Flaflyer

OP is Swiss. I would like to offer this reason: I bet most travel writers writing about alcohol are US based. Because America is still suffering the after effects of Prohibition. Blue laws and Demon Rum and all that. Airlines keep alcohol in separate drawers and keep inventory and charge for beer etc. America still has a Prohibition hangover.

I was so pleased years ago the first time I took a KLM cityhopper from AMS to an interior city. The FA came down the aisle with a cart. "What would you like? Here." Soda or beer? Just ask. No charge for the alcoholic beverage. I love the European attitude that beer is just another liquid refreshment to enjoy. They don't waste time with the massive differentiation between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages like the Puritanical Bible Thumping Americans still do. Hence the obsession of "What kind of booze can I get and where can I get it."

Just my 2 cents worth.

Vegas Vegan

I always ask if its canned OJ or fresh OJ in my drinks. If canned, I switch to another drink. Can NOT stand the canned stuff.

txirish

United's switch to Illy coffee a couple of years ago got some attention. Having said that, I find most airline coffee to be unexceptional at best. Fresh espresso options would certainly deserve mention by bloggers but aren't all that common.

bitterproffit

Gotta keep selling those champagne wishes and caviar dreams! Even though the caviar is likely farmed, it is lovingly captured amongst all the proper accoutrements. Because thats how one rolls when one lives the lifestyle of the rich and famous.

84fiero

Charging or not charging for booze on board has nothing to do with "Puritanical attitudes" and everything to do with revenue optimization, legacy airline consolidation, and competition from LCCs and ULCCs. For a time, USAirways charged for cans of soda and bottled water in economy. And it's not just in the US, I believe BA is now charging for drinks on some shorter routes. LCCs and ULCCs worldwide generally charge for both alcohol and soft drinks. Meals used to be free but now are for purchase on most US domestic economy routes. Factors driving onboard charges include competitive pressures from other airlines on the same routes especially LCCs and ULCCs. Alcohol is free in economy on some US airline international routes - this also has come and gone over time as each airline perceives the market to demand it.

As a few others have noted upthread, the reason is that it looks cool on IG and attracts people to the blog to generate credit card affiliate link applications which makes these points & miles bloggers money. If the OP is referring to blogs such as some (not all) BoardingArea bloggers, Million Mile Secrets, the Points Guy, etc. these aren't really travel bloggers - they're credit card salesmen using the enticement of travel to sell cards and other affiliate income. Certain of these also like to obsess over warm nuts and hotel shower heads, so take their focus on alcohol with an equal grain of salt.

CPRich

Quite an interesting perspective. Are you over 80?

I also don't understand the fascination over $50 of drink on a $5,000 ticket. Buy it in a bar after you land. Or if you're really obsessive, you must have some at home. Does an entire trip come crashing down if a flight substituted a brand of Scotch?

DesertNomad

I'm with the OP. As a non-drinker, the value of alcohol to me is less than zero. Maybe I should fly Saudia more.

lwildernorva

I think there's another element as well. Most restaurant reviews will touch on the alcohol/wine options. With wine, the focus is more on the breadth of selection and price: what can you get and is it a good value compared with other restaurants; with alcohol, it may be as much the skill or the notoriety of the bartender that is mentioned. While I agree that many who fly on planes may not care to have little or any alcohol at all on a flight (I'm drifting towards that camp), mentions of the choices on a flight fit within the pattern of a classic dining review.

The limited selection and the irrelevancy of price, however, feeds into the larger picture for bloggers to make readers think they're missing something elegant by flying in coach and enticing them to apply for credit cards with mileage bonuses that make flying up front easier--at a profit to the blogger.

RG1X

On a related note...

Airport bars could face hours limits to curb flight rage - BBC News

I wonder if this could affect lounges / in flight alcohol.

HMPS

So can we expect TRs from you re the critiques of the non alcoholic drinks... I fly J (rarely F0 and barely touch the booze ! Wish they would give me credit for that !

SightseeMC

As someone who has just started flying premium cabins after decades in coach, I'm agreeing with the few of you to point out the ASPIRATIONAL aspect of these reviews. Reviewers focus on the things you cannot have (or must pay for) in economy. When I discuss my flights with friends, they care about the things they have never experienced. And most people have flown coach with bland coffee and no name juices.

Want to sleep? J/F have beds!
Want to eat real food (or a semblance thereof)? J/F have catering!
Want an alcoholic drink? It's free, and the quality is probably better!
Want coffee or tea? It's probably the same in the back of the plane as the front...so it's not worth mentioning.

When airlines include special non-alcoholic drinks (such as Jet Blue's mint drink, or Qatar's fruit drink), or special coffee up front, I see reviewers mention it. If the review would be "hey, look at this OJ that you get for free...just like coach" then what's the point?

And pointing out that you could pay for that $100 bottle of champagne on the ground if it mattered misses the point. Beds, food, and booze on the ground are better and cheaper; the comparison is with the experience in back of the plane.

seat38a

OMG I just wrote a trip report about my business class flight on Air Canada and mentioned how they served tanqueray gin instead of bombay sapphire gin and how it was not cool. I guess I'm one of those people the OP is talking about. I even wrote about how the alcohol in the Maple Leaf Lounge was cheap oops. BTW I don't pedal credit cards. Just a web developer who likes to blow his money on premium travel.
My critique of the alcohol can be found here: Trip Report - Air Canada AC 557 Business Class LAX To Vancouver

Next time I guess I should focus more on the tonic

RG1X

Odd, Tanqueray costs exactly the same in the UK as Bombay Sapphire. Unless you're talking about one of their more unusual blends.

Oh, and as a fellow gin lover... allow me to recommend the Steam Bar in Helsinki. 113 varieties!

seat38a

You hit it right on the nail. I used to fly coach, well I used to not travel at all. When I came into the means to start traveling, it was in coach hence my scree name seat 38A. That was the seat number of my first flight in almost 8 years of no flying. When I came into a job that gave me the means to travel up front, things like the brand of booze started to matter not because I wanted to be snobby but because I was sitting in the "promised land". When I share pictures of my flight with friends, families and acquaintances, who don't fly up front, you'd be surprised of the ooos and awwws when I show them pictures of things like the ice cream cart on Swiss Airlines. Even the simple snack basket in first class gets a few OMG from people who don't fly up front. The front of the plane which is separated from the rest of the aircraft by only a flimsy curtain, for all intents and purposes is like the promised land to the vast majority of the flying public.

WorldLux

Any review I have read in the past mentioned the content of the drinks list and many of those reviews were not written by US based flyers. Booze in premium classes is just another aspect where airlines can trump each other. Non-alcoholic beverages are often very similar. OP is however right that airlines could score additional points by providing at least in premium classes a selection of extraordinary juices and/or other non-alcoholic products. The question is however where airlines could source such juices as any major airline will need tons of it, and thus possibly more than any of the smaller juice makers can churn out.