"Oh my goodness… is he doing what I think he's doing?"

That's what I heard the rep from Whyte & Mackay whisper to another rep as Richard Paterson reached into his leather briefcase. His bag looked more like the kind a doctor would carry, not the legendary Master Blender from a 170 year old Scottish distillery, but the small glass vial he pulled from it contained a liquid better than any medicine science could possibly have invented.

THE INVITATION
I had been invited to have lunch with Paterson while he was in South Florida on a press trip. and I jumped at the opportunity. If you're not familiar with Paterson, or "The Nose" as he's known, he's a third generation master blender, has been the steward of the Whyte & Mackay ship for over 40 years, and it states right on his bio, "1. If you drink the whisky too quickly, he'll slap you. 2. And if he sees you holding a whisky tasting glass the wrong way, he'll kill you." So you can understand why I wanted to break bread with the man.

After a fairly normal press lunch to talk about The Dalmore, the two other journalists in attendance decided to leave. I stayed behind to talk with Richard some more and wring as much knowledge out of his formidable whisky brain as possible.

It was during a discussion of rare single malts that he stopped talking, smiled, and put his hand over the glass of scotch I was drinking. That's when he said "I want you to try something," and reached for his bag. When he put the vial on the table and I saw the rep's jaw drop I figured this was something special. But I had no idea how special…

145 YEARS TO MAKE A 62 YEAR OLD SINGLE MALT
What Paterson had placed on the table was a small, unmarked glass bottle containing one of the rarest whiskies ever produced: The Dalmore 62 Year. For the uninitiated, there were only 12 bottles of The Dalmore 62 made, with one left in existence, along with just a handful of small vials of this precious liquid left in the distillery's personal vault.

The draw of this whisky is its unique history. Yes it's a 62 year, but this is a single malt that has been meticulously cared for and nurtured by several generations of master blenders for 145 years.

Paterson told me the whisky was initially distilled and filled to cask on June 10, 1868. Twelve years later in 1880, it was racked to Sherry Wood. Master blender after master blender continually added to the single malt over the years. It was transferred into 3 casks of Dalmore on March 4th 1922, and these were racked in 1926 into custom made Sherry Butts. The balance was then filled into a single Butt of Dalmore aged March 30th, 1939.

After about 60 years, the matured whisky was filled into glass Bonbonnes to stop any further maturation. Further finessing was done from 1999 until the beginning of 2001, and on August 12, 2001 it finally, and officially, reached 62 Years Old.

The last time a bottle went up for sale was in Singapore in 2011, where a Chinese businessman paid S$250,000, or $201,418 in US dollars. Why would someone pay more for a bottle of single malt than for a beachfront condo? I was about to find out.

"THE MOST EXPENSIVE THING YOU'LL EVER HAVE IN YOUR MOUTH"
After explaining the history of the vial in front of me, Paterson carefully opened it and poured a small amount into each of our glasses. He handed me mine and said, "This is going to be the most expensive thing you'll ever have in your mouth." To which I responded, "God I hope so."

He told me there were two things he wanted me to know: First, to take a sip and leave it in your mouth for a while. Savor it. Let your tastebuds fully enjoy the smoothness, warmth and complexity. And then he said, "This whisky will be with you when you leave here today. It will be with you tonight after dinner. This whiskey will be with you when you wake up tomorrow morning, after you brush your teeth, and even after you leave work tomorrow evening."

He was right.

TASTING LIQUID GOLD
There's no other way to explain how a whisky of this magnitude tastes than to say it's like liquid gold that's been infused with honey and chocolate, then sprinkled with cinnamon and clove. "Explosive" would be a good descriptive word for the feeling, but that would belie the smoothness. The effect of decades of careful aging has mellowed this into an almost silky whisky that coats the inside of your mouth with the kind of warmth that comes from a fine cashmere sweater.

This was by far an spiritual spirit experience. And one that didn't end there. Paterson wasn't exaggerating—the 62 stayed with me. That night as I ate dinner hints of the 62 mingled with the flavors of my meal. And this happened into the middle of the next day, a pleasing flavor reminder hitting me every so often. I guess when a whisky has spent that much time maturing, it doesn't want to be just washed away that easily.

SO, IS IT WORTH IT?
The question I hear anytime I tell this story is always the same, "Would you really pay 6 figures for a bottle of whisky?" And that's a tough question to answer. While I'd kill for another sip of The Dalmore 62, I wouldn't mortgage my house to do it. But questions of worth are always relative. I've had similar discussions over mind-bogglingly priced Euro supercars. To those that can afford to drop a couple hundred racks on a toy or status item will do so. And to those of you reading this that can do that, I highly recommend you find that bottle of 62 Year Old. And invite me over to show you how to properly enjoy it.