Cognac being poured into glass from bottle © RexDrinks connoisseur Salvatore Calabrese was on the verge of a record-breaking title last week for making the world’s most expensive cocktail. However, disaster struck when the £50,000 bottle smashed on the floor.
Bartender Calabrese planned to mix his ‘Old and Wise’ cocktail - priced at £5,050 a glass - using a bottle of 1788 Clos de Griffier Vieux.
His record-breaking attempt was abandoned after a wealthy businessman who was sampling the 234-year-old brandy knocked the bottle off a table at London’s exclusive Playboy Club.
As the businessman and his companion finished their drinks and rose from the table, the bottle of cognac was sent flying across the club’s floor.
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“We all just froze, then it sunk in. I’ve been heartbroken. Not because of the value of the bottle, but because it is a piece of history that has been lost,” said Calabrese.
Judges from Guinness World Records were due to witness the barman make his ‘Old and Wise’ cocktail at the exclusive club in Mayfair, west London.
“Accidents happen. If I regret anything it is to have left the bottle on the table, but as a fellow connoisseur he truly wanted to appreciate what he was drinking,” Calabrese added.
The cognac expert, who has a £1million collection of old spirits said the bottle wasn’t insured because it had been opened. Calabrese’s antique spirits are kept on show in a cabinet in the bar, and the base and neck of the shattered cognac bottle have been added to the display.
Now Calabrese’s record-breaking attempt is on hold as he looks for a replacement.
