Beer and Whiskey Tastings

[Camonkeygirl]

DH and I will be on the Wonder in April, and looking at signing DH up for the beer and Whiskey tastings.

Does anyone know what brands/beer is being served in the tastings? DH is a bit of a beer snob, living in San Diego with 10 or 12 microbrews in walking distance.

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[phinz]

He won't like the beer tasting except possibly for the social aspect. It's pretty much non-craft, as is most of what they offer on the boat. I've only found a couple of interesting beers on board in the past, and I had to accidentally find out about one.

The whiskey tasting tends to be pretty pedestrian whiskies, but it's usually fun and a good value. Sometimes your host will know more about whiskey than you do. Sometimes you can tell they have no idea what they're talking about, especially if you're an aficionado. It's always fun to see how it turns out, though. I've probably done a dozen bourbon and whiskey tasting on board and each one has been different in regards to the knowledge of the host. The whiskies have rarely been something unexpected.

I did get an invite to attend a special invitation whisky tasting that was higher-end whiskies once, put together by the staff at Meridian for the guests that they knew were more knowledgeable. I don't remember what whiskies we had, but they were all on the moderately expensive side. That one was a lot of fun because Jerry, the host, was most likely their most knowledgeable staff member. He has since left to work with his wife in jewelry promotions, though, which was a big loss. His passion for bartending and spirits was evident in his presentation.

 

[Uncleromulus]

We did the beer tasting on the Fantasy and I knew more about beer than the hosts did!! Mostly mainstream stuff and frankly, not worth the time or $$.

 

[Wilderness_Lodge]

I haven't done the beer or whiskey tastings but I would highly recommend the chocolate and wine tasting! Chocolate was very high quality and the there was a port wine, a red wine, a champagne and a whiskey (all pretty pricey selections). The mixology class was also fun- more for the experience than the actual drinks. I usually almost exclusively drink beer so both of these were a lotta fun.

 

[lklgoodman]

I haven't done either of these tastings. We are going on a cruise on the Wonder this coming March. I was able to sign up for activities earlier this month. I was really disappointed with the alcohol offerings on the Wonder. Each type is only offered once, at least for our cruise. Some of the types aren't even offered at all. I was hoping to do either the Mojito or chocolate and wine, neither are offered on our cruise. None of the choices were sold out when we were able to sign up for them, but did sell out a few days later. When we sailed on the Fantasy earlier this year, I had a lot of different days/times to choose from for the different tastings. Just thought I'd mention this, in case there isn't a lot of choices for your cruise either.

 

[phinz]

I haven't done either of these tastings. We are going on a cruise on the Wonder this coming March. I was able to sign up for activities earlier this month. I was really disappointed with the alcohol offerings on the Wonder.

Check when you get on board. They always have other tastings, etc. when you board.

 

[rhinodadz]

+1 for the wine/chocolate tasting.

The whisky tastings usually include an Irish, a blended Scotch, a single malt Scotch, a Canadian and an American.

The Cognac tasting was also enjoyable and very informative.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

I haven't done either of these tastings. We are going on a cruise on the Wonder this coming March. I was able to sign up for activities earlier this month. I was really disappointed with the alcohol offerings on the Wonder. Each type is only offered once, at least for our cruise. Some of the types aren't even offered at all. I was hoping to do either the Mojito or chocolate and wine, neither are offered on our cruise. None of the choices were sold out when we were able to sign up for them, but did sell out a few days later. When we sailed on the Fantasy earlier this year, I had a lot of different days/times to choose from for the different tastings. Just thought I'd mention this, in case there isn't a lot of choices for your cruise either.

There may be additional tastings offered for scheduling once onboard the ship, especially for those that are already sold out. They seem to only list one of each for the online presale. However, my experience was with the 14-night EBPC. It may be different for shorter cruises.

 

[phinz]

The Cognac tasting was also enjoyable and very informative.

I can concur. We had a South African host for our last Cognac/brandy tasting. Apparently Cognac is really popular in South Africa, so he had a ton of knowledge. It was really fun.