Ski club served tequila with caustic soda

It boasts the “world’s most extravagant cocktail” at £5,000 a pop and has become the Alpine playground of royalty and celebrities since opening two months ago. But the British-owned Club Coco in the Swiss resort of Verbier is facing damaging legal claims over a humble shot of tequila.

Seven British holidaymakers are seeking compensation from the club after being given caustic soda instead of salt to accompany their après-ski drinks.

The waiter is believed to have mistaken the chemical for salt after it was left on the bar by cleaning staff.



The skiers, from Hertfordshire, felt burning in their mouths and on their lips after drinking their tequilas, Swiss police said. The men were taken to a doctor and later to a specialist in a clinic where some were kept overnight and treated for lesions.

The ski group reported the incident to the police, who inspected the club and took a sample of the caustic soda to a forensic laboratory, where experts confirmed that the victims’ injuries and skin irritations were caused by the cleaning product.

A spokesman for the Valais cantonal police said: “We have conducted a thorough inspection of the club. It was determined that the waiter had mistakenly used the caustic soda as it was left right next to a box of salt.”