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By SHELLEY K. WONG
Associated Press Writer
MASHANTUCKET, Conn. (AP) -- When Jason Silvestri heard about Foxwoods Resort Casino's new signature ****tail, the police officer almost choked on his Absolut vodka and cranberry juice. "What?" he said. "$3,000?"
Served in a traditional martini glass, the Sapphire martini is made with Blue Curacao, Bombay Sapphire Gin, a splash of dry vermouth and is coated with blue sugar on the rim. But it's the accompanying pair of custom-made blue sapphire and diamond earrings, set in a sterling silver pick, that makes the ****tail sweet.
With the unveiling of the four-digit ****tail, the casino's new Mezz Ultra Lounge joins a growing list of bars and restaurants around the world offering pure decadence in a glass.
Luxury trade experts attribute the rising popularity of premium ****tails to a greater number of educated drinkers of all ages and a wider variety of spirits and liqueurs.
"I think people are willing to spend more to have a premium experience so they're buying less but they're buying higher quality," said Brett Anderson, senior vice president and editorial director for the Robb Report, the luxury lifestyle magazine.
Super-expensive drinks, a sort of Louis Vuitton bag for the bar crowd, are a status symbol and a great marketing tool for businesses. "It obviously makes a statement about status and the ability to afford it but I think it's also a spontaneous, celebratory thing," Anderson said.
The Algonquin Hotel's Blue Bar in New York offers a $10,000 diamond martini, accompanied by a diamond from the hotel jeweler. Only two have been sold since the ****tail debuted in 2004.
The Bar Hemingway at the Hotel Ritz in Paris touts a drink called the Ritz Sidecar, a ****tail mixed with an 1834 Cognac so rare German soldiers tried stealing it during World War II, according to the hotel. The cognac drink is priced at 400 euros - nearly $500 - earning it the distinction as the most expensive commercially available ****tail in the Guinness Book of World Records.
And if the cost of that drink doesn't make you stumble, the next one will.
Created for the Robb Report, the Robb ****tail cost $87,600 when it was offered in 2003 at the Rivoli Bar at The Ritz Hotel in London. Now unavailable, the ****tail was made with 22-carat gold leaf Eskalony vodka, Grand Marnier, peach liqueur and topped off with Ritz private label champagne. It came with a custom-made 13.66-carat yellow diamond swizzle stick that doubled as a bracelet.
"To be honest, I haven't heard of anything else as expensive," said Mark Skidmore, a Rivoli bar manager. No one ever purchased the drink, he added.
****tails aren't the only drinks that can have a stiff price.
The Prime Steakhouse at Bellagio hotel-casino on the Las Vegas strip offers 50-year-old aged Chivas Royal Scotch that costs $1,050 for an ounce of the extremely rare blended whisky.
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Associated Press Writer
MASHANTUCKET, Conn. (AP) -- When Jason Silvestri heard about Foxwoods Resort Casino's new signature ****tail, the police officer almost choked on his Absolut vodka and cranberry juice. "What?" he said. "$3,000?"
Served in a traditional martini glass, the Sapphire martini is made with Blue Curacao, Bombay Sapphire Gin, a splash of dry vermouth and is coated with blue sugar on the rim. But it's the accompanying pair of custom-made blue sapphire and diamond earrings, set in a sterling silver pick, that makes the ****tail sweet.
With the unveiling of the four-digit ****tail, the casino's new Mezz Ultra Lounge joins a growing list of bars and restaurants around the world offering pure decadence in a glass.
Luxury trade experts attribute the rising popularity of premium ****tails to a greater number of educated drinkers of all ages and a wider variety of spirits and liqueurs.
"I think people are willing to spend more to have a premium experience so they're buying less but they're buying higher quality," said Brett Anderson, senior vice president and editorial director for the Robb Report, the luxury lifestyle magazine.
Super-expensive drinks, a sort of Louis Vuitton bag for the bar crowd, are a status symbol and a great marketing tool for businesses. "It obviously makes a statement about status and the ability to afford it but I think it's also a spontaneous, celebratory thing," Anderson said.
The Algonquin Hotel's Blue Bar in New York offers a $10,000 diamond martini, accompanied by a diamond from the hotel jeweler. Only two have been sold since the ****tail debuted in 2004.
The Bar Hemingway at the Hotel Ritz in Paris touts a drink called the Ritz Sidecar, a ****tail mixed with an 1834 Cognac so rare German soldiers tried stealing it during World War II, according to the hotel. The cognac drink is priced at 400 euros - nearly $500 - earning it the distinction as the most expensive commercially available ****tail in the Guinness Book of World Records.
And if the cost of that drink doesn't make you stumble, the next one will.
Created for the Robb Report, the Robb ****tail cost $87,600 when it was offered in 2003 at the Rivoli Bar at The Ritz Hotel in London. Now unavailable, the ****tail was made with 22-carat gold leaf Eskalony vodka, Grand Marnier, peach liqueur and topped off with Ritz private label champagne. It came with a custom-made 13.66-carat yellow diamond swizzle stick that doubled as a bracelet.
"To be honest, I haven't heard of anything else as expensive," said Mark Skidmore, a Rivoli bar manager. No one ever purchased the drink, he added.
****tails aren't the only drinks that can have a stiff price.
The Prime Steakhouse at Bellagio hotel-casino on the Las Vegas strip offers 50-year-old aged Chivas Royal Scotch that costs $1,050 for an ounce of the extremely rare blended whisky.
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