My husband received a bottle of $560 scotch for his birthday this year, out of the blue. I don’t like scotch much, but one sip was not enough…mmm, smoky.
I was served a splash of Johnnie Walker Blue Label once at a party. That was some mighty fine hospitality.
Dom Perignon
For me it would have to be a glass of 1967 Chateau D’Yquem. This came from a case brought by Francois Mitterand to the 1983 G7 Economic Summit meeting in Williamsburg, Virginia. My brother-in-law was at that time a wine steward at the Williamsburg Inn, and this bottle (well, 90% of it) was his reward for helping serve the assembled dignitaries.
I have little doubt that this would have been shockingly expensive, yet a single sip would convince almost anyone that it was worth the price. Simply remarkable.
I used to work with a guy who got wines for about half price. For Xmas presents in about 1970 I bought two 100 dollar bottles of Chateau Mouton Rothchild. I gave one to my brother and kept the other. They would be worth thousands now.
We put together a PR campaign for a distributor’s Japan launch of several of their premium brands last year, and were allowed to keep all the bottles they’d given us for photo purposes.
Included among all the vodka, whisky and bourbon was their full line-up of tequila, from a $60 bottle all the way to their $500 super-premium-reserve. We did a comparison tasting to see if $500-a-bottle tequila really lived up to the hype.
It was absolutely exquisite.
ETA: The most expensive one I ever bought myself was a $110 bottle of Blackadder Raw Cask Speyside whisky, which was very nice.
My wife once gave me Dom Perrignon champagne as a gift. It was $50, but that was 25 years ago.
Very good stuff.
Johnny Walker Blue. Almost 10 years ago, and I still have it…I didn’t like it. The bottle’s cool, blue tinted glass, and a cork, no cap. I forget what it cost, something like a hundred bucks.
Nice taste! Dogfish Head is my current favorite! I love the 60 minute I.P.A. (I like it better than the 90, and I haven’t tried the 120.)
A few years ago I was catering at a small birthday party in Brentwood I think it was. It was a 60th birthday party for a guy who had his own winery, and it was a 6 course meal, with a different vintage for each course. By the time that desert rolled around, all the guests were pretty stewed, but there was one bottle left to pour - a 60 year old Sauterne (1944) that was valued at $20,000! Well, many of the guests simply didn’t touch them, or only had a wee bit. After the party, during cleanup, I had an opportunity and damn it, I took it. I must have drank 3 or 4 grand. Good stuff, velvety smooth.
I normally don’t spend more than $10 on a bottle of wine, but here in California, there are many quality options in that range.
Lagavulin 16 Set me back about $75 at the time. Still have it.
Bottle of '85 Krug that cost me 200 UKP in 1999. My wife and I drank it in 2001 at just under 10,000 feet up a mountain. Probably a bad plan that one.
Bottle of 18 yo The Macallan - cost about 150 USD.