Free alcoholic drink included for dinner for sleepers
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Well, do gin and tonics count as cocktails?
Any mixers you may want are free, although I don't remember if they have tonic. Cocktails are included so long as you don't want anything more fancy than a liquor + soda.
The liquors are Bacardi rum, Tanqueray gin, Maker's Mark bourbon, Tito's vodka, and I think Jack Daniel's whiskey.
The liquors are Bacardi rum, Tanqueray gin, Maker's Mark bourbon, Tito's vodka, and I think Jack Daniel's whiskey.
Do they just give little bottles and you make your own drink?
"Airline" bottles and its DIY!
Dakota 400
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I have objected to such a limited list for a long time. There ought to be a Canadian whiskey included in the selections.
No Jack Daniel's on the current menu. Perhaps JD was dropped in favor of Maker's Mark.
SwedeC
Train Attendant
Perfectly adequate Gin & Tonic EB Eastbound 8/24/21.
Triley
Real Lead Service Attendant
Pretty close. The only mixers we really have to work with are club soda, tonic water, soda, juice (including Bloody Mary Mix), and coffee. Most Seattle LSAs will make a more "proper" Bloody Mary by adding Tabasco and Worcestershire to it, because that is how the signature drink is advertised on the Cascades. I'm sure some other attendants would do this, but no guarantees!
Also, in the diner it's Tito's and Deep Eddy vodka. I always recommend the Tito's for the free drink, and then mention the dee Deep Eddy for any additional drinks, as it is a dollar cheaper. And if anyone "has to have" JD, it is available in the Cafe.
It's usually only DIY if it's a drink with a soda. If it's with club soda, tonic, juice, or coffee, we'll usually make it.
Let me honest with you....when I hired on the Northeast Corridor the liquor kit use to include a whole 5 Canadian Club. I use to sell...1-2...a month!
Please if not offered and u want it ask for it, on my ride in sleeper to ATL in July, it was not offered and I did not ask because I thought they were not doing that anymore, I thought my SCA would offer bringing my meals, but nope. My mistake. But I did have not so good SCA going and coming, not what I was used to.
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As I recall when we were on the Lake Shore eastbound in May of 2019 under contemporary (?) dining, mixed drinks, such as rum and coke or gin and tonic came in a can where the drinks were premixed and you did not mix your own. I do not see that these pre-mixed drinks are mentioned in the flexible dining menu so perhaps they are no longer offered. They were nothing to write home about and I would much prefer good food to a free drink.
Devil's Advocate
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Bloody Marys are a rather peculiar drink, at least insomuch as I never see anybody order them yet they're almost always stocked on nearly every US carrier. Or at least they were before the pandemic. These days it's almost impossible to know what is stocked without asking since those details are rarely updated anymore.
Bean counters and teetotalers seem to miss that part of the fun of ordering a cocktail is in the preparation. Pouring a can into a cup does not a cocktail make.
Ryan
Court Jester
While I don't disagree, some of the premade cocktails out there are really excellent. Cutwater out of San Diego has a wide range of them that are outstanding, and I grabbed a random bottle of premade Old Fashioned from a Target in CA when I was out there last week.
Edit to add: The prepared nature of them also comes in handy in preventing errors in judgement, once your judgement becomes suspect... I spent much of Monday next to the pool, and the drinks I was pouring for myself became stronger and stronger when my judgement got progressively more impaired.
Edit to add: The prepared nature of them also comes in handy in preventing errors in judgement, once your judgement becomes suspect... I spent much of Monday next to the pool, and the drinks I was pouring for myself became stronger and stronger when my judgement got progressively more impaired.
Dakota 400
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That surprises me. Maybe if CC were replaced by Crown Royal their might be more sales?
Jack, I would drink. Maker's Mark? Vile!
20th Century Rider
Engineer
Devil's Advocate
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I used to drink Crown until they started mixing whiskey with apple and peach liquor. I have no idea why that exists or who finds it appealing but they really leaned into it so I guess it's working for them. I used to hate Jack Daniels with a passion but as I got older the taste seemed more palatable over time. I never had a problem with Makers Mark but really disliked Jim Beam.
Any particular brand of Gin? I always enjoyed Tanqueray with tonic and lime or Hendricks with tonic and cucumber.
As I recall, it's Tanqueray. (Though I brought a little bottle of Bombay Sapphire, some Q tonic cans, and lime to make our 'private' cocktail hour in our room...ice cheerfully supplied by our SCA).
On a recent trip to Kentucky there were a few stores with Crown peach available, and all of them were limited to 1 per customer. It is apparently very popular and flies off the shelf otherwise. We bought a bottle because, well why not, but haven't tried it yet.
I find it interesting that you stopped drinking regular Crown because they started making peach/apple versions. They still make regular Crown if you like it.
Well, I don’t drink a lot but I love the peach and apple crown, the regular crown will make me grow hair on my chest and I’m a woman lol. But then my friends tell me my wine is koolaid and my amaretto is too sweet. Lol
Life is to short not to drink what you like, rather than what people tell you you ought to like. The only reason to care is that it is considerate to have something around that most guests will like. That or suggest BYOB if they don't care for your stuff.
Triley
Real Lead Service Attendant
That's the weird thing... On a Regional with 600 people I might still 1 Bloody Mary if I was lucky. I would say my record was maybe 5 in one trip. On the Cascades, it's not uncommon to sell 10+. On days the Seahawks are playing, it's typically 30+.
But, we also advertised it as our signature drink, as well as Bailey's/coffee.
Acela First use to have Crown Royal, and it was the same issue. I'd use more of it than Canadian Club, but not much more. Between both of my replies in this post, I guess we can see that folks have varying tastes, and it is virtually impossible to accommodate the tastes and preferences of all!
Devil's Advocate
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I ended up with their appletini-whiskey by mistake and that was the end of that. It's clear I am not their target customer though I shudder to think who is.
Now if they only would have Woodford (Reserve) - or a good single malt scotch - my taste buds would be satisfied !
Since this thread veered towards discussing our favorite drinks, I wish the long distance trains would regularly offer local craft beer. In the distant past, I have had local DC beer on the Capitol Limited and in 2018, I had a local beer on the Sunset Limited (I think it was from Louisiana).
