It is customary that on the morning immediately following the birthdays of my weird uncle figure, my figurative Wonder Twin and my actual brother, we celebrate Star Wars Day with the traditional “May the 4th be with you” greeting. Best I can tell, that is all that is required to honor this completely made up holiday. I suppose we could watch a movie marathon or just queue up some sort of supercut of great moments from that galaxy that is both long ago and far, far away. Some folks honor the day with a tall glass of Blue Milk, but I feel like we are a little fancier than that, so won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Blue Lady.

I’m torn, because this one actually looks interesting, but blue curaçao is traditionally a red flag when it comes to drinks. My feeling toward this “look at me” spirit that is identical in taste to its clear cousin is well documented, but sometimes we find a diamond in that cyan rough. This one felt like a real cocktail, but I could not find a clear provenance on the drink other than instagram and pinterest posts with wildly varying recipes. I decided to throw caution to the wind and pick the most interesting version, so we will see how things turn out, but if I am honest, I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

Grab your tins and pop in 1/3 of an ounce of gin, I chose Corsair American; 3/4 ounce of blue curaçao, 1/4 of an ounce of Cointreau, 2/3 of an ounce of simple syrup, 3/4 of an ounce of fresh squeezed lemon juice and an egg white or 3/4 of an ounce of aquafaba. Add ice and give it a good shake to that disco classic version of the “Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band“ by Meco. I wore that 45 out, playing it over and over way back when. For the kids in the back, a 45 was a smaller vinyl record played at 45 revolutions per minute, think of it as an early Cassingle. When your tins are well chilled, about the time they end the first fanfare, strain from one tin to another and go for a nice dry shake. If you time this out for when that inexplicably dixieland inspired space band starts playing you can pretend you are Wuher, whipping up the drinks behind the bar at Chalmun’s Spaceport Cantina, assuming you have a dirty robe and hate droids. When you feel like you have done your part for the rebellion, pour into a chilled coupe and garnish with a dehydrated orange wheel.

Well, that is surprisingly nice and I guess it should be. As I mixed it I realized that this is basically the classic White Lady, with blue curaçao subbed in for the triple sec. There are other minor variations that make this one a bit sweeter, but these ladies are as similar to each other as they are different from the Pink Lady, which also packs a much more serious punch. It is pretty, and I guess that is the point, but Obi-Wan warned us “Your eyes can deceive you. Don’t trust them.” I’d suggest you close your eyes or put the blast shield down, “Stretch out with your feelings” and you will find this is a decent cocktail, in spite of its gaudy attire, “from a certain point of view.” Of course, “you’re going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.”

A lot of folks don’t go in for celebrating a silly movie from the 70’s, but I think it is kind of wonderful. Look at the shared experiences so many of us have enjoyed, all because some folks got together to write and film a story, a story that spawned a universe. So, even if you don’t care for the movies or the comics or the Holiday Special, at least take a moment to acknowledge the wonder of human creation. That we share, culturally, an entire shorthand of quotes, ideas and joy. Our world has changed since 1977, mostly for the better. I find it funny as I try to explain life before the internet and streaming or even really before home videos to the kid. In those days if you wanted to see something again, you had to go back to the cinema and I did that, a bunch. You see, Grandaddy would take me to the movies every Saturday to see anything I wanted to. I don’t think he ever really cared what we saw and half the time he would sit in that big air-conditioned theater and nap. It was pretty rare for him to even suggest watching something other than what I picked out, even when I chose the same movie over and over. Legend has it that he took me to the cinema to watch Star Wars 40+ times over the course of its theatrical release, sticking with it even when it moved to the “second run” houses. The man was a saint, in many ways. It was way worse a few years later when my brother and I chose to see “Clash of the Titans” every week for an entire summer. He passed when I was 18, so I knew him as an almost adult and I am filled with lots of great memories from all over. So many that it is kind of funny that when I think of him, the first image I see is a quiet silhouette, sitting in a darkened theater, sharing his popcorn and time with me. Stay safe, stay hydrated and stay sane, my friends.