His questioning eyes, his floppy ears, his ability to use the force to burn things to the ground: Whether you're a fan of "The Mandalorian" or not, there's so much to love about "The Child," more commonly known as "Baby Yoda."
The latest affection-inducing Baby Yoda news? A viral cocktail that's a spitting image of the mysterious little creature.
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As Season 2 of the Disney+ hit show loomed, Michael Young, co-owner of the Vault Wood Fired Pizza in Banbridge, Northern Ireland, says he wanted to create something that would pay tribute to what just may be the cutest thing on television.
Enter the Vault's Baby Yoda Cocktail, a combination of vodka, muddled kiwi, fresh lime, demerara syrup and bitters, garnished with lime wedge "ears" and a burlap wrap that transform a simple martini glass into a tiny, drinkable Baby Yoda.
The concoction went viral in November 2020 after actress Jennifer Aniston shared the cocktail to her Instagram Stories, saying, "May the force be with us," along with a martini emoji.
Young says seeing his creation travel the world has been a fun experience.
"It's been so surprising and flattering that people all over the world are reacting to our Baby Yoda cocktail," Young told TODAY Food in an email. "It's been a difficult year for businesses everywhere especially in hospitality, so we thought we would try and have some fun and create something interesting … we only thought it would be viewed by our local customers but it’s been incredible to see it shared all over the world."
While Young did not provide me with a specific recipe, I decided to attempt to make my own Baby Yoda cocktail for an at-home happy hour.
For my version, I poured 2 ounces of vodka, the juice of half a fresh lime, half a muddled kiwi, a splash of bitters and an ounce of demerara syrup (which has same proportions as basic simple syrup (1:1) but swaps in demerara or turbinado sugar).
After pouring the concoction into a chilled martini glass, I garnished it with ears made from lime wedges and eyes made from blueberries speared onto a wooden skewer. The cloak came from an old scrap of burlap in my craft supply stash (good thing I save everything!).
While my cocktail didn't have the exact same green hue as Young's, it tasted amazing. The muddled kiwi added a fruitiness that softened the sourness of the fresh lime juice, and the demerara syrup added a molasses-like smokiness to the drink — it had the perfect craft-cocktail feel.
Baby Yoda was almost too cute to drink — but after one sip, I had no qualms about it.
Another perk of this adorable creation? It would also make a good mocktail for kids. I told my kids if we have another "Mandalorian" happy hour, I'll try making them their own with sparkling water in place of vodka.
After all, this is one kitchen creation that's more about the presentation than the alcohol content.
