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Chapter 1

The Saga Begins in a Bar

She may not look like much, but she’s got enough to drink for several people.

Photo credit: Jeff Cioletti (special thanks to Beeline Creative)

Forget about Darth Vader and the garrison of Stormtroopers blasting their way onto the Tantive IV. Stick a pin in the scene where R2-D2 and C-3PO peace out on an escape pod with Princess Leia’s stolen Death Star plans in tow. Fast-forward through the Droids meeting Luke, the Tusken Raider attack, and the Owen and Beru Barbecue, and you’ll get to the place where the Star Wars saga really begins (prequels notwithstanding).

It’s in the Mos Eisley Cantina where the Star Wars galaxy suddenly gets bigger. Up to that point, we’d met both the forces of good and of evil. But in the bar, we encounter the forces of gray—not the least of those is a certain Correllian smuggler who ultimately becomes so popular that he gets his own spinoff origin movie. (And, yes, he shot first.)

It’s a powder keg of a Wild West saloon. The proprietors do their best to keep the place from exploding—a live jazz band is a calming distraction—but the events of that fateful afternoon prove that place really is hanging by a thread. In the space of about ten minutes, an old man in a brown robe unceremoniously amputates the arm of one paying customer and a surly, vest-wearing pilot guns down another.

On a good day, it’s the place where deals are made, secret alliances are forged and beings from a thousand worlds seek to disappear into anonymity—“No questions asked,” remember? And it all happens over drinks. When relations do go south—as they did on the day in question—it’s despite the imbibing, not because of it.

The Cantina may not always advance the case for social drinking occasions—thanks, Han—but the famous interstellar public house accomplished in a few quick wide, medium, and close-up shots what it often takes franchises multiple movies to establish: that the Star Wars universe was huge and there were millions of stories waiting to be told. Up until that point in the film, we were introduced to some of the galaxy’s exotic species in a very gradual, rationed manner. We met the Jawas and then the Tusken Raiders, but not until we got to Mos Eisley did we behold the vastness of the galaxy.

All the more remarkable is the fact that George Lucas accomplished that with a reported budget of around eleven million dollars. Sure, that’s in mid-1970s dollars, but if you adjusted it for inflation, it’d still be only about forty-five million. That is the average price of an effects-free comedic film, half of which would be the salary of the A-list star.

Scenes from Jabba’s palace. Photo credit: Jeff Cioletti (special thanks to Beeline Creative)

That’s the magic of a bar. In the real world, it’s like life’s great establishing shot, offering a glimpse at a wide cross-section of humanity in such a confined space. Why do you think Yelp reviews always tout “great people-watching” at different venues? (Though, why is people-watching even a thing?)

Maz Kenata’s thousand-year-old watering hole in The Force Awakens and the Canto Bight casino in The Last Jedi also serve this purpose, though we don’t feel their impact as much as we did when we first heard the first notes of John Williams’s jazzy cantina band number (we later learn that seven-member musical combo was Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes—“Fiery” Figrin D’an and his cohorts were members of the Bith race).

“There’s always that collective shot, that collective starting point,” observes Atlanta-based Star Wars fan photographer and social media consultant Brett Ferencz. “Whether it’s Maz’s, the Cantina, or the Casino, there’s always these massive collections of aliens and strange characters. It’s a great representation of how vast the world is that they’re creating.”

Scotch Trooper

Ferencz’s name may not seem that familiar, but his Instagram alter ego is practically a household name in spirits-drinking circles: Scotch Trooper. His expertly composed images typically show Star Wars action figures interacting in some way with bottles, barrels, and glasses of whisk(e)y.

Scotch Trooper (Scotch_Trooper on Instagram) evolved from Ferencz’s earlier efforts to showcase his newfound passion for the spirit. Initially, he fell in love with the shapes of the bottles and the way the light played off of them. “I would use a lot of the empty bottles that I was holding on to that were just too pretty to throw away,” Ferencz recalls. “My wife said you should probably throw them away or do something with them—you’re just cluttering up the house.”

He then turned a lot of those bottles into steampunk-ish lamps and showed them off on Instagram. That’s when things started to take off. The number of followers quickly jumped to ten thousand. “That was 2015 or so, and that was my first step into the industry,” he says, “I started getting noticed by brand ambassadors.”

It was also around that time that he decided to more prominently integrate his other passion with the images: Star Wars. “I remember being five years old, wearing my Ewok shirt, and seeing Return of the Jedi with my neighbor,” Ferencz says of his near-lifelong fandom. “Every birthday party from then on had a Star Wars theme.”

He started incorporating standard 3¾-inch Hasbro figures in his posts but quickly realized that those figures lacked the proportions he wanted for his photos. He moved on to six-inch figures, which worked perfectly. “And that’s also when I brought in my Nikon camera and upgraded the photography,” Ferencz reveals. “And then it kind of blew up.” Impressed by his unique images, The Huffington Post did a profile on Scotch Trooper, and his following increased even further. Major whiskey brands began to partner with him to showcase their bottles in Ferencz’s Star Wars-themed scenes. One of his images included Princess Leia sitting down for a drink with Rogue One heroine Jyn Erso, with a giant bottle of Lagavulin looming in the background. Another featured a pair of original trilogy-era Stormtroopers, a bottle of Talisker Skye, and a skateboarding Yoda.

A couple years later, Ferencz hit a major speed bump in the spring of 2018 when the Distilled Spirits Council, the trade association representing America’s large distillers and importers, sent him a cease and desist order. The organization had no problem with his sponsored relationships with its member companies. However, the Council did object to his use of action figures. The trade group had received an anonymous, twenty-six-page complaint asserting that Scotch Trooper violated the Distilled Spirits Council’s advertising code, which states that the expected audience for a print, broadcast, or digital ad (which includes social media), must be at least 71.6 percent of legal drinking age. The Council’s Code Review Board determined that the use of action figures targets children.

Except it doesn’t. Ferencz posted the demographic analytics of his Instagram traffic and 90 percent of his followers (which have climbed past sixty-five thousand) are twenty-five and older. Less than 1 percent are teenagers between thirteen and seventeen years old, and 10 percent are eighteen to twenty-four years old. More than half of that last group are of legal drinking age. So, the total number of legal drinking age followers is probably closer to 95 percent—exceeding the Distilled Spirits Council’s minimum threshold by nearly twenty-four percentage points!

Naturally, the decision caused Ferencz to lose a huge chunk of his livelihood. However, he has been able to slowly rebuild to some extent, picking up a couple of deals with smaller brands far from the Distilled Spirits Council’s reach.

“Scotch Trooper is still kind of a moving target,” Ferencz says. “Scotch Trooper was one thing and that really opened the doors working with brands on the side—social media management, freelance photography, consultant stuff. This whole [Distilled Spirits Council issue] didn’t just kill what was going on the Scotch Trooper side.”

This is pretty personal for me too. I’m well into my forties, and I still collect action figures. A lot of other people my age and older do as well. We’re the Star Wars generation—Gen Xers who grew up with the original trilogy. We’re a nostalgic lot. And now, a lot of us happen to drink whisk(e)y as well. We haven’t traded one hobby for the other. And that’s why Scotch Trooper has been so successful. We’re excited to see millennials and the up-and-coming Generation Z getting as stoked about some of these franchises as we are.

“The reason my account blew up the way it did, at least in my eyes, is that the people who grew up with Star Wars are now at that prime age for getting into whiskey, for getting into spirits in general,” Ferencz notes. “Being able to see characters they grew up loving interacting with the spirits they’re now getting into—it really kind of catapulted what I was doing, that perfect marriage.”

There’s really not much of a difference between the passion that drives Star Wars fans and the passion that fuels whisk(e)y aficionados.

“A geek who gets into Star Wars and dives into finding everything out about characters and their origins is very similar to the way we look at whiskey,” he explains. “It’s not just a spirit we drink to get drunk with friends. We dive into everything about distilleries, find out what barley they’re using, what kind of casks are being married in and the differences between those. There are so many different elements to dive into, so it makes that perfect connection between the two.”

Darth Malt

If this book were a game show, this would be the speed round. I asked Ferencz to come up with the right whiskies to pair with particular moments throughout the Star Wars saga. (And, yes, that includes the prequels. Sorry!)

Classic Trilogy

A New Hope: The Cantina

The iconic watering hole in Tattooine’s port city of Mos Eisley is everything you’d expect it to be: gritty, sleazy, and more than a little bit dangerous.

Since the Cantina is essentially the Wild West, Ferencz thinks a “cheap-ass bourbon” would be the drink of choice. I am on board for that. His suggestion is kind of refreshing since so much of today’s bourbon consumption is about high-priced connoisseurship. Sometimes it’s okay to drink like a cowboy. So, pour yourself a glass of Old Granddad and immerse yourself in that “wretched hive of scum and villainy.”

Empire Strikes Back: Darth Vader’s Bespin Banquet

Vader would be honored if you would join him for a few glasses of the lightly peated Compass Box No Name Blended Scotch. “This is exactly where my mind went when you said ‘Darth Vader,’ ” Ferencz says. “It’s a very Vader-ish bottle.” Indeed it is. The label is an opaque black.

Return of the Jedi: Post-Battle of Endor Celebration

You just blew up the second Death Star. What are you going to do? Take it from the Scotch Trooper. When you’re dancing around the Ewok village, you’re going to want to be sipping Lagavulin 16. “At least for me, that’s always my go-to when I feel like I’ve accomplished something,” Ferencz reveals. “It’s something that’s accessible, but feels like it’s a step above. You want it to be accessible, not something like Balvenie 30.”

Prequels (I Warned You)

The Phantom Menace

This one is more about what happens on the other side of the screen. Sure, Episode I has its fans—hell, even I saw the damn thing nine times in theaters, wanting to like it—but it really is the low point of the saga.

“You need a Laphraoiag ten-year-old cask strength to deal with watching it,” says Ferencz. “There’s nothing better than an Islay cask-strength whiskey. Of course, that depends on how much you can tolerate that peaty smokiness—some find it as cloying as Jar Jar Binks.”

Attack of the Clones: Obi-Wan’s Bar Order

Obi-Wan and Anakin are chasing bounty hunter Zam Wessell through the skyways of Coruscant. Back on the ground, Obi-Wan and his Padawan enter a bar. The Jedi Master says he’s getting a drink. What does he order? A Glenfiddich highball, Ferencz confidently asserts. “I feel like he would want something that is whiskey-related, but still refreshing at the same time. For some reason, I don’t see him as a neat whiskey guy at this point in his life.” Foiling assassination attempts does make one thirsty, so a highball fits the bill.

Revenge of the Sith: Obi-Wan Goes into Exile

Okay, Obi-Wan is a few years older. He’s also a bit battle-worn, having served as a general in the Clone Wars from beginning to end. Now, he’s ready for the neat whiskey, and it’s a doozy: Balvenie 30. “It’s just something he’s going to want to sip and savor over the next few years in isolation. It’s nice, delicate and smooth, and you know he’s going to savor every drop.” Also, Ewan MacGregor is a Scotsman, so, there’s that.

Sequel Trilogy

The Force Awakens: Maz’s Bar

There’s a definite speakeasy vibe to Maz’s joint, one that defies branding. “I just feel like it would be some people creating their own whiskey in the back, moonshining it.” Be careful when you drink the stuff, though. It might cause you to have some rather violent visions that’ll send you running into the woods.

The Last Jedi: Canto Bight Casino

Where the Mos Eisley Cantina is all about cheap bourbon, the ostentatious Canto Bight gambling hall is definitely a place for the high-end, special Macallan releases.

The Standalones

Rogue One: Jyn and Cassian’s Last Drink

Our heroes just completed their mission, but they know that they are personally doomed. The Death Star is about to use Scarif for target practice. Hopefully there’s a hip flask in someone’s pocket. Ferencz’s pick: Glendronach 15 or something from Glenfarclas. His reasoning: “It’s one of those drams for me that make me realize there’s a lot of great whiskey out there that’s not being overly marketed. Cassian and Jyn wouldn’t be suckers to marketing.”

Solo: Dryden Vos’s Yacht

See also: Canto Bight casino. You get a lot of the same unsavory types of people with a lot of money to throw around—and they just want to be seen throwing it around. They just find the most expensive bottle that they can buy and do shots of it, but they wouldn’t know any better. If they still use paper money, they would probably be lighting their cigars with it.