£50,000 historic Cognac bottle shattered

A customer at London’s Playboy Club accidentally smashed a £50,000 bottle of Cognac destined for a record-breaking cocktail.

The Clos de Griffier Vieux Cognac from 1788 before it was smashed

The Coganc, a Clos de Griffier Vieux from 1788, was destroyed after a businessman, who had ordered two glasses of the brandy at £5,050 a measure, asked to look at the bottle.

As the customer stood up, he sent the bottle flying across the club, before it smashed on the floor.

The Cognac was due to feature in the world’s most expensive cocktail, which would have been mixed this week by Salvatore Calabrese in front of judges from Guinness World Records.

Apparently the bottle is not insured because it had already been opened.

Speaking to the Evening Standard after the accident happened at the end of last week, Salvatore said: “We all just froze, then it sunk in. I’ve been heartbroken. Not because of the value of the bottle, but because it is a piece of history that has been lost.”

The bottle had previously been in the cellars of Paris restaurant La Tour d’Argent and was auctioned in late 2009, fetching €25,000, before appearing on the drinks list at the Playboy Club.

Click here more information on the auction and the contents of La Tour d’Argent’s cellar.