CITY Issue 54

CITY LIFE ON THE ROCKS spirits-only auction—the first of its kind in New York—brought in $304,800, and highlights included one bottle of Cognac named for Napoleon’s wife, the Empress Josephine, distilled in 1811, which went for $3,600, and one Scotch “library” consisting of 729 bottles, which sold for $102,000. Are they worth it? The question is really beside the point. Anyone buying a $54,000 bottle of whisky is less concerned with getting bang for their buck than with possessing something few others can. And the ranks of these liquid treasure-hunters are growing. While cheap whiskies now languish on shelves, sales of the super-premium stock are skyrocketing as buyers trade up—way up. Though “there wasn’t even a market for this stuff a few years ago,” says Jonathan Goldstein of Park Avenue Liquors, which specializes in high-end spirits of all kinds, today they are back-ordered. “People are seeking out the hard-to-get, limited-release bottles like kids collecting Matchbox cars.” Some are investors (“let’s put it this way, the guy who sold the 1926 bottle certainly didn’t pay $54,000 for it,” says Brierley) but because the elite-spirits market is still so young, there are only a few bottles that will command these prices, he explains. “In wine we’ve seen a general movement upward in prices, which makes it appealing to investors, but in the spirits arena, most are buying for pleasure.” So who is drinking this stuff? Goldstein says he is always surprised: “You might think it is driven by older, corporate men or young Wall Street bonus-earners, but many buyers don’t fit this profile. Recently, in the same week we had clients from Ohio and Texas walk into the store and buy Remy Black Pearl [$10,000 a pop]. The lines between investment and hobby are being blurred and people are spending more when they can.” As Frank Coleman, vice president of the Distilled Spirits Council of America, likes to remind, high-end spirits are a relatively affordable luxury: Compared to planes and yachts, a $2,000 bottle of whisky is a virtual bargain. As in wine, price is largely a function of age and scarcity, but as more and more suppliers get in on the game, packaging and the trappings of luxury play an increasing role in driving up prices. Consider Ardbeg’s “Double Barrel,” two bottles of 1974 single cask whisky encased in a rifle case from shotgun-builder James Purdey & Sons for the handsome sum of $20,000. Complete with silver cups, leather books for shooting notes, and fountain pens, “the price is a direct reflection of the rarity of the whisky—there are only 250 available, and 50 in the U.S.—as well as our exclusive partnerships with luxury suppliers who contributed to this package,” says Davinia Small, Ardbeg business manager. They didn’t have to hunt for takers: 15 were sold in the first month of release, four at Park Avenue Liquor alone. There are only 786 bottles of Remy Martin’s $10,000 Black Pearl. It’s primarily a blend of 100-plus year old Louis XIII cognac so, yes, the liquid is old, but you could buy a bottle of that for a mere $1,500. The Black Pearl’s price reflects the package—each carafe is hand-blown from smoked Baccarat glass. Special package for a special liquid, some might say. Special way to jack up the price, say others. Macallan fans have long been known for forking over small fortunes for really old bottlings, and now they have the opportunity to pay even more for a vessel upgrade since Macallan teamed up with Lalique. The resulting crystal decanters (only 100 are available in the U.S.) hold 55-year old whisky and sell for $12,000. “The price is a function of the liquid—it was laying there at the end of WWII—the cost of keeping it there drives up the price. Scarcity and the package also play a role,” says Eric Maldonado, Macallan brand manager. Just how do these sell? Like hot cakes. Price-wise, nothing touches Hennessy’s Beauté du Siècle, which asks a Liquid Assets Demand—and prices—for ultra-premium spirits have entered a new stratosphere, but what are you truly paying for? CITY’s Kristen Wolfe Bieler investigates. THE MACALLAN 18-YEAR OLD IS ONE OF THE BEST WHISKIES I’VE ever tasted. At $170, the rich, fruity, smoky nectar is no bargain, but then maybe it is: The distillery housed the spirit in expensive wood barrels all those years, and there isn’t much of it to go around. The price, in other words, seems to be an accurate reflection of its quality and cost of production. It’s hard to believe any Macallan—or any other liquor for that matter—could be $53,830 better. But one private New York investor thought so when he laid down such a sum for a 1926 Macallan at a Christie’s auction in December. “Apart from one historic price, there has never been a single bottle of wine that has sold for that much,” says Richard Brierley, head of wine and spirits sales for Christie’s. “The amazing thing about this bottle—and what gave rise to the price—is that it spent 60 years in cask, which imparts tremendous flavor and complexity; it wasn’t bottled until 1986.” It was the most expensive bottle of Scotch the auction house ever sold, but far from the only item on the block fetching outrageous prices that day. The 44 CI T Y

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CITY Issue 54

CITY Issue 54 Contents Letter from CITY Our Friends Action Wanted City Moment The City Life The Amused Bouche On the Rocks Fast Food City Insider: Austin Fit How We Live: The Bedroom City Insider: Warsaw In Rogue The Value of Vintage Taking the Plunge Raising the Bar The Science of Scent Changing of the Guard The New Fashion Cities A Cut Above Chrysalis What Dreams May Come Dawn & Dusk Will o' the Wisp Where To Buy It Socials Icon

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