Change to pre-departure champagne in First class?

[JohnK]

Gin is basically vodka with flavouring

Isn't all all alcohol just vodka/ouzo with different flavouring?

My cousins in Greece make Tsipouro brandy from grapes. Boy that's strong. Add a little water if you want to dilute the Tsipouro.

You also make ouzo from grapes. Can be drunk straight, with a little water or mixed with something like tomato juice.

And you also make wine and champagne from grapes.

Apart from something like Vat69 or Invalid Port does the label really matter? Or is it sacrilege to say champagne is just champagne?

 

[BacchusMarsh]

Or is it sacrilege to say champagne is just champagne?

Not so much sacrilege as tedious and clearly beyond your purview.

 

[opusman]

Apart from something like Vat69 or Invalid Port does the label really matter? Or is it sacrilege to say champagne is just champagne?

That's like saying a $2 mcdonald's burger pattie is the same as a Wagyu rump steak. Of course the label matters sometimes.

 

[JohnK]

Not so much sacrilege as tedious and clearly beyond your purview.

Clearly I don't know enough or care enough to worry what the champagne tastes like on boarding.

And I guess I will never understand. One of those things in life?

 

[mannej]

Clearly I don't know enough or care enough to worry what the champagne tastes like on boarding.

And I guess I will never understand. One of those things in life?

I guess it's a case of each to their own really.

It's like someone saying that their set of dunlops purchased for $39 at Kmart is the same as a set of callaways or Titleist which are much more expensive.

 

[NoName]

As long as they don't start loading Passion Pop I will make do.

 

[TomVexille]

That's like saying a $2 mcdonald's burger pattie is the same as a Wagyu rump steak. Of course the label matters sometimes.

I guess it's a case of each to their own really.

It's like someone saying that their set of dunlops purchased for $39 at Kmart is the same as a set of callaways or Titleist which are much more expensive.

Or that QF and JQ are the same. And now that JohnK flies JQ...

 

[JohnK]

I guess it's a case of each to their own really.

It's like someone saying that their set of dunlops purchased for $39 at Kmart is the same as a set of callaways or Titleist which are much more expensive.

But I can shoot the same decent score with a cheap golf ball I found in the local dam/creek that I can with the brand new Pro V1.

I purchased a cheap set of golf clubs (~$245 including driver, putter and golf bag) and shot 75 at Emerald, Rayong, Thailand in 2009. Still my best score in Thailand.

You can give some golfers a ~$3000 set of golf clubs but they won't improve. They'll still shoot 144.

I follow the wine threads with interest. I find it difficult to understand the obsession with wine/champagne. It has nothing to do with drinking alcohol but more to do with detecting which fruits are in which batch. Maybe I will understand the obsession one day.

 

[TomVexille]

I follow the wine threads with interest. I find it difficult to understand the obsession with wine/champagne. It has nothing to do with drinking alcohol but more to do with detecting which fruits are in which batch. Maybe I will understand the obsession one day.

Having taste buds helps...

 

[opusman]

Obsession is a strange choice of word.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Clearly I don't know enough or care enough to worry what the champagne tastes like on boarding.

And I guess I will never understand. One of those things in life?

Why bother participating in the thread then?

 

[RooFlyer]

<snip>
I follow the wine threads with interest. I find it difficult to understand the obsession with wine/champagne. It has nothing to do with drinking alcohol but more to do with detecting which fruits are in which batch. Maybe I will understand the obsession one day.

Talking and obsessing about Champagne and its differences, tastes, provenance and ones preferences is just like talking and obsessing about golf - differences in courses, holes, balls, clubs.

But unlike golf ("A good walk ruined" I believe is the requisite expression) Champagne can be enjoyed sitting down, in great company and in the absence of flies. On the other hand, like golf, it is sleep inducing.

 

[RichardMEL]

Interesting tangents

It really is a case of each to their own I think. For me, I enjoy tasting the different Champagnes in various F classes because should I decide to get a bottle and fo the kind of outlay(for a special event or to share with someone(s) special) then I like to know what I like and what is good. There are some bubbles usually in J that I wouldn't shell out for, and some I would. Very personal choice.

As for the Grey Goose v Belvedere thing. Interesting. I am a vodka man and you can definitely tell a good vodka from a coughpy one - most notably in the aftertaste - a good vodka will have none.. a bad one.. well.. let's just say on a visit to Russia some decades back I was taught how they drink their vodka, and there's a reason they take a shot and follow with bread and/or a pickle.... to cover the bitterness of aftertaste of a nasty vodka (and when we could get 1L of Stoli for $3 there was a bit of that going around). As irony I've tried all (or many) of the "best" vodkas out there - Grey Goose, Belv, Crystal Skull, the one with the gold flakes, etc etc and to me the best vodka I have EVER had is actually made by this guy out near Armidale NSW in a little place called Eastview I think. his $50ish Pure vodka is amazing. Of course it helped to visit and see his setup and have him run through everything, but on tasting this stuff was amazing. However just because I think it's the best the next person could think it's rubbish - and that's totally their right as it's very subjective.

I will remember one NYE party back when I was young and partook in such things where they had a blind taste test of vodkas from cheaper to more expensive. I won it and everyone was gobsmacked I could tell the difference.. to me it was pretty easy. It's a skill i guess LOL

Salut !

 

[njba]

As irony I've tried all (or many) of the "best" vodkas out there - Grey Goose, Belv, Crystal Skull, the one with the gold flakes, etc etc and to me the best vodka I have EVER had is actually made by this guy out near Armidale NSW in a little place called Eastview I think. his $50ish Pure vodka is amazing.

No surprise that the best vodka comes from Australia as I am of the opinion the best gin also comes from Australia. And some mighty fine whiskys are coming out of Tassie, come to think of it.

What a wonderful time to be alive and in need of a drink.

 

[RichardMEL]

No surprise that the best vodka comes from Australia as I am of the opinion the best gin also comes from Australia. And some mighty fine whiskys are coming out of Tassie, come to think of it.

What a wonderful time to be alive and in need of a drink.

The same guy I mentioned also makes gin. I'm not a gin guy but I'm told the gin is very good too

HOME

 

[mitti]

It would be a crying shame if Qantas started substituting their finer champagne for a lesser J class variety in F for PDB. My first first with them over a year ago now I drank the Sir Winston Pol (2004 I believe) from arriving at my seat until landing and it was marvellous. Didn't help the jet lag though, I have to say.

On the topic of Aussie gins, I had a G&T last night at Bennelong with a gin from a Marrickville distillery called Poor Tom's - it was wonderful, I recommend you seek it out if you are into gins.

 

[Straubs]

While I am a true baby in terms of AFF posts, I do know a decent everyday champagne or even sparkling wine. It's what I choose to drink on any given occasion. For this I still seem to earn a hard time at parties - like as if me having a glass of grant burge is like breaking out the Dom, when meanwhile half my friends are buying $80 cartons of boutique beer.

But since I don't usually drink the expensive stuff, I'm wondering how many/if any of you developed your interest/understanding of these wines from your in-flight experience. Ie would you know this much about truly good champagne if not for being a J or F flyer?

 

[opusman]

But since I don't usually drink the expensive stuff, I'm wondering how many/if any of you developed your interest/understanding of these wines from your in-flight experience. Ie would you know this much about truly good champagne if not for being a J or F flyer?

Try different things, develop an appreciation for the differences between them and try to identify the characteristics that you like. It's completely subjective and personal, but not (as the JohnKs of the world seem to believe) dictated by the label - it's how it tastes that's important.

 

[JohnK]

It's completely subjective and personal, but not (as the JohnKs of the world seem to believe) dictated by the label - it's how it tastes that's important.

Most of these threads are about the label.

Krug or Dom or Moet as pre-departure champagne. Why care which one and make such a fuss?

 

[TomVexille]

Most of these threads are about the label.

Krug or Dom or Moet as pre-departure champagne. Why care which one and make such a fuss?

Because in my tastes Krug>Dom>Moet