It is known by many that most of the best drinks that you can purchase online or in specialty alcohol stores are pretty expensive, but there are some alcoholic beverages that are pricier than the others, and a few of them would actually have outrageous price tags that only millionaires and billionaires can afford.
Out of the handful of super expensive alcoholic drinks, there is one particular drink that is considered to be the priciest out of the others. The most expensive alcohol that you can buy is the Isabella Islay Whiskey, which cost about $6.2 million when it was first sold in 2011. However, its price is not just depending on how it is made, but also on the extravagant bottle where it is stored. To know more, here are some details about the most expensive alcohol in the world, the Isabella Islay Whiskey.
Who Made the Isabella Islay Whiskey?
The Isabella Islay Whiskey is an alcoholic beverage that is imported from the United Kingdom by the Luxury Beverage Company. The said company, which is also known by its acronym LBC, has been importing wines and other types of alcoholic beverages since 2017. According to the company’s website, they are partnered with 46 finest producers of alcohol in nine different countries, including Australia, the United States, and New Zealand. Here is a complete list of wineries that are partnered with the Luxury Beverage Company:
Australia
- OH Wines
- Tumblong Hills
Austria
- Weingut Martin Muttenthaler
France
- Champagne Salon
- Champagne Delamotte
- Champagne Henriot
- Domain Schoffit
- Domain de l’Ecu
- Charles Joguet
- Henri Bourgeois
- Maison Thiriet
- Domain Beauvernay
- Jean-Michael Stephan
- Domain George Vernay
- Gabriel Meffre
- Gerard Bertrand
- Baron Philippe de Rothschild
Hungary
- Kiralyudvar
Germany
- Weingut Julian Haart
- Weingut Daniel Twardowski
- Weingut Leitz
- Weingut Rudolf Furst
Italy
- Ca’ del Baio
- Ettore Germano
- Dal Forno
- Ca’ del Sole
- Matteo Braidot
- Skerk
- Il Paradiso di Manfredi
- Montenidoli
- Sartarelli
- Tiberio
New Zealand
- Kusuda
- Blank Canvas
- Clos Henri
- Black Estate
Portugal
- Alves de Sousa
- Aphros Wines
Spain
- Raul Perez
- Finca Allenda
- Finca Nueva
- La Rioja Alta
- Familia Nin-Ortiz
- Barranca Oscuro
USA
- Domaine de la Cote
- Hirsch Vineyards
- Matthiasson
- Ramey Wine Cellar
- Robert Biale
- Evening Land
- Quilceda Creek
It is unclear where the Isabella Islay Whiskey is made, but it is speculated that it is made from various ingredients that come from different wineries that were mentioned above. Those who were wealthy or fortunate enough to taste the Isabella Islay Whiskey describe its flavor to be smoky and nutty with a buttery texture. In addition, the whiskey also has some notes of fresh barley, which makes its flavor a little delicate and refined.
Why is the Isabella Islay Whiskey so Expensive?
The expensiveness of the Isabella Islay Whiskey comes from two factors. The first factor is how it is made since the Luxury Beverage Company would have to pay the labor and import costs of the ingredients that they use for the beverage. Since they are partnered with a lot of wineries, it is expected for LBC’s product to be quite pricey.
The second factor that makes the Isabella Islay Whiskey the most expensive alcohol in the world is its packaging, as the bottle that contains the whiskey is embedded with 8500 pieces of diamonds, 300 pieces of rubies, and about two bards of white gold. In addition, the bottle in itself is already expensive, as it is made from English Crystal that is clearer than the regular bottles used for other types of alcohol. The diamonds and other pieces of gemstones embedded in the English Crystal bottle are done professionally by expert jewelers in the United Kingdom.
The Original Edition of the Isabella Islay Whiskey, which was the first one ever sold, was encased in a sturdy wooden box with a red interior to further emphasize the luxuriousness of the bottle. If you want to get a less expensive version of the Isabella Islay Whiskey, then you have the option to purchase the Special Edition, which doesn’t have the diamonds embedded in the bottle but is still made from English Crystal with white gold and diamond lettering. The Special Edition also comes with a wooden case that has a black exterior. However, the Special Edition is still pricier than most alcoholic beverages in the market, as one bottle can cost you $740,000.
If the contents inside the Original and Special Editions of the Isabella Islay Whiskey are depleted, you also have the option to have it refilled by the Luxury Beverage Company. If you don’t like the default flavor that is found inside each Isabella Islay Whiskey, you can ask the Luxury Beverage Company to have the whiskey in the bottle customized. So, you can opt to make your own flavor of whiskey when you buy a bottle of Isabella Islay.
Who is Isabella Islay?
No one actually knows who “Isabella Islay” is, as the Luxury Beverage Company never really explained why they gave the whiskey the said name. However, news reports have stated that the original name of the Isabella Islay Whiskey is “Isabella’s Islay,” which is supposed to mean that a certain woman by the name of “Isabella” is living in Islay, an island found in the southernmost region of Scotland.
The notion that the term “Islay” refers to the Scottish island is further emphasized through the description that the Luxury Beverage Company provided for another Isabella Islay product called the Silver “Cenél nÓengusa,” which was the name of the kin group that was ruled and governed the island of Islay. The “Cenél nÓengusa” is a variant of the original Isabella Islay Whiskey but is much more affordable than even the Special Edition. Even though it is less expensive, the “Cenél nÓengusa” is still encased in a wooden box with a red interior.
As of 2021, the Original Edition of the Isabella Islay Whiskey is still the most expensive alcohol in the world. Of course, there will be wineries that will try to beat the Luxury Beverage Company’s record in the future, so we can expect that the list for the most expensive alcoholic beverages will keep changing as the years go by.