If you're looking to fritter away a small fortune, you may want to peruse the bar menus of some of the more exclusive hot spots around the globe. The thousand-dollar-and-over cocktail club is an elite group of spirits that will cost you no less than 10 Franklin notes and can be found on five continents.
The champion of these is the $12,040 Winston created by Joel Heffernan of Club 23 in Melbourne, Australia and named after Churchill, the man who once said, "My rule of life prescribed as an absolutely sacred rite... the drinking of alcohol before, after and if need be during all meals and in the intervals between them."
Continuing with the bling is the Sheraton’s 5-star London property that serves an intense concoction: a blend of cognacs that fetch about 1,000 USD per bottle and Charles Heidsieck Vintage 2001 Champagne, plus a real diamond. Once you order the drink, you can choose your stone — and even swap it out for a ruby, if you prefer.
Photo Credit: Sheraton Park Hotel
Click Here to see More of The World’s Most Expensive Cocktails
“With this drink, I wish to be written within the pages of history,” writes award-winning mixologist Salvatore “The Maestro” Calabrese of his namesake. And indeed he did, using some of the oldest bottles around such as 1788 Clos de Griffier Vieux Cognac, Dubb orange curaçao from the late 1860s, and 1770 Kummel Liqueur, the cocktail earned a Guinness World Record. And at £5,500.00 — or about 9,230 USD — it deserves the honor.
Photo Credit: Playboy Club London
Some bars just throw a carat into your cocktail and call it a day, but others, like Uncorked’s owner Andy Goetz make every drink a one-of-a-kind. This isn’t just a drink you’re buying, as the gemstone at the bottom of your vodka martini is a custom-made engagement ring, created by Andy Goetz himself. You’ll have to place your order 73 hours ahead, after a consultation with the jeweler, giving you plenty of time to change your order should you get cold feet.
Photo Credit: Uncorked
Click Here to see More of The World’s Most Expensive Cocktails
On February 7, 2013, Joel Heffernan of Club 23 set a new Guinness World Record for the most expensive cocktail with his Winston, named, of course, for Winston Churchill. In addition to two 6,000 USD shots of Croizet Cognac from 1858, you’ll find opulent additions such as Grand Marnier Quintessence and Chartreuse V.E.P in your glass. But do call ahead; it takes two days to make The Winston.
Photo Credit: citythatneversleeps.com
Plot twist! Though the Australian Winston is officially recognized as the world’s most expensive, the Ritz-Carlton Tokyo’s Diamond Is Forever Martini holds the distinction of the costliest cocktail on our list, at 1,800,000 Yen — that’s nearly 18,000 USD. The drink is chilled Grey Goose vodka with a hint of fresh lime juice, stirred or shaken. What puts this drink over the top? A "crystal clear" cut, one-carat diamond resting at the bottom of the glass. Plus, this drink comes with live music: A band will serenade you with "Diamond Is Forever" as you enjoy the decadent cocktail.
Click Here to see More of The World’s Most Expensive Cocktails
Photo Credit: The Ritz-Carlton
In 2013, The Winston even made its way into the Guinness Book of World Records as the most expensive cocktail in the world, taking the title away from the $9,230 Salvatore's Legacy, invented by cocktail legend Salvatore Calabrese for the Playboy Club in London.
Though both concoctions have held the official title as the priciest beverage around, unofficially, the most money that's ever been thrown down for a single drink was a very cool $50,000 on the Siberian ice terrace of Moscow's Reka restaurant. The concoction included 60ml of Cognac Croizet 1858 Cuvée Leonie, another Guinness Records titleholder as the most expensive cognac, Grand Marnier Quintessence, V.E.P and three diamonds from Italy's Crivelli jewelers.
Don't start booking your flights to Russia just yet -- the sale was one-time auction at the restaurants opening festivities. But don't worry, there are plenty of elixirs that come with prized baubles worth boarding your private jet for and others still that use the rarest bottles on the planet.
A couple of years ago, we rounded up the most expensive cocktails in the world at the time, but nothing is forever (not even the diamonds that pop up like daisies in many of these absurdly expensive cocktails), and so our list has changed and expanded. Take a look at these cocktails and pretend that you, too, are capable of such ridiculous conspicuous consumption.
-- Masha Vapnitchnaia, The Daily Meal