Equinox bourbon question

[dis2cruise]

Hi, we just got off the Edge about 1 week ago had an amazing time except for the choices of whiskeys/bourbons.  When we go on Celebrity we always upgrade to  premium.  In the past equinox and summit was asked at the dinner table for a bourbon whisky list they gave one to my husband and of course the joke was he would work the list down trying different types he enjoyed.  On the Edge they Only had a few, & no list.  Actually, the sunset bar only had a couple of different ones to try. Because my husband loves the bourbons, yes we tried all bars including the martini bar, no luck🥺

 

So my  question is, is Celebrity changing their high end bourbon /whisky choices to only a few?? Because we want to book another Equinox cruise this January and both my husband and friend love their whisky/ bourbon and this would be our friends first time with Celebrity and I   Want him to enjoy his premium upgrade package 🥃.  

[UFMOM]

Bourbon/rye/ whiskey lover here. We will be on the Equinox next month so I will find out what they have soon. From research all I can find is Makers Mark, Buillett JD, Wild Turkey and various Woodfords.  Whistle Pig rye shows up on one list  and since I have some obc to burn will be paying the difference. Of course it depends on what the ship actually has.  Not being sure what the ship stocks, for the first time I am bringing about 6 mini bitters. I know they have an alcohol base but they are very small and some meds have an alcohol base too. I have brought on my own premium tonic for hubbys g&ts in the past so this is nothing new. We like to have the bartenders make the drinks to our own recipe and of course we tip extra for the service.

 

Mary Ann

 

[PTC DAWG]

Just off Equinox...only saw Makers and Woodford....a few bars had Bulleit.

 

Was a little disappointed...sailed NCL Sun recently, they had Whistle Pig on my upgraded drink package...

 

enjoyed everything else on Equinox. 

[aml3679]

My husband has the premium package - his favorite is Maker's Mark.

 

[dis2cruise]

Wow, wonder if this is the norm for Celebrity now with just a few limited bourbons/ whisky’s??

[ghstudio]

It apparently is the norm, at least for bourbon....It's been a long time since I've found anything other than woodford or woodford double oak on Celebrity and that's across several of their ships.  The scotch selection is better.  

[amunhbuu]

I think what the general populace thinks of as high end whisk(e)ys is very different than what aficionados think of as high end whisk(e)ys. 

 

Check out every all inclusive resort / cruise / etc. and see what their lists are.  They are pretty basic.  I rarely see anything over $35 / bottle.

[thephillykid]

no Pappy????

Lol

[ghstudio]

9 minutes ago, amunhbuu said:

I think what the general populace thinks of as high end whisk(e)ys is very different than what aficionados think of as high end whisk(e)ys. 

 

Check out every all inclusive resort / cruise / etc. and see what their lists are.  They are pretty basic.  I rarely see anything over $35 / bottle.

True....however Celebrity does carry more expensive scotch and vodka...including bottles you wouldn't see at most resorts...eg. Absolut Elix or Stoli Elit.   If they are trying to appeal to the young affluent, Bourbon has become a very popular drink, so they really should add to their very limited higher end bourbons. They could easily add some widely distributed and available single barrels. 

 

thephillykid....there are lots of good bourbon's between woodford and Pappy's....and certainly a wide selection (in the store) of woodford equals with different taste profiles. 

Edited October 9, 2019 by ghstudio

[amunhbuu]

2 minutes ago, ghstudio said:

True....however Celebrity does carry more expensive scotch and vodka...including bottles you wouldn't see at most resorts...eg. Absolut Elix or Stoli Elit.   If they are trying to appeal to the young affluent, Bourbon has become a very popular drink, so they really should add to their very limited higher end bourbons.

 

I haven't been terribly impressed by their scotch selection, but maybe I am missing something somewhere.

 

The current list has the following:

Aberfeldy 12
Bulleit Rye
Chivas Regal 12
Crown Royal
Dewar’s 12
Gentleman Jack
Glen Scotia Single Malt
Glenfiddich Reserve Cask
Glenfiddich Select
The Glenlivet
Haig Scotch
Highland Park scotches
Highland Park Einar
Jack Daniel’s Black
Jack Daniel’s Honey
Jack Daniel’s Rye
Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel
Johnnie Walker Black
The Macallan
The Macallan Lumina
The Macallan Quest
Maker’s Mark
Rittenhouse Rye
Wild Turkey
Woodford Double Oaked
Woodford Reserve
Woodford Rye

 

 

I am not sure I have seen the Macallans, Alberfeldy, or Genfiddichs.  But I usually cruise the Summit and I think it gets ignored sometimes with the available drinks.

[wahlct]

Seems like it keeps getting less and less.  A 3 years ago on Millennium I found Booker's, Baker's, and Blanton's.  Two years ago, I only found Maker's, Woodford, and JD SiB.  This spring on Allure I found Blanton's and Four Roses SiB.

[UFMOM]

Wish Celebrity would increase their bourbon and rye selections and include my favorite Angels Envy. Also wish they would offer the flavored gins and Fevertree Tonics.  

 

Mary Ann

[wpgcycler]

11 minutes ago, UFMOM said:

 Also wish they would offer the flavored gins and Fevertree Tonics.  

 

Mary Ann

 

+1 on the FT Tonics - seems a shame to waste their nice gin selection with lousy tonic.

[miched]

X recently made a release that they will be charging a $14/day fee if choosing the bev pack as a perk.

 

In it they claimed that there was no price increase in 7 years.  You don’t have to increase the price if you eliminate the spirits that were in it or more them from the classic to the premium.   Many of the premium were also eliminated. 

 

As someone else posted they use to have Blanton, KC, Basil Hayden, Booker, Baker and maybe a few other brands of Bourbon included in the Premium Pack.    All of those have been eliminated.  

 

 Now I think that MM was moved to the Premium and the only bourbon in the Classic is Jim Beam.   Ten High was also in the pack and the person at Cafe al Bacio tried to make me  drink using that instead of Woodford in one of their nightly listed drinks claiming it was a premium bourbon.  

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

 

[Icon901]

Bourbon Aficionado here with over 100 bottles open in the home bar including PVW 23yr, several Willett Family Estates, etc. 

I've got the premium package for our Nov sailing on Equinox, but I'll likely bring a few rumrunners with Weller 12yr and some Private barrel selections of Old Weller Antique so we can enjoy an occasional glass of bourbon in line with our preferences. Candidly, since we're paying for the top package, and Celebrity isn't able to stock the things we like, I don't feel bad about bringing my stock aboard for our use. 

To be fair, most bars are struggling to stock Blantons these days, so that's excusable, but they should stock at least one Barrel proof offering (like Bookers, which is readily available) for aficionados. 

[CrusingHank]

3 hours ago, UFMOM said:

Wish Celebrity would increase their bourbon and rye selections and include my favorite Angels Envy. Also wish they would offer the flavored gins and Fevertree Tonics.  

 

Mary Ann

Hendricks with Elderflower fever tree, now were talking LOL

[PTC DAWG]

48 minutes ago, Icon901 said:

To be fair, most bars are struggling to stock Blantons these days, so that's excusable, but they should stock at least one Barrel proof offering (like Bookers, which is readily available) for aficionados. 

Well said....IF NCL can find a few selections, surely Celebrity can...

[Icon901]

38 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Well said....IF NCL can find a few selections, surely Celebrity can...

True!

Out of curiosity, what is NCL stocking regularly these days? 

[PTC DAWG]

18 minutes ago, Icon901 said:

True!

Out of curiosity, what is NCL stocking regularly these days? 

The 5 day I took on their smaller ship this past July was easy to find Whistle Pig and Bookers on the higher end...

[ghstudio]

Angel's envy and several single barrel bourbon's are less expensive than woodford double oak at retail.....there are many other SB bourbon's at the same price.  Few bars are carrying blanton's these days....it's become harder to find.  Bookers is a little more but not much and readily available as is Michters and some other very good bourbon's.

 

As far as scotch...I haven't really focused on it...The world class bar has JW Blue and Platinum and I've seen some other premium scotches here and there....but those are on the S class ships.  M-class like the summit, likely all they have is what you see...and consider yourself lucky if they actually have all that are listed....eg. Absolut Elix (which I keep mentioning because it's really a wonderful, very premium vodka and it's on their list).  

[UFMOM]

I like the Angels Envy Rye more than the bourbon. I wish I could find it at the Woodford Double Oak price or any other cheaper price. My Total Wine shows the Woodford running about 56.00 and the Angels Envy at 85.00 per 750. Unfortunately both rye and the bourbon AE is out of stock due to it’s limited production. 😕 Probably would not be practical for a cruise line due to it’s scarcity.

 DH does wish they would bring back his 100 year Grand Mariner. They had it back in the day on the RCL ships, back when they had the Champagne Bar. We used to be able to find it at a fairly reasonable price in Grand Cayman. But it’s gone up so much now  since Grand Marnier got bought out. He’s half way through his next to the last bottle and when that’s gone he will just have to go back to the regular Grand Mariner unless the price comes down. 

 

Mary Ann

[amunhbuu]

I can get Woodford Double Oaked for $53, so similar priced.  I think Angels Envy is cheaper than the $85 you have listed, but Kansas is not allowed to mark up.

 

The issue is that there is so much good whiskey out there right now, but people go after all of the big names.  Then they get this Internet spike (see pappy) and the prices get driven up.  Heck, it is hard to find Weller & Buffalo Trace because "they have the same mash bill" has pappy.

 

I looked up a couple of the scotches listed above.  Part of the issue is that they are made distinctively for the travel industry, so it is difficult to price compare them to the traditional offerings.

[UFMOM]

The Angels Envy bourbon is a bit cheaper than the Woodford but the AE rye ( my favorite) shows 85.00 + on line and I will have to do some digging around to get it. Last time I got a bottle, a liqour store employee brought it in by car from another store out of town.

 

Mary Ann

 

[zitsky]

So it sounds like no one has seen the Macallan on board?  I'm on Equinox and wonder where I can find it.

[TFLG]

On ‎10‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 5:48 AM, amunhbuu said:

 

I haven't been terribly impressed by their scotch selection, but maybe I am missing something somewhere.

 

The current list has the following:

Aberfeldy 12
Bulleit Rye
Chivas Regal 12
Crown Royal
Dewar’s 12
Gentleman Jack
Glen Scotia Single Malt
Glenfiddich Reserve Cask
Glenfiddich Select
The Glenlivet
Haig Scotch
Highland Park scotches
Highland Park Einar
Jack Daniel’s Black
Jack Daniel’s Honey
Jack Daniel’s Rye
Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel
Johnnie Walker Black
The Macallan
The Macallan Lumina
The Macallan Quest
Maker’s Mark
Rittenhouse Rye
Wild Turkey
Woodford Double Oaked
Woodford Reserve
Woodford Rye

 

 

I am not sure I have seen the Macallans, Alberfeldy, or Genfiddichs.  But I usually cruise the Summit and I think it gets ignored sometimes with the available drinks.

 

 

Yea, that's not a bad list,  if only they actually had the stuff.  They usually have one Macallan and it's typically the Select Oak. I've never seen Quest and I thought that was only available at Duty free shops.  It's the only place I've seen it and I bought a bottle on my last 2 trips down under. The World Class and Ensemble lounge usually have the best selection good luck getting anything decent at the other bars.