Against All Odds: Celebrating Return of the Jedi with Two Cocktails from “Endor” to “It’s a Trap!”

A year has passed since Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) admitted their love for one another.  Probably because Han's past has finally caught up to him and he is being frozen in carbonite to take to Jabba the Hutt (voiced Larry Ward).  It's okay, because Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) has a plan, which is for everyone to be captured by Jabba and the only droid that would have done the math on the success rate, C3PO (Anthony Daniels) was left out of the planning stages- Somewhere around 1.3%.  With a couple of Jedi tricks and R2D2 (as a key player, it happens, and now the band of rebels must save the planet Endor from Death Star Doom. 

"Endor" is our first cocktail.  We wanted something with forest botanicals, warm, and a touch of sweetness as the home of the furry, fighting Ewoks.  This is a Terroir Gin- forward cocktail  we went with St. George's which is woodsy and infused with Douglas fir and other forest floor botanicals that keep it crisp, citrusy and fresh.  Adding Cinnamon, Ginger, and Maple Syrup give the cocktail a warm, rich bark flavor that really makes you feel like you're in the depths of a red wood forest.  The lemon juice and the rhubarb bitters bring back some of the bright, vegetal flavors in the gin and it is served in a rocks glass with a chunky piece of Cinnamon bark for the look and feel of the thick Endor forest.  Unfortunately for Luke, the forest isn't thick enough to obscure him from Darth Vader (James Earl Jones (voice), Sebastian Shaw (unmasked Anakin) and David Prowse (physical actor)).  Darth Vader is there looking for his son, and he brings with him an Empire battalion to fight against the rebels.  

While Luke, Leia, Han and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) lead a covert team on the planet to infiltrate the Empire base and lower the Death Star's shields, Lando Calrissian (Bily Dee Williams) and Admiral Akbar (Tim Rose (puppeteer), Erik Bauersfeld (voice)) command the rebel group that will attach the Death Star from space.  As the rebel space battalion goes in to attack the Death Star, Admiral Ackbar realizes that it is fully operational and that they've been lured into an ambush.  He exclaims, "It's a Trap!", and the rebel army is left to fight their way out.  "It's a Trap" is our second cocktail, inspired by the ambush, we wanted to craft a cocktail that is so well balanced and delicious, you don't realize how strong it really is.  Served in a Collins glass, this cocktail is an (almost) equal parts cocktail of Tequila, Gin, Silver Rum, Melon Liqueur, Pineapple Juice, and Lime Juice.  Shake it to emulsify the alcohol into the juices and top with soda water if there is any space in the glass.  This cocktail is a bit sweet, tangy, and with a hint of smoke and botanicals from the Tequila and Gin.  Easy to make, easy to drink, because "It's a Trap"!