William Grant & Sons USA, New York City, is expanding its ultra-premium Elit by Stolichnaya vodka line with a $3,000 limited-edition offering. The Himalayan Edition will be the first in the Elit pristine water series, offering only 300 bottles for global distribution.

The water used for the first edition of the series has been sourced from the Himalayan Mountain Range. It was formed from melting snow and housed in an internal reservoir found beneath layers of rock. The water is then combined with all-natural wheat harvested from the Tambov region in Russia.

The ingredients are mechanically filtered to remove imperfections while maintaining the water's natural composition and characteristics, the company says. Finally, the vodka undergoes a freeze-filtration process to ensure no imperfections remain in the final liquid, it adds.

The Elit pristine water series bottle is made from hand-blown Bohemian glass, which is sealed with a gold-plated decorative ice pick. Each bottle is housed in an individually numbered hand-made walnut-carved chest.

The Himalayan Edition contains 40 percent alcohol by volume. The company will reveal a new water source and the next edition in the Elit pristine water series in 2012.