richard paterson

There are some opportunities that only come up once in a lifetime – if you're lucky. You may not know them before they present themselves, but you sure will when they have. Experiences like driving a Ferrari around Italy. Dining on the top floor of the World Trade Center. Shaking hands with the President. Or drinking a whisky that's old enough to have been your father.

The good folks at The Dalmore distillery in the Scottish Highlands were kind enough to oblige us on that last one a few weeks ago. And we've spent at least a few minutes every day since trying to figure out how we'd describe the experience to you, our loyal readers. Follow the jump to read how we found it.

If Jared Paul Stern's $2 Million Scotch Whisky Gift Experience (with Glenfiddich) was a little too rich for your blood, an $85,000 experience with The Dalmore might be just right for you.

We've covered various Dalmore bottles with prices as high as $58,000 over the years, as well as a tasting led by the colorful third generation Master Distiller Richard Paterson (above). With the once-in-a-lifetime Dalmore Experience package, you can combine all that -- taste the best bottles, spend a day with Richard and even get your hands on a custom-blended bottle of The Whisky Dalmore.

The $85,000 price tag gets you first class transportation (including airfare) to the Scottish Highlands, a city and country tour, four nights in a five-star hotel, a private barrel tasting of resting casks, a day of falconry with Richard Paterson, and a bespoke bottle of scotch whisky hand-created for you by Richard himself -- after he gets to know you, you personality and your preferences. The bottle will arrive in a handmade case a few weeks after you return to real life.

This extravagant package is so exclusive, it's only available for those in-the-know. Comment below and indicate your interest if would like to be contacted by a representative (or contact Annie.Scott-at-weblogsinc.com), and the Luxist team will pass along your information. You're welcome.

I recently had the pleasure of attending a Dalmore tasting with the United States Bartender's Guild led by the eccentric and hilarious Richard Paterson, author of "Goodness Nose" and third generation master blender, in full Scottish regalia (right).

Oh my, where do I start? You may remember Dalmore from our past articles about the Dalmore 50 and the $58,000 Dalmore 62 -- and no, I didn't get to taste it -- but this tasting was more about history, and less about money. Paterson led us through the story of scotch, which somehow included:

• Beetles
• China
• Catherine of Aragon
• Christian missionaries
• Christopher Columbus
• "oops-a-daisy"
• Scandinavia
• Femininity
• and Mary Queen of Scots

It was a tale peppered with digs at England, facts about marmalade (Mary-maligned?) and a lot of laughter from the USBG crowd. Then, we proceeded to learn an awful lot about Dalmore.

Some things: Dalmore, which means "big field" was founded in 1839 by Sir Alexander Matheson. It is made in copper pot stills (see gallery) which they like to call "the big bastards," just beyond Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. The scotch whisky is aged in American white oak for a minimum of ten years. Dalmore is currently releasing new bottles with metal detailing, and will be 100 percent converted to the new bottles by October.

"Love makes the world go 'round?" posits Paterson, rhetorically. "Total rubbish. Whiskey makes the world go 'round."

Check out the gallery for more about the tasting itself, and see the video below for a little lesson on glassware.