Conspicuous Consumption
A Guinness World Record was set at the InterContinental Hong Kong when a Chinese businessman downed a shot of the world’s most expensive cognac while toasting the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States.
Croizet Cognac Cuvée Leonie 1858 has been ranked by Guinness World Record as the “Most Expensive Shot of Cognac” in the world.
It was sold by the shot for the first time at InterContinental Hong Kong for a breathtaking HK$68,000, which works out to US$8,763.
The previous record for the most expensive shot of cognac in the world was set at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
It sold for the relatively paltry sum of £1,353, or US$2,226, on 7 August 2008.
The cognac connoisseur at the InerContinental Hong Kong was Jason Wong, a.k.a. Huang Guofeng, who is Chairman of Eyarn Lighting Ltd, which is situated in Foshan, Guangdong, China.
Was this a publicity stunt, or does Jason just have a weak spot for costly cognac?
Jason toasted President Elect Donald Trump as the new Guinness World Record was set. Officials were present to witness and verify the veracity of the historic event.
Does this herald the Dawn of a New Era in Sino-US relations? Or was it just a one off event. Only time will tell.
AIDS Concern Hong Kong
The hotel is donating the HK$68,000 from the sale of the Most Expensive Shot of Cognac to AIDS Concern in Hong Kong.
The funds are ear-marked for AIDS Concern’s local education work with young people and schools.
It will pay for teaching materials and also social media campaigns warning young people about the risk of HIV.
Guinness World Record
This is the third Guinness World Record for Cognac Croizet.
On 24 September 2011 a single bottle of Croizet Cognac Cuvée Leonie dating back to the harvest of 1858 was sold at auction in Shanghai, China, for 1 million RMB, which works out to a cool US$144,806.
The cognac is recognized by the Guinness World Records as the most expensive cognac ever sold at auction.
This was the same cognac that Britain’s Winston Churchill and General Dwight D. Eisenhower of the United States drank on the Eve of D-Day in 1944.
InterContinental Hong Kong is the only hotel in Hong Kong to offer Cuvée Leonie 1858 by the bottle. A bottle of the cognac sells for HK$1,188,888, which works out to US$153,295. Bottoms up anyone?
Where
InterContinental Hong Kong, InterContinental Hong Kong, 18 Salisbury Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Telephone: (852) 2721-1211. Hotel Website: InterContinental Hong Kong.