Examples of premium spirits?

[jeffbrig]

As a whisky drinker, I was pretty happy with the offerings.  Most of what's on board is included.  Each bar venue will have a list of ultra premium options available for purchase.  Well below typical bar prices.  Yes, I sampled most of them...

 

Macallan 25, Yamazaki 18, Laphroaig 30, Elijah Craig 23.  Those are all $1k+ bottles.  The Macallan was the most expensive, at around $100 for a pour - it's usually 3x that in bars in my experience.  Ultra premium pours measured from a shot glass - that's 1.25-1.5 oz?

 

Highland Park 18, Blanton's, JW Blue, etc. were available at much lower prices.  Most of the premium options fell in the $13-$20 range on our recent cruise.

Free (included) stuff I remember off the top of my head: Macallan 12 (sometimes Quest), Highland Park 12, Woodford Reserve, Knob Creek 9, Basil Hayden's, etc.

 

 

Edited December 8, 2022 by jeffbrig

[SLSD]

14 hours ago, jeffbrig said:

As a whisky drinker, I was pretty happy with the offerings.  Most of what's on board is included.  Each bar venue will have a list of ultra premium options available for purchase.  Well below typical bar prices.  Yes, I sampled most of them...

 

Macallan 25, Yamazaki 18, Laphroaig 30, Elijah Craig 23.  Those are all $1k+ bottles.  The Macallan was the most expensive, at around $100 for a pour - it's usually 3x that in bars in my experience.  Ultra premium pours measured from a shot glass - that's 1.25-1.5 oz?

 

Highland Park 18, Blanton's, JW Blue, etc. were available at much lower prices.  Most of the premium options fell in the $13-$20 range on our recent cruise.

Free (included) stuff I remember off the top of my head: Macallan 12 (sometimes Quest), Highland Park 12, Woodford Reserve, Knob Creek 9, Basil Hayden's, etc.

 

 

Pre-Pandemic, Elijah Craig was an included bourbon and was what my husband asked for in our suite.  Interesting that it is a premium item now.  He will probably choose either Woodford Reserve or Basil Hayden next time.  

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, SLSD said:

Pre-Pandemic, Elijah Craig was an included bourbon and was what my husband asked for in our suite.  Interesting that it is a premium item now.  He will probably choose either Woodford Reserve or Basil Hayden next time.  

I was mistaken!  I just asked Mr. SLSD about Elijah Craig aboard SB--and he says it was not offered as included.  

[Jaq66]

To see menus and drink list click on Experiences at the bottom and then click on dining&drinks. You then can select a restaurant or bar of your choice. 

[Woodrowst]

On 1/3/2023 at 1:23 PM, Jaq66 said:

To see menus and drink list click on Experiences at the bottom and then click on dining&drinks. You then can select a restaurant or bar of your choice. 

This does not work for the Venture.  While there is a listing of wines there is no listing for spirits.  

[tryber]

On 12/6/2022 at 6:46 PM, Vineyard View said:

We are new to SB as well. We also enjoy premium wines. So two questions.  Are we able to jump up to a different wine package at a cost? And then, can we bring what wine we want on board - with or without corkage fees? Thanks much 

I haven't checked these boards in a while, so this response is a little late if you already took your cruise.  I was on the Ovation in late September.  They have a "collectors" program that give you a credit toward a bottle of wine if you spend a certain amount ($60 credit if you spend $350 up to $200 if you spend $800). 

 

Before boarding I had read that meant you had to choose the program at the beginning of the cruise and pick the wines and pay for them in advance as well.  But when I boarded the ship, I was told you just order what you want and as you can get toward the end of the cruise you can see how much you have spent and redeem the credit in the last couple of days.  I ended up with the $60 credit, but probably would have ended up with a higher one if my wife hadn't gotten Covid halfway through the cruise (I ended up drinking half bottles for the second half, which weren't many).  I also had a 20% as one of the loyalty program perks.

 

I generally found the included wines to be of pretty poor quality or not to my taste.  There were only a couple of Italian wines that liked at all, and I would ask for those whenever I didn't order a bottle.  But there were some great wines for bargain prices on the premium list.  You can order from either the TK List or the Premium list in any dining venue.  The 2014 Turley Hayne Vineyard Zinfandel at $119 is a good price and a phenomenal wine.  The 2017 Leonetti Cellars Merlot for $55 is a very good wine for the price. The half bottle of the 2014 Kenzo Estate at $132 is less than you would pay retail if you could find it, and is also an excellent wine.