PLCB spirits catalog changes for the week of July 27th:
Discontinued Products:
Relisted:
New Products:
Just for kicks, I looked up the most expensive spirits available through the PLCB. Turns out the Glenfiddich 40yr is only the seventh most-expensive. The top six are:
6. Johnnie Walker Blue "Anniversary" Scotch (#57537, SLO, $3499.99) -- a limited-edition cask-strength bottling of Walker Blue to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Mr. John "Johnnie" Walker in 2005.
5. Remy Martin Louis XIII Cognac 1.75L (#62801, SLO, $4192.59) -- Louis XIII is Remy Martin's ultra-ultra-premium cognac, and this is a 1.75 liter bottle of it. Let me say that again: this is a $100-per-shot spirit in a value-sized, money-saving bottle. Seriously? Anybody buying Louis XIII in half-gallon quantities probably needs to have their head examined. Or at least their liver.
4. Hennessy Ellipse Cognac (#68994, SLO, $4361.19) -- Released last year, Ellipse supposedly contains Cognacs from each of Hennessy's seven master blenders, creating an intensely complex spirit. It also comes in a super cool bottle, and only 2,000 bottles were made.
3. Courvoisier l'Esprit Cognac (#64328, SLO, $4565.89) -- Similarly, L'Esprit contains Cognacs up to 200 years old, none of which were distilled later than 1930. It comes in a numbered, hand-cut Lalique crystal decanter. Fewer than 1,000 bottles were produced.
2. Hardy Perfection Series "Earth" Cognac (#63425, SLO, $7999.99) -- There are four Cognacs in the Hardy Perfection series (Air, Fire, Earth and Water, of course) although only Earth is available in PA. Only 300 bottles were made of each. Unlike the other Cognacs here, the Hardy Perfection series is unblended, meaning that all of the grapes came from the same region of France and were distilled at the same distillery, and all of them are over 130 years old, pre-dating the phylloxera epidemic that wiped out France's vineyards near the end of the 19th century.
1. Remy Martin Louis XIII Black Pearl Cognac (#58243, SLO, $32,999.99) -- To produce Louis XIII Cognac, Remy Martin blended over 1,200 different eaux-de-vies and then aged the blend for over 100 years. Louis XIII Black Pearl is a single-barrel bottling of that. Only 786 bottles were produced, most of which sold at auction for upwards of $60,000. Now, doesn't the $33,000 price tag sound more reasonable?
Discontinued Products:
- Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year Old Bourbon 750ML (#10849, Specialty, $183.99)
- Vermoise 750 ML (#55437, SLO, $18.89)
- Versinthe 750 ML (#53905, SLO, $18.89)
Relisted:
- Brave Spirits Valor Vodka 750ML (#05720, One Time, $19.99)
- Jim Beam Red Stag Bourbon 1.0 L (#55580, SLO, $20.79)
New Products:
- Balvenie 21yr Portwood 750 ML (#72360, SLO, $167.59)
- Balvenie 25yr Single Barrel Scotch 750 ML (#72333, SLO, $314.29)
- Bols Anisette Liqueur 1.0 L (#72330, SLO, $13.49)
- Bols Apricot Brandy 1.0 L (#40277, SLO, $13.49)
- Bols Butterscotch Schnapps 750 ML (#40293, SLO, $12.39)
- Bols Cherry Brandy 1.0 L (#40278, SLO, $13.49)
- Bols Creme de Banana Liqueur 1.0 L (#72329, SLO, $13.49)
- Bols Creme de Cassis Liqueur 1.0 L (#40276, SLO, $13.49)
- Bols Creme de Menthe Green Liqueur 750 ML (#40287, SLO, $12.39)
- Bols Creme de Menthe White Liqueur 750 ML (#40294, SLO, $12.39)
- Bols Creme de Menthe White Liqueur 1.0 L (#72331, SLO, $13.49)
- Bols Orange Curacao Liqueur 750 ML (#40292, SLO, $12.39)
- Bols Peppermint Schnapps 750 ML (#40283, SLO, $10.29)
- Bols Sloe Gin Liqueur 1.0 L (#40275, SLO, $13.49)
- Bols Strawberry Liqueur 1.0 L (#40269, SLO, $13.49)
- Cm Sicilian Nero Davola Grappa 2008 750 ML (#40229, SLO, $54.79)
- Glenfiddich 30 Yr 750 ML (#72318, SLO, $471.59)
- Glenfiddich 40 Yr 750 ML (#72324, SLO, $1951.69)
- Glenfiddich Cask 1976 750 ML (#72327, SLO, $563.79)
- Imperia Vodka 750 ML (#40050, SLO, $34.39)
- Korbel Brandy 750 ML (#40051, SLO, $12.79)
- Liberty Bell Extra Dry American Gin 1.0 L (#40228, SLO, $10.89)
- Milagro Tequila Anejo 750 ML (#71623, SLO, $57.49)
- Milagro Tequila Romance 1.0 L (#72315, SLO, $148.69)
- Reyka Vodka 750 ML (#72332, SLO, $23.99)
- Russian Standard Vodka Platinum 750 ML (#40049, SLO, $27.09)
- Sv Supreme Russian Silk Vodka 750 ML (#40165, SLO, $10.29)
Just for kicks, I looked up the most expensive spirits available through the PLCB. Turns out the Glenfiddich 40yr is only the seventh most-expensive. The top six are:
6. Johnnie Walker Blue "Anniversary" Scotch (#57537, SLO, $3499.99) -- a limited-edition cask-strength bottling of Walker Blue to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Mr. John "Johnnie" Walker in 2005.
5. Remy Martin Louis XIII Cognac 1.75L (#62801, SLO, $4192.59) -- Louis XIII is Remy Martin's ultra-ultra-premium cognac, and this is a 1.75 liter bottle of it. Let me say that again: this is a $100-per-shot spirit in a value-sized, money-saving bottle. Seriously? Anybody buying Louis XIII in half-gallon quantities probably needs to have their head examined. Or at least their liver.
4. Hennessy Ellipse Cognac (#68994, SLO, $4361.19) -- Released last year, Ellipse supposedly contains Cognacs from each of Hennessy's seven master blenders, creating an intensely complex spirit. It also comes in a super cool bottle, and only 2,000 bottles were made.
3. Courvoisier l'Esprit Cognac (#64328, SLO, $4565.89) -- Similarly, L'Esprit contains Cognacs up to 200 years old, none of which were distilled later than 1930. It comes in a numbered, hand-cut Lalique crystal decanter. Fewer than 1,000 bottles were produced.
2. Hardy Perfection Series "Earth" Cognac (#63425, SLO, $7999.99) -- There are four Cognacs in the Hardy Perfection series (Air, Fire, Earth and Water, of course) although only Earth is available in PA. Only 300 bottles were made of each. Unlike the other Cognacs here, the Hardy Perfection series is unblended, meaning that all of the grapes came from the same region of France and were distilled at the same distillery, and all of them are over 130 years old, pre-dating the phylloxera epidemic that wiped out France's vineyards near the end of the 19th century.
1. Remy Martin Louis XIII Black Pearl Cognac (#58243, SLO, $32,999.99) -- To produce Louis XIII Cognac, Remy Martin blended over 1,200 different eaux-de-vies and then aged the blend for over 100 years. Louis XIII Black Pearl is a single-barrel bottling of that. Only 786 bottles were produced, most of which sold at auction for upwards of $60,000. Now, doesn't the $33,000 price tag sound more reasonable?
I think it's kinda fascinating that the top 5 most expensive items on the PLCB are all Cognac's. Is there a specfic reason other than most of them being very old why Cognac seems to be more expensive than other spirts or is it just that they're old?
Age is the biggest factor since, as I mentioned, aging a spirit for 20 years, much less 100, takes quite a bit of skill. But you could really only demand these prices for Cognac, due to its immense, grand tradition of luxury and desirability. This is probably due to French food, wine and spirits being regarded as the best in the world for two centuries or so.
Whisky, and Scotch in particular, is the only other spirit which can occasionally achieve four-figure prices, but Pennsylvania doesn't have many extremely rare whiskies listed.