Drink This: The World’s Most Expensive Cocktail?

Ding dong, the wicked recession is dead!  But despite buying a million shares of Bear Stearns last week, one of each kind of car Chevrolet makes, and a printing press, I didn’t manage to lose all my money.  And what’s the point, if you’re not going all out?

Fortunately there’s this – “The Diamond Is Forever Martini,” possibly the world’s most expensive cocktail.  ”Chilled Belvedere vodka with a hint of fresh lime juice, stirred or shaken to perfection, over a crystal clear one carat diamond.”  How many George Washingtons have to die for you to get this?  Answer, plus more cocktails for rich people…

This martini is $18,000 in the wind, or 1.8 million yen, since it is made in Japan at the Tokyo Ritz-Carlton.  They also import a real American person to sing “Diamonds Are Forever” when you are served.  The diamond itself is actually in the glass, at the bottom.  The idea is that this can be either the most expensive way to propose to your partner with booze OR the most expensive way to choke to death.

But is it the most expensive cocktail?  Well, there’s a martini that goes for about $10,000 at the Algonquin Hotel in New York – it comes with a 1.52 carat diamond and must be ordered 72 hours before serving.

The crown, however, appears to belong to “Dazzle,” at the Second Floor Bar in the Harvey Nichols department store in Manchester, UK.  The champagne-based cocktail comes with a free toy – a diamond ring – and is escorted to your table by security guards.  It flys $51,200.

I am working on my own most expensive cocktail as well, though.  I don’t want to give away the secret ingredients before the grand unveiling but I will say that it is a can of Bud Light with a Winnebago taped to it.

Slideshow of the most expensive cocktails at Forbes.  Video of the Diamond Is Forever cocktail at MSN Video.