(FORTUNE Magazine) – A sip of Bowmore 1957, a 38-year-old single-malt Scotch, starts in Islay, Scotland, where the whisky began its "big sleep"--breathing in sea mist and peat at the 220-year-old island distillery. As the journey moves east, subtle flavors emerge: Persian peaches, Southeast Asian mangos, California citrus and almonds. Then on to Kentucky (where the bourbon cask was constructed in 1950) for the big oak character. Of course, first-class travel isn't cheap, and neither is this limited-edition hooch. It retails for $2,000 a bottle, and of the 861 produced, only 100 are coming to the U.S. Break the price down to $60 per dram, and perhaps it's less intimidating.

--MARK BORDEN