get together, it’s killing me.

I also wanted to say I am a huge fan of your books and read every single one of them when I was a kid. This is also very random, but my dad actually met you once working for the National Christmas Tree Association, where you told people to keep Christmas real by buying a real tree.

I also wanted to mention my sister loves musicals, and is absolutely obsessed with Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Anyways, she dreams of becoming a stage manager on Broadway. She made me watch your “Bigger!” performance, and I did love it. However, she laughed at me when I asked if you were in any musicals, before I realized I was very dumb. Anyway, I ordered your autobiography, and I am very excited to read it.

But to sum up this semi-long email, you have inspired so many people. Not just me, but also my dad, sister, brother and mom, all for different reasons: musicals, trees, your twins (I forgot to mention, I’m a triplet and identical twin, my mom is kinda partial to multiples and she loves that you have twins) and your funny appearance as Barney.

So thank you, NPH, for all that you do, and the many, many laughs you have given the world. (I know that sounds very cheesy, but it’s true.)

—Reagan O.

NPH: Wow, Reagan. This is wonderfully overwhelming. I’m so honored to learn that my work — and appreciation for real Christmas trees, and my reproductive prowess — has resonated with you and your whole family. You’ve made my day. Truly.

P.S. You neglected to mention my playing cards and BoxONE game.

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Who the hell are you ??!!

—Megan M.

NPH: Mind you, this email was sent in with no subject line, and no further context. Just the 5 words, odd spacing and aggressive punctuation. That said, I am Neil Patrick Harris. Son of Sheila and Ron. Brother, father, husband. As for my work and tastes, might I suggest, Megan, that you connect with Reagan O.?

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