Adalina, an Italian bar-restaurant in Chicago, and the Californian jewelry house Marrow Fine have joined forces to create a Martini-based beverage sold for…$13,000 a glass! A staggering price, linked to the fact that the cocktail is accompanied by a precious jewel combining diamonds and gold.
We’ve all heard of diamond-crunchers… and now it’s time for gem-drinkers!
Adalina, an Italian bar-restaurant in Chicago, and the Californian jewelry house Marrow Fine, based in San Diego, have invented what is probably the most expensive cocktail in the world.
An exceptional experience
The “Marrow Martini”, as it is called, offers an exceptional experience, combining the pleasure of taste with that of the eyes, and the ephemeral nature of a tasting with the eternal character of diamonds and gold.
Presented under a cloche, this cocktail at first glance gives off smoke and multiple scents when uncovered…
But it’s not just the combined aromas of Martini, Clase Azul mezcal (a Mexican tequila made from agave), chilli liqueur, clarified heirloom tomato water and olive oil with basil and lemon that come to the fore…
As if by magic, he also discovers, like the pearl in the oyster, a “tennis necklace” set with 150 diamonds, worth a total of 9 carats, mounted on a 14-carat yellow gold bracelet.
13,000 a glass
It’s best to keep a cool head after sipping the cocktail: it would be a shame to forget to wear this jewel on your wrist… If the cocktail is indeed valued at the modest sum of… 13,000 dollars (around 11,700 euros) a glass, it’s not just because of the inflationary rise in the price of olive oil or alcohol…
On the creative side, the distribution of roles has been very traditional and gendered…
It was one man, Colin Hofer, Adelina’s Managing Director, Sommelier and Wine Director, who conceived the very “hot” beverage that accompanies it, likely to arouse all the senses. Colin Hofer is renowned for his talents: he was named “Sommelier of the Year” by the Michelin Guide in 2022.
“The inspiration for this cocktail was to capture the bespoke energy of Marrow Fine, creating something truly unique,” said Colin Hofer.
Martini and tennis collar: the classics
And it was a woman, Jillian Sassone, the self-proclaimed “autodidact” founder and creative director of the independent Maison Marrow Fine, who designed the jewelry associated with the cocktail. She explained that she thought of a tennis necklace, that iconic piece of jewelry, also nicknamed the “eternity bracelet”, because “ martinis are like the tennis necklace, a classic! ”.
Founded in 2016 in San Diego, Marrow Fine has nevertheless built its strategy by thinking outside the box. Combining “unusual materials and gemstones from all over the world”, it claims to create jewelry “that you won’t find anywhere else”. On its website, the company explains that it “offers pieces” that are both “modern and timeless, designed to last a lifetime and tell a unique story”.
Marrow Fine has opened three showrooms in the United States, two in California, in San Diego and Newport Beach, and the third in Illinois, in Chicago, where the Adelina bar-restaurant, with which the company has partnered, is located.
More economical cocktails
There’s no doubt about it: whoever declares his or her love for the person of his or her heart with a “Marrow Martini” has a good chance of hitting the mark.
But you could also opt for a more economical Martini-based cocktail. This Italian aperitif was developed in Turin in 1863 by the Martini & Rossi distillery. Containing 75% white wine and neutral alcohol, it owes its character to the aromatic herbs and spices that enhance it, such as aniseed, raspberry, orange, aloe and sandalwood… In addition to its low alcohol content (15 degrees), this makes it an ideal base for many cocktails.
The most famous of these is undoubtedly the Dry Martini…Born in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century, it won over the general public as well as the Anglo-Saxon “influencers” of the time…such as actor Cary Grant, writer Ernest Hemingway, US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, England’s first Winston Churchill and Queen Elizabeth II….
Finally, the Dry Martini is also the favorite drink of British secret agent James Bond 007, who prefers it “with a shaker, not stirred”. In 1971, Bond made the film “Diamonds are Forever”… No doubt Ian Fleming’s hero would have loved to offer the “Marrow Martini” to one of his many conquests…
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Featured Photo: © Jamie Campanelli/Marrow Fine
