In the luxury business, a lot of things sometimes don’t make any sense. Take Louis XIII cognac, for example – a bottle of the stuff costs anywhere between $2000 and sky-is-the-limit, depending on what edition it is. Laying down that kind of money for a bottle of booze might seem a little crazy, but plenty of people with lots of money will disagree. It has to be said, to be fair, that this cognac isn’t exactly moonshine – the contents of every bottle are a blend of 1200 different kinds of eaux-de-vie (essentially fruit brandy), some of which are 100 years old, aged in casks that are hundreds of years old. The bottle itself is a Baccarat decanter, to add further heft to the proceedings.
In a very literal celebration of the 100-year tradition of Louis XIII, owners Remy Martin decided to make a film, written by and starring the strange-but-brilliant John Malkovich and directed by the maverick Robert Rodriguez. In addition, they decided to make the waiting list to see this film (a vision of the future) the small matter of 100 years. The finished movie (which was shot on film and will require an old-school projector to exhibit) has been put in a bulletproof safe with a 100-year countdown timer, along with a bottle of Louis XIII. There’s no code to open the safe, and not even Rodriguez has seen the film – it was sent out for VFX to be added on his rough cut and then put in the safe (presumably the VFX people will be tortured painfully if they give the game away in their lifetimes). On November the 18th, 2115, the film’s premiere will be held in Cognac, at the Remy Martin estate, for which 1000 silver-plated invites have been sent to select individuals, to be handed over to whichever descendant they choose. It’s all very elaborate stuff, as you can see – if you want a sneak peek, check out the trailer here