In holiday spirits, premium booze can go over the top

Trying out these high-priced liquors just requires a trip to the local store. And a wad of cash.

By WILLIAM SPAIN

CBS MARKETWATCH

CHICAGO — The spirits sector has boomed of late on “premiumization,” i.e. the consumer trend to trade up to flashier, more expensive liquor. And while the industry’s sweet spot typically runs between $20 and $50 and hundreds of products in that price point will be handed out this holiday season, for the truly well-heeled giver, there is a rarefied space where the tipples start at three — and can run as high as five — figures.

Often available in super-fancy bottles and limited edition distillations and blends, and ranging from rare scotches to even rarer cognacs to primo tequilas, there are plenty of posh potable presents to be had.

Among the more over the top:

L’Esprit de Courvoisier. Described by Fortune Brands’ Beam Global unit as “the ultimate decadence,” this is a blend of cognacs that date from the age of Napoleon through the 20th century. It comes in a hand cut, individually numbered Lalique crystal decanter and retails for a cool $5,000.

From Diageo comes the Johnnie Walker Blue Label King George V edition. An even more expensive version of Blue Label (roughly $200), it is a blend of rare whiskies made from distilleries operating since the 1930s — some now defunct — and commemorates a “Royal Warrant” issued by King George V in 1934. With decanter, removable glass display, and certificate of authenticity, only 7,300 will be made available in the United States at $600 a pop.

Fancy Crown Royal

The British booze behemoth is also offering up Crown Royal Cask No. 16. While regular Crown Royal is often described by its makers as an “aspirational” brand, those reaching for this blend of 50 different and individually aged whiskies finished in cognac casks and wrapped in a black velvet bag will need to dig a bit deeper and come up with a crisp C-note to get it.

For another $100, Diageo has a special edition of Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia tequila. A blend of tequilas between two and 30 years, Mexican artist Pedro Friedeberg designed the box for this 100 percent agave anejo created to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Jose Cuervo Distillery in 1995. It is individually numbered and dated, corked and hand-dipped in wax.

Well north of that, Patron Spirits has brought from South of the Border the $499 Gran Patron Burdeos, anejo tequila aged partly in Bordeaux barrels, bottled in a crystal decanter and sold in a box carved from a single piece of black walnut.

For the bubbly lovers amongst us, it doesn’t get much fancier than Perrier Jouet Fleur Blanc de Blancs 1999. The “rarest jewel in the Perrier Jouet portfolio,” according to Pernod Ricard (012069), it is 100 percent sourced from Grand Cru vineyards in the village of Cramant and combines the “delicacy of Chardonnay grape with the power and character of unique Grand Cru vineyard.” And all for a mere $400.

Another fruit of the vine Pernod is making available this year is Martell Creation Grand Extra. This $300 cognac sports “an extraordinary soft texture that gradually reveals its depth and layers.” Not to mention a “reinterpretation of the Martell Extra that was first conceived at the beginning of the 19th century, and a tribute to the creative spirit founder Jean Martell.”

Smaller outfit

For something from a smaller outfit, there is always Roger Groult Reserve Ancestrale Calvados. The oldest in the venerable Groult line, the average age of the brandies used to make it on the family-owned Normandy estate is a full half-century. But if you want to like them apples, it will cost about $500 to get them.

The wide array of truly high-end hooch makes one wonder just what a buyer gets for all that cash. Is a $5,000 cognac 200 times superior to a $25 one? And does age or rarity alone really make a wine or spirit better?

Not really, according to one industry consultant.

“There’s an illusion pushed that when you spend more, you get more quality,” said Tom Pirko, president of Bevmark. “But there is usually a plateau to quality in high-end goods. The difference between Hennessy’s XO cognac ($95) and Paradis ($350) has far more to do with other intangibles like greed, ego and vanity.”