Glenmorangie: The Nectar D’or (Scottish Highland Single Malt Whisky: 12 Year: 46% ABV)
Visual: Gold.
Viscosity: Quite fast thick streaks.
Nose: Prickling. Grapes. Honeyed apricot. White wine. Shortbread. Lightens to sulfur and mead with water.
Body: Strong. Custard. Dried apricots. Light wood back. Dates. Honey. Slightly fiery. Water smoothes. And makes very custard influenced. Brings out more honey and grapes.
Finish: Honey. Apricot. White grapes. Dry oak. Dates. Slight malt chocolate. Water makes much more honeyed.
Conclusion: This is closer to what I had been hoping for from the sample set of Glenmorangie variants. Still distinctly Glenmorangie but taking the whisky in a sweet and refreshing new direction.
Here it is honey soaked and wine grape infused. Very sweet, custard laced and bright. Neat it is fiery like most of the sample pack. It is however much less harsh than the others. Also the weight brings sugary dried fruit, apricots and dates (that last one took me a long time to identify. I kept thinking, kind of like a lighter coloured fig, which really didn’t help. Thanks for nothing brain)
Water quickly douses the fire, and ramps up juicy grapes, honey and custard, You lose some sugary fruit subtlety but gain an almost mead like touch to the spirit. Both forms have their good points, but tellingly neither are particularly flawed which is great advantage.
The reduced fire compared to the other 12 year expression make it much easier to drink, vital for such a smooth flavoured spirit like this. Still whisky, but the clinging sweetness makes it very different to most. It walks that fine line between familiarity and innovation.
A dessert whisky definitely. Mead like and relaxing, Maybe not too much one for introspection but since it manages to be different, smooth relaxed and deliciously sweet I can’t fault it. Wins much more than it fails and stands up well.
Background: The last of the 10cl bottles in the Glenmorangie sample pack I picked up and the one I was looking forwards to most. This one has been aged in Sauternes (A French sweet wine) casks. Since I am a sucker for anything unusual that spoke to me. Glenmorangie have been in general good but unexceptional on their base line, but their unusual expressions have been excellent. Drunk while listening to CDR by Ritualz, an excellent moody set of tracks which I have decided to use to give Nine Inch Nails a reprieve from being looped. Most of his music is free to listen to on his site so give it a look.
