'World's most expensive' pint of Guinness is being sold to punters at Cheltenham Festival

What's the most you've ever spent on a pint? And would you be willing to forego the accustomed bag of cheese and onion for another drink?

With the cost of living crisis, everything from household bills to the weekly food shop has gone up in price, and one thing that a lot of frequent punters have noticed is how the cost of a pint has increased in recent months and years.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the average retail price of a pint of lager in the UK is currently £4.23, which is 50p more than it was three years ago.

Your average British pint is a quid more expensive than it was 10 years ago, and half of that price increase has occurred in the last three years.

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And if prices continue to rise at the current rate, we could be looking at the average price of a pint in London costing £9.31 in 2024 and £9.99 in 2025. Horrifying.

Anyway, it looks as though we will be seeing prices even higher than that this week as the Cheltenham Festival kicks off.

The four-day event runs from today (14 March) to Friday (17 March), in what is seen as the biggest event on the horse racing calendar.

While at the races, a lot of spectators will have a bit of a booze-up with their pals to celebrate that one horse coming through.

According to The Sun, punters are expected to drink a staggering 220,000 pints of Guinness across the four days - that's a lot of sore heads this week!

And if the Irish favourite is your alcoholic beverage of choice, then you will be able to toast your winnings to the 'world's most expensive' Guinness, which is on sale at an eye-watering £20 a pint.

Online bookmaker Fitzdares is launching the drink which is described as a 'perfect blend' of English sparkling wine and Irish stout.

Trevor Meeks / Alamy Stock Photo

The drink is called Club Black Velvet and is a completely 50:50 mix.

At the racecourse, it will be available in Fitzdares Club, while it will also be available as a tipple in sister venues in the Cotswolds and London’s Belgravia throughout the week.

Fitzdares CEO William Woodhams said: "Every year there is more and more controversy around the cost of Guinness at the Cheltenham Festival and frankly we were bored of it.

"So, to gently rib the complainers and celebrate recent political manoeuvres we have created the world’s most expensive - and finest - pint of the black stuff with a mix of premium English sparkling wine and Guinness brewed in Dublin.

"Isn’t it the perfect way to celebrate free trade between our two great nations and the Windsor protocol? The Irish visitors to Cheltenham can afford it with their strong currency. Yours for £20."