With the launch of the new Disney Wish cruise line, you now can sail to a galaxy far, far away… from Wisconsin. When you’re not on deck, checking out Caribbean waters, the Disney Wish cruise hosts several entertainment hubs, including the Hyperspace Lounge, a Star Wars-themed cocktail bar. This ain’t no Mos Eisley cantina either. The gold- and neon-ribbed digs and window on interstellar space (in a running seven-scene loop) make it seem more like an intergalactic speakeasy where the cocktails are made right. They better be for $5,000! More on that in a second.
This begs the question: What other great cocktails exist for the most elite among us? Join The Manual as it strides into the lounges of the ultra rich to find the world’s most expensive cocktails. And don’t spill the hooch!
Kaiburr Crystal – Hyperspace Lounge, Disney Wish Cruise Line
“The galaxy’s rarest and (most) valuable cocktail,” describes the Hyperspace Lounge.
The Kaiburr Crystal leans on cognac, a liquor made for French kings, Arthur’s About Theme Parks reports. A space bartender let the theme park blogger in on a Kaiburr Crystal’s ingredients, including a mix of high-end Camus Cognac and a taste of the $3,500-per-bottle Grand Marnier Quintessence. Creating a pop in the smoky syrup is the Japanese citrus, yuzu, and the almost piquant kumquat. And shots. Expensive shots, including Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 23 Year bourbon (which, for almost $6,000, should honestly be enjoyed on its own) and Taylor’s Fladgate Kingsman Edition Very Old Tawny Port (at just over $3,000 and ditto).
The most expensive drink in the galaxy. The Star Wars Hyperspace Lounge on the Disney Wish has a $5,000 Kaiburr Crystal drink. pic.twitter.com/ZcUp3yt0RI
— Ashley Carter (@AshleyLCarter1) June 29, 2022
Is it good? That’s for you and social media to decide. A Kaiburr Crystal does arrive in quite a package. On offer is a bottle of sparkling wine from Skywalker Vineyards, a voucher for a visit to George Lucas’ private Skywalker Ranch (no word on whether Lucas makes an appearance on set), the metal plate and cups serving set, and other Star Wars swag. Alas, the drink does not include the camtono it’s served in.
Diamonds Are Forever – Tokyo Ritz-Carlton
From one galaxy to another, grab a seat on the 45th floor and look out onto midtown Tokyo while you sip on a martini garnished with a one-carat diamond.
Inspired by the James Bond movie, Diamonds Are Forever is a cool blend of chilled Absolut Elyx Vodka with a splash of lime juice. Priced at about $20,000, this cocktail holds the current claim for the most expensive on the planet. Sitting atop Tokyo’s most expensive hotel, sippers have to feel like kings and queens looking out at the busy little world.
Find the Diamonds Are Forever at The Bar inside of the Ritz-Carlton in Tokyo.
The Ultimate Macallan – Skyview Bar, Dubai
Perched on the 27th floor of the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah, the world’s tallest, all-suite hotel, is the Skyview Bar, 700 feet above sea level. While the eclectic drinks average around $40 each, there’s nothing that approaches the Ultimate Macallan.
The drink begins with 55-year-old Macallan single-malt Scotch whisky mixed in with dried fruit bitters and a homemade passion fruit sugar. All this melts in Scotch water, flown from the Macallan distillery, frozen in Dubai, and tossed in your glass. There’s even a custom stirrer from a Macallan oak cask. Oh, and Skyview serves it up in a collectible 18K gold goblet.
Sidecar – The Bar Hemingway, Paris
The Bar Hemingway bartender and owner Colin Field has been voted the world’s best bartender by Forbes, Travel & Leisure, and multiple other publications. Tending the rail at The Bar Hemingway in the Hôtel Ritz Paris, Field hosts the world’s top playwrights, designers, and artists including Kate Moss, who was nice enough to write the preface for his book, Le Ritz Paris – Une Histoire de Cocktails.
The New York Times Style Magazine notes that whenever the model is in town, she favors the French 76, an alluring alchemy of vodka, lemon juice, and sugar stirred with Champagne. The real show, though, is the $1,670 Sidecar.
The select cocktail features an 1830 Ritz Reserve Cognac, one of the world’s rarest liquors, sourced with grapes from a vine no longer in existence, eradicated by an insect infestation in the 1860s. The cognac is brought to life by Cointreau and fresh-squeezed lemon juice.
The Admiral – The Bad Luck Bar, Detroit
Detroit eh? In the 1920s and the 1930s, the city was known as the Paris of the Midwest, as speakeasies sprouting up in the city’s historic buildings can attest.
The Bad Luck Bar is just one of these dim, yellow-glow lit, old-school underground getaways. The watering hole stands out from its competition due to a signature $200 cocktail, The Admiral. Headlining the grog is a pour of a 1970 vintage Black Tot rum, a piece of distilled history. The liquor was bottled from antique stone flagons containing the last stocks of British Royal Navy Rum, untouched for over four decades.
Black Tot is only the beginning of Bad Luck Bar’s unrivaled collection of some of the rarest liquors in the world. Make sure you get the password first, however, or you’re not getting in the locked door.
An Elegant Art
Cocktails show off a bartender’s true talent, the craft of taking simple spirits and elevating them into works of art. A special occasion or a simple stop in a saloon can turn into an unforgettable moment over a potent distillation.
