SUCCESS AT EXCESS
No question: The Oprah Winfreys, Richard Bransons and Scrooge McDucks of this world are living large. But do their indulgences — that $ 4,000 canine cologne or the $ 800 bottle of beer — live up to the hype? Viceland’s new series Most Expensivest packs
1 $ 4,900 chicken wings
At Old Homestead Steakhouse in New York City, three wings are covered in white and black truffles and a cream sauce infused with Rémy Martin Louis XIII Cognac, which costs $ 2,400 per bottle. Three more are topped with $ 1,600- per- ounce Royal Ossetra caviar, and three are saturated with $ 65- a- pound foie gras. Just for kicks, there’s also a $ 400- apound imported Japanese Kobe filet mignon “wing,” marinated in imported Japanese Tokubetsu Daiginjyou Kamutachi sake, which costs $ 1,100 per bottle.
2 $ 1,800 cigar
Gurkha Cigars makes His Majesty’s Reserve ( HMR) cigars that are infused with a bottle of Rémy Martin Louis XIII Cognac — the same $ 2,400- per- bottle liquor gussying up those $ 4,900 chicken wings, remember? Named among most expensive cigars in the world, HMR puffing sticks were made in 1996 with 15- year- old tobacco. Only 1,000 boxes were manufactured, so their worth rises as supply declines.
3 $ 100 doughnut
Executive chef Björn DelaCruz of The Manila Social Club in
New York City created the 24K Golden Cristal Ube Donut, which is filled with an ube mousse ( ube is a purple sweet yam from the Philippines) and Cristal Champagne gelée. It’s then covered in a Cristal icing and dusted with 24K pure gold dust and handgilded with 24K pure gold leaf. All doughnuts are handmade by DelaCruz, who says they were meant to be a special gift for his loved ones.
4 $ 12,500- per- year club
Considered the most exclusive club in the world, Core Club charges an initiation fee that ranges between $ 30,000 and $ 50,000. For that, its members in New York City enjoy what its website says is a curated experience blending art, current events, creativity and innovation. Translation: You get a gym, office, art gallery, screening room, barber shop, restaurant, bar, spa and terrace. Core Club has 1,300 members with an average net worth of $ 100 million each.
5 $ 20,000 exercise equipment
Over in Core Club’s gym lurks one of the world’s most expensive pieces of exercise equipment. Miha Bodytec’s electronic muscle stimulation training system delivers a 20- minute workout that’s equivalent to two hours of working out. The trick? It uses electric currents to stimulate muscular contractions in combination with a series of simple exercises. The system costs a minimum of $ 20,000.