Craft Social, on many Celebrity Cruises ships, elevates the sports bar experience. It features televisions showing most major sporting events (not all, as cruise lines don't always have the right to broadcast all events).
It also offers an appetizer menu with favorites like wings, burgers, and fries for an additional charge. However, the bar has a cocktail menu that goes beyond what you would expect in a traditional sports bar setting.
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Of course, you can order a beer (there are plenty on tap), but you can also order a variety of craft drinks created exclusively for Craft Social's menu. The bar's signature drink, however, is its smoked Old Fashioned.
You can customize your drink with a list of bourbons, rums, bitters, and other ingredients. The menu varies by ship (you can find Craft Social on Ascent, Apex, Beyond, Equinox, and Silhouette), but smoked Old Fashioneds are a classic.
Kadek, a bartender at Bali's Craft Social, showed Come Cruise With Me travel agent partner Dennis Post of Postcard Travel Planning how to make one of the basic versions of the drink at the Celebrity Ascent's bar.
Meet the Woodford Smoked Double Oak Old Fashioned
Most people don't have a smoker cabinet to add smoke to their drinks. amazon, or any store that sells barware, offers smoker guns and other affordable ways to smoke your drink.
This may not create the same flavor and experience, but you can make a reasonable version of the drink at home.
Woodford Smoked Double Oak Old Fashioned Recipe:
- 2 oz. Woodford Double Smoked Bourbon
- 3-4 dashes Angostura orange bitters
- 3-4 pinches of aromatic bitters
- 1.5 ounces simple syrup.
- 1 slice of orange peel.
- 1 black cherry.
Kadek begins preparing the drink by first placing a large square ice cube into a separate glass.
Then start mixing the ingredients into a larger cocktail mixing glass. First add the bourbon, then the bitters, and then the ice.
The mixture is then stirred for about 10 seconds. Kadek then adds the simple syrup and stirs the drink again for another 5 seconds.
Kadek then strains the drink into the first glass with the large ice cube. He twists the orange peel, rubs it around the rim of the glass and places it on the rim of the drink. He completes the pre-smoking process by adding a black cherry.
Now, the drink is placed into a smoker, which uses oak chips to generate its smoke. Using a blowtorch to start the process, Kanek leaves the drink in the smoker for a few minutes, before bringing the entire smoker to the person who ordered it, opening the door and presenting the smoke.
When ordering a smoked beverage, remember: you should only smell the smoke, not consume it. Allow the mists to disperse before taking the first sip.
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