The Bar In Paris Where You Can Try The World’s Most Expensive Whiskey

Want to feel extremely fancy (and a little drunk) in Paris? Head down a quiet staircase to Golden Promise.

A small, shiny plaque outside Golden Promise, a bar specializing in whiskey that quietly opened in January, gives little indication to its existence and what one might find upon entering. But it’s become a serious destination for lovers of brown liquor—so long as they can find it.

First, you’ll walk into La Maison du Sake, past its host stand and then down a discreet staircase to the right. At the bottom, you’ll find a small bar where the likes of Redbreast 12-year or Jura Prophecy are served with various soda choices and shrubs in highballs, with a chaser, or mixed into cocktails with fresh garnishes like kumquat and blackberry liqueurs. While the cavernous drinking den will make you feel as if you’ve arrived at a super-secret destination—you’re only halfway there.

The real action lies beyond a large steel door, which you’ll need to knock on to be buzzed in. (Reservations, luckily, are not necessary.) You’ll then be accompanied through a vaulted corridor lined with rare and limited-edition bottles such as the Dalmore Candela 50-year-old single malt and the now-mythical Karuizawa 1967, many of which look as if they’d been found next to a pile of gold in a pirate ship. These are, indeed, the holy grail bottles, which if purchased for upwards of €1,300, can be stored for you inside a special room, complete with lockers and velvet armchairs. That elite space can even be privatized for groups, dates, or noble visitors such as Prince Albert of Monaco, who has a bottle of 1958 Glen Grant in locker 58—his birth year.


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