Man pays $10,000 for glass of rare whisky at Swiss hotel
AFP - [email protected]
Published: 2 Aug, 2017 CET.
Updated: Wed 2 Aug 2017 14:32 CET
Have you heard the one about the guy who walked into a bar and ordered a $10,000 shot of whisky?
A young Chinese man paid 9,999 Swiss francs ($10,000, 8,733 euros) last week at a Swiss hotel for a glass of whisky made in 1878 by the revered Scotch maker Macallan, 20 Minuten said.
The report was confirmed by an employee of the luxury Waldhaus Hotel in St. Moritz, northeast Switzerland.
The hotel's Devil's Place Whisky Bar has been honoured for its 2,500 bottle collection, including by the Guinness Book of World Records.
But proprietor Sandro Bernasconi told 20 Minuten he never expected to open this particular treasure.
After entering the bar with a group of people, the client expressed particular interest in the Macallans -- the hotel has 47 options, ranging from seven Swiss francs to ten grand.
"I told the customer that the most expensive Macallan was not for sale", Bernasconi was quoted as saying by 20 Minuten.
The client persisted, so Bernasconi called his father, who had run the hotel for 20 years and never had a client order the 1878. The elder Bernasconi told his son to go for it, even if the customer was not going to pay in advance.
"I was nervous," Bernasconi told the paper, explaining that he was concerned the ancient cork would disintegrate.
But everything went down smoothly, including the two-centilitre (0.66-fluid-ounce) measure, Bernasconi said.
Now that the bottle is open, the hotel hopes to sell the remaining shots and may consider dropping the price, 20 Minuten said.
Before it was uncorked, the bottle had been valued at 50,000 Swiss francs, a relatively modest price compared to recent record sets by whisky bottles at auction.
The identity of the young -- but presumably well-heeled -- connoisseur was not immediately available.
A special collector's blend of Macallan's sold at auction in Hong Kong for nearly $630,000 in 2014.
Comments
See Also
A young Chinese man paid 9,999 Swiss francs ($10,000, 8,733 euros) last week at a Swiss hotel for a glass of whisky made in 1878 by the revered Scotch maker Macallan, 20 Minuten said.
The report was confirmed by an employee of the luxury Waldhaus Hotel in St. Moritz, northeast Switzerland.
The hotel's Devil's Place Whisky Bar has been honoured for its 2,500 bottle collection, including by the Guinness Book of World Records.
But proprietor Sandro Bernasconi told 20 Minuten he never expected to open this particular treasure.
After entering the bar with a group of people, the client expressed particular interest in the Macallans -- the hotel has 47 options, ranging from seven Swiss francs to ten grand.
"I told the customer that the most expensive Macallan was not for sale", Bernasconi was quoted as saying by 20 Minuten.
The client persisted, so Bernasconi called his father, who had run the hotel for 20 years and never had a client order the 1878. The elder Bernasconi told his son to go for it, even if the customer was not going to pay in advance.
"I was nervous," Bernasconi told the paper, explaining that he was concerned the ancient cork would disintegrate.
But everything went down smoothly, including the two-centilitre (0.66-fluid-ounce) measure, Bernasconi said.
Now that the bottle is open, the hotel hopes to sell the remaining shots and may consider dropping the price, 20 Minuten said.
Before it was uncorked, the bottle had been valued at 50,000 Swiss francs, a relatively modest price compared to recent record sets by whisky bottles at auction.
The identity of the young -- but presumably well-heeled -- connoisseur was not immediately available.
A special collector's blend of Macallan's sold at auction in Hong Kong for nearly $630,000 in 2014.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.