Lyndihop53

I was reading the new "meal service" article on the AA site. And saw the mention that meals, soft drinks and non-alcoholic beverages were still available in First. It makes NO mention of complimentary alcoholic beverages. Tell me it isn't so!!!!!!!! However, we never drink when we fly Coach. :

We last flew First back from HNL in December. And liquor was STILL complimentary...however, I know lots has changes since that flight.

PresRDC

Don't worry. Free booze in premium cabins isn't goign anywhere. I read that press release and it is not thebest worded, but it doesn't say that alcoholic beverages will not be available.

Bostom

Last Saturday, FLL-BOS AA572, airborne for 2 hours and 50 minutes.

One vodka tonic after takeoff ^
Two Bloody Mary's with the chicken salad ^ ^
Two double Baileys Irish Creams for dessert ^ ^ ^ ^

And a Boston Coach limo to drive us (and the six pieces of luggage) home. ^

I hasten to add that we were returning from a cruise, and such copious consumption is not the norm in the air. On board ship, it is, but not flying.

inlanikai

I understand your confusion but I think you misinterpreted the context of the phrase. As I read it, the "non-alcoholic" was refering to what was complimentary, not what was in First.

I can tell you that this past Sunday I sat on the end of the runway in MCI for 1 1/2 hrs in F waiting for weather to clear in ORD. The 14 of us in F must have cleaned out the cart of their complimentary alcoholic drinks.

nologic

However, try getting more than 2 bottles of premium scotch. They only load two dinky bottles for the entire cabin...why bother?

oldpenny16

they run out of gin! Now that's serious!

shoodawg

Free liquor, true. But you may only get one serving of your preference!!! The best days are long gone!!

Efrem

True, and a crying shame. On one recent flight the FA destroyed my Glenlivet by putting ice in it! The horror, the shame! My (nonexistent, though my family name is not uncommon in Scotland) Scottish ancestors would be spinning in their graves if they knew of this travesty. Of course he took it back and replaced it, but then what was I supposed to drink after we crossed the Mississippi?

(In retrospect, I probably should have just taken the ice out before it had a chance to do significant damage. A little water can actually help the stuff sometimes.)

brp

Premium scotch? They have premium scotch on AA? As far as I know, all they have is Glenlivet 12. I'd hardly call that premium. 18, maybe- not 12. I actually take mine on the rocks because it is, IMO, mediocre stuff. With good scotch, I've been advised by an expert to add one single cube...for the reasons you mention. The interaction with a little water brings out additional characteristics.

In the unlikely event that they get a premium single malt on AA, I'll have to try that. In the meantime, on the rocks on AA, and done right in finer restaurants and bars.

Cheers.

Lyndihop53

WHEW!!!!!!!!!!!!

Didn't mean to cause panic.....glad to hear we still get a glass or so of the "forbidden"!!!

On our way to TAHITI tomorrow...

EyeFlyDoc

Same thing happened to me one too many times. Now I say "straight up" followed by "NO ICE". I always look them in the eye to make sure they at least heard me. Even then I sometimes get it on the rocks - that is when I can get it. More than once I've been beaten to the punch by two passengers sitting ahead of me.

As I see it, 2 bottles are better than no bottles. Odd as it may seem, one of the deciding factors not to return to Delta this year was their removal of Glen Morangie from their liquor offerings. That was the final insult.

Bishopcfd

Well, you might not consider Glenlivet a premium scotch. But how about Dewars. Yes, Dewars. That ws the only selection from OGG to ORD back in April. I would take Glenlivet anyday over Dewars. But one can not pass up scotch so I had one large, without ice.

number_6

All scotch discussions belong on the Qantas board, the official home of scotch lovers on FT (not that QF actually serves good scotch, but that is another story). Glenlivet is excellent value for money, thus a good choice by AA, and better than most commonly served scotch. I say that with over 50 bottles of single malt in my house (most costing over USD 100 and the most expensive over USD 1000 per bottle ... rarity has a high price). A few drops of water added to scotch does wonders to open up its aroma and flavour (dripping the water into the scotch causes a change in surface tension which then forces/allows some of the aromatics to be released from the glass; all at scottish room temperature of course). Even poor scotch is twice as good when treated like this (but of course you also taste the harshness of its aromatics). Finally scotch tends to be more "different" rather than "good or bad" and can range in taste from salty to sweet to smoky (the latter often done to cover up the flaws). Some of the best scotches are rather cheap (for example Bowmore or Balvenie doublewood). BA serves JW Blue in F (also in some of their F lounges, mostly at LHR) which is an interesting drink but maybe the worst value (barely different from the JW Gold which is less than half the price; better, but not 10% better, if it is possible to put percentages on taste).

I find AA has a well chosen liquor selection with great cost-effectiveness. For example they offer Tanqueray gin (though Seagrams is just as good and cheaper) instead of the Beefeater plonk that most airlines have. Now if only they would carry Ten in international F. And have a decent brandy.