Last week, United airlines held an event for their most important passengers, and presented them with ten different cocktails, all designed by flight attendants. In total, United crew members submitted 64 different cocktails, and the top ten entries ended up on a table at Trader Vic’s in Chicago.
The ten finalists:
- Sunset-Sunrise : Finlandia Vodka, cranberry apple cocktail, splash of orange juice, lime wedge
- Sky High Delight : Finlandia Vodka, orange juice, cranberry apple cocktail, sprite, lime wedge
- Friendly Skies Spritzer : Finlandia Vodka, ginger ale, orange juice, cranberry apple cocktail, seltzer, lime wedge
- Cloud 9 Cosmo : Finlandia Vodka, Sprite, cranberry apple cocktail, lime wedge
- Jack and the Bean Stock : Jack Daniels, Ginger Ale
- My Style High : Courvoisier VSOP Cognac, orange juice, cranberry apple cocktail, sprite
- Bon Voyage! : Bacardi Rum, orange juice, cranberry apple cocktail
- Flirty Smile : Finlandia Vodka, cranberry apple cocktail, ginger ale, lime wedge
- Island Dream : Bacardi Rum, cranberry apple cocktail, ginger ale, lime wedge
- Gin Buck : Tanqueray Gin, ginger ale, lime wedge
The event was very casual and was attended by several members of the United Airlines management in charge of the in-flight service. As for the drinks, I actually managed to try all ten of them, and found it very hard to pick a favorite. The lime wedge was a very nice touch, and made for delightful drinks.
The winning cocktail will end up on all United Airlines flights with full beverage service towards the end of the year. In addition to drinks, United also served some of the newest food choices from their coast to coast P.S. service.
The winning drink as picked by members of Flyertalk.com and the United Fliers Community is drink number 1 – Sunset Sunrise. If you’d like to make one of these for yourself, here are the instructions:
- Pour 25 ml Finlandia vodka over ice
- Fill glass with Minute Maid Cranberry Apple Cocktail
- Add a splash of Orange Juice
- Finish with a Lime wedge
Sunset-Sunrise was created by LAX based flight attendant Tita Martin. Events like this show a new thinking within United Airlines, and I have to say that I’m quite impressed by the time and effort put into listening to their customers. Granted, the event was not really open to everyone, but an airline that is open to ideas from its customers is one that deserves a pat on the back, especially if it involves serving free cocktails.