Which bars can I get an espresso martini at on the Equinox?

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

I know on most ships only certain bars have espresso machines - can you tell me which bars on the Equinox I can get a Salted Caramel Espresso Martini?

 

I'm sure I can get one at the martini bar, but how about the others? Hopefully the Retreat Lounge has one as I'm not a big drinker, but this is definitely my favorite drink on a cruise ship (though I only get them maybe once a day...I don't need that much caffeine).

 

Thanks in advance!

[dunedinmaiden]

Definitely the Martini Bar

[dcbiker97]

The Retreat lounge probably only has a Nespresso machine, not an actual espresso machine. If you asked for one in the Retreat, they would have to go out to another bar to get it, which takes time.  I would just go directly to the Martini bar. 

Edited May 20 by dcbiker97

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

34 minutes ago, dcbiker97 said:

The Retreat lounge probably only has a Nespresso machine, not an actual espresso machine. If you asked for one in the Retreat, they would have to go out to another bar to get it, which takes time.  I would just go directly to the Martini bar. 

I guess I've been spoiled by the Yacht Club Lounge. 

 

I really enjoy getting a drink without having to deal with large crowds, but I guess that drink won't be an espresso martini in the Retreat. 

 

Thank you for the heads up!

[Georgia_Peaches]

42 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

I guess I've been spoiled by the Yacht Club Lounge. 

 

I really enjoy getting a drink without having to deal with large crowds, but I guess that drink won't be an espresso martini in the Retreat. 

 

Thank you for the heads up!

And the YC bar makes them from scratch…not a premixed dispenser. Much better! Not as sweet as on Celebrity. 

[Tierun]

Cafe Al bacio has a salted caramel martini.

[cublet]

Hello,

 

My money would be on the Passport Bar on Deck 3.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[DaKahuna]

8 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

I guess I've been spoiled by the Yacht Club Lounge. 

 

 Yes you have.  I have not seen any espresso martini on Celebrity made with anything except espresso that was pre-bottled, even at the martini bar. 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

9 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 Yes you have.  I have not seen any espresso martini on Celebrity made with anything except espresso that was pre-bottled, even at the martini bar. 

Wow, really? 

 

I would expect that from Carnival or Margaritaville, but not from Celebrity. 

[cublet]

Hello,

 

That's why I suggested the Passport Bar as it's one of the few full bars with an espresso machine whilst the Cafe al Bacio is an espresso bar that serves (some) alcohol.

 

I think you'd have better prospects on MSC where almost every bar has an espresso machine.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

10 minutes ago, cublet said:

Hello,

 

That's why I suggested the Passport Bar as it's one of the few full bars with an espresso machine whilst the Cafe al Bacio is an espresso bar that serves (some) alcohol.

 

I think you'd have better prospects on MSC where almost every bar has an espresso machine.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

That's helpful, thank you! 

 

We enjoy the Yacht Club, but we're also looking forward to sailing in the Retreat!

[markeb]

2 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

Wow, really? 

 

I would expect that from Carnival or Margaritaville, but not from Celebrity. 

 

I don't normally drink espresso martinis. Are they normally made with fresh, hot espresso? At any sort of high volume bar I'd expect them to at least make the espresso in batches ahead of time and chill it. But it's not something I've ever watched. I've seen smaller bars brew espresso for each drink, but I can't imagine that at something like the martini bar! Making espresso and dealing with a hot ingredient in a cold drink would slow them down beyond belief.

[paulh84]

2 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

I don't normally drink espresso martinis. Are they normally made with fresh, hot espresso? At any sort of high volume bar I'd expect them to at least make the espresso in batches ahead of time and chill it.

 

They do not. I've rarely ever seen them made with a fresh shot, on sea or land. The Martini bars use a Ketel One draft machine that pours premade martinis. They are terrible. Anywhere else is going to use some sort of concentrate. For the salted caramel potion they may use caramel vodka or flavored syrup depending on what they have.

[39august]

Passport Bar deck 3.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

33 minutes ago, paulh84 said:

 

They do not. I've rarely ever seen them made with a fresh shot, on sea or land. The Martini bars use a Ketel One draft machine that pours premade martinis. They are terrible. Anywhere else is going to use some sort of concentrate. For the salted caramel potion they may use caramel vodka or flavored syrup depending on what they have.

The salted caramel part is just ingredients - as long as they have the Kahlua and vodka, that part is easy.

 

I can tell you that on MSC they were made with fresh espresso at every bar across the ship that I ordered one in...it's not an exclusively Yacht Club/Top Sail Lounge thing, though that's often where I grabbed one just because it's really nice to grab one right there without a crowd (and I also don't feel bad asking a bartender who isn't busy to make one vs. somebody trying to make drinks for 20+ people all wanting a drink at the same time).

 

I didn't realize this was a rarity as I'm not a big drinker and I never order one of these anywhere besides a cruise ship. 

 

I would expect a premium line like Celebrity to make these with fresh espresso but it sounds like I've been spoiled by MSC (it's weird to even write that out when comparing MSC to Celebrity, lol).

 

It is what it is - we'll try the instant espresso martinis in the Retreat and if they're not good, I'll just find another drink to enjoy.

 

[markeb]

33 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

I didn't realize this was a rarity as I'm not a big drinker and I never order one of these anywhere besides a cruise ship. 

 

 

That's why I asked. A quick Google search finds pretty much all bartenders say to use a cold espresso shot, either premade and chilled, a concentrate, or quick chilled if made fresh. Hot is bad...

 

Martinis were meant for minimal dilution. If you put a fresh, hot espresso shot into the ice, it melts the ice, and that's going to dilute the vodka in this case. Before Fleming, martinis were largely stirred. There's actually some James Bond/martini geek science out there that suggests Bond would have wanted his drink shaken since he was fundamentally an assassin and that would have slowed his alcohol consumption while having a drink. No idea if Fleming thought of that. A lot of your serious martini bars (Duke's in London for instance where Fleming drank his and probably dreamed up the Vesper) actually keep their gin and/or vodka in a freezer and mix them in the glass to avoid any dilution. The whole show with the shaker thing is pretty much a show. A good cocktail spoon and mixing glass will do the same thing with less dilution.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

4 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

That's why I asked. A quick Google search finds pretty much all bartenders say to use a cold espresso shot, either premade and chilled, a concentrate, or quick chilled if made fresh. Hot is bad...

 

Martinis were meant for minimal dilution. If you put a fresh, hot espresso shot into the ice, it melts the ice, and that's going to dilute the vodka in this case. Before Fleming, martinis were largely stirred. There's actually some James Bond/martini geek science out there that suggests Bond would have wanted his drink shaken since he was fundamentally an assassin and that would have slowed his alcohol consumption while having a drink. No idea if Fleming thought of that. A lot of your serious martini bars (Duke's in London for instance where Fleming drank his and probably dreamed up the Vesper) actually keep their gin and/or vodka in a freezer and mix them in the glass to avoid any dilution. The whole show with the shaker thing is pretty much a show. A good cocktail spoon and mixing glass will do the same thing with less dilution.

You know a lot more about martinis than I do so I'll defer to your expertise there. 

 

What I can tell you is that on MSC these are definitely poured fresh and the ice melting has never been an issue as far as the taste goes. They're shaken and not stirred, for whatever that is worth.

 

I've had one that was made with premade espresso on Margaritaville at Sea (I had a couple days to kill between a YC cruise and a business tradeshow in Florida) and it was definitely not as good, but hopefully whatever Celebrity does will be better. 

 

With all of that said, even if Celebrity can't make a good espresso martini, we are still going to have an amazing cruise (I just may have a few more mojitos this time around).

 

We leave next Friday for 3 days in Rome before we set sail... Looking forward to our first experience in the Retreat!

[markeb]

The only thing that matters is you liked it. But the hot espresso is unusual. And there were likely other differences with the Margarita at Sea recipe as well.

 

Enjoy Equinox. She’s our favorite so far!