What are your Favorite Cocktail(s) on board

[CntPAcruiser]

2 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

It’s not the quinine.  Although I’m not worried about contracting malaria.  It’s the other ingredients.  Read the label on the side of a tonic water bottle…not to mention 32 grams carbohydrates.  I can get the same flavor with frozen lime concentrate and lemon and lime seltzer water.

 

Hmm, my tonic contains water, sugar, citric acid, natural flavor, and quinine. I agree that with the amount of sugar (carbs), I wouldn't want to drink it all the time, but otherwise there's nothing that bothers me. Each to their own, but I like the quinine flavor in my gin and tonic.

[rkacruiser]

There was a post on another thread about a Food and Wine Magazine reporting on a Velveeta Martini that is going to be offered in the restaurants of an upscale restaurant chain of which I have never heard.  $15 for such a "delight".  

 

I wonder if those restaurants will provide the little "white bags" that are found in the elevator foyers of HAL ships when the seas are less than calm?  

[shipgeeks]

17 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

There was a post on another thread about a Food and Wine Magazine reporting on a Velveeta Martini that is going to be offered in the restaurants of an upscale restaurant chain of which I have never heard.  $15 for such a "delight".  

 

I wonder if those restaurants will provide the little "white bags" that are found in the elevator foyers of HAL ships when the seas are less than calm?  

There is a post on another CC board about cheese-infused martinis.  Sounds unpleasant to me; I wonder if that refers to the same thing.

[rkacruiser]

5 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

There is a post on another CC board about cheese-infused martinis.  Sounds unpleasant to me; I wonder if that refers to the same thing.

 

Yes.  It's the same.  

[lenquixote66]

shrimp cocktail

[BklynBoy8]

39 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

shrimp cocktail

 

I like Lobster Cocktail.  Also Authentic Crab Meat Salad.

 

With Cocktail Sauce, Lemon Sauce or Marie Rose (on the QE2 or QM2) like a Cocktail Sauce.

[lenquixote66]

6 minutes ago, BklynBoy8 said:

 

I like Lobster Cocktail.  Also Authentic Crab Meat Salad.

 

With Cocktail Sauce, Lemon Sauce or Marie Rose (on the QE2 or QM2) like a Cocktail Sauce.

Same here.It must be a Brooklyn thing😀

[rkacruiser]

On 8/16/2022 at 7:52 PM, lenquixote66 said:

Same here.It must be a Brooklyn thing😀

 

No.  Those of us who live in the hinterland also enjoy, very much, seafood cocktails of all types!  😄   My favorite is a Shrimp Cocktail with regular cocktail sauce.  Those with a mayo or 1000 island dressing type sauce are good, but, for me, they aren't the real thing.  Crab cocktails are also good.  Don't think I have had the opportunity to try a Lobster Cocktail.  

[rkacruiser]

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.  😆

 

Went to my wine store this afternoon to buy another case of my preferred every day drinking Sauvignon Blanc.  I was told by a Manager, "enjoy it.  This may be the last."  This is the second time this Summer that their orders for this wine have not been able to be fulfilled.  It is an Australian wine and I wonder if cases of it are sitting on a cargo ship somewhere off the West Coast.  

 

I really prefer a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.  But, it seems to only come in 750 ml bottle and per/glass is more expensive than what I prefer to spend for an everyday wine.  

 

I may need to increase my wine budget.  

[CGTNORMANDIE]

On 8/25/2022 at 5:12 PM, rkacruiser said:

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.  😆

 

Went to my wine store this afternoon to buy another case of my preferred every day drinking Sauvignon Blanc.  I was told by a Manager, "enjoy it.  This may be the last."  This is the second time this Summer that their orders for this wine have not been able to be fulfilled.  It is an Australian wine and I wonder if cases of it are sitting on a cargo ship somewhere off the West Coast.  

 

I really prefer a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.  But, it seems to only come in 750 ml bottle and per/glass is more expensive than what I prefer to spend for an everyday wine.  

 

I may need to increase my wine budget.  

Sounds like it is time to start exploring new wines RK.  I have recently found some of the French cremant sparkling wines that are really excellent…and reasonably priced.  You might try some of the German white wines.  They are excellent and price is not bad.

[rkacruiser]

10 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

Sounds like it is time to start exploring new wines RK.  I have recently found some of the French cremant sparkling wines that are really excellent…and reasonably priced.  You might try some of the German white wines.  They are excellent and price is not bad.

 

You may be correct.  If so, this will be the third time in my "wine drinking career" that I have had wine that I really enjoyed and was reasonably priced for an everyday wine to be discontinued.  

 

I had to Google French cremant wines.  Don't want sparkling wine as an everyday wine.  Didn't care for the prices that I saw for them.  If I am going to pay that much for a 750 ml bottle, I'll stick with Villa Maria.  There are some lesser priced New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc's and they certainly are very drinkable.  But, I prefer Villa Maria.

 

Had not thought about German white wines for some time.  When I began experimenting with white wines, I liked Blue Nun, but, that was a long time ago.  If I recall correctly, it was a semi-sweet wine.  My taste today has evolved to some degree of dry.  

 

Googling again, I discovered that the Germans make a Sauvignon Blanc.  Didn't know that.  If the store has such, I'd try that and see how I like it as well as it's price.  

 

I am hopeful that this shortage is temporary.  When this first occurred about 6 weeks ago, one of the store's owners was "doom and gloom" about getting more.  That lasted for about 2 weeks until a new supply arrived.  She once told me that it was one of their most popular wines in that price range.  

[aml3679]

Miami Vice

[Eamon Chute]

Has anyone come across an issue with a bartender on board that will not make a cocktail that they are unfamiliar with, even though they have all the ingredients at the bar? 

[CntPAcruiser]

26 minutes ago, Eamon Chute said:

Has anyone come across an issue with a bartender on board that will not make a cocktail that they are unfamiliar with, even though they have all the ingredients at the bar? 

 

Most of the bartenders I have gotten to know a bit have been happy to mix up something new if they are not super busy at the time. This has generally been in the diamond lounge, though. On our most recent cruise, there were a number of us who were interested in different cocktails, and two of the bartenders were likewise interested to learn some new recipes. They did their best to accommodate, and we did our best to tip extra.

 

That said, on our last cruise before the pandemic, we were on Grandeur out of Baltimore and had the worst experience with the bar staff ever on board. I can only assume it had something to do with the management and possibly an untrained or inexperienced staff. There was only one bar on board where I could consistently get decently made cocktails, even of the most basic sort. The few times I tried elsewhere or made a request to modify, it resulted in disappointment, disaster, or on one occasion purposeful sabotage. (I asked for a gin martini with a little more vermouth than normal and very nearly got an upside-down martini, i.e., more vermouth than gin.) 

 

The point is, your experience may vary by ship and even by venue. You just hope that there is a basic level of training for any bar staff, and if you find those who are willing and able to experiment, that is a bonus.