10 Most Expensive Alcoholic Drinks In Kenya

After working hard, everyone deserves to treat themselves to a top-shelf drink. There are several reasons for purchasing expensive drinks which range from promotion, graduation, birthday, ordination or just because your taste buds are tired of seeping bottom-shelf drinks. However, when it comes to most millennials, they often order these top-notch drinks due to peer pressure and huge influence from social media platforms. They spend extravagantly on high-end booze just to brag to their mates. The funny thing is that social media is not only affecting the young but also the aged. A good example is when COTU boss Francis Atwoli and the former Jubilee Party Vice Chairman David Murathe were posted on Twitter carrying expensive liquor bottles. Mr Atwoli was holding Glenfiddich 26 years old that goes for at least KES 70,000 while Mr Murathe was holding Hennessy XO that goes for at least KES 28,000. Both of these drinks are available on Nairobi Drinks shelves. On today’s article, we will focus on the most expensive spirits in Kenya and the factors to consider when purchasing these pricey drinks.

10 Most Expensive Spirits In Kenya

The list of the most expensive alcohol in Kenya is made up of only spirits. This means there are no beers or wines featuring in this list because their prices are normally a bit low. However, there is one Champagne bottle that is so close to featuring in the list, Dom Perignon Rose 750ml @ KES 37,000. Basically, Dom Perignon is among the most expensive vintage Champagnes with the rose one being rare hence its high price. The following are the most expensive liquors in Kenya that you will find on Nairobi Drinks shelves.

 

• The Johnnie Walker 700ml @700,000
• The Macallan No. 6 700ml @600,000
• Remy Martin Louis Xiii 700ml @450,000
• Hennessy Paradis 700ml @ KES 250,000
• Johnnie Walker & Sons Odyssey 700ml @ KES 150,000
• The Glenrothes John Ramsay 700ml @ KES 150,000
• Macallan Escuro 700ml @ KES 130,000
• Glenfiddich 30 years @ KES 94,999
• Johnnie Walker & Sons Private Collection @ KES 80,000
• Johnnie Walker & Sons King George V @ KES 75,000
• Glenfiddich 26 years 700ml @ KES 70,000
• Ballantines 30 years @ KES 60,000



One thing that is evident here is that this list is only constituted of Cognacs and Whiskies. Both of these are dark spirits that are aged in wood barrels to improve their taste and flavours. The older the spirit, the better the quality and taste. However, the colour of the spirit is only influenced by the type of wood used to age it and has no relationship with the number of years the spirit has been aged. Some distilleries flavour the spirit with caramel to make it darker. Another thing worth noting is that the taste of the spirit remains constant after bottling. For example, a bottle of Glenfiddich 15 years old bottled 30 years ago will taste the same as a bottle of Glenfiddich 15 years old bottled today. However, you may realize a slight difference in taste which could be as a result of the different environmental factors affecting the woods used to age the whisky.

The Do’s and Don’ts While Buying Expensive Drinks

The key thing about expensive drinks is that they taste better than cheap drinks. For example, cheap whisky tastes awful and is terrible to drink them neat while high-class single malt whiskies have nice aromas and are so smooth when you drink them neat. Actually, expensive drinks not only taste better but also have better flavours and have more health benefits than cheap liquors. Cheap alcoholic drinks in Kenya give the worst hangovers and are a huge risk to your health in addition to nauseating mouth odours. The following are the factors to be considered when you want to purchase expensive liquors.

1. Don’t Buy A Super Expensive Vodka

Don’t get me wrong if you are a vodka fan. Vodkas are great alcoholic drinks, however, they are produced within a few days, unlike other alcoholic drinks which are produced for over a century like whiskeys and Cognacs. Vodkas are ready for bottling after distillation unlike whisky, Cognac, Champagne, wine, rum, brandy and tequila that are aged in wood barrels for maturation after distillation. Maturation gives the drink a better taste in addition to more flavours. Most of the vodkas are made from potatoes thought there are a few of them that are made from corn (Tito’s Vodka) or grapes (Ciroc Vodka). To make them taste better, they are distilled three times or five times in the case of Ciroc vodka. Various flavours are added to vodka to create various versions. The most common vodka flavours are orange, green apple, pineapple, golden apple, vanilla, espresso, citrus, pepper, mandarin, citron, Kurant, lemon, coffee, pears, chocolate, caramel, Watkins, red, gold, blue, black, grape, ginger, dragon fruit, cherry, Citroen, passion and raspberry. Should you buy an expensive vodka, don’t buy anything above KES 8,000 otherwise you will just be paying for marketing or a bejewelled bottle. A great example of a very expensive vodka due to jeweling is Scottish Diva Vodka that sells at KES 100,000,000 due to its bottle that is adorned with crystals and gemstones. This vodka is triple distilled; first over Nordic birch charcoal, secondly over sand peppered with precious and semi-precious stones and third a swathe of Swarovski crystals is positioned on the centre of the bottle to ‘garnish’ the vodka. This tells you one thing, it is not the vodka inside but the bottle that is carrying it.

2. Buy Within The Category Of Alcohol That You Like

When buying expensive alcohol, buy something you know you will like. Regardless of the great reviews of a particular bottle of alcohol that belongs to a category of alcohol that you don’t like, please don’t buy it. For example, if you are not a whisky enthusiast, even the most expensive bottle of whisky will never taste as better as the cheap bottle of cognac that you are used to. A quality drink will always have great reviews from those people who love it but that doesn’t guarantee you that you will love it.

3. Purchase Your Alcohol while Sober

When you want to spend a fortune, it will be better when you make a great decision that you will feel the value for your money, however, when you are a little tipsy, your judgment will be impaired. There have been so many occasions when men have bought clothes e.g jacket while drinking in the bar only to be embarrassed by their choices the following morning. Alcohol might give you the courage to buy that expensive drink that you have dreaming of, however, you might go overboard with your expenditure just because you want to feel sophisticated at that particular moment.

4. Do Ask For Advice

Whether from the wines and spirits attendants or from your mates, do ask for advice. Your mates will recommend the drinks they love and they will have more information about them but that doesn’t mean you will love them too. Just listen to their opinion but be the one to make the decision. In the case of the wines and spirits attendant, when you meet a great one, they will have almost all the information about all the drinks they are selling but at the same time they may misguide you by giving false information so they can sell particular brands which may have more profit or brands which are less moving. It’s great to listen to them but be the one to make the judgment. The best advice you can get is by doing research from reputable wines and spirits blogs.

5. Avoid Buying A Collector Bottle

Collector bottles are great drinks, however, their prices are really exaggerated in relation to the quality. Most often, liquor stores charge hire for the hyped drinks because they know people who care about them think they are worth the price. For the same amount of money you buy a collector bottle, you can a have a better quality drink. A good example of a hyped drink that got the Nairobian by a huge wave is Johnnie Walker White Label Game of Thrones. There was nothing so special about the drink only that it was branded Game of Thrones and it was released at the same time with the season eight of that series.

6. Only Buy From Reliable Liquor Store

Don’t rush to your local whisky shop or that rundown corner alcohol store with hopes of getting something premium. When you choose to go the top-shelf way, don’t compromise anything. It may hurt your pocket but at the same time, it is important to ensure you spend coins on a really good and quality bottle of alcohol. Choose a wines and spirits store that you know they get their drinks from licensed supplier to ensure you only get genuine drinks.

7. Avoid Buying Expensive Local Drinks

It is a great idea to support the local industries but at the same time, it may not be the smartest thing to do. Some distilleries will charge expensively for their drinks due to lack of raw ingredients or just because they are not in a position to buy the ingredients in bulk. Scarcity of the ingredients and the lack of the capacity to produce in large volumes are other factors that might drive the prices so high in case the liquor has a huge demand. In other words, the price of alcohol may not have a direct relationship with the quality. The price could be high due to huge demand, scarcity, low production volumes and so many other marketing strategies.

Conclusion

Once in a while it is great to enjoy top-shelf drinks, however, thorough research and precautions must be taken to avoid spending more money on a lesser quality drink due to marketing strategies. There many reasons for buying expensive drinks but the most primary one is the quality of the drink which is measured through the taste and flavours. Therefore, be guided by the taste and let the other factors follow later. Another factor worth noting is that when it comes to liquor, the older the spirit, the better the quality and taste. Cognacs and whiskeys are the ones which are aged for longer periods of time hence the are the most quality drinks. However, the quality of the spirits doesn’t change with age after bottling. You may realize slight differences in the two bottle but that would be as a result of different environmental factors of the different ageing period. Nairobi Drinks stocks all types of drinks including the most expensive alcohol brands. Having been in the alcohol industry for more than five years, we have gained deep knowledge on all types of alcoholic drinks and you can count on us to advise you on the drinks that you will feel the value for your hard earned money. Visit our website today or contact us through our cell number +254 714 798 820 via WhatsApp, text message or call. Better, you can download our mobile app by clicking the link below and keep yourself posted on the latest alcohol deals.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ke.co.nairobidrinks.nairobidrinks&hl=en

 

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