£5,000 jar sparkles for marmalade containing gold leaf

-- Packaging Digest, 4/1/2007

Jam and marmalade maker F. Duerr & Sons, Ltd. marked its 125th birthday by creating a very special jar of marmalade costing more than £5,000 ($8,900). The marmalade is packed with amazing ingredients, including gold leaf, vintage champagne and some of the world's most expensive whiskey, as well as the finest oranges from Seville. The commemorative 1-kg jar contains £3,450 ($6,160) worth of Dalmore 62 whiskey, £348 ($621) worth of vintage champagne and £120 ($214) of edible gold leaf, all encased in a specially designed, hand-crafted jar, itself valued at £1,100 ($1,964). Spread evenly, the product costs about £76 ($136) per slice of toast, with each mouthful priced at an eye-watering £11 ($20). The rare Dalmore 62-year-old malt whiskey used in the marmalade sells at a whopping £32,000 ($57,000) a bottle.

The exclusive vintage champagne by Pol Roger, is a Cuvée Winston Churchill 1996, supplied by Vineyards of France. James Sherry of Vineyards of France says, "The choice of champagne is fitting because Churchill enjoyed a full English breakfast with toast and marmalade, and his favorite first tipple of the day was a glass of Pol Roger champagne, which he famously justified by saying: 'In victory, deserve it. In defeat, need it.'" Rockware Glass, Ltd. (www.rockware.company.uk), West Yorkshire, England, produces the jar. Its innovations and NPD manager, Chris Todd, created an elegant crystal glass decanter. Richard Duerr at Duerr's says, "We've been creating marmalade for 125 years. We believe we have the most expensive jar of marmalade."