The preference sheets land in the interior office six days before the charter. Buried on page three, in a free-text box, is the line: "Mrs K — severe tree nut allergy." Your signature list has an orgeat in two drinks. Finding that line now is service. Finding it when she is in anaphylaxis on a yacht four hours from a hospital is a catastrophe.
Allergens Behind the Bar
Bar ingredients hide allergens in places guests do not expect.
| Allergen | Hides in |
|---|---|
| Tree nut / peanut | Orgeat (almond), nut liqueurs, amaretto, nut milks, some bitters |
| Dairy | Cream liqueurs, milk-clarified drinks, butter-washed spirits, foams |
| Egg | Sours, flips, fizzes — anything with a silky foam |
| Gluten | Beer, some vodkas and whiskies, malt-based liqueurs, garnish crackers |
| Sulphites | Wine, vermouth, sherry, port, many juices and dried fruits |
| Soy / lecithin | Airs and foams made with soy lecithin |
| Sesame / coconut | Fat-washed spirits, orgeat variants, coconut cream |
Two rules matter more than the table:
- A milk-clarified drink is not dairy-free. The milk protein is filtered out, but trace protein remains and it must be declared.
- A fat-washed spirit carries the allergen of the fat. A butter-washed bourbon is a dairy product; a bacon-washed one is pork.
Building Around an Allergen
- Orgeat is the most common bar allergen. Substitute with a seed orgeat (sunflower or pumpkin) or a coconut-based syrup — but confirm the guest is not also coconut-sensitive.
- Egg white becomes aquafaba (about 20-25 ml per drink), which is vegan, allergen-safer and also solves the raw-egg food-safety problem.
- Cross-contamination is the real risk. A shaker that held orgeat and was rinsed, not washed, is not safe. Use dedicated, freshly washed equipment, a clean jigger and a clean board for an allergy build, and do it away from the general prep.
- Declare, do not guess. If you cannot be certain what is in a bottle, do not serve it to an allergic guest. "I will make you something I am certain about" is always the correct answer.
Health-Conscious Guests
Many guests now ask about sugar, calories or additives.
- Know roughly what a drink carries: 20 ml of simple syrup is around 10 g of sugar; a spritz is far lighter than a Piña Colada.
- Reduce sugar without wrecking balance by cutting acid in step with it, and by leaning on salt, bitterness and aroma to carry complexity.
- Offer genuinely dry, low-sugar builds: a sherry highball, a soda with acid-adjusted juice and herbs, a bitter NA aperitivo and tonic.
Reading the Preference Sheet
- Read every sheet before provisioning, not after. Allergies and preferences drive the shopping list.
- Extract each guest into a personal repertoire: two or three drinks you already know they will like, pre-briefed to the whole interior team.
- Note brands, not just categories. "Prefers whisky" is useless; "Japanese whisky, no peat, no ice" is a service you can deliver on night one.
- Flag conflicts to the chief stew early: an allergy that eliminates a signature drink needs a replacement designed before the guests board.
Onboard Notes
- Know where the yacht keeps its adrenaline auto-injectors, whether the guest has brought their own, and who the medical officer is. An allergen incident is a medical emergency, and offshore that means a medevac decision.
- Anything you prep and store must be labelled with its allergens as well as its date. The person who made it is often not the person who serves it.
- Never remove an allergen from a printed spec without updating the spec itself. Verbal amendments do not survive a crew change.