It was the memory of entering a French pastry shop that prompted Glenmorangie head of whisky creation Dr Bill Lumsden to create the brilliant Glenmorangie The Nectar D’Or. Sadly, in 2023 Glenmorangie made the announcement that Nectar D’or was being discontinued, but we weren't upset for too long because the Highland Scotch whisky brand has created a more than fitting successor: Glenmorangie The Nectar 16 Year Old
It's a single malt that was aged for 14 years in bourbon casks that was then finished for two more years in a new combination of great sweet white wine casks. This includes French Sauternes and Monbazillac to bring notes of orchard fruit and buttery pastries, Spanish Moscatel for sweet, syrupy dessert flavours, and Hungarian Tokaji barrels for nuttier, honeyed elements.
Decadent with notes of baking brioche, baked apricot, vanilla pudding, toasted almond, and hints of chocolate truffles.
Rich and sticky with swirls of honeycomb, orange syrup, and brioche, balanced by a soft drumbeat of spice and lemon zestiness.
The finish is long and lingering, with some lemon rind, baking bread, and a touch of honeycomb
It’s been a while since I found one of the 15 year old stragglers left over from when they used to do a 15 Y/O version, you can imagine my utter joy and surprise when I found out they have standardised the Sauternes finish at 16 Y/O. It’s way way better than the 12 Y/O, the flavours are more concentrated and bigger and bolder and just a massive overall improvement over the older versions, even the rare to find 15 Y/O. I’m sure you’ll agree they have improved this dram massively. Thank you G.
