Justin Moore, newly appointed water butler joins Marco Marro, The Merchant Hotel’s Food and Beverage Manager, at the launch of the five-star hotel’s new water menu.
Justin Moore, newly appointed water butler joins Marco Marro, The Merchant Hotel’s Food and Beverage Manager, at the launch of the five-star hotel’s new water menu.
A Belfast hotel famous for offering thousand-dollar cocktails is adding one more luxury to its resplendent menu: pure Canadian H20.
The water menu at The Merchant Hotel travels the globe, from the depths of a Fijian rainforest to the Georgian mountains in eastern Europe. But its most precious offering is harvested from the icebergs floating off the coast of Canada’s own Newfoundland.
At £26.45, or $54, a 750-ml bottle of Iceberg still water is the most expensive of the 13 bottles offered on the Merchant’s menu, which begins at £4.95 or $10. The menu features one other Canadian water, Quebec’s De l’Aubier, which is harvested from the water produced by maple trees during the spring sap run. It sells for £15.50 or $31 for a 750-ml bottle.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
While spending as much on a bottle of water as one might on dinner strikes some as ostentatious, it’s all part of the fine-dining experience for the most fabulous of foodies.
“Just like wine, the location where water is produced will impact on its taste and flavour,” said Gavin Carroll, general manager of The Merchant Hotel in a press release.
Since 2005, “water sommelier” Martin Riese has been spreading the good word about water by creating in-depth water menus that play to all parts of the palate.
“Water is not just water. . . . I think water should be treated way more seriously, because water is the most important beverage on the plant,” he said.
German-born Riese said that depending on its origin and mineral content, water can taste like anything from lemons to coconut. Mineral levels are measured by TDS, or total dissolved solids, which can range from under 10 to more than 3,000. Canadian iceberg water, like the water bottled by Iceberg, produces water with very low minerality and a velvety, fruity taste, Riese said.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
For his menu at Rays and Stark Bar in Los Angeles, where Riese lives, he offers 20 different bottles of water, including another luxury Canadian brand harvested from icebergs, Berg, which he sells for $20 (U.S.).
Riese says the price reflects the difficulty it takes to harvest the water.
“I don’t like the word ‘high end’,” he said. “It literally depends on what your guest wants.”
