World’s Most Expensive Bubbly, Fronted By ‘Bored Ape Mutants’, Sells For $2.5M

Pop the champagne! Wait, if you’re the new owner of the world’s most expensive bottle of bubbly, maybe don’t, considering the single magnum of Château Avenue Foch 2017 recently sold for US$2.5 million at auction.

The record-breaking champagne owes most of its hefty price tag to the non-fungible token (NFT) it’s been bundled with, as the winning bidder not only walked away with the celebratory beverage, but also received the intellectual property rights to a Bored Ape Mutant NFT, alongside other collectible cartoon figures adorning the bottle.

Interestingly, a report from The Drinks Business noted that, despite the lot comprising NFTs, the sale was made in dollars rather than cryptocurrency by Italian brothers Giovanni and Piero Buono, who are investors in the burgeoning space. 

According to Delish, the bottle was the brainchild of champagne connoisseur and NFT merchant Shammi Shinh in collaboration with Mig, the artist behind the sought-after Bored Ape Yacht Club collection. 

Speaking to Fortune, Shinh said he was confident there was a market for the launch, having thought that if collectors were willing to spend millions on images of apes, they’d probably want “a high-caliber champagne with an ape on the bottle itself.” 

And if you’re wondering, no, the Buono brothers don’t plan on drinking it.

[via The Drinks Business and Delish, cover image via Champagne Avenue Foch]