by Charu Suri
Last updated: 8:00 PM ET, Wed June 21, 2017
The majestic Cunard vessel, the Queen Victoria, was refitted in the span of a month (from May 5 to June 4) at the Fincantieri shipyard in Sicily for $43 million.
The chief purpose was to refit the ship to include some of the features of the Queen Mary 2: Both would feature the Britannia Club dining option as well as stateroom enhancements including carpeting, Illy coffee machines for guests and a beautiful new Chart Room.
One of the most elegant experiences a guest can have is to linger at the curved marble bar in the Midships Lounge and peruse the new Gin & Fizz menu, which has a beautiful composite of gins from across the globe, served in gleaming "Copa de Balon" glasses that date back to the 1700s and the Basque region of Spain.
These glasses are perfect for the spirit because visible garnishes like curlicues of orange-peel, sprigs of rosemary, thyme and flower petals can look almost ornamental.
A beautiful drink to choose from (there are so many) is among the triptych of the "Queens Gins", which use the ship's own artisanal batches created through a collaboration of Cunard and Pickering's Gin-copper-distilled in Edinburgh.
The ship also has the world's first "draft gin on tap" installed by Pickering's.
"We want to give the opportunity for guests to create their own gin and tonics to match the drink with savory garnish and bitters," says mixologist Claudia Carrozzi. "It has been quite challenging selecting the gins because there are so many, but now we have 40 of the most premium gins in the world."
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Some gins have been designed to be imbibed neat, says Carrozzi, pouring me an ounce of the Gunpowder Irish Gin, which comes in a pale blue crystal bottle with a stamp-like label and beautifully serrated edges.
It tastes like a garden when I take a sip: the flavors of juniper, angelica, orris, caraway, meadowsweet, cardamom and star anise fuse beautifully and are smooth as silk. (The gin is slow-distilled by hand in Drumshanbo, Ireland.)
Some gins are fruity, some are dry, but Carrozzi says that in order to complement them all, Cunard has an extensive inventory of bitters so guests can mix and match. There are also a number of vermouths so they can create their own martinis.
"The gin and tonic was popular before and still is." says Carrozzi, "The gin was a very cheap spirit back in the day, and here on the ship everyone loves it, but people now are paying more attention to flavors of both the tonic and the gin."
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What originally started out as a spirit known for its anti-malarial properties has now become a distinguished staple in the Queen Victoria's Midships Bar.
Here, guests can pause on their way to the Britannia Club or their evening entertainment and spend many hours marveling at how many varieties and combinations there are available.
A perfect serve (two ounces) of the various gins and tonics are very affordable and average $13.50.
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