Caught on Tape: A $1700 Sip of Remy Martin Louis XIII Rare Cask Cognac

, our Cocktails and Spirits Editor, has a $17,000 indulgence in his hands. He’s cruising down the aisle of Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, where he’s the general manager, toting a leather trimmed box that contains the only bottle of cognac in Texas of a special case of cognac from Remy Martin. Here, Turner tells the story, on tape:

How did it get here? Why is it so expensive? Jasper Russo, of liquor distributor Sigels, writes:

The single cask of Louis XIII used for this rare bottling.

During a periodic tasting of aging Louis XIII cask barrels in 2004, cellar master Pierrette Trichet, the first and only female cellar master at a major cognac house, discovered a highly unusual trait in the cognac’s aromatic bouquet and flavor profiles, along with a slight increase in alcohol character. While tracking the cask’s progression, she observed that it possessed a richness and intensity so remarkable that she decided to bottle the cognac without further blending. This unusual blend presents a bouquet of wild mushrooms, then a hint of lifted underwood notes arise followed by a full range of spicy tones that come from of 100 years of aging in Limousin oak barrels. It finishes with notes of gingerbread, wax, nuts, and fresh mint. To celebrate this auspicious occasion, Louis XIII enlisted Baccarat to create an opaque black crystal decanter inspired by an ancient metal and leather flask discovered by the House of Rémy Martin in the mid-19th century on the site of a 16th-century battleground in the Cognac region.

Only 768 bottles will be produced from the single cask and only 30 are available for the United States. One of the bottles has found a home at Pappas Brothers Steakhouse where it can be tasted for a mere $1750 per ounce.

Remy Martin Louis XIII Rare Cask – $17,299.99
(‘Regular’ Remy Martin Louis XIII – $1,999.99)