Рубрика: General

The last production model built under the direction of Enzo Ferrari, it shows no sign of slowing as an appreciating investment. The last production model built under the direction of Enzo Ferrari, it shows no sign of slowing as an appreciating investment.

Unveiled in February, the b/1.3r is limited to 350 examples and priced at $10,200. Unveiled in February, the b/1.3r is limited to 350 examples and priced at $10,200.

Collectibles are emerging as the biggest source of auction activity — and new buyers are behind the charge. 

It’s no secret that the art market has had a rough couple of years, particularly at the ‘big three’ auction houses: Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Phillips. ArtTactic, a research and analytics company, reported that art sales at those firms fell 44 percent in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period in 2022, blowing a $3bn hole in revenues.

Global economic uncertainty, raging conflicts, soaring interest rates, and a cooldown of post-pandemic speculative buying have all contributed to collectors tightening their purse strings. And while the marquee autumn sales in New York hinted at a rebound, the real growth story has been happening elsewhere: quietly, lucratively, and in the Middle East.

That growth engine is luxury. Since 2019, sales of handbags, watches, jewelry, and other high-end collectibles have climbed steadily, to the point where luxury is threatening to rival art as the auction houses’ financial backbone. If current trajectories hold, it may soon surpass it, fundamentally reshaping what the auction business looks like, and who it is for.

Sotheby’s offers the clearest case study. In December, the auction house projected $7bn in total sales for 2025, with $2.7bn coming from luxury alone, up 22 percent on 2023. It is the fourth consecutive year Sotheby’s luxury division has cleared $2bn, while private luxury sales have ballooned by 350 percent year-on-year. Much of that momentum is coming from the Middle East, where the luxury market was valued at around $13bn — and growing — by the Dubai-based Chalhoub Group.

See also: A Rare $20m Rembrandt Is Being Sold at Auction – for a Remarkable Reason

While this figure pales in comparison to the US luxury market, for example, which is valued at $115.5bn for 2026 by Mordor Intelligence, Sotheby’s is one of the few international auction houses operating in the UAE. Its $1bn deal with Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, ADQ, has given it a powerful foothold in the region, culminating most visibly in Abu Dhabi Collectors’ Week. The event generated $133m from outdoor auctions last December in the UAE.

When I asked CEO Charles Stewart at Collectors’ Week if luxury could eclipse art, he was pragmatic. “Our DNA and heritage are very much rooted in fine art,” he said, “but the addressable market across luxury categories — cars, jewels, watches, wine, spirits — is far larger than the art market.” While he sees luxury potentially surpassing art in sales, Stewart stressed that the two remain distinct parts of the business.

As for whether booming luxury sales might also change the Sotheby’s identity, Stewart was firm. “No, absolutely not,” he said. “We’re not choosing between art or luxury — we’re choosing the client. Top art collectors also buy watches, wine, property, and cars. It’s client-led, not object-led.”

Christie’s is telling a similar story. In the first half of 2025, luxury sales rose by around 30 percent year-on-year. In December, the house said it expected luxury to account for close to a quarter of its projected $6.2bn in 2025 sales. It, too, is pushing into the Middle East, becoming the first international auction house licensed to operate in Saudi Arabia in 2024, even as Sotheby’s stole a march by holding the kingdom’s first international auction in February 2025.

Last year’s headline-grabbing results help explain the appeal: a $10.1m Jane Birkin Hermès bag, a $30.2m Fabergé Winter Egg, a $25m 9.51-carat blue diamond. Beneath the trophy lots, however, is a more consequential shift; most business is done online, and luxury has become the primary entry point for new buyers at both Christie’s and Sotheby’s. A large chunk of those buyers are Millennial and Gen Z. They are shaping the future of the auction business, and they have a thirst for luxury collectibles.

The next generation of bidders are less reverential about category boundaries and more comfortable treating watches, handbags, and jewelry as both cultural objects and financial assets. Digitally native, brand-literate, and globally mobile, they’re shaping auction houses around themselves rather than vice versa. Whether or not they graduate to buying Picassos, they are already redefining what the future of the auction market looks like, and that future is glossy, global, and unapologetically client-led.

From a show-stopping, cliff-hugging hideaway in Provence to an art-filled
Hebridean hunting lodge. 

These drinks capture Japan’s most fleeting season, says Alice Lascelles. 

Cherry blossom season in Japan is one of the wonders of the world – but it’s not just a feast for the eyes, it’s a delight for the nose and palate as well. For those few short weeks, sakura blooms are in and on everything; infused into sake, blended with tea and soda, on rice and cakes, and tweezered into cocktails.

The traditional way to toast the season is with a cup of sakurayu, or cherry blossom tea, made by steeping salted cherry blossoms in hot water to create a delicate infusion. If they’re mixed with tea leaves then it’s more often known as sakura-cha.

Sakura-cha is on the menu at SABO, a tea room by renowned designer Shinichiro Ogata, that’s housed in the stylish Hanamurasaki ryokan in Ishikawa. Made from a blend of cherry blossoms and sencha from a local tea garden, it’s served from early April «until the cherry blossoms fall. It is a quiet and elegant way to welcome the arrival of spring,» says owner Kohei Yamada.

(If you prefer your tea unsalted, Rare Tea Company also does an excellent unsalted tisane made from rare ‘Rumjache’ blossoms hand-picked in the Himalayas, which gives the tea subtle aromas of rose, cranberry, sweet hay, and marzipan-y bitter almond.)

Japan does a great line in drinking vinegars, and for a really refreshing, non-alcoholic highball, I love sakura-infused rice vinegar, mixed 1:4 with sparkling water. The sweet-and-savory recipe by the 300-year-old vinegar maker Tobaya Suten is particularly good – produced seasonally, it sees rice vinegar steeped with blossoms for six months and then seasoned with mirin, sugar, and soy sauce.

See more: The Best Restaurants in Tokyo

Sakura’s delicate notes also marry well with sake – and Hayashi Honten’s seasonal Hyakujyuro Sakura Junmai Daiginjo is a treat. Palest rosé, with notes of pear, red apple skin, wild strawberry, and a mouthwatering, saline finish: it’s intense but elegant. It’s produced in very small quantities, just once a year, so get it while you can.

(The Hyakujyuro series of sakes is named after a celebrated early 20^th-century Kabuki actor from nearby Kakamigahara, who donated 1,200 cherry trees to line the banks of the city’s Sakai River, and which you can still see blossoming today.)

See also: The Japanese Island You’re Not Visiting (But Should Be)

Cherry blossom doesn’t just take place in Japan, of course – it’s also famously good in Washington DC, particularly around the Tidal Basin which is planted with cherry trees that were gifted to the city by Tokyo in 1912 as a token of friendship. To celebrate the blossom season this year, several of the city’s top bars have teamed up to create a two-week Festival of Friendship, during which time they’ll be offering snacks and drinks with a Japanese twist.

Silver Lyan has created a Sakura Vesper, made from blossom-laced Roku gin and a sakura pickled onion; while the Vietnamese restaurant Moon Rabbit is serving a whisky cocktail with a shiso shrub. At Jose Andres’s inventive barmini, meanwhile, you can sample a Hibiki Harmony whisky cocktail with a matcha ‘air’. (The Festival of Friendship runs from March 25 to April 12). 

If you’re in London in the next fortnight, make a beeline for the 14-seater Waltz bar in Old Street, where owner Gento Torigato will be serving a seasonal sakura cocktail made with sake, shochu, a dash of bourbon, and cherry blossom liqueur, prepared with all the style and precision of the very best Tokyo bars.

The sake-focused Kioku bar at Raffles London is also offering a trio of blossom-themed drinks, including a sakura-and-red-shiso gimlet, a Martini made with sakura tea-infused vermouth, and a highball of rhubarb, fermented strawberries, and homemade sakura distillate.

A good addition to your cocktail cabinet, meanwhile, would be a bottle of Mancino Sakura Vermouth which marries traditional vermouth botanicals with the gentle florality of Kyoto cherry blossoms and Italian violets. Great with gin or vodka, in a Martini, or simply sipped neat, over ice.

Dutch Design is going to great lengths to ensure comfort on the 10 upcoming Sea Rover superyachts. Dutch Design is going to great lengths to ensure comfort on the 10 upcoming Sea Rover superyachts.

It may seem like a dream to own an 18th century French château or a storied Italian villa in the countryside – but how glamorous is it really? 

Where to sip in style, according to spirits journalist Millie Milliken. 

Now I’m not one to question the wisdom of one of the most admired food (and drink) writers in modern history, but I wonder if Bourdain may have been staying at the wrong places.

When a hotel bar is done deftly, it is one of the most rewarding drinking experiences there is. From The Savoy’s American Bar in London, once frequented by Marilyn Monroe and Neil Armstrong, to the invention of the Singapore Sling at Raffles Singapore, hotel bars play an outsized role in the cocktail industry’s richest history.

But what makes a hotel bar good goes far beyond its famous clientele and signature serves. They have an unenviable task when it comes to keeping guests happy: from introducing tourists to the flavors and hospitality of a new city, to giving locals something unexpected or unmissable, all while providing sanctuary for solo business travelers, regular guests, weary families, and VIPs.

Sign up to the World of Fine Spirits newsletter for more spirits stories. 

A good hotel bar should root you geographically while simultaneously taking you on a journey; it should showcase unfamiliar local ingredients, while also making its guests feel at home; and it should make those who want to be anonymous remain so, while in the same breath make them feel completely, unabashedly seen. It’s a deftly choreographed dance that can only score a perfect ten when a bar team has practiced it over, and over again.

I’ve been lucky enough to watch that dance numerous times over the last 12 months. From my hometown of London and a Eurostar journey away in Paris, to a three-day trip to Bali, a pilgrimage to Singapore, and a riotous time in Mexico, it’s been a pleasure to remember some truly good hotel bars around the world.

American Bar, Gleneagles, Scotland

I’ve been lucky enough to stay in some of the world’s most extraordinary hotels, but I never tire of a trip back to the timeless beauty of Gleneagles. Soaring ceilings, rich oak paneling, mohair furnishings – the Glorious Playground has never looked so good in recent memory and having been the backdrop for my parents’ wedding over 30 years ago, it holds a special place in this drinks writer’s heart.

I’ve shot some clays, petted some Highland cows and held birds of prey at arm’s length during numerous visits, but a stay is never complete without slipping through the velvet curtains of its American Bar. A homage to 1920s glamour (when the hotel was built), it feels good to dress up and lower yourself into one of its plush sofas for a deftly turned classic cocktail, beautifully presented signature serve or, of course, a dram from its vast but cleverly curated whisky list. I’ve raised many a glass of all three to my lineage.

Kioku Sake Bar, Raffles at The OWO, London

You’d be forgiven for not associating London’s Whitehall with the proverbial ‘good time’, but recent years have seen welcome new additions thanks to the headline-worthy opening of Raffles at the OWO. Part of that opening also saw the arrival of Kioku, a small but, in my mind, perfectly formed listening bar which also happens to house Europe’s largest collection of sake.

There are lots of intimate nooks to enjoy any of the 140 bottles on offer, but a cocktail at the curved bar, set to the sound of a rotating roster of vinyl, is my favorite way to enjoy this bar, often solo. Served in carefully sourced and swoon-worthy glassware, they feature homemade ingredients like shiso leaf absinthe, wasabi distillate, and gingo sake vermouth alongside familiar (and unfamiliar) Japanese flavors in varying cocktail formats. Be sure to grab some snacks too which come from the renowned restaurant upstairs.

See also: Upscale Parties Call for These Champagne Cocktail Recipes

CopperBay Lancaster, Hotel Lancaster, Paris

Fancy drinking in a hotel that was home to film star Marlene Dietrich for three years? Well, you can: the Hotel Lancaster (which recently celebrated its 100th birthday) is where you’ll find CopperBay Lancaster, just a stone’s throw away from the Champs-Elysees. The cocktail menu pays homage to the hotel’s most notable guests from its past, while also celebrating French ingredients from Cognac and Armagnac to pastis and the bar’s own gin too. It’s worth noting that I had one of the best non-alcoholic cocktails I’ve tried here: the Monsieur is made using bitters, Crodino, thyme water, and black balsamic vinegar. Anywhere that stocks magnums of green Chartreuse will always hold a special place in my heart too.

Sora, Rosewood Phnom Penh, Cambodia

As far as bar views go, I can’t say I’ve seen many better than the one at Rosewood’s Cambodian property. Sora soars on the Phnom Penh skyline – level 37, to be precise – of this beautiful behemoth. Inside, well-pitched lighting turns the lofty main room into a dark but airy space, while outside, a spacious deck is the ideal spot for those without a propensity for vertigo to take in the Mekong River and more.

As ever, I’d opt to sit inside at the bar (or if in a pair, in the armchairs that face outwards onto those views) and chat to the young and passionate bar team, especially when it comes to learning about the local spirits and ingredients that pepper its cocktails. Its current menu, Alchemy of Anime, blends Japanese and Cambodian inspiration, with flavors like sesame, peanut butter, and banana bringing something comforting to the classics.

The Hudson Rooms, Capella Hanoi, Vietnam

One of the perks of having a sibling living in a foreign country is the obligatory annual trip to visit. And when that trip is to Vietnam, even better. I’ve had the chance to watch the cocktail scene evolve in giant-shaped footprints since my first visit nearly ten years ago, and Capella Hanoi’s rooftop bar, The Hudson Rooms, is now a regular stop off on my visits.

Taking 1920s Grand Central Station as a visual starting point, the corner wrap-around bar is the perfect perch for starting with champagne and caviar as the sun sets on the city of the soaring dragon, before digging into its train travel-themed cocktail menu of cleverly elevated classics, or exploring the whisky and oyster pairings. Oh, and if you think I told you about its secret whisky bar Track 61, no I didn’t.

See also: Interesting Wines To Order At Dinner, According To Sommeliers

Origin Bar, Shangri-La Singapore, Singapore

Tucked away from city’s more metropolitan areas, Shangri-La Singapore feels akin to a Bond villain’s lofty lair just off Orchard Road. The lobby of this concrete jungle-esque hotel is as dramatic as it gets, yet walk past the living walls, Herculean pillars and stone art features and you’ll find the quiet beauty of Origin Bar. Taking old-school travel as its aesthetic jumping off point, it takes inspiration from local flavors and history to guide its cocktails, with ingredients ranging from kimchi and lychee, to calamansi, Thai tea and nacho powder. Cocktail presentation is serious business here too, so be ready for theatrics. On my visit, the entire bar team was made up of women – a sight that always makes my heart sing.

Beach Club, Desa Potato Head, Bali

You got up at 5am for sunrise sound healing, spent the day exploring Balinese temples, and now it’s time to listen to the lapping of the Indian Ocean with a well-deserved drink in hand. May I suggest, then, that you head to Desa Potato Head, a tropical oasis which puts sustainability at the forefront of everything it does. The cocktails are no exception, with the bar team working with local farmers, artisans, and distilleries to create a ‘circular’ program where ingredients are used across different drinks to reduce waste but never compromise on flavor.

While every single one of its five outposts serves its own distinct purpose, it was the Beach Club which surprised me the most on my whistlestop visit early last year. Its unassuming bar turns out some exceptionally refreshing cocktails to a remarkable number of people over the course of the day. I loved the homemade non-alc Banana Coffee Tonic and the Bina Colada, which uses mesoyi, nutmeg, and pineapple-infused arak. Be sure to try some snakefruit, too.

Zapote Bar, Rosewood Mayakoba, Mexico

On one of my many trips to Mexico to research my recently published tequila book, I was lucky enough to head to the coastal region of Playa del Carmen to stay at the extraordinary Rosewood Mayakoba. Lush surroundings, seamless service, abundant natural beauty and sensational produce make this a favorite of the hotel portfolio’s properties. But what really cinches it is the bar.

Zapote Bar, named after the eponymous tree native to the Yucatan province, might just be the most fun I’ve ever had at a hotel bar. The design is tactile, clean, living-room-esque and a tribute to local artisans; its cocktails are clever riffs on the classics, and an agave tasting room is where it’s at for local spirits; but it really is the hospitality and atmosphere whipped up by the team that made me rethink what a luxury hotel bar can be.

See also: The Surprising Return of High-Proof Spirits

Silver Lyan, Riggs Hotel, Washington DC

Nobody does it quite like Ryan Chetiyawardana (aka Mr Lyan) and his first permanent Stateside outpost was celebrating its fifth anniversary when I visited during an alarmingly swampy July last year. Luckily, I felt like one of the cool kids after descending into the former bank vault at the Rigg’s Hotel in DC where Silver Lyan – resplendent in mid-century furnishings – turns out the Lyan standard of unorthodox, mind-bending serves (its current menu uses ingredients like Riesling ink, fish sauce sherbert, and, um, concrete).

I’d die happy if the ethereal Silver Apple Martini (using vodka, clarified green apple, Capreolus ‘1000 Trees’ eau de vie and bisongrass) was the last cocktail to pass my lips, and the jello shots with champagne chasers are also inspired. Tater tots, crispy cold bottles of Miller High Life, and a charming team, too? Make all my cheques out to Silver Lyan.

Champagne Bar, Four Seasons at The Surf Club, Miami

Just when you think you’ve had your fill of palm trees on a trip to Miami, may I suggest you head to the Champagne Bar at the Four Seasons where they beautifully complement its domed ceilings, conservatory-style furnishings, and wooden accents. Dating back to the 1930s, The Surf Club has been a playground to some of the world’s most well-drunk figures: Winston Churchill, Elizabeth Turner, Noel Coward. Now, it lets the likes of me into its resplendent Champagne Bar, where it houses Miami’s largest collections of champagne, while also turning out clean and classic cocktails. It leans into its beach-adjacent and playful locale, with fun serves like Cosmos, Palomas and an Espresso Martinis, but its Martini list is also worth a visit.

Although the musical artists’ go-to Missoni Suite at Hotel Byblos is no longer available, there are plenty of reasons not to mind. 

Part of the family-run Groupe Floirat, Hotel Byblos was built in 1965 by Jean-Prosper Gay-Para, reportedly to impress Brigitte Bardot. Despite multiple renovations, the property still feels like a small, yet hedonistic, village of sun-washed buildings, linked by winding cobbled paths – including a direct route to the famed late-night Les Caves du Roy. 

Its latest surge in relevance, though, comes from elsewhere. The hotel’s signature accommodation, the Missoni Suite (now renovated and named The Presidential Suite), was name-checked in Drake’s 2022 song Middle of the Ocean – “I’m in the Missoni room at the Byblos” – which has recently gained viral popularity via TikTok, pulling a new, younger set of eyes toward the Côte d’Azur fixture.

It’s worth noting that even before TikTok, the space had cultural weight. The suite occupies the former balcony bar seen in a 1971 photograph of Mick Jagger during his honeymoon with Bianca Jagger, and more recently, in 2020, appeared in season three of Sky Atlantic drama Riviera, starring Julia Stiles, Rupert Graves, Poppy Delivigne, and Jack Fox.

As the Missoni Suite, the space was certainly deserving of attention. Originally unveiled for the hotel’s 50th anniversary, the two-bedroom suite was designed by Rosita Missoni and Mireille Chevanne. Interiors leant heavily, almost dizzyingly, into the Maison’s signature zigzag patterns, with the entirety of the space dressed in a 1970s palette. 

This summer, it will be joined by eight new suites designed by Laura Gonzalez. This set adds to the bold, color-driven schemes she debuted in her 2024 collaboration with the hotel, brought to life in a palette of Mediterranean blues. Elsewhere, four rooms in the Bastide have been redesigned by Wanda Jelmini. 

The updates will stretch beyond interiors – guests of Hotel Byblos will also be able to enjoy a new fitness centre, with equipment by Technogym. The menu at the Byblos Spa by Sisley is expanding too, adding a men’s treatment, plus reflexology and lymphatic drainage treatments.

A new on-site boutique near the pool will also launch this season, extending the hotel’s e-commerce offering with limited-edition pieces and collaborations. These include a third capsule with Orlebar Brown, alongside designs from Pinel & Pinel and Hadoro. For something fun and collectible, the shop will stock Les Caves du Roy shot glasses, finished in black grained leather with copper detailing.

Originally designed by Yale-trained architect Judith Chafee, the modern desert marvel was recently updated by local designer and gallerist Casey W Smith. Originally designed by Yale-trained architect Judith Chafee, the modern desert marvel was recently updated by local designer and gallerist Casey W Smith.