In this article, we are going to discuss the 26 most expensive alcoholic drinks in the world. You can skip our detailed analysis of the global alcohol industry, the most expensive beer in the world, alcohol as a lucrative investment asset, and investing in Scotch whisky, and go directly to 10 Most Expensive Alcoholic Drinks In The World.
Embarking on the opulent journey through the realm of alcohol, one encounters a world in which rarity and excellence are commanding exorbitant prices. From the extravagant Champagne houses in France to the iconic distilleries of Scotland, luxury libation has become synonymous with sophistication and indulgence. For those investing in the crème de la crème of premium tipple, drinks have once again become a status symbol and elixirs of prestige, for they are not merely quenching their thirst or satisfying a basic need, but crafting narratives about who they are and who they aspire to become.
The Global Alcohol Industry:
In 2019, the global alcohol consumption, measured in liters of pure alcohol per person of 15 years of age or older, was 5.5 liters, which is a 4.7% relative decrease from 5.7 liters in 2010. As we mentioned in our article – 30 Drunkest Countries in the World – the global alcoholic beverages market size was valued at $1.62 trillion in 2021, and the market is projected to reach $2 trillion by 2031, with a CAGR of 2.2% during the forecast period.
The market is likely to be driven by the increasing global young-adult demographic, coupled with high disposable income and consumer demand for premium/super-premium products. Globally, beer drives the market for alcoholic beverages. Regionally, North America and Asia-Pacific are expected to dominate the market during the forecast period.
Most Expensive Beer in the World:
The most expensive beer in the world is widely believed to come from BrewDog, which makes The End of History. This is a Scottish brew that was first released more than a decade ago. The reason why this beer is so expensive is that it has an incredibly high ABV, coming in at 55% – much stronger than even most distilled spirits like whiskeys, vodkas etc. Brewed using crazy freezing techniques, and featuring hints of juniper berries, mead, and nettles, the ultra-limited blonde ale comes with a whopping price tag of around $850. Of course, being the world's strongest and most expensive beer wasn't enough for these restless brewmasters, so they took things one step further, and packaged the beer inside taxidermied roadkill, creating the end game of premium beer. A few popular examples include hares and squirrels.
Alcohol As a Lucrative Investment Asset:
Rare whiskeys are incredible as investment vehicles. The Rare Whisky 101 Apex 1000 Index tracks whiskeys that are highly sought after for collection. It has gained 398% since 2013, against 197% gains of S&P 500 for the same period. The RW Japanese 100 Index, on the other hand, includes 100 collector's bottles from Japan, and since 2014, the index has seen gains of 459%. The index includes bottles like Ichiro's Malt 'Card' Ace of Spades, Ace of Diamonds, and King of Hearts, among others.
Investing in Scotch Whisky:
The market for rare and collectable Scotch is growing, with many investors seeing it as a promising alternative to traditional assets like stocks and real estate. While a bottle of Johnnie Walker Masters of Flavour was on sale for $24,000 in early 2023, other bottles have sold at auction for millions.
There has also been a lot of interest in buying whisky casks recently – barrels of different sizes, which typically start at between $3,000 and $6,000. The simple idea is that the cask is held in storage for what can be decades, by which time it has matured into something that will have much greater value when it is ready to be bottled. In 2022, a forgotten cask of 1988 Macallan was sold for $1.2 million at auction, having originally been bought for just $6,000.
Cask whisky investment is low cost, hassle free, and very secure. Bound by a rigid set of HMRC rules, casks of single malt whisky have to remain within the boundaries of Scotland and in an HMRC bonded facility. There are literally hundreds of bonded warehouses in Scotland, providing vital income to many rural areas of the country.
Another advantage of investing in whisky casks is that it allows investors to potentially earn a larger profit as it is not subject to capital gains tax. Moreover, Pernod Ricard SA (OTC:PRNDY) and Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) have both recently announced plans to increase their whisky cask prices to counteract the rising costs in materials, energy, and transportation because of inflation. This rise in price and limited stock will only make whisky more desirable, creating a more valuable asset class.
The Paris-based Pernod Ricard SA (OTC:PRNDY) is a global leader in the wine and spirits industry and owns several prestigious Scotch brands, including Chivas and Glenlivet. Both Pernod Ricard SA (OTC:PRNDY) and Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) rank among theLargest Alcohol Companies in the World in 2023.
With that said, here are the Costliest Alcohols in the World.
To collect data for this article, we referred to sources such as Forbes, Luxhabitat, The Financial Express etc., looking for the Most Expensive Alcohols in the World. The following libations have been ranked by their dollar sale prices as reported in the aforementioned sources.
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26. Bowmore 1957
Category: Scotch Whisky
Price: $160,000
In October 2012, Bowmore released their oldest ever single malt Scotch whisky - the exceptionally rare Bowmore 1957, limited to 12 bottles only. Distilled in 1957 and bottled in 2011, this 54-year-old marvel had been maturing in the finest oak in Bowmore’s legendary No. 1 Vaults, the oldest maturation warehouse in Scotland.
25. Diamond Jubilee by Johnnie Walker
Category: Scotch Whisky
Price: $165,000
Many of Johnnie Walker's releases have been accessible by most, with a variety of affordable Scotch whiskies in their portfolio. However, this extremely limited release was created to celebrate the Queen’s 60th coronation anniversary in Britain and is considered to be the best whisky ever created by the Scotch brand. The bottle should also get some credit as it’s made from Baccarat crystal casings, and is encrusted with a half-carat diamond set by hand, and an individually numbered silver seal.
To celebrate the provenance of truly extraordinary wine, Australian winery Penfolds released a $170,000 limited edition glass Ampoule, containing 2004 Kalimna Block 42 Cabernet Sauvignon – a rare wine in a truly distinctive format. The 168-year old winery joined forces with glass-maker Nick Mount, designer-maker Hendrik Forster, furniture craftsman Andrew Bartlett, and scientific glassblower Ray Leake to produce this very exclusive wine encased within a breath-taking, hand-blown ampoule, which is suspended within a bespoke Jarrah cabinet.
23. Bombay Sapphire Revelation
Category: Gin
Price: $200,000
With 5.7 million case sales in 2022, Bombay Sapphire is one of the Most Popular Gin Brands in the World, and for good reason. The brand revolutionized the gin category in the 1980’s, thanks to its nifty vapor-infusion process and use of a staggering 10 botanicals, including juniper, citrus, coriander, and pepper.
However, the iconic brand decided to go one step further and created a limited edition series called the Sapphire Revelation. For $200,000, buyers receive a jewel-shaped bottle, made from Baccarat crystal, diamonds, and sapphires, filled with the best gin the company has ever created.
22. 1787 Château Margaux
Category: Wine
Price: $225,000
Château Margaux holds the distinction of being the creator of the most expensive bottle of wine never sold. In 1989, a wine merchant named William Sokolin brought the bottle to a Margaux dinner at the Four Seasons hotel in New York, when a server knocked the bottle over, destroying its contents. The bottle eventually claimed $225,000 from insurers.
21. 1869 Château Lafite Rothschild
Category: Wine
Price: $230,000
Three bottles of Chateau Lafite’s 1869 vintage each sold for an eye-watering price of $230,000 at a sale in Hong Kong in 2010, underlining Asia’s dominance in the auction market for trophy label wines. Prices for Lafite are stratospheric in Asia, where it is considered a luxury purchase and coveted gift item.
20. Dalmore 62
Category: Scotch Whisky
Price: $250,000
Like its cousin 64 Trinitas, the Dalmore 62 single malt Scotch dates back to the mid-19th century. There have only been 12 bottles created of this rich alcoholic drink, so limited numbers play a big part in its price. Interestingly, the last known bottle to be spotted in public was actually purchased at Singapore airport.
19. Armand de Brignac Midas
Category: Champagne
Price: $265,000
Known for its bottles that hold 30 liters of premium Champagne, Armand de Brignac is a prestige cuvée handcrafted and produced using old-world techniques by a staff of just eight people in a single-family owned vineyard and house established in 1763 in Chigny-les-Roses, France. The offering’s gold-painted bottle has also helped boost its popularity, as it was designed to be one of the most luxurious alcoholic drinks in the world.
In 1998, the discovery of the sunken Swedish freighter Jönköping off Finland surfaced about 2,000 very old bottles of bubbly. These bottles are of particular interest to collectors and historians because they provide a glimpse into the past and can reveal vital information about the time period in which they were produced. By chance, this same wine, same vintage, also went down on the Titanic, which makes us unsure if we’d like this bottle onboard the next time we’re out in the deep, blue sea.
17. 1947 Château Cheval Blanc
Category: Wine
Price: $304,375
Considered widely to be the best Bordeaux ever made, a six-liter bottle of the 1947 Château Cheval Blanc was sold to an anonymous bidder at Christie’s in 2010. Hailing from Saint-Émilion, this highly coveted red is considered by many to be the pinnacle of winemaking in France.
16. 1945 Jeroboam of Château Mouton-Rothschild
Category: Wine
Price: $310,000
Again sold at Christie’s to an anonymous buyer, this expression is recognised by wine enthusiasts as one of the finest red wines in the world. This vintage wine’s 1945 label is notable for its ‘V’, indicating the end of the Second World War and the victory of the Allied powers as it was bottled at this time.
These wines are produced in Nathaniel Rothschild’s vineyards, which are among the most priceless in the world today.
15. Yamazaki 50 Year Old Single Malt
Category: Japanese Whisky
Price: $430,000
This whisky was distilled in the 1950s and spent its entire lifetime slowly maturing in Japanese mizunara oak, a detail that makes this bottle stand out. There are three editions of the 50-year-old Yamazaki, bottled in 2005, 2007, and 2011. Only 50 bottles were produced for the 2005 edition, and its exclusivity is what has made it so eye-wateringly costly.
14. Macallan 64 Year Old in Lalique
Category: Scotch Whisky
Price: $460,000
In November 2010, a 64-year-old single malt Scotch whisky in a unique crystal decanter sold for a then record price of $460,000 at an auction in New York. The Lalique decanter was created using the ‘cire perdue’ or ‘lost wax’ method. This rare Scotch was vatted from three sherry-seasoned Spanish oak casks – the first was filled in 1942, the second in 1945, and the third in 1946.
The Macallan 64 Year Old is placed among the Most Expensive Whiskies.
13. 1992 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon
Category: Wine
Price: $500,000
In 2008, a 32-year old Shanghai billionaire named David Li spent an exorbitant half a million dollars for a 6-liter Imperial bottle of the 1992 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon, the first vintage, donated by the cult boutique winery of the same name. The purchase also included dinner for eight at the exclusive vineyard.
12. 1945 Romanée-Conti
Category: Wine
Price: $558,000
The record-holder for the most expensive bottle of wine sold to date is the 1945 Romanée-Conti, a legendary Burgundy hailing from the revered Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Though the well-reputed winery is a renowned producer to this day, this particular expression is especially coveted because only 600 bottles were reportedly produced in 1945, and the vines were removed and replanted after this vintage.
11. Mendis Coconut Brandy VS
Category: Brandy
Price: $1 million
Crafted in Sri Lanka using traditional techniques, this 100% all-natural clear brandy is distilled from the essence of the coconut flower and matured for a minimum of two years in Hamilla wood casks. This highly expensive liquor is the first ever clear brandy that is made from coconuts.
