Get a load of this haute chocolate.
Benjamin’s Steakhouse in Midtown is catering to cash-flush chocoholics with a brand new, ultra-decadent, three-tiered scorching cocoa cocktail — and it runs clients a cool $1,000 per coupe.
Excessive costs are hopefully no impediment to die-hard cocoa nuts.
The extravagantly dubbed Versailles Velour — an opulent concoction imbued with 5 wallop-packing status spirits — is even adorned with gold leaf, like a collaboration between King Midas and Willy Wonka.
The amped-up espresso martini was “impressed by the grandeur and ceremonial indulgence of the French court docket,” or so urged the restaurant’s unique advertising and marketing pitch to The Put up.
The true story, although, is a bit much less posh.
Bartender Victor Dedushaj advised The Put up he was really impressed by a consumer with “beautiful style” who wished to impress his scorching chocolate-loving spouse.
“He mentioned, ‘One among nowadays, I actually need to blow her thoughts,’” the faucet grasp recalled whereas whipping up a Versailles Velour for The Put up.
Dedushaj requested the place he ought to draw the road.
“Go the entire manner,” was the person’s response, and Dedushaj started working.
Dedushaj infused the choc-tail with Mozart Darkish Chocolate Liqueur, Bailey’s Irish Cream, Kahlúa, contemporary espresso, steamed milk and orange bitters, plus delicately heated Grand Marnier Quintessence and Hennessy Richard cognac.
It’s these two last spirits that account for a lot of the gilded beverage’s excessive price ticket: simply 2 ounces of both would usually set you again $400 and between $600 and $700, respectively.
And ever-so-slightly extra affordable 1½ ounces of Hennessy goes into the new chocolate for “correct energy,” mentioned Dedushaj. In the meantime, they add 1 ounce of the Grand Marnier.
The coup de grace is a velvety layer of shlag — German shorthand for whipped cream — that’s topped with 24-karat edible gold leaf for a little bit “further decadence,” per the barman.
“The leaf alone is about 50 bucks a field,” boasted Dedushaj whereas gold-flecking the froth with the precision of a Midtown jeweler. Topping the ostentatious tipple is a equally glam, logo-stamped chocolate that runs $100 bucks a pop.
The drink is wealthy in additional methods than one. When you unintentionally knock one over, a refill might bankrupt you.
This chocolate Fort Knox seems nearly too good to drink, however the blinged-out confection is wealthy, brawny and boozy, evoking a extra upmarket Irish espresso — its end like diving into the chocolate river from “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Manufacturing facility” after embarking on an all-night bender.
Prospects might want to lick the cocktail glass clear, understanding that any stray streak of cocoa in all probability prices as a lot as a complete meal on the restaurant, recognized for its can’t-miss succulent steaks.
Whereas the Versailles Velour is basically a boozy dessert in a glass, Dedushaj mentioned it’s an amazing complement to Benjamin’s wealthy dessert lineup.
“It’s extra alongside the traces of digestif than aperitif,” mentioned the barman, including that it goes properly with every little thing from tiramisu to pecan pie.
Simply don’t pair it with meals which might be “too vibrant in acidic,” he warned, as a result of that might counter their taste.
In the end, Versailles Velour belongs within the pantheon of high-fallutin’ steakhouse specials alongside Empire Steak Home’s gilded beef for New Yr’s Eve and Outdated Homestead’s $200-per-dollop cranberry sauce.
Coincidentally, Versailles Velour just isn’t the costliest cup of cocoa in NYC — or the world, for that matter.
That honor goes to a particular $250,0000 diamond-studded Frrrozen Scorching Chocolate that Serendipity 3 served for Valentine’s Day in 2023. The hotspot extra just lately supplied a decadent romantic dessert final month that contained a diamond valued at wherever from $15 to a whopping $10,000.
One may pause earlier than charging a grand for a scorching chocolate within the inflation age, a time when persons are more and more forgoing consuming and flocking to Chinese language espresso outlets that supply extra bang for one’s buck.
However Dedushag maintains that there’ll at all times be a market for individuals who recognize the finer — if ostentatious — issues in life.
“I consider the individuals will need the very beautiful,” he mentioned. “If the consumer needs Domaine de la Romanée-Conti,” he mentioned, referencing ultra-exclusive wines that may promote for as much as $20,000 per bottle, “they’re going to get Romanée-Conti.”
“For people who find themselves in search of the excellent, there’ll at all times be a market.”
The Versailles Velour shall be obtainable at each Benjamin’s, 52 E. forty first St., and its sister surf-and-turf spot Seafire Grill, positioned at 158 E. forty eighth St.
