Centuries-old cognac to go on sale in Paris auction

Paris

IF you want a taste of France when Marie Antoinette was still on the throne and don't have a time machine, you're in luck.

On May 9, one of Paris's oldest and most famous restaurants, La Tour d'Argent, will auction off about 100 rare spirits and liquors, including a lot of cognac predating the French Revolution. Each of the three bottles of 1788 Grande Fine Clos du Griffier cognac is estimated at 20,000-25,000 euros (S$30,850-35,550).

"It's very much a paler cognac than one would imagine," said La Tour d'Argent's longstanding British sommelier David Ridgw…