Christmas celebration cocktails are best purchased in casual or fine-dining restaurants, according to Thomas Ostrowski, an instructor at Dublin Bar Academy, rather than paying for super expensive cocktails, as these places have skilled bar staff who make cocktails on-location using special techniques.
Ostrowski says expensive cocktails are more about status than taste, a marketing tool using techniques that cannot be replicated in a normal bar.
The most expensive cocktails he has found in Ireland are around €200 in five-star hotels, but Ostrowski believes that the trend of super expensive cocktails will eventually make its way to Ireland.
The cocktail culture in Ireland is changing, with prices rising and the focus shifting to higher quality cocktails.
Ostrowski encouraged Irish people to explore high-quality Irish spirits neat, such as Irish whiskey, which he believes is among the best in the world and should be enjoyed without being diluted. Mixing unique whiskeys with expensive cocktails can compromise their taste and lose their distinctiveness.
Cocktails in Ireland now typically contain 40ml of spirits and 20mls of liquor, a departure from the old 20ml standard.
An Irish woman recently paid £1,890 for a cocktail in London, which she mistakenly believed would cost £18.90.
Salvatore Calabrese recently created the world’s most expensive cocktail at Playboy Club in London. The cocktail is called ‘Salvatore’s Legacy’ and will be priced at £5,500 a glass. The ingredients are 40ml 1778 Clos de Griffier Vieux Cognac, 20ml 1770 Kummel Liqueur, 20ml circa 1860 Dubb Orange Curacao and two dashes of circa 1900s Angostura Bitters.
The previous record for most expensive cocktail is held by The Skyview Bar of Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai and stands at €4,300 a glass.
