Chocolate & Liquor Tasting

[Fantasy2013]

My husband and I will be on the Fantasy is a few weeks (can't wait!) We are considering doing the chocolate & liquor tasting. For anyone that has done this, do you recommend it? Also, neither one of us are huge alcohol drinkers but do drink occasionally. Would we be able to sign one of us up for the tasting and then share what is served. We really just want to taste and not drink a lot. TIA

 

[cheermom2four]

Actually interested in the responses as DH and I dont drink except very rarely and we wanted to try this also but what a waste since we would only be taking sips (but I get the chocolate LOL)

 

[Quellman]

I did the chocolate and liquor tasting on the Dream in February. I can tell you more about my experiences with the class, but not if you can just go and share. I would not think that you can, because you share the tables with other guests, and each space at the table has a setting with pre-poured drinks and chocolate.

Know that depending on who the host is, the selection of alcohol will vary. For us, it was the sommelier from Palo, so most of our drinks were actually wine, not liquor. Between tastes she would talk a bit about the chocolate, its history, the region where they get the chocolate for the tasting, etc. Fun stuff. The drinks generally are not full pours and I think there were 5. You would first taste the beverage by itself, make some comments about it. Then you would pair the chocolate and retaste. then you would repeat for the next beverages. I will say you do not have to finish your drinks. I didn't leave feeling tipsy or anything at the conclusion of the tasting.

At the end, you receive a billfold that you pay for the class with (sign) and add gratuity if you desire. We also got a beverage tasting pin as a thank you gift. Some of the bottles we drank from were "quite exclusive" and in all honestly I wouldn't know but we did have one of the lasseter wines, so that was a treat.

I was hoping for more liquor than wine since I don't have a huge liquor background, but I learned things and had a great time.

 

[cheermom2four]

Know that depending on who the host is, the selection of alcohol will vary. For us, it was the sommelier from Palo, so most of our drinks were actually wine, not liquor. Between tastes she would talk a bit about the chocolate, its history, the region where they get the chocolate for the tasting, etc. Fun stuff. The drinks generally are not full pours and I think there were 5. You would first taste the beverage by itself, make some comments about it. Then you would pair the chocolate and retaste. then you would repeat for the next beverages. I will say you do not have to finish your drinks. I didn't leave feeling tipsy or anything at the conclusion of the tasting.

Oh thanks for the info. I may just sign us up then.

 

[IAMASTITCHER]

If memory serves me correctly, if you are present for the tasting - sitting at a table where the glasses are lined up, you will be expected to pay for the tasting. You can certainly share between the two of you but both pay. Remember - you do not have to drink everything in your glass. The idea is to take a sip or two of the liquid libations followed by the chocolate.

 

[Quellman]

Oh thanks for the info. I may just sign us up then.

I hope you enjoy it. There are a few dedicated threads on the Dis about the class. I will mention that it is a little more expensive than the other classes. It was $35 per person.

 

[rhinodadz]

We've done it twice and @Quellman is spot-on. We had one of the Lasseter wines and enjoyed it so much we ordered it at Palo the next evening. It's a great experience and well worth the charge.

 

[professorandmom]

The chocolate is amazing...white, dark, caramel...super yummy
Highlight of our trip
My daughter and I learned that we really like Malbec and now order it/buy it (Trader Joe's has some inexpensive and excellent Malbecs)
Enjoy!

 

[iZach]

I've never been disappointed in any of the tastings on the ship!

I actually did the chocolate & liquor tasting in January on the Magic. Everyone had 6 parings (only 4 were chocolate, the other 2 were cheese) and we only had 2 liquors (everything else was champagne or wine). Same as @Quellman we had the Palo sommelier running our tasting, which is why I assume we had more wine then liquor.

The experience was great, I would totally do it again, completely worth the money. An added extra bounus, they pre-poured the glasses and because it wasnt compleatly booked, I got to drink a few extra glasses!

 

[hanscarlet]

I'm thinking of booking this class for dh and I nice to hear good things

 

[dcassetta]

This is my favorite of the tasting sessions I have done. The way the flavors of the liquor/wine complement the chocolate is really interesting. If my experience is typical, this is also a good repeat tasting, as we had different offerings the second time we did this. Although, that may be because one was on the Wonder and one on the Dream.

I do not think they would let you purchase one tasting and share it between two people. But, as others have said, the servings are small and you do not need to finish them

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

Quellman I think we were on the same cruise in Feb. I wanted to sign up for this but we did Palo brunch instead. The only other signing for it was a private tasting. Will have to check it out next time.

 

[joannamet]

Looking forward to trying this. Great info.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

I'm done this two or three times and I absolutely love it. But I do drink liquor.

They have served wine, champagne and scotch paired with various chocolates and a Parmesan cheese. The only thing I didn't like was the scotch. I never got a pin, but I've done it on the Magic and I think the Wonder so maybe that's just different.

The last time I did it a husband and wife showed up. The wife asked if she could just stay and watch she wasn't going to do it, but when she saw the set up and how good it looks she changed her mind and they set a place for her. As far as I could tell they were going to let her sit there and assume they would've let her share what he paid for which was one setting.

 

[k3chantal]

My husband and I will be on the Fantasy is a few weeks (can't wait!) We are considering doing the chocolate & liquor tasting. For anyone that has done this, do you recommend it? Also, neither one of us are huge alcohol drinkers but do drink occasionally. Would we be able to sign one of us up for the tasting and then share what is served. We really just want to taste and not drink a lot. TIA

Sorry if someone has already said it, I didn't read through all the responses. For your husband to attend or vice vs, you both will have to have a ticket. Because it is a 'tasting', I wouldn't worry about becoming too intoxicated. I did the whiskey tasting with my husband and could barely take one sip of each drink......but my husband was thrilled for the extras.......

You won't insult anyone if you don't finish. Just consume what you are comfortable with. Have fun!

 

[My2Qtz0205]

This was our liquor pairing on the Fantasy in April 2014:

Left to right: whiskey, port, red wine blend, and champagne (not yet poured)

And our liquor with our chocolates. I would definitely do this again!