Want to feel the warm, gently percolating inner glow of a fireside cognac this Christmas? If a bottle of Remy Martin VSOP for $35 is just très ordinaire, why not make a splash with a bottle of Remy Martin Louis XIII Rare Cask 42,6? At $22,000 a bottle (sales tax not included), however, you may need to take out a mortgage. After 100 years in the cask, and seeing out the careers of four different cellar masters, the cognac cask was dusted off in 2009 by cellar master Pierrette Trichet. Three years later in 2012, she declared that the cognac had reached perfection and the cask was tapped to produce just 738 decanters. This particular decanter is 460 of the 738 available. The 42,6 represents the 42.6% alcohol that makes up the blend – the comma in the decimal place marking out its European provenance. St. Regis Atlanta bought the bottle, made of black Baccarat crystal with a rose gold neck band, back in 2012. MORE: What does the world’s most expensive meat taste like? Figs, plums and dried fruits And the price of a heart-warming shot of the amber juice? St. Regis charges $1,050 for a half-ounce shot, $2,100 for a one-ounce shot and a cool $4,000 for a two-ounce shot. So what does a $22,000 cognac actually taste like? David Mason, Beverage and Bar Manager at St. Regis, describes the complex aromas and layered palate of the cognac thus: “It’s kind of autumn flavors. Really nutty, almondy – kind of fig, plum, dried fruits. But it finishes off really smoothly but with a little bit of tobacco leaf.” It’s beginning to taste a lot like Christmas.
