Big shot: Belfast hotel launches ‘life-changing' £1,000 cocktail
'A life-changing experience' is the promise of one Belfast hotel's £1,000-pound cocktail, launched as part of a new drinks menu.
According to the Merchant hotel, the cocktail is a 'masterpiece Irish whiskey, aged in rare French Tronçais oak casks, delivering elegant notes of honey, toasted almonds and delicate spice'.
Its main ingredient is Midleton's rare Irish whiskey Forêt de Tronçais, that costs £4,000 a bottle. To keep the flavours light and showcase the Midleton, it is served with Antica Formula red vermouth and Dubonnet, a fortified wine.
The Merchant bar's general manager, Aaron Dugan, said 'What makes it special is that there are only 1,000 of these bottles of whiskey made and very few were available to buy … we were invited down to taste it, which is really rare, normally you don't get to taste things that are so expensive.
'It's between 13 and 37 years old so it's very, very old whiskey. You are going to get a lot of oak wood, cacao and deep vanilla flavours.'
A £750 mai tai previously earned the decorated city centre hotel the title of world's most expensive cocktail, according to Guinness World Records. That was later taken over by a cocktail sold for £8,583 in Melbourne, Australia.
The new menu also includes a collection made with rare whiskeys by Midleton and Michter's, and a Macallan whisky, which start at £785 and go up to £1,000.
Dugan said: 'These exceptional drinks have been crafted to create once-in-a-lifetime experiences to be savoured. The lucky few that get to try these drinks will get to relish something truly special.
'For those that find the price tag too rich, we have also created an exceptional collection of 21 cocktails, inspired by timeless classics, but with a unique Merchant twist,' he added. 'Named according to their flavour profile, the menu has been designed to help customers match their preferred flavour profiles to their choices. There truly is something to suit every taste.'
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