9. The $10,000 Martini

Photo courtesy Algonquin Hotel

The Algonquin hotel’s Blue Bar has been serving what it calls a ‘Martini on the Rock‘ since its $3 million renovation in 2005, a martini of the customer’s choice with with a diamond, its single ‘rock,’ placed at the bottom. The drink costs $10,000.

Ordering the ‘$10,000 Martini’ is coincidentally not as easy as walking up to the bar. In fact, reservations for the drink must be made at least 72 hours in advance and requires a meeting with the hotel’s in-house jeweler to discuss the diamond in question’s size and clarity.

The drink has been served since 2005 and was proposed by hotelier Anthony Melchiorri, who told The Boston Globe that the martini was meant to increase coverage of the hotel’s re-opening after being closed for 29 days while its renovations were underway. The first order of the $10,000 martini was for a wedding proposal.