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We’re sharing the most expensive cocktails in London. After reading this post, drink the finest cocktails that all of London has to offer!
What is it about fancy bars that always fill you with an air of sophistication? Imagine sitting in a dimly lit room dressed to the nines while drinking expensive cocktails.
That’s the dream, isn’t it? Everybody wants to live in the lap of luxury.
London has several spots just like the one described above. While they’re known for their excellent quality and class level, they’re also known for the hefty price tag on their drinks.
We’re taking a dive into the most expensive cocktails London has to offer!
The Most Expensive Cocktails in London
Ready to experience the best in alcoholic luxury – or at least read about it?
Keep reading to find out the most expensive cocktails London has to offer.
The Sazerac – American Bar
For the first of our expensive cocktails, we’re taking a step up and heading to American Bar at the Savoy Hotel.
Like Purple Bar, the Savoy isn’t known for its affordable drinks. If you’re on a budget, you’re likely to avoid it. This hotel bar is in the lap of luxury, so it makes sense that their menu would reflect that.
The Sazerac, the most expensive cocktail on their menu, goes for about 5000 pounds.
The menu states that it’s an upscale version of an Old Fashioned, sort of a remix of an old favourite.
It claims that the drink’s roots reach all the way back to the early 19th century.
The drink itself is made from Sazerac de Forge from 1857. This is a classic brandy which was in heavy use in the era. Pernod Absinthe from the 1950s is added to the mix, along with bitters from the 1900s.
Daiquiri – American Bar
We’ll stick around at American Bar for the next of our expensive cocktails. Similarly to the Sazerac, the hotel bar’s daiquiri also sports a hefty price tag.
It’s somewhat more affordable than the Sazerac and will net you a receipt for 600 pounds.
Their recipe tends to lean toward the classics, and the staff ensures the rum is evident in every drink you take. However, they understand that the lime needs to add that refreshing zing, just enough to sweeten it.
The daiquiri at American Bar even goes so far as to speak to the quality of the ice they use to chill the drink.
If that’s not dedication, then what is? With such care toward the ingredients, this definitely deserves a place on our list of London’s most expensive cocktails.
Salvatore’s Legacy – Donovan Bar
The Donovan Bar inside the luxurious Brown’s Hotel offers a selection of vintage cocktails that classify as some of the most expensive in the world. With Salvatore Calabrese as the mixology director, this bar serves timeless classics that blend with original concoctions.
Inside a 1960s photography-themed venue, you will find world-renowned flavours. Intimate sophistication is present in old and exclusive spirits and liquors, and a rich environment invites you to savour each drop of the experience. Find Salvatore’s Legacy Cocktail among an extensive and creative drink list.
Salvatore’s Legacy blends some of the finest and rarest spirits in the world. For £5,500, the drink carries over 700 years inside a glass. It is the world’s oldest cocktail, made with 1788 Clos de Griffier Vieux cognac, 1770 Kummel liqueur, c1860 Dubb Orange liqueur, and c1930 Angostura bitters.
Daiquiri – Donovan Bar
Salvatore Calabrese is the president of the European Bartender’s Guild, so it is no surprise that more than one of his drinks features on the list of the most expensive cocktails in London.
Although the Daiquiri is not an original creation, and anyone can blend rum, lime and sugar to make the drink, excellence lies in the details. The drink was created in 1896 and was brought to fame by Ernest Hemingway, who wrote about it in many of his essays. Hemingway even has his own daiquiri named after him, with grapefruit juice and maraschino liquor added to the mix.
However, Calabrese’s adaptation of the drink follows the original recipe:
A choice of Bacardi Santiago de Cuba c1905 highlights the complex profiles of the spirit, which blend perfectly with lime and sugar in the right amount. This mix makes this one of the most expensive daiquiris in the world, served at the Donovan Bar inside Brown’s Hotel.
Diamond Cocktail – Sheraton Park Hotel
The Diamond cocktail from Sheraton Park Hotel has a 4,350-pound price tag attached to it. You know, so you don’t get your hopes up too quickly.
What makes it fetch that price? It could have something to do with the real diamond that’s included in the drink.
That’s right. You read correctly. Don’t adjust your screen. A real diamond.
The stone can be customized. You can swap it out for another stone of your choice if you’d like.
However, the ingredients in the drink also help throw it to astronomical heights. There’s a blend of several types of cognac, each reaching about $1000 per bottle. It also includes Charles Heidsieck Vintage 2001 champagne.
While these may not be on the menu or budget of the everyday customer, they’re a great option for special occasions, tourists, or if you’re just ready to splurge.
Think about it: you deserve something nice. When was the last time you drank a cocktail with a diamond resting on the bottom?
The 1837 – Donovan Bar
The Donovan Bar houses some of the most expensive cocktails in London and the entire world. Because of that, it is expected that we will feature a third cocktail from the maestro Salvatore Calabrese.
The 1837 celebrates the 185th anniversary of the Donovan Bar, crafted with vintage liquors that evoke the place’s heritage. Here you can savour the oak profiles on the whisky and the age of the cognac. The simplicity of the mix is exactly what makes it such a complex drink: Rouyer Cognac Vintage 1865, Bowmore whisky 30 yrs, and Peychaud’s bitters.
At £650, you can be part of the luxurious experience of tasting one of the best cocktails in London, worth every pound. Every sip is a vacation through time. As Calabrese proposed, The 1837 is an inspirational nod to the past with an eye to the future.
The George VI – The Bletchley
The Bletchley takes you on an immersive experience through code breaking and secrets inside a World War II-themed bar. Aside from the extravagant decor, well-thought performances and thematics, this is also the home of one of the most expensive cocktails in London.
Although every drink is made on the spot, personalised to meet the patron’s desires, one cocktail sticks to the menu: The George VI, a £100 cocktail that makes The Bletchley a noteworthy establishment.
This cocktail celebrates the British spirit to its finest. Taste a gin infused with edible gold and diamonds, prepared by a personal mixologist that stays at your service. Finishing off, find gold sprinkles besides a sparking wine bomb, all inside a small World War II treasure box, which customers can pour into a jellied English garden. It is a drinkable performance, a representation of luxury.
Martinez – Donovan Bar
The vintage cocktail list at the Donovan Bar is made of 11 cocktails, and the cheapest is £120. Maybe now it is understandable why our last cocktail on this list also belongs to the creations of Salvatore Calabrese.
Again, excellence here lies in the quality of the ingredients more than the fanciness and creativity of creation. The Martinez, a classic drink made with gin, sweet vermouth, maraschino and orange bitters, takes a whole dimension in the hands of Calabrese. Taste Fockink Genever c1910, Zara Maraschino c1930, Martini Rosso c1970, and Angostura bitter c1930. Here, complex flavours come from the ageing of all ingredients — combined, they create the £400 cocktail that is the Donoval Bar’s Martinez.
A sip from such a simple cocktail allows you to explore new dimensions of flavour, all combined with the right amount of dilution from the stirring at the bar.
Check out these exclusive, sophisticated bars and dive right into luxury.
Any hot new elite cocktails we’ve missed? Need a recommendation? Contact us!
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