Cognac Tasting - Mini-Report - May 23rd cruise

[ehagerty]

This was the last of our beverage tastings for this cruise. It was held at the Cafe Cove, hosted by Rodolfo. In this picture, you can see Rodolfo, his map, his swirling technique, along with fellow disboarders. We met the fellow on the right at a Tables in Wonderland dinner at The Wave (Contemporary) on May 21st. We discovered, sitting across from him, that he, his wife and a couple friends would be on the same cruise a couple of days later. After that, we saw quite a bit of them. He seemed to know as much - or more - than Rodolfo about the cognac.

We learned that whoever orders that last drink from the bottle at a bar gets to keep the bottle. Apparently, there are people who seek out the bottle wherever they go, because this bottle, empty, is worth $300. In that light, the $109 per shot charge would be a no-brainer. I think. Unfortunately, there were still 6 shots left in THIS bottle. We did not buy.

In this cozy setting, there wasn't much room to maneuver - it isn't artistic, but you get the picture. Four "shots".

Closing thoughts:

Would I do it again? Probably. I've lost my taste for stuff this strong a little. But I really liked it at one time.

Would I recommend it? - definitely, IF you like cognac

Is it worth it? - there are multiple way of analyzing "value for the dollar". This is my random thought for the moment:
The wine tasting was $12, and you got about DCLBar$10 in wine.
The beer tasting was $12, and you got about DCLBar$6 in beer
The martini tasting was $15 (pretty sure), and you about - I don't know, I don't drink martini's - break even, maybe?
The cognac tasting was $20, and I estimate was got about $50 in cognac (if you bought 4 shots at the DCL bar). I hope that doesn't ruin everything and result in higher prices for the next guy, but that's how I saw it.

Anyone else have an opinion?

Did anyone keep a placemat? Have the "listing"?

 

[calmpets]

The martini tasting was $15 the last time I took it. In addition to your four "sampler" size martinis, they did a lot of refills and passing out of extras. Then at the end they had questions from the seminar that if you answered correctly you got a full-size martini of your choice. Martinis (the fancy kind anyway) run about $8 each normally, so I'd say you definitely get your money's worth.

 

[lucky1]

What time of day was the Coqnac testing? Wondering because in one of your pictures there are people in "formal or semi formal dress"

 

[ehagerty]

The martini tasting was $15 the last time I took it. In addition to your four "sampler" size martinis, they did a lot of refills and passing out of extras. Then at the end they had questions from the seminar that if you answered correctly you got a full-size martini of your choice. Martinis (the fancy kind anyway) run about $8 each normally, so I'd say you definitely get your money's worth.

They didn't pass out many extras - I probably got my money's worth ("worth" being a relative term) in bar drinks. I just try to be clear on the threads so that people have a reasonable expectation about what is likely to happen - then they aren't disappointed if they only get the 4 samples.

Ultimately, it isn't about the bar drinks only - there is a fun, social element to the events, especially after the first one or two.... I did focus on "value for the dollar" last night, while I was posting like a crazy person who had an hour to herself. I probably was NOT as comprehensive as this will ultimately be, with prompting of questions from readers.

Thanks for posting!