Craft Social on many Celebrity Cruises ships elevates the sports bar experience. It has televisions showing most major sporting events (not all, as cruise lines don’t always have the right to air every event).
It also offers a bar snack menu featuring favorites like wings, sliders, and fries at an added fee. The bar, however, has a mixology menu that goes beyond what you would expect in a traditional sports bar setting.
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Sure, you can get a beer — there are many on tap — but you can also order a variety of hand-crafted beverages created just for the Craft Social menu. The bar’s signature drink, however, is its smoked Old Fashioneds.
You can customize your drink from a list of bourbons, rums, bitters, and other customizations. The menu varies by ship (Craft Social can be found on Ascent, Apex, Beyond, Equinox, and Silhouette) but the smoked Old Fashioneds are a staple.
Kanek, a Craft Social bartender from Bali, showed Come Cruise With Me’s travel agent partner Dennis Post, of Postcard Travel Planning, how to make one of the staple versions of the drink on the version of the bar on Celebrity Ascent.
Meet the Woodford Smoked Double Oak Old Fashioned
Most people don’t have a smoking cabinet to infuse smoke into their drinks. Amazon, or any store that sells bar supplies, offers smoking guns and other readily affordable ways to smoke your drink.
That may not create the same taste 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 Bourbon3-4 dashes of Angostura Orange Bitters 3-4 dashes of Aromatic Bitters1.5 ounces of simple syrup.1 slice of orange peel.1 black cherry.
As he is assembling the drink, Kanek puts a large square ice cube in a separate glass. He then begins assembling the drink in a larger cocktail mixing glass. The bourbon is added in first, followed by the bitters. Ice is then added to the glass and then stirred for about 10 seconds before the simple syrup gets added and the drink is stirred again for about 5 seconds.
After that, Kanek strained the drink into the glass with the large ice cube. He then twists the orange peel, rubs it around the rim of the glass, and places it on the edge of the drink. He completes the pre-smoking process by adding a black cherry.
The drink is then placed in a smoking cabinet, 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 smoking cabinet to the person who ordered it, opening the door, and presenting the smoke.
When you order a smoke drink, it’s important to remember that you should smell the smoke, but not consume it. Allow the mists to disperse before taking your first sip.
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