Drinking good cocktails should not break the bank, but sometimes it’s fun to read about the people who are rich enough (and crazy enough) to buy ridiculously pricey drinks. For example, Salvatore Calabrese from the UK recently claimed he set a new world record for making the most expensive cocktail in the world at roughly $8,800. What is the most expensive drink in the world made out of? A 1778 Clos de Griffier Vieux Cognac, a 1770 Kummel liqueur, an 1860 Dubb Orange Curacao and two dashes of Angostura bitters dating from around 1900. Hmm…seems like it might be cheaper to just build a time machine and travel back to those dates to drink… but what do we know?
Here are some other crazy expensive cocktails that people actually pay for:
27.321 at The Skyview Bar of Burj Al Arab Hotel, Dubai, United Arab Emirates – $7,439
This is the drink that Mr. Calabrese knocked out of the top spot for most expensive cocktail. It is considered an ultra-luxury version of the traditional “old fashioned.” It’s made with 55-year-old Macallan whisky, ice made from water used at their distillery, and exclusive dried fruit bitters with passion fruit scented sugar.
Ménage a Trois at Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas – $3,000
Okay, this drink is just decadent. It’s made from Cristal Rose, Hennessy Ellipse and Grand Marnier Cent-cinquantenaire. It’s decorated with 23-karat gold flakes and liquid gold syrup. You drink it through a gold straw studded with a 9-point diamond that you get to keep.
Mai Tai at The Merchant Hotel in Belfast and Dublin, Ireland – $1,400
This cocktail also used to hold the world record back in the day. You’re probably thinking “why is a freaking Mai Tai over $1,000?” – because it uses 17-year-old Wray and Nephew Rum, which was used to create the original Mai Tai over 60 years ago. There are only six bottles of this rum left in the entire world and The Merchant Hotel has one of them.
If you were gonna make a cocktail and charge an arm and a leg for it, what crazy ingredients would you put in it?