Image from the Atlantic

I can’t decide which first experience appalled me most about Armand de Brignac – seeing the gaudy bottle or tasting the very average contents being peddled for $350. As I’ve had plenty of bottles that are grossly overvalued, it was likely the packaging; a branding scheme which seemed to be dreamed up one afternoon in a boardroom full of rappers. It turns out that this might not have been far from the truth.

Zack O’Malley Greenburg’s article today in the Atlantic, Jay-Z’s Great Champagne Hustle, is a very entertaining exploration of the connection between Jay-Z and Armand de Brignac and the background of one of the most rapped about luxury products. Definitely worth a read… except, if you’ve tried the link above, you’ll notice that the page no longer exists. It seems that shortly after I was sent the link this AM (cheers @ShaunLayton) and had a chance to read it over, the article was pulled. Does Jay-Z’s legal team really work that fast? Anyways, here’s a re-post of it on another blog My Global Hustle.

Cattier’s $70 Antique Gold on the left (production ended in 2006) and the $300+ Armand de Brignac on the right (made by Cattier, beginning in 2006).

I pray that he never opens a single bottle of Selosse or Egly-Ouriet or Cedric Bouchard (or anything else that I like to drink and have a hard enough time doing so) in any of his music videos. As far as I’m concerned, Jay-Z can keep his Armand de Brignac racket going.

We still love you Jay-Z…

The original version, because as the YouTube uploader says, rap must not be censored… see if you can count how many young ladies get Cristal showers.