Maestro creates ‘world’s most expensive cocktail’
Clocking in at €37,500 (US$41,160), the world’s most expensive cocktail has been created by industry icon Salvatore Calabrese, better known as The Maestro.
In honour of crystal maker Baccarat’s 260th anniversary, Calabrese crafted the record-breaking cocktail at fine dining restaurant and cocktail bar Nahaté in Dubai, UAE.
The cocktail, composed of a special edition Patrón blend that combines three ‘exceptional’ aged Tequilas, alongside Kina Lillet from 1950, and Angostura Bitters from the 1930s, was served in one of the rarest 1937 Baccarat crystal glasses ever crafted, of which there are only two remaining in existence.
The Tequila blend, named Nahaté after the bar in which it was served, was created by David Rodriguez, Patrón’s master distiller, exclusively for the purposes of using in this cocktail.
The Tequila boasts rich notes of caramel, vanilla, butter, and stone fruit, and is said to mirror the meticulous quality and artistry of the iconic Baccarat Service Leczinska glass designed by Georges Chevalier in 1937, in which the serve was presented.
The Service Leczinska was named in tribute to Queen Marie Leszczyńska, wife of Louis XV, and pays homage to Baccarat’s royal heritage, as it was King Louis XV who granted permission to establish the Baccarat Manufacture in 1764.
It is crafted from crystal of ‘extreme purity’ and blown at high temperatures, allowing the glasses to exemplify the ‘perfect balance’ between art and innovation.
Never reissued since their creation, they were selected by the Petit Palais in Paris to be displayed to the public during the 250th anniversary exhibition of Baccarat, reaffirming their unique place in the maison’s heritage.
Calabrese, who is renowned for creating the world’s former most expensive cocktail in London, priced at £5,500, was chosen to create this new cocktail on account of his expertise.
He is also famed for having created the world’s oldest cocktail, Salvatore’s Legacy, crafted from a mix of spirits and liqueurs that boast a combined age of 730 years.
The €37,500 cocktail was offered as part of an auction during what was billed as ‘the world’s most luxurious cocktail event’, hosted at Nahaté on Monday night (7 April).
The winning bid received not only the cocktail composed of the exclusive ingredients, but also a bottle of the rare Patrón blend and the 1937 Baccarat crystal glassware.
Following the cocktail reveal and auction, guests enjoyed the remainder of the evening with cocktails served by Federico Pavan, director of bar and area director of mixology at The Donovan Bar in Mayfair, London.
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