Tatooine Sunset

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Cocktail History

The Tatooine Sunset is a Star Wars-inspired tequila cocktail that was created by Cassandra Reeder and included in her book The Geeky Bartender Drinks: Real-Life Recipes for Fantasy Cocktails.

According to the author, it’s an interpretation of what the companion book Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know lists as one of the top five drinks served at Chalmun’s Spaceport Cantina on Mos Eisley. She explains in her book that she intentionally chose tequila as the cocktail’s base and paired it with other ingredients inspired by desert plants that, when carefully layered, would form the colors of a vibrant sunset similar to those seen on Tatooine. And she garnished the recipe with two cherries as a nod to the planet’s two moons.

Cocktail Ingredients

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Tequila Blanco: This is the base spirit that adds agave flavor. We used El Jimador Tequila Blanco because it’s clear, light, and flavorful, and it’s affordable.

Blue Curaçao: This is a liqueur that adds a touch of citrus flavor and vibrant blue color. We used one made by Dekuyper.

Pomegranate Juice: This adds pomegranate flavor and the deep red color to the bottom layer. The recipe in the book called for pomegranate liqueur, but we were unable to find a bottle of that in our area. Instead, we substituted it for pomegranate juice, and although thinner and less boozy, it still worked.

Grenadine: This is a sweetener that adds tart pomegranate flavor. We made ours using Alex’s homemade recipe.

Orange Juice: This adds most of the sweet orange flavor and tang. We typically use fresh orange juice instead of the bottled stuff, but you can get away with using Simply Orange Juice. We find this brand to be higher quality and lower in sugar content than some alternatives.

Lemon Juice: This adds sour citrus flavors that balance out the other ingredients. We always use fresh citrus juice because it’s less bitter than the bottled stuff and tastes better.

Cherries: These are the garnishes. We prefer Luxardo Maraschino cherries; even though they’re a little spendier, their quality and taste are unmatched.

Tasting Notes

When not mixed, the Tatooine Sunset features the prominent aromas and flavors of tequila and orange at first. Once mixed, the drink is very fruity with flavors that are largely indistinguishable from one another, with mostly just noticeable citrus from the orange juice and curaçao.

Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: Our palates are more developed than the average imbiber’s, so we aren’t likely to whip this one up again because the taste was a bit uninteresting. But it was great layering practice! Just look at those colors.

Recipe

This cocktail recipe was adapted from The Geeky Bartender Drinks: Real-Life Recipes for Fantasy Cocktails by Cassandra Reeder.

Tools & Glassware We Recommend

More Cocktails from Movies & TV Shows

If you like this cocktail recipe, here are a few others inspired by movies and shows we’ve tried that you may enjoy:

• Spirits Lifted (WandaVision): A peppered gin and vodka cocktail made with vermouth, paprika tincture, smoke & salt bitters, and cocktail onions

• Miruvor (The Lord of the Rings): A gin cocktail made with elderflower liqueur, white tea, honey syrup, and orange flower water

• Butterbeer (Harry Potter): A stout beer and spiced rum cocktail made with evaporated milk, butter, margarine, vanilla extract, brown sugar, whole cloves, whole allspice berries, cinnamon sticks, whipped cream, and nutmeg

• Hot Peppermint Patty (Archer): A low-proof cocktail made with milk, white peppermint schnapps, dark crème de cacao, white crème de menthe, cocoa powder, whipped cream, and chocolate

• The Last Variant (Loki): An aquavit cocktail made with honey liqueur, Green Chartreuse, and lime juice

• Kuzcotopia (The Emperor’s New Groove): A pisco cocktail made with Aperol, passion fruit syrup, grapefruit juice, lime juice, Tres Amigos bitters, and a lime slice