I came across this online Forbes Traveler article on my gmail webclips toolbar and was lost for words after reading the entry. I have heard about these expensive concoctions prior and just shrugged them off. I usually don’t lift articles to blog, but then what the heck! I love this one! If editors at Forbes Traveler will tell me so, then I’d remove this entry at once. But for now, and for the interest of those who enjoy cocktails [ like me ], read on . . .

SIP SLOWLY

By William Birdthistle
First posted in ForbesTraveler.com
Wednesday, 27 September 2006 | 00:00:00 EDT

Since the days of Prohibition, when barkeeps invented mixed drinks in an effort to disguise the taste of their rotgut with fruit syrups, cocktails have exuded an air of illicit festivity. Beer is fine, and whiskey’s quicker, but a cocktail — with its goofy garnishes and splendid colors — is merriment in a tumbler.

Now barkeepers are following the example of vintners and distillers, who have long charged a Rothschild’s ransom for their best stuff. “There has been a significant growth in mixology, particularly with the use of fresh ingredients,” says Robert Plotkin, a beverage consultant who has published numerous books on the topic.

Ambitious bartenders are developing premium repertoires that combine some of the world’s finest and rarest alcohols with equally esoteric mixers. For instance: Blend a cognac that has survived two World Wars with the blackberry liqueur créme de mure, then pour over yohimbe bark, an obscure African aphrodisiac. “These ingredients have to scream the finest lineage possible,” says Plotkin.

Imagine what happens to the bar tab when these combinations are embellished with tiny gold swords for skewering olives, or rubies instead of maraschino cherries.

We spoke with noted beverage experts, as well as keepers from the finest bars, restaurants, casinos and resorts across the world, to assemble a list of the most expensive cocktails on the planet. To satisfy purists who are strictly interested in the potables, we made sure to include drinks that aren’t enhanced by jewelry. Three of the list’s most spectacular drinks are the Ritz Side Car from Paris, the Diamond Cocktail from London, and the Platinum Passion from Duvet in New York.

Topping our list is the holder of the Guinness Record for the world’s most expensive cocktail, and perhaps the most elegant mixed drink to be found anywhere: the Ritz Side Car served at Bar Hemingway in the Paris Ritz. In reviving the classic that César Ritz himself served in the 1920s, the hotel’s head bartender, Colin P. Field, follows the classic side car recipe: cognac, Cointreau and a drop of freshly squeezed lemon juice, shaken and served in a martini glass. But the magic lies in the hotel’s astonishing store of cognac, the 1830 Ritz Reserve. “This drink provides an opportunity to taste something that no longer exists,” says Christophe Léger, assistant to Mr. Field, “the cognac of vines that predate the phylloxera plague.” In the 1860s, a pestilence of aphidlike insects from America wiped out many of France’s finest grapevines, and only a handful of bottles of the Ritz Reserve remain. “So you are tasting history,” Leger says, “Eighteen-thirty is Napoleon.” In the past three years, roughly 60 patrons have agreed that $515 is a bargain for tasting the zenith of French glory.

Across the channel, the English are hearkening to Waterloo with their Diamond Cocktail in the Piano Bar at London’s Sheraton Park Tower Hotel. The drink is a champagne cocktail featuring Charles Heidsieck Vintage 2001 champagne and Remy Martin Louis XIII cognac (a blend of cognacs — some of which are more than 125 years old — that retails for $1,750 per bottle) mixed with three drops of angostura bitters and poured over a sugar cube and your choice of diamonds or rubies. Selecting a 0.6 carat diamond will produce a £2,300 ($4,350) drink, “but we could go up to £10,000 if a customer would like to choose such a gemstone” says the bar’s assistant manager, Theodore Garcia.

Of course, the United States is perfectly capable of mixing a rich drink. At Mezz, an “ultralounge” at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut, the premium drinks menu arrives in a leather-bound necklace case. Topping the list at $3,000 is the Sapphire Martini, which Donna Wing, the casino’s director of beverage operations, describes as “a classic martini made with Bombay Sapphire gin (or the client’s choice of premium vodka), blue curaçao and a dash of dry vermouth.” The glass is rimmed with blue sugar and a garnish that consists of a sterling-silver pick holding a pair of platinum-mounted diamond and sapphire earrings. No word on the vintage of the olive.

Now, sip slowly and enjoy the photos . . . :-)

The Ritz Side Car in the Bar Hemingway at the Hotel Ritz, Paris
Price Tag: $515
Ingredients:
1830 Ritz Reserve cognac
Cointreau
A drop of freshly squeezed lemon

This drink is the holder of the Guinness World Record for the most expensive cocktail, and features some of the oldest cognac in the world. Made from grapes that were on vines well before the phylloxera infestation of the 1860s devastated many of France’s finest vineyards, the 1830 Ritz Reserve cognac provides a taste of history and can be found in only a handful of bottles. Over the past three years, the Ritz has sold approximately 60 of these drinks, so they may not last very long. For more information, visit www.ritzparis.com.

Magie Noir (Black Magic) at the Umbaba Nightclub, London
Price Tag: $630
Ingredients:
Richard Hennessy cognac
Dom Perignon vintage champagne
Créme de mure blackberry liqueur
Lemon grass
Lychees
Extract of yohimbe bark

Barman Giles Andreis devised this wonder at the request of a pair of Goldman Sachs bankers who wanted to celebrate their bonuses with something special. Although the drink now comes with a 24-karat white-gold cocktail pin, purists can order theirs the way it was originally poured on that first big night. For more information, visit www.umbaba.com.

Martini on the Rock in the Blue Bar at the Algonquin Hotel, New York
Price Tag: $10,000
Ingredients:
Vodka
Dry vermouth
Olive
Enormous diamond

A 1.52-carat diamond will do wonders to enliven a regular martini. This cocktail may be the only drink that must be ordered with 72 hours notice, and its price will vary depending on the precise diamond selected. The good news is that the first time the drink was served, the assessed value of the diamond was actually a few thousand dollars higher than the bar tab, so you might actually profit from ordering one. For more information, visit www.algonquinhotel.com.

Sapphire Martini in the Mezz at Foxwoods Resort Casino, Connecticut
Price Tag: $3,000
Ingredients:
Bombay Sapphire gin (or the patron’s choice of premium vodka)
Blue curaçao
A dash of dry vermouth
Blue sugar (for the rim of the glass)
Platinum-mounted diamond and sapphire earrings

What turns this cocktail from something tasty and blue into a drink that could change your life (or at least your marital status) is its sterling-silver pick crowned with a 14-karat gold accent ring. Actually, it’s not even so much the pick as what the pick is holding: a pair of platinum-mounted diamond (0.8 carats) and sapphire (2.5 carats) earrings. For more information, visit www.foxwoods.com.

Dazzle at the Second Floor Bar in Harvey Nichols, Manchester
Price Tag: $51,200
Ingredients:
Rose champagne
Strawberry liqueur
Lychee liqueur
Lemon juice
Syrup
18-karat white-gold ring with pink tourmaline and diamond stones

This cocktail from the high-end English department store, Harvey Nichols, comes with a side of security guards who escort it safely to the table. The bar now features a special safe to guard the rings, which clients can order according to their budget — and their desire to impress. For more information, visit www.harveynichols.com.

Sword Martinis at Jambu’s Bar in the Raffles Resort Canouan Island, Grenadines
Price Tag: $300
Ingredients (Classic):
Belvedere Vodka
Dry vermouth
Lemon twist
Cactaur root

Jambu’s Bar at the Raffles Resort in the Grenadines boasts a lucky 88 martinis, four of which top the price list at $300 per glass. The key ingredient in each is a customized and handmade 14-karat gold sword: The Bushido features a miniature samurai sword; the Old Glory comes with a Civil War-era replica; the Excalibur has a version of its eponymous legendary saber; and the Classic sports a regular sword. Collect them all. For more information, visit www.canouan.raffles.com.

The Red Ruby at Reserve, Chicago
Price Tag: $950
Ingredients:
Grey Goose L’Orange vodka
Hypnotiq cognac
Orange juice
Pama, a pomegranate liqueur
A splash of Dom Perignon champagne

Pete Gugni, the manager of this nightclub in Chicago’s West Loop, has assembled an impressive array of liquid delights for this cocktail. And, drawing upon his background in the jewelry business, he has hidden in their midst a one-carat, A-grade ruby. For more information, visit www.reserve-chicago.com.

Diamond Cocktail in the Piano Bar at the Sheraton Park Tower Hotel, London
Price Tag: $4,350
Ingredients:
Charles Heidsieck Vintage 2001 Champagne
Remy Martin Louis XIII cognac
Angostura bitters
Sugar cube
Your choice of a diamond or ruby

This price of this glittering champagne cocktail will depend on the quality of the gemstone picked to be the garnish: selecting a 0.6 carat diamond will produce a $4,350 drink, “but we could go up to $19,000 if a customer would like to choose such a gemstone” says the bar’s assistant manager, Theodore Garcia. In any event, the presence of Charles Heidsieck Champagne and Remy Martin Louis XIII cognac (a blend of cognacs — some of which are more than 125 years old — that retails for $1,750 per bottle) guarantees that the flavor will be exceptional. For more information, visit www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton

Platinum Passion at Duvet, New York
Price Tag: $1,500
Ingredients:
L’Esprit de Courvoisier
Squeeze of lemon
Syrup of passion fruit, forest berries, wildflower honey, and brown sugar
Fill with Ruinart Champagne

The Duvet restaurant in New York may be most famous for entertaining its patrons on mattresses, but its signature cocktail may also leave you flat on your back. Served in a chilled champagne flute and garnished with an orchid, the elixir is said to be a favorite of Paris Hilton and Pamela Anderson. For more information, visit www.duvet.com

Now, these kinda remind me of someone’s lifestyle . . . someone from the past . . .

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