"luxury" news and stories

Pernod Ricard is launching a new champagne at a price that will make Cristal and Dom Perignon look like two-buck Chuck, as $400 per bottle price tags seem small when compared to this one. The wine and spirits group said that it would be launched under their Perrier Jouet Belle Epoque brand and it will be priced at $1,270 (€1,000) per bottle. This makes it the most expensive champagne in the world. Unfortunately, aside from the price tag, the company was fairly quiet about the other details of the release, though chairman Patrick Ricard did say "We won't do many cases and won't be offering it in France."

The group is actively pursuing ways to increase the perception of their brands as very upmarket, so perhaps this will be the first of many releases from the company. Regardless it will certainly set a benchmark in the champagne industry.

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Personally, I'm not a big fan of caviar, although it does give a certain impressive air to parties and the quality of the American product has increased significantly over the past few years, meaning that good-quality caviar is often available at a reasonable price for those who do like it. If you are thinking about serving caviar at any of your holiday parties, you might want to take a look at the Caviar and Bubbles brochure from Schramsberg Vineyards. It was produced in conjunction with the Tsar Nicoulai Caviar Company and is a guide to pairing champagne, specifically six Schramsberg blends, with caviar. Three different types of caviar are recommended for each champagne. The Brut Rosé, for example, pairs with the Beet and Saffron Whitefish, Truffled Tiger-Eyed Whitefish and/or Gold Pearl Trout. The guide is available both as a PDF and can be ordered through the mail from Schramsberg.

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The 4-star Storrs Hall Hotel in England's Lake District is offering what appears to be the UK's priciest picnic lunch. Chef Craig Sherrington put together a group of items that he thinks make up the ideal picnic - assuming that money is no object, since the picnic costs £1,566.60 ( $2,895 US). Picnicker's will dine outdoors on the shores of Lake Windermere on a meal that includes foie gras, Beluga caviar, British rare white beef, Scottish lobster, Waberthwaite Royal Air Dried Ham, Smoked Holker Venison Loin and Smoked Wild Lune Valley Salmon and an exotic fruit trifle with real gold leaf shavings. And since no picnic is complete without a beverage, the luxury meal will be accompanied by bottles of Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne and Chateau Lafite-Rothschild.

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On the heels of a recent L.A. Times story about Thomas Keller's burger joint aspirations comes news of another high-end burger on the menu at the Old Homestead Steakhouse in Boca Raton, Fla. Dubbed the "beluga caviar of sandwiches," the $100 burger features a 20-ounce blend of American prime, Japanese Wagyu/Kobe and Argentinian beef. As if this weren't showy enough, the beef arrived in a black hummer for its debut yesterday. On a brighter note, $10 of each burger purchase goes to a local branch of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

[Via Fark]

 Peeps and grocery-store chocolate candies are all well and good, but the end of Lent calls for something of a splurge. Fortunately, the purveyors of fine chocolate and other goodies are more than happy to oblige the impulse to celebrate the season. Here at Slashfood, we are happy to indulge whenever the opportunity arises, but these luxury Easter chocolates are really ideal for a special occasion.

1. Harry and David may not be the "go-to" chocolatier for some, but their Chocolate Praline Eggs are somehow shaped inside a colorful, real eggshell and need to be broken out before eating. A half dozen eggs are $29.99.
2. Robert L. Strohecker's Assorted Rabbits are chocolate bunnies designed to have three different flavors of filling inside different parts of the rabbit: toasted almond ears, an almond butter crunch head, and a caramel pecan body. Available in both milk and dark chocolate, this is one bunny you won’t get bored with. They are $30.95 a pair.
3. Neiman Marcus' Chocolate Easter Bunny is hand poured, hand decorated and hand wrapped. At nearly 5-pounds, it is one very big, but festive, bunny. Use it as a centerpiece, then serve it for dessert. Each bunny is $99.