Whisky Party

The Burj Al Arab: The World's Most Luxurious Hotel at Night

After London and the Stansted Airport, I went to Dubai. Dubai is a really, really, really, really interesting place. I was there not long after the article from the NYTimes about foreigners fleeing Dubai and leaving their cars abandoned at the airport. I actually researched trying to import a car back into the states (I pictured myself in a Maserati that I got for 10K), but alas, import taxes and the fact that there were no Maseratis for 10K kept me from having a car. So bicycles and mass transit are still the way I travel.

Tables at the Sky View Bar: Notice the Similarities to Tron

Regardless, after many meetings over the course of a few days, I went with some friends to the Sky View Bar at the Burj Al Arab. Before going to the Sky View Bar, we were told that we needed to make reservations, that we’d never get those reservations (we went on a Friday night), and that even with reservations, you need to pay a minimum of something like $40 in order to enter the bar.

Because Computer Circuitboards Exude Class

The bar is on the 27th floor of the Burj Al Arab, that hotel in Dubai that looks like a sail. Well, as the economy was going to the pooper, especially in a finance-based, debt-ridden, huge growth place like Dubai, getting reservations at the Sky View Bar, even on a Friday night at 8:30 PM, was not that difficult of a task for a bunch of unimpressive amateurs. Even more, after arriving at the Burj Al Arab, negotiating our entrance fee down to buying $15 worth of drinks per person wasn’t really all that difficult. In the illustrious words of Kurt Vonnegut, “So it goes.”

The bar offers a few scotches, though not as great of a selection as I’d hope from the penthouse bar in what is billed as the “World’s Most Luxurious Hotel.” The bar looks like it could have been a staging area for Tron, and I was a little sad I did not bring my helmet or rollerblades. Not the type of place where if I were rich and famous I would like to hang. So while having a Ledaig 10 year old or four (a practical steal at $10 compared to other things on the menu) I took some pictures and contemplated the “World’s Most Expensive Cocktail” which is sold out at 27,321 Arab Emirated Dirham, or the equivalent of $7500 USD.

The World's Most Expensive Cocktail: Too bad it's made with Macallan Whiskey instead of Macallan Whisky

I copied and pasted the text from the menu below. I have a few issues with it. First, the entire menu is in capital letters, which is a little annoying. I saved you from this when I copied it out. Second, the menu continuously refers to the Macallan as whiskey, and not whisky (but I guess, so does the NYTimes). I would think that when charging $7500 USD for a drink, they might be able to run that by a few whisky experts before printing. Third, they’re offering a 55 year old Macallan (John Hansell’s Tasting Notes here). Something that is extremely rare, and they not only water it down with ice cubes (though I agree the Macallan distillery water is nice, but I refer you to the many debates in which WhiskyParty has taken part), but they also add bitters to it. They take something beautiful and change its flavor, consistency, and your ability to appreciate it. Poor form all around, even if Hansell only gave it a 74,

The text is below. And the remaining pictures of my trip to the Burj Al Arab (some other nice Macallan bottles they had on display) are below that. The cocktail, by the way, is named 27.321 because the bar is on the 27th floor of the Burj Al Arab, which itself is 321 meters tall.

The World’s Most Expensive Cocktail

“27.321″
This extraordinary creation is the world’s most expensive and exclusive adaption of the renowned “Old Fashioned Cocktail”, made with 55 year old Macallan single malt scotch whisky from the limited Lalique decanter “Natural Colour”. This precious whisky is stirred with “Dried Fruit Bitters”. produced exclusively for Burj Al Arab.

“27.321″ was prepared with ice cubes, made of water from the Macallan Distillery and stirred with a piece of wood from the original sherry casks.

The cocktail was served in a baccarat 18 karat gold glass. The glass in its tailored leather box and a personal numbered certificate was issued for the limited drink to every of the ten buyers.

The first two drinks were sold on the 16th of April, two on the 8th of May and another couple on the 12th of July. The cocktail #7 was purchased on the 7th of August and the cocktail #8 on the 4th September. 27.321 #9 and #10 were sold on the 15th December 2008. The cocktail is featured in the Guinness Book of World Records 2009.

Savour the very last drops of this extraordinary and exclusive limited single malt whiskey and experience the marvel around the malt and the world’s most expensive cocktail.

Taken at the Burj Al Arab in Dubai

Taken at the Burj Al Arab in Dubai

Taken at the Burj Al Arab in Dubai

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