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Nicole Simeone
Navigating Batuu: Oga’s Cantina
Was anyone else’s first thought upon hearing of the Star Wars land project, “I’m going to get to drink at Mos Eisley’s Cantina?” In my mind and probably yours, it was as inevitable as Universal announcing a Mario Kart ride.
Well, that didn’t happen exactly. I guess recreating a hive of scum and villainy would be tough to do and a bit off-brand for The Mouse, as he is lovingly referred to in my house. Usually when discussing how much of our money he manages to get.
What we did get is still a pretty cool experience. It’s like Most Eisley if everyone just got along and wanted to express themselves through dance. Don’t worry, it’s not a dance club, but DJ-R3X, the Droid DJ, thinks it is.
This is not going to be like our Thirsty Thursday reviews in two ways. The first is obviously the Star Wars theme. The second is that I am not going to be talking much about beer. Weird I know, but ordering a beer in the Cantina or anywhere in Star Wars land seemed like the wrong choice.
Disney does have unique beer options available only in Batuu. To do so, they partnered with a variety of craft beer companies and most being recognizable brands. In Oga’s, there are four beers: Gold Squadron lager, White Wampa ale, Gamorrean ale, and Bad Motivator IPA. As titillating as their names are, their descriptions put me off.
Let’s take a look at the Bad Motivator IPA. It’s brewed by Sierra Nevada and is described as a tropical IPA using Comet and Galaxy hops. Nothing really offensive there. What other hops were they going to use in a beer destined for Batuu? But, it sounds familiar. Really familiar. As in, there is a bottle with a Sierra Nevada label calling itself a tropical IPA in my fridge right now.
Sure, Tropical Torpedo and the Bad Motivator IPA don’t have the exact same description. Sierra Nevada’s summer staple uses a wider variety of hops in its recipe. Not that I’m saying Galaxy and Comet can’t achieve a tropical nose and taste. For me, it just seemed too close to an offering I’ve already had, especially when we are looking at the price tag of $13.25 for what looked like a 16oz pour. A better deal than I’d get at the Garden’s Beer Garden, but still, I held my hand.
The other offerings set off similar bells in my head when looking over the menu. I might have gone for a sampler to prove my theory one way or the other. The only way you can get one of those, though, was to purchase the Rancor Teeth sampler board. While certainly cool, I could not justify the price tag of $85.
Maybe, this is a case where I judged a book by its cover and missed an opportunity. I’ve been wrong plenty of times before.
All is not entirely lost on the space beer front. We did pick up one beer inside Galaxy’s Edge, but not inside Oga’s. We shared a pour of the Trandoshan Ale from Ronto Roasters.
This beverage was brewed by Concrete Beach Brewing, which is also responsible for the Kungaloosh Spiced Ale found at the Animal Kingdom and the Jungle Skipper Canteen in the Magic Kingdom. The Kungaloosh is a beverage not to be missed, in my opinion.
The Trandoshan Ale is a wheat beer. On Disney’s website, it’s described as spiced. On Untappd, it’s described as a blood orange wheat ale. After drinking it, I would say blood orange is a better description. There wasn’t a lot of spice to it other than what’s typical of the style. Like a lot of blood orange bent beers, the flavor falls short of the mark. It was good, but I don’t think I’d buy another. Instead, if beer was your object, I’d hop out of Galaxy’s Edge and stop at Baseline Taproom.
Let’s set aside the beer talk, though, and l head back inside Oga’s. Ruling out the beer selection left the list of mixed drinks, although hardly the bargain option. Our drinks ranged between $16 and $18. These drinks were something not likely to be seen elsewhere, softening the blow to our wallets a touch. And we did put money aside for this very experience when saving for the trip.
The Cantina currently has a two-drink maximum in place to keep the flow of traffic coming and going. For our first round, we selected the Fuzzy Tauntaun and The Outer Rim.
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As you can perhaps tell from the shorter glass in the photo, The Outer Rim is a galactic take on a margarita. A lot of bars use a sticky sweet, simple syrup that takes away from the rest of the ingredients and makes you feel like you’re drinking sugar. Oga’s formula does neither of those things. They accomplished a light, fruity taste which accompanied the fruit puree sitting on top, creating a sun-like shape. The black salt and lime juice on the rim offered up a sharp, savory counterweight as you sipped the beverage.
The Fuzzy Tauntaun was, well, weird. I didn’t steal more than a sip or two from Adam’s selection because it was… weird. The majority of that awkwardness comes from the “Buzz Button Tingling” foam sitting on the top of the glass. Buzz buttons are flowers that produce numbness and tingling. And, before you ask, no, they don’t provide straws. So the drinker’s mouth is almost instantly set off with the unusual sensation. Once you’re past the tingles, it was another delish drink continuing to lean on citrusy fruit flavors but.mixing in some peachy highlights.
For our second round, we chose the Bespin Fizz and the Dagobah Slug Slinger.
It’s hard to see in the photo, but the drink does come to the table bubbling away, which made it far more enjoyable to drink than the Tauntaun. I did hesitate ordering this one. Sometimes cranberry and pomegranate just don’t come off right in drinks, at least for me. There was a nice balance struck with this effervescent concoction. I felt like I was drinking an alternate fall flavor. Everyone fawns over pumpkin everything but tends to ignore cranberries.
The Dagobah Slug Slinger was a mouthful to order, but that sprig of rosemary though. The branch, I won’t insult it by using sprig again, was fragrant too. I couldn’t take a sip without taking out the rosemary first. A tad too far for me. I’ll be honest, the actual taste of the beverage escapes me. It was floral and sweet but not overly memorable compared to the other three options we had over our sojourn inside Oga’s.
It was an expensive morning. Yes, this venture happened at nine. Scum and villainy are off-brand, but day drinking is apparently not. While it wasn’t Mos Eisley, we had a lot of fun inside this upbeat answer to the dingy, space dive bar from A New Hope. It will be interesting to see how the location evolves as the land grows out of its infancy. Will there be rotating offerings? Eventually, will the maximum be removed in favor of a more laid back visit? Who knows, but I am sure it will be on the list of places to revisit on the next trip.
And this wraps up our stay on Batuu. Hopefully, you enjoyed hearing about the delights of the latest edition to the Walt Disney Parks. Next week, we will be back to the usual potpourri style postings. Cheers Nerd Girls.
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