Delta recently rolled out changes to the Sky Club bar menu. Although the changes were quietly rolled out, they’ve had a profound impact on the Points, Miles & Martinis approach to happy hour.
Their reasoning is sound on the surface, push the Sky Club scene to order off the Luxury Bar menu. While that is a great idea on the surface, and one I’ve partaked in the past, it doesn’t make sense. Folks are shelling out premium dollars for a “premium” experience, not the privilege to pay for another “premium” experience. And they have to be IN the Sky Club to buy off the Luxury Bar menu, like the reasonable priced Dom Perignon.
Tasting Notes
I went into the Sky Club with an opened mind. Having never tried the Scorsbey Scotch or Gordons Vodka, I thought I would give them a try.
The Scoresby Scotch is labeled “very rare” for a good reason. It is very rare you’ll find this Scotch anywhere. At $12 for a 750 ml bottle it hits the palate like a bowl of dog water. Very rare indeed.
The Gordon’s Vodka is best early morning after a hangover mixed with 3/4 orange juice. At least this way you can handle the gentle brush of razor blades across the tongue and won’t notice a headache from the one from the night before.
Bottom Line
The current complimentary Sky Club drink offerings leave a little to be desired. While the idea behind the Sky Club Luxury bar is to make more money, you have to not scare away your customers to make a sale off of them. This customer was enticed to the greener grasses of the Best Restaurant in the world’s busiest airport for a good drink and a real snack.
I just hope Delta recognizes their mistake and changes the menu back. Time will tell.
About The Weekly Flyer
The Weekly Flyer writes about travel from a business traveler perspective. He travels the world every week accumulating points and miles along the way.
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Worse than I thought! Thanks for taking the bullet for the rest of us and also making me laugh!
I completely agree. Gone are my complimentary Bailey’s and relatively decent sky vodka. Free wine selection is absurd. The only saving grace left for me are the wonderful skyclub agents at my home Tampa airport. If only United will open a lounge here, I will jump ship.
“At $12 for a 750 ml bottle it hits the pallet like a bowl of dog water.”
Palate. Unless it’s so good you’re wheeling it out by forklift.
Good on you for at least giving it a try. I find the premiums too spendy, but feel good that they at least give a choice.
The new “menu” is disgusting. First off, some clubs are self-service, so there are no premium brands to be had. It’s junk like Scoresby scotch and Miller Lite or nothing. And where there are service bars you get the privilege of paying $14 + tax for a couple of TINY shots of Baileys which was free last week.
For less money you can can get a better drink in the terminal outside the Sky Clubs. And you get better wifi and more comfortable seats too, not to mention no annual fee.
Gordon’s vodka??? That’s the cheap stuff we’d buy in college for house parties.
$50 for a bottle of JW Blue is a deal. Paid $169 for a gift bottle last summer. I am shedding a tear over Bailey’s no longer available, made my day at MSP.
Thank you Delta! I no longer drink before and between flights every week… With the new selection of spirits I stick to ice water. Only hobos dring Gordon’s, and that’s only when they find it in a dumpster!
“Only hobos dring Gordon’s”…classic!
Reminded me of this post about drinking bottom shelf.
http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2011/09/drinking-the-bottom-shelf-local-gordons-vodka-vs-national-gordons-vodka-1.html
Hi Judy – That price is for 1 drink, not a bottle.
Jeepers! Saw the $200 bottle of Dom and figured it was a bottle of Blue. Soon the only thing free with membership will be the ice water!!
As a member of the Sky Club and NWA World Club for a few decades now, this disgusts me. First, there are still quite a few NWA clubs that are self-serve only, and that means there is no option but to drink the new rot-gut menu items. As a scotch drinker, I will just not drink the Scoresby under any circumstances. If it was the last scotch on earth, I would not drink it. I also spend tens of thousands of dollars each year on flying, and much of it in paid first class. I am a delta diamond, so I get my membership for free now (paid when it was NWA) but at 250k+ qual miles per year, I think their investment in me is probably still profitable. But the reality is that this is one more reason to NOT be loyal to Delta. Their FF program is ridiculous, with upgrades available basically at full-fare prices, ridiculous amounts for miles tickets, and complimentary upgrades so scarce when you need them, even as a Diamond, that I end up just buying first class. Maybe I need to check out AA or United, as I’m really not getting much of a benefit from my Delta loyalty. After all, if I am paying $8 for a Johnny Walker Black, I can get that in a bar in the airport without a membership, and with better food to boot. To charge us for drinkable booze (which we got for free before) is a bait and switch. And considering that I might have drank $100 per year worth of Dewars in the sky club, to put my tens of thousands of dollars of Delta spend in jeopardy to save $50 on cheap booze is STUPID STUPID STUPID.
This was very insightful. I stopped buying Sky Club passes when I saw that they downgraded the booze but I have never actually tried the scotch, just felt like I was getting ripped off and I don’t really like that feeling. Good for a laugh!
Very sad to read this since I was instrumental changing things 7 years ago. We had a true top shelf liquor and wine selection.they were all complementary! From Dewars to Stoli to Baileys. Not all changes are good ones.