There are types of liquor and distilled spirits that you might not be aware of, but that deserve notice. This list compiles various pricey and rare ones that you could own or at least taste one day if you somehow end up as a millionaire.
From really old cognacs to beautifully ornate bottles, these liquors will leave an impression on your taste buds.
1. Glen Grant 1948
This 74-year-old single malt whisky was released by the renowned Scotch producer Gordon and MacPhail to celebrate King Charles III’s coronation.
This aromatic liquor is priced at about $31,129 and was sherry-casked in 1948, then bottled in December 2022 for the King’s coronation. This whisky sounds divine with its aroma and flavor profile of festive spices, demerara sugar, lemon zest, and mulled berries.
2. Yamazaki 55 Year Old
Japanese whisky has made a name with alcohol connoisseurs. However, if we’re looking at the most expensive one, the Yamazaki 55-year-old whisky takes the cake.
The liquor is a flavorful blend, with people appreciating the taste of sandalwood and fruity notes. You’re lucky to find a bottle of this liquid gold today, though.
3. Patron en Lalique: Serie 3
In collaboration with Lalique, Patron elevates its tequila by placing it in a handmade crystal decanter. But that’s not all.
Patron en Lalique: Serie 3 uses a unique blend of 14 rare tequilas, each aged in French and Armagnac casks for up to eight years. The blend itself is impossible to recreate, making it one of a kind. A bottle starts at $7,500.
4. 1992 Screaming Eagle
This bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon has achieved a cult-like status among wine lovers, and the 1992 Screaming Eagle is one of the most sought-after bottles because of its full-bodied flavor.
A typical bottle of wine from Screaming Eagle costs about $3,000, but this one has reached a price of $35,500. The large increase in price is due to its rarity, age, and fame.
5. Highland Park 54-Year-Old
To mark its 225th anniversary, Highland Park released its oldest Scotch whisky, which was distilled in 1968. In 2008, 10 refill casks were combined and poured into European sherry-seasoned casks; then, the liquor was left to rest for 14 years.
The whisky was bottled and launched in 2023. This rarity offers a flavor profile of crushed cumin, lychee, sweet jasmine, honeyed kiwi, fenugreek, and pistachio biscotti.
6. 1947 Chateau Cheval Blanc
If you’d like to have a sip of the wine mentioned in the movies Ratatouille and Sideways, you might find yourself in debt instead.
The Chateau Cheval Blanc is well known in France as one of the finest Cheval Blancs and clarets of the 20th century. One vintage 1947 bottle sold for $445,000 during an auction at Christie’s.
7. The Karuizawa Whisky Stage
The Karuizawa Distillery closed roughly two decades ago, which launched its whisky to legendary levels. The Karuizawa Whisky Stage from Dekanta is made of the last drops of whisky from the distillery’s final years, placed into a three-bottle set.
Only 50 of these sets were made, with the bottles placed in a Wajima Lacquerware Cabinet with 24-karat gold leaf and hand-painted designs.
8. Billionaire Vodka
True to its name, this is one of the most expensive bottles of vodka on the market. At $3.7 million, it comes in a diamond-encrusted platinum bottle. Each bottle is flown on a private jet and hand-delivered to clients by a white-gloved messenger.
The vodka is ice-filtered through Nordic birch coal and poured through crushed diamonds and gems. Everything about this screams excessive wealth.
9. Louis XIII Rare Cask 42.1
This is a super rare cognac by Louis XIII, its previous release being nearly 15 years ago. The rare Cask 42.1 is bottled in decanters handcrafted from black crystals by the French House of Baccarat.
The tiercons (barrels) that housed the cognac were from French oak trees that take 100 years to mature. About 775 bottles were released, each priced at $50,000.
10. Tequila Ley .925 Diamante
You can probably guess from its name what drives the price point for this luxury tequila. The Tequila Ley .925 Diamante comes with 4,100 white diamonds on its bottle and a staggering price point of $3.5 million.
The tequila is a premium blend of agave from Jalisco that is slow-roasted and distilled twice through copper pot stills. It is then aged for seven years in French oak barrels. Only one bottle of this exists.
11. Dictador M-City Golden Cities Series
As one of the most expensive rums in the world, the Dictador M-City Golden Cities Series is very exclusive. You can only get your hands on this by invitation.
If accepted, you will be brought to their distillery in Colombia to choose from 110 private casks and craft your own blend of rum. You’ll then receive it in a handmade 24k gold-plated bottle engraved with a map of Cartagena. The starting price for a bottle is $1.5 million.
12. Henri IV Dudognon Heritage Cognac Grande Champagne
This Henri IV is one of the oldest cognacs in existence, over 100 years old, priced at $1.9 million. The bottle looks familiar, doesn’t it?
That’s because the same person who designed the Tequila Ley .925 Diamante bottle also designed this one. However, for this bottle, he used a 24k gold, silver, and platinum blend with 6,500 white diamonds.
13. Macallan Valerio Adami 1926
With only 40 bottles ever made, The Macallan Valerio Adami 1926 is one of the most sought-after Scotch whiskies in the world.
Furthermore, the bottles feature three varying labels: their iconic Fine and Rare ones, with the other two labels drawn by Valerio Adami and Peter Blake, respectively. Sotheby’s sold a bottle of this Valerio Adami 1926 whisky for $1.6 million back in 2019.
14. 1945 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Romanee-Conti
At a record-breaking price of $558,000, the 1945 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti burgundy is the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold at auction worldwide.
Only 600 bottles were produced in 1945 before the vineyard was uprooted, so it’s not only vintage but also the last time anyone will get a taste of wine from that vineyard. What a treat, indeed.
