Drambuie

Named after the Gaelic phrase an dram buidheach - meaning "the drink that satisfies" - this venerable scotch whiskey packs a punch that'll sting your throat and water your eyes if sipped too quickly straight. But when mixed as a Rusty Nail or with spring water, its full, rich flavor soothes.

Made from 30 to 40 malt whiskies and three to four grain whiskies, Drambuie is flavored with honey and herbs from a still-secret recipe originally held by Bonnie Prince Charlie. Although the prince lost the battle for the Scottish throne, he won the war as far as we're concerned by giving the Scots a liqueur with a lasting bite.

Fleeing after the Battle of Culloden, the Young Pretender was befriended by Captain MacKinnon of Strathaird, who hid the prince and then helped him escape to France, where he was more appreciated. To thank the captain, Bonnie Prince Charlie gave him the recipe for Drambuie. No one knows just how long the prince had been mixing up the cordial.

For about 150 years after that, the MacKinnon family used the Drambuie recipe only for themselves and friends. It wasn't until 1906 that the family began to sell the cordial. To this day, only the matriarch of the MacKinnon family can know the Drambuie recipe, though we're told there are recipe cards locked away in a few Scottish bank vaults. Every six weeks or so, the ruling Ms. MacKinnon mixes up a large batch of Drambuie behind closed doors. Not even the current Mrs. MacKinnon's two sons, who actually run the company, are allowed to watch this ritual at the company's Kirkliston distillery, outside Edinburgh.