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Port in a Storm was a potent, fortified wine from the Outer Rim planet Pamarthe. Native Pamarthens drank it easily and considered an emptied cup to be a good omen before flying starships. Some non-Pamarthen drinkers were overwhelmed and felt like they were burning after drinking it, while others felt it cooled their nerves. The wine was consumable by Artiodacs, Bith, humans, and Wookiees.

Port in a Storm was served throughout the galaxy for over two hundred years on planets such as Corellia, Coruscant, and Takodana. The chef Strono Tuggs published a recipe for it in his cookbook, The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook, in 34 ABY.

Description[]

Port in a Storm was a red^[6] to reddish amber, sweet, fortified wine that originated on the Outer Rim planet Pamarthe. Native Pamarthens sipped the drink as if it were nothing harsher than fruit juice, but it had a reputation for overpowering drinkers with a strong tolerance. The Pamarthen pilot Greer Sonnel likened its heat to a simultaneous fire in the head and the gut. New Republic Senator Ransolm Casterfo of the Inner Rim planet Riosa variously compared the sensation to consuming exploding fireworks, a fireball expanding like a star, or a supernova; after he tried it, he believed it was unfit for human consumption. It was potable by Wookiees,^[1] Bith,^[7] and Artiodacs,^[6] and humans.^[1]

A great omen of success for a Pamarthen pilot was leaving an empty cup before a flight.^[2] The drink shared its name with the saying "any port in a storm," regarding accepting any option available in difficult circumstances.^[8]

History[]

Galactic brew[]

In 232 BBY,^[9] a group of Bith drank mugs of Port in a Storm at a street market on the Core Worlds planet Coruscant when Jedi Master Jora Malli and her Padawan Reath Silas passed through after capturing some pirates.^[7] Two years later,^[10] the pilot Leox Gyasi thought about the distaste that the pilot and former Byne Guild colleague Koley Linn held of him, considering that it was much worse than a minor disagreement that could be argued about over a few mugs of Port in a Storm.^[11] In 40 BBY,^[12] Rael Averross—a human Jedi Knight and lord regent of the Inner Rim planet Pijal—spent a night in bed with his occasional lover, Selbie. Contemplating his duties, he wished he had ordered himself a good drink, such as a bottle of Port in a Storm or Corellian ale.^[4]

The Outlander Club establishment on Coruscant served the drink^[13] in 22 BBY,^[14] and was kept in a tall, clear tube on the counter behind the club's central bar.^[3] The pirate queen^[15] Maz Kanata's castle on^[5] the Mid Rim^[16] planet Takodana served the wine^[5] in 5 ABY.^[17] Prior to a skirmish, a 3PO-series protocol droid server prepared a drink order that included Port in a Storm, a Huttslayer Splash, Twi'lek Toppers, and an Outer Rim and Fizz; however, the droid could not remember where to deliver the drinks.^[5]

A woman of Pamarthe[]

The Gauntlet, an annual starfighter race, took place on^[2] the Core Worlds planet^[16] Corellia^[2] in 21 ABY.^[18] Pamarthen pilots Greer Sonnel, Bors, Torret, and Vee drank toasts with Port in a Storm before racing, and Sonnel emptied her cup in accordance with tradition. Instead of an expected pleasant burn, she experienced side effects for the first time; she felt dizzy and confused with a painful heat behind her eyes. At a medcenter^[2] in 25 ABY,^[15] she was diagnosed with bloodburn, a medical condition that grounded pilots due to dangerously high fevers.^[1]

In 28 ABY,^[19] Sonnel and Gatalentan pilot Joph Seastriker visited a cantina on Pamarthe during an intelligence-gathering mission for the New Republic Senator Leia Organa. The tavern-keeper, not recognizing them and suspicious of their excuses, told Seastriker to drink a glassful of Port in a Storm to prove he was a real Pamarthen. Sonnel intercepted and downed it in three gulps, earning them acceptance from the tavern-keeper and his patrons. Afterward, Sonnel explained to Seastriker that the success of their mission could not depend on his first taste of the drink.^[1]

During Equinox Day celebrations on Hosnian Prime,^[1] the New Republic's capital planet in the Core Worlds,^[16] Sonnel produced a bottle of the wine for Seastriker and Casterfo to sample as they drank a toast to Organa. When Casterfo and Seastriker experienced immediate, painful side effects, Organa was unimpressed upon seeing that the two non-Pamarthens had tried a beverage she characterized as dangerous. She reflected that in her experience, the only non-Pamarthen she had ever known to willingly ingest it was her Wookiee friend Chewbacca, noting that even her husband—the notoriously daring pilot Han Solo—would not consume Port in a Storm, although the protocol droid C-3PO claimed Solo employed it as an emergency solvent during starship repairs. Seastriker's precision air team squadronmates teased him afterward about his hangover. Casterfo warned his friend Lady Carise Sindian to never try it as he tried to recover his pride.^[1]

Recipe for relief[]

In 34 ABY,^[20] Artiodac chef Strono Tuggs published his cookbook, The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook. It contained a recipe for Port in a Storm made with mixed spirits. Tuggs described it as warming a drinker's body while cooling their nerves. He compared the sensations to the relief and euphoria felt after escaping the hazardous Akkadese Maelstrom or navigating dangerous routes, and said someone who survived the Kessel Run^[6] trade route^[16] would want a few servings immediately afterward.^[6]

Behind the scenes[]

On May 3, 2016,^[21][22] Port in a Storm first appeared simultaneously in the novel Bloodline by Claudia Gray and the short story "Scorched" by Delilah S. Dawson; the latter was published in the 165th issue of the Star Wars Insider magazine and erroneously referred to the drink as "Port in the Storm."^[2] The September 2019^[23] reference book Star Wars: How Not to Get Eaten by Ewoks and Other Galactic Survival Skills, written by Christian Blauvelt, retroactively established Port in a Storm^[13] as one of the drinks visible in the 2002 prequel trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones.^[3]

The November 5, 2019,^[24] recipe book Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge: The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook, written by Marc Sumerak and Chelsea Monroe-Cassel, includes an out-of-universe recipe for Port in a Storm. The ingredients are spiced rum, ruby port, ginger liqueur, lime juice, strong ginger beer, and a lime wedge garnish.^[6]

Appearances[]

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• The High Republic: Into the Dark
• The High Republic: Into the Dark audiobook
• The High Republic: The Fallen Star (Mentioned only)
• The High Republic: The Fallen Star audiobook (Mentioned only)
• Master & Apprentice (Mentioned only)
• Master & Apprentice audiobook (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars Battlefront II (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones (First appearance) (Retcon)
• "Scorched" — Star Wars Insider 165 (First appearance before retcon, simultaneous with Bloodline and Bloodline audiobook) (as Port in the Storm)
• Bloodline (First identified as Port in a Storm, simultaneous with audiobook)
• Bloodline audiobook

Sources[]

• Star Wars: Complete Locations (Picture only) (Retcon)
• Star Wars: How Not to Get Eaten by Ewoks and Other Galactic Survival Skills
• "Hives & Dives" — Star Wars Insider 192
• Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge: The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook

Notes and references[]