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A drink review of the entire menu (courtesy of the beverage package)

callmebetty

By callmebetty,
in Holland America Line

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callmebetty

callmebetty

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For those of you that aren't following my review....here is my take on the entire drink menu. We had the drink package so

I tried to try everything. Some were better than others and occasionally I got hung up on the fashionista....

Drink review- I tried to get through the whole drink menu, but excuded drinks with gin or spiced rum as a star ingredient. I will go in menu order

Drink of the day

Twilight Zone -typical cruise drink. It is a pinkish orange color and reminds me of St. Josephs's aspirin.

Alaskan Ice Tea- A typical Long Island Iced Tea with curacao instead of coke on sour.

Ice Cool Aid- sweet. A little more fruity than a midori sour.

Glacier Blue Martini- didn't finish it. Not a fan, probably because it was a bit warm.

Arctic Kiss- house vodka with champagne...really what could go wrong? You take some warm vodka and dump champagne over the top. I had them add OJ to it and still struggled.

Tat-Hattan- didn't try it, ran out of time.

Klondike cooler- whiskey and bubbles with a bit of sweetness.

 

Signature Cocktails

Hand Shaken Cuban Mojito- your average Mojito. The mint was not muddled so much as shaken. I had 1.

Fresh Lime Margarita- It was on par with your typical Mexican restaurant chain (at least here in CT).

Epic Spiced Daiquiris- Capt. Morgan and I are not friends- pass.

Tropical Cable Car- another cruise ship staple. Similar to the taste of the Twilight zone with a hint of coconut.

Champagne dreams- I had it classic. It was a mimosa.

Tropical Specialties

Sexy Citrus Cosmopolitan- It was a cosmo. Not much else to write about

Fresh Lemon Drop- Again, a typical lemon vodka drink.

Tuscan Lemon Drop- a lemony martini with sprigs of rosemary that poked you in the nose when you took a sip. The rosemary did not influence the drink at all.

Fashionista- This became my go to drink. It was not too sweet, slightly tart, and it made me say "oh crap" when I got down to my last sip since it was gone. On our last night, the bartender in Northern Lights actually shook it with fresh raspberries which made it even more delicious.

Pomegranate Ginger Drop- I loved it. I could have done without the 1 inch granulated sugar rim, but the easy way around it was to sip from the same location each time. It wasn't very sweet and had a slight ginger flavor. It was very enjoyable to drink.

Fresh Tropa Mango Mojito- sounded too sweet. Skip.

Frosty Chocolate Mint Buss- an adult chocolate milkshake. Consume one in place of a meal. It was delicious, but very filling and quite pleasing to the eye.

Sophisticated Retro Favorites

Tanqueray Martini- Skipped

Mediterranean Martini- ouch. blew our my taste buds. Didn't finish...too grainy

Sparkling Bellini Manhattan- bar ran out of red vermouth so it was a no go.

Royal Manhattan-See above post (I was crunched for time)

Skinny Berry Citrus Rita- where do I being? The description is "Fresh raspberries with premium Cabo Wabo Silver tequila and our special skinny lime sour fruity and sugar free take on our classic margarita". I ordered this at 2 different bars. They did not use Cabo Wabo, they did not use fresh raspberries, and by no stretch would it ever be sugar free, It was overly syrupy and sweet and I did not enjoy it.

Strawberry Basil Belisimo- again the same strawberry blend from a carton (like what they use for Oasis machines). No detectable basil except for the leaf the placed on top of the beverage.

Poolside Delights

We didn't spend much time by the pool...but I tried some drinks!

Sunsicle- Again tasted like the Twiliight Zone....St. Joseph's aspirin...that vanilla orange flavor...not terrible, but not worth a second drink

Skip the next few...

Cucumber Lime Smash- Depended on who you got it from. Sometimes it was great, other times, it was cucumber slices floating on the top. I really enjoyed it when they actually smashed the cucumbers.

Signature Cocktail List

Cosmo Cuban- A bit more interesting than the Sexy Cosmo.

Ultra Strawberry Lemonade- Sour mix with strawberry syrup and house vodka. Why hype it up?

Blue Coco Mojito- a slightly blue, slightly tropical mojito. I again missed the muddles limes.

Luxury Espresso Martini- This was a quality beverage. Come to think of it, every beverage I had in the Crow's Nest was. It was shaken within an inch of its life and perfect.

Red Stag Derby- A mint julep with a slight cherry flavor. Nice and clean!

Wine Country Collins- The fresh grapes make this drink! The first one I had prompted 2 others at the bar to order it. When I ordered it again and the bar was out of grapes, it tasted like cardboard.

Gin's Cup- Skipped it.

Strawberries and Bubbles- The description "Fresh strawberries and vodka with champagne top..." substitute fresh strawberries with strawberry syrup from a carton and you have this drink. Much better than the Arctic Kiss, but I barely finished one.

Bengal Banshee- Not a fan of nutmeg- skipped.

 

That is my take on the drink menu. There were good, bad, and downright ugly. It is all subject to the drinker. I hate those corn-syrupy drinks. but you might like them. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I can only speak for myself.

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OVgirl

OVgirl

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I also found it quite disappointing when the description includes some sort of fresh berries and all you get is flavoured syrup.

 

The Strawberries and Bubbles sounded really good, but it ended up as a frozen drink.

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SilvertoGold

SilvertoGold

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Wow!!!

 

Great review!!! Thanks a lot for all the hard work you put into this (the drinking, I mean!).

 

Boy, is doing something like this out of my league. Unfortunately!!!!

 

Have taken notes and will be using your wisdom on my next cruise. I agree that the Chocolate Mint Buzz is a meal in itself. Sometimes they are made with Kahlua, but I prefer the mint ones.

 

Again, a great read!

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POA1 "Live from...." Rare

POA1

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Hope you have time for a Wang Wang next time, OP ;)

Ah.... Part two of the research project: Sampling all the drinks that aren't on the menu. :D Part 3 is "every shot you can get for $7 or less." Followed closely by "Hangover remedies - fact and fiction."

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Copper10-8 "Live from...." Rare

Copper10-8

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Ah.... Part two of the research project: Sampling all the drinks that aren't on the menu. :D Part 3 is "every shot you can get for $7 or less." Followed closely by "Hangover remedies - fact and fiction."

Me thinks you've got 'em all pretty much covered with that :cool:

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callmebetty

callmebetty

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I would like to thank the Alaska sunrise and sunset times for making this endeavor possible. Without all that sunlight I would have had a normal sleep schedule.

I look forward to the sequels. Perhaps the next cruise should cover the mock-tail section....

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SilvertoGold

SilvertoGold

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I would like to thank the Alaska sunrise and sunset times for making this endeavor possible. Without all that sunlight I would have had a normal sleep schedule.

I look forward to the sequels. Perhaps the next cruise should cover the mock-tail section....

 

Mocktail section: please!!!!! Not-a-cosmo is good!!

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Greysandy

Greysandy

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I hated Gin, until I tried this drink, HAL's version of a Pimm's Cup called the Gin's cup. It is my favorite drink now and I make it at home all the time. With our Sig Bev card on the 14 day Baltic cruise, I drank them out of all their Pimm's liquor. So light and refreshing, not overly sweet.

 

Recipe:

Muddled cucumber

1 part house sweet and sour (lemon, lime juice, water, sugar, in equal proportions)

1 part Gin

1/2 part Pimm's

1/2 part St. Germaine (the most divine elderberry flower liquor)

 

Serve like a martini, or do as I do at home, top with fizzy water so you don't get bombed after 2 drinks.

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Windsailer

Windsailer

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I hated Gin, until I tried this drink, HAL's version of a Pimm's Cup called the Gin's cup. It is my favorite drink now and I make it at home all the time. With our Sig Bev card on the 14 day Baltic cruise, I drank them out of all their Pimm's liquor. So light and refreshing, not overly sweet.

 

Recipe:

Muddled cucumber

1 part house sweet and sour (lemon, lime juice, water, sugar, in equal proportions)

1 part Gin

1/2 part Pimm's

1/2 part St. Germaine (the most divine elderberry flower liquor)

 

Serve like a martini, or do as I do at home, top with fizzy water so you don't get bombed after 2 drinks.

 

I'm with you. I discovered Ginn's Cup many years ago and it's my "go to" drink on HAL. Best one i had was when I was in the Tamarind Restaurant on the Eurodam and it came in a VERY large glass over ice. Yum.

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Ricktan

Ricktan

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Ah.... Part two of the research project: Sampling all the drinks that aren't on the menu. :D Part 3 is "every shot you can get for $7 or less." Followed closely by "Hangover remedies - fact and fiction."

 

OK, what is a Wang Wang? And, what drinks do y'all recommend that aren't on the menu??

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holacanada

holacanada

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Wow !

 

What a very «informative» review ! Thank you !

It seems that you share some of the same taste il like too !

The worst drink I drank while onboard was the "Banana Liqueur".

My guts tried to leave out my body ! OUUUUUUUUUSH ! Equal : 8 teaspoon of sugar + banana essence !

 

Holacanada from Quebec City

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  • 1 year later...
scapel

scapel

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My desert drink

1 oz Green Crème de Menthe

1 oz White Crème de Cacao

1 or two scoops of vanilla ice cream and put in blender with few ice chips

 

Pour in 8 oz rocks glass with straw

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