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The Watergate Hotel became a notorious Washington, D.C hotspot after President Nixon’s involvement in a burglary that took place there in 1972. But rather than shy away from its scandalous history, the now five-star property is embracing it 47 years later by offering guests a rather unique break-in themed experience.
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Starting this month a five-foot-tall, 700-pound vintage Mosler safe will stand in the lobby with a bottle of 1960 Last Drop whiskey sealed away inside. Guests who purchase the Break the Safe Flight for $200 at The Next Whisky Bar will get one shot to spin the dial and crack the code to retrieve the rare whiskey. And safe will stay put until it’s broken into.
“Beginning this month, with all eyes on the anniversary, we’d be remiss if we didn’t celebrate it with a little mischief of our own,” Pascal Forotti, Managing Director at The Watergate Hotel, said in a statement. “Nixon’s plumbers couldn’t quite crack the safe, so we’re letting our guests finish the job, and enjoy our whiskey collection while doing so for the unforeseen future!”
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So, while you mull over the code with your best cryptologist friend, you’ll get one-ounce pours of three vintage whiskeys: George T. Stagg, Macallan Exceptional Cask 12 Year, and Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique. Now, a $200 bar tab might seem like a lot, but the prize is worth a whole lot more.
A bottle of 1960 Last Drop whiskey goes for thousands as the rare whiskey was discovered after aging for 50-years in a sherry cask. There were only 1,347 bottles left, and more than half were no longer drinkable. The few that remained were bottled by hand, sealed with wax, and made available to only a few patrons including The Watergate Hotel and soon to be a guest of the hotel.
