The most expensive food and drink of 2012
Food and drink records continued to tumble in 2012, from a terribly expensive tuna to a centuries-old Cognac.
We may be living in an age of austerity, but not everyone is hurting, judging by these (sometimes record-breaking) food and drink prices.
I've deliberately not included anything that comes with a host of additional (usually non-edible) extras to bump the price up to record-breaking levels. I've explained my distaste for this practice in Enough of the world's most expensive foods.
Blowout bluefin
2012 began with a 269kg Bluefin tuna going for a whopping 56.49m yen (£472,125) at the famous Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. Prized for its flavour when it’s made into sushi, and pricey because there is a limit on how many can be fished per year, the tuna was won jointly by a high-end Japanese restaurant and a Hong Kong-based sushi chain.
Centuries-old Cognac
How would you like to toast the festive season with a 233-year-old Courvoisier Cognac? If you have £90,000 to spare you can, after a bottle of 1789 vintage was identified in the collection of Dutchman Bay van der Bunt. The spirit has now gone on sale at Harrods (where else?).
Crazy cocktail
If you prefer your vintage Cognac in a cocktail, then £5,500 buys you a highball of Salvatore’s Legacy, created with 1788 Clos de Griffier Vieux Cognac, 1770 Kummel Liqueur, 1860 Dubb Orange Curacao and early 20th century Angostura Bitters. Mixed up by Salvatore Calabrese at London’s Playboy Club, it now holds the Guinness World Record as being both the world’s most expensive and the oldest cocktail. You can watch Salvatore in action in the video below.
Doggone it
Or if you like your Cognac to accompany something a bit meatier, then maybe the Dragon Dog (pictured at the start of the article) will whet your appetite? It’s made with a foot-long Bratwurst infused with hundred-year-old Louis XIII Cognac. And it’s topped with Kobe beef seared in olive and truffle oil, fresh lobster, and a secret "picante sauce”. It sells for CAN$100 (around £63) from DougieDog in Vancouver.
Pricey pizza
For a slice that comes at quite a price, try the Steveston Pizza Co in British Columbia, Canada. Its C6 comes adorned with thermidor of lobster and black Alaskan cod, along with a side of Russian Osetra caviar. The price? Just CAN$450 (£283).
Beer goggle
Maybe you could wash that down with a bottle of Samuel Adams’ Utopias beer? To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the first batch of this unique brew being released, the 2012 edition had an alcohol by volume (percentage) of 29%. The “extreme beer”, as the brewery refers to it, retails for US$190 (£118) per bottle.
More on unique food and drink
The top five foodie world records
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