Expensive Places

A rare bottle of Rémy Martin Black Pearl Cognac (estimated at US$ 7,900 – 11,000) will be offered at Bonhams Fine & Rare wines sale on 13th September at New Bond Street, London. The history of this unusual Cognac is very interesting: after several years traveling the world on a luxury cruise-liner in the on-board shopping mall it was purchased by an experienced South African bar manager. He spotted the bottle while cruising across the Mediterranean and, realizing its importance and rarity, he bought it and sent it from Greece to South Africa for safe-keeping.

The Cognac, a ‘Louis XIII de Remy Martin’, is made using a special blend of 1200 eaux de vie, between 40 and 100 years old and is aged in ancient oak barrels. It is produced from grapes grown in the Grande Champagne territory, at the innermost heart of the Cognac region.

…

Salvatore Calabrese, a cognac expert, was attempting to make the world’s most expensive cocktail for Guinness World Records but the main ingredient of it was vanished by bad luck: the most expensive cognac in the world was lost after the bottle smashed on the floor after falling from a table while a customer was looking at it (the bottle had previously been sold for $37,000 at an auction in Paris in 2009).

A regular customer at the notable Playboy Club in London had the unlucky chance of being part of the destruction of a $77,615 (£50,000) bottle of antique Cognac dating back to 1788.

According to local media reports, the customer involved is a businessman who regularly visits the club. During this particular occasion he had ordered two glasses of the brandy for $7,839 a piece and wanted to see the bottle with which they came.

As the unidentified man stood up the bottle was knocked off the table and was obliterated upon hitting the floor.

…