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Usain Bolt treated to £80k fizz at Movida
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt was treated to an £80,000 bottle of Champagne on Saturday night after breaking the world record for the 4×100-metre relay.
Usain Bolt celebrates winning his third gold with the “Mobot”. Credit: Owen Humphreys, AAP
A 15l Nebuchadnezzar of Armand de Brignac Champagne, known as Ace of Spades, was brought to Bolt’s VIP table at Movida nightclub in Mayfair.
The bottle, the equivalent of 20 75cl bottles, has a retail price of around £80,000.
“Usain Bolt was given a Nebuchadnezzar of Armand de Brignac Brut Gold NV,” said Movida spokeswoman Martina Pokorna.
The Champagne house only produces one bigger size bottle – the 30-litre, 40-bottle Midas, which has to be ordered a few days in advance at nightclubs.
Bolt, who scooped three gold medals at the London Olympics, was joined in the VIP area of the club by Jamaican sprinting teammate Yohan Blake, who Bolt affectionately calls “The Beast.”
The pair partied with boxer Amir Khan, double Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah and swimmer Rebecca Adlington, who picked up a bronze medal in London
The fastest man on earth was spotted earlier that night DJing at the Puma Yard bar on Brick Lane before heading into central London.
Chinawhite’s £2,012 cocktail
Across town at Chinawhite nightclub in Piccadilly, gold medalists have been treated to a cocktail priced at the Olympic sum of £2,012.
American swimmer Ryan Lochte and South African swimmer Chad le Clos are among the recipients of the cocktail, which contains Hennessy Paradis Imperial Cognac and Luxor 24-carat gold leaf Champagne.
Lying at the bottom of the glass is a pair of handmade 18-carat gold rings.
“The golden cocktail is our special creation, and we have given some away.
“Every night we have a presentation for the gold medalists, and it has been very well received,” said Chinawhite director James Spallone.
On arrival at the club, gold medalists are handed a gold 75cl bottle of Moët & Chandon Brut Imperial.
Reallly – Bit too much bling for the austerity Olympics. What a shame that these superstar athletes want to be associated with such decadence.
Truly frightful. London 2012 not only made me proud to be British (for once) but it embodied some of the best things about comradeship, the human spirit and fair competition. This story had opposite effect and brought me down to earth with a bump. As well as demonstrating the crassness of Movida, China White and – by implication – their clientele, there is something inctredibly distateful about corrupting world-class athletes – and the Olympic ideal – with tawdry stunts liike this. Shameful and repulsive. But then, part of the motivation behind hosting the Olympics was to showcase London as the world’s Number One destination. I guess that includes being the top destination for tasteless vulgarians with tons of cash.
Count me out, please.
I think you’ll find that Luxor is NOT champagne but a sparkling wine. My understanding of the rules governing champagne production is that the moment you put in anything that does not come from the grapes, or is otherwise authorised, the resulting wine no longer has the right to be called champagne. That would certainly include gold leaf, regardles of the number of carats, and that would make Luxor a sparkling wine.
£2,012 seems even more expensive for a cocktail that doesn’t have champagne in it
To call it champagne, it must be produced in the Champagne province of France (I believe they are called provinces, I’m not from there). I don’t think it has anything to do with adding things to it because they must add chemicals for carbonation purposes also. In response to the others, I think it is completely justified that these athletes party a little bit. They have worked so hard to be at the top of the world competition. It isn’t like going to a practice after school. It’s a rightful celebration.
CHAMPAGNE is the sparkling wine made, under very strictly controlled conditions and regulations, in the region known as Champagne, for those who wish to adulterate it with diamonds or gold leaf, good luck to them, but adding champagne to other ingredients does not mean it is not champagne. An Aston Martin painted pink is still an Aston Martin.
CARBONATION is not what happens to champagne, CO2 is a by-product of the malolactic fermentation which while under pressure dissolves into the wine until you take the cork out and release the pressure. There are no chemicals added during champagne production.
Champagne is the appropriate drink for celebration, they deserve it, maybe those who did not win need it all the more?! But the more gaudy, tasteless excesses as described above are just that, it does the champagne nor the drinker any favours.
Some misinformation here. The sparkle in a bottle-fermented wine (of which Champagne is one) is not the result of malolactic fermentation, which has already happened when the wine goes into the bottle. It is the result of liqueur de tirage, a mixture of sugar and wine which triggers a third fermentation in the bottle. I do agree, however, that given the comments in the national press about the refreshing humility, dedication and perseverance of the Olympic gold-medal winners, associating them with the kind of vulgar bling more appropriate to footballers and pop singers does nothing for the reputation of the competitors, or for the supposed integrity of Champagne. And considering that Amir Khan and Mo Farah are both practising Muslims I’d be surprised if they joined in such a trashy event.
Yes that is what I was thinking of- liquer de tirage. Malolatic acid comes from the fermentation of the wine I think. I also don’t think the champagne is put under pressure. It is just left to ferment.
Wow, such terrible crassness, firstly presenting the athletes with a gold covered moet brut imperial, not even a good champagne. Secondly the luxor fizz, I’m going to be emailing several of my Champenois friends as I’m sure there’s a trademark being misused here.
Also, while most Champagne undergoes malo,it, like John Radford points out, has nothing to do with the secondary fermentation in bottle that provides the fizz.
FYI Luxor is like a cocktail… It’s made with Champagne and edible pure gold 24K!