Salvatore Calabrese creates world’s most expensive cocktail

The Maestro, mixologist Salvatore Calabrese, has broken the Guinness World Record for the most expensive cocktail.

Calabrese with “Salvatore’s Legacy”, the world’s most expensive cocktail

“Salvatore’s Legacy”, made by Calabrese in front of an audience of London’s top bartenders at The Playboy Club in Mayfair today, costs £5,500 a glass.

Composed of 40ml of 1788 Clos de Griffier Vieux Cognac, 20ml of 1770 Kummel Liqueur, 20ml of 1860 Dubb Orange Curacao and two dashes of Angostura Bitters from the 1900s, the cocktail was bought by a long-term client of Calabrese.

Not only is it the world’s most expensive cocktail, it is also the world’s oldest, containing liqueur and Cognac from the time of the American Revolution and Captain Cook’s claiming of Australia.

The successful attempt, to coincide with London Cocktail Week, was overseen by a Guinness World Records adjudicator.

The record comes just three months after Calabrese was left “heartbroken” when a treasured bottle of 1788 Cognac worth £50,000 was accidentally smashed by a customer at Calabrese’s bar at The Playboy Club.

The bottle, which was destined for the record attempt, fell off the table when the customer asked to look at the label, having ordered two glasses at £5,050 each.

The previous record for the world’s most expensive cocktail was held by The Skyview Bar at the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai, with a £3,766.52 a glass tipple.

Calabrese, who has previously worked at Dukes Hotel in St James’s and The Lanesborough in Knightsbridge, is a vintage Cognac specialist.

He has built a collection of fine and rare Cognacs worth over £1m, many of which are displayed behind glass at Salvatore’s Bar at The Playboy Club.