Ivy League-Themed Bar Offers $100 Chocolate Martini

Academia, Russell Davis’s Fourth Street cocktail bar touted as “a figurative faculty lounge for an Ivy League university of drinking,” recently added a chocolate martini to its menu that carries the hefty price tag of $100.

The martini is made with special brand of chocolate from Ecuador called To’ak Chocolate, which uses Nacional cocoa, a rare variety of the plant previously believed to be extinct. Bars of To’ak Chocolate start at $280 (though the Los Angeles Times said it was worth it), and the brand recommends tasting it in a “quiet, smell-free room.”

At Academia, which employs music “programmed to sync up with the beats per minute of guests’ hearts” and “ambient scents and pheromones,” the martini is made with Bouvery CV chocolate vodka, Grey Goose La Vanille Vodka, Davis’s own “From the Bar to the Bedroom” chocolate syrup (it’s described on the menu that way), a whole egg, 12-year-old balsamic vinegar, and malted milk powder. The To’ak chocolate is shaved on top as a garnish along with (what else?) edible silver.

“I couldn’t create the best experience for less than $100,” Davis said in an interview with Austin 360.

Academia will donate ten percent of the chocolate martini proceeds to conservation group Third Millennium Alliance, which is owned by To’ak Chocolate founder Jerry Toth (To’ak also donates one percent of its sales to Third Millennium Alliance).

Academia is also looking to mix things up in the new year. The bar, which has outlets at every table, is opening up as a co-working space during the day.

• Austin bar offers $100 martini featuring once-extinct chocolate [Austin 360]
• All Coverage of Academia [EATX]