Glenmorangie – Nectar D’or – 93/100 Finally a Scotch that I love!

Price – Discovery Set – $41.99 – (Costco)

Method – 50 ml in a Glencairn – two fingers in a rocks glass

Rating – 93-100 – standard rating scale for wine and spirits

Review –

I’ll start by saying that this is my second 50ml bottle of this scotch.  So far, it is my favorite scotch that I have tried, so when I saw the discovery set, I figured I’d give their range a shot.  I probably shouldn’t review them starting at the most expensive and working backward, but I just really wanted to drink this particular whisky again.  So lets get this train a rollin’ eh?

 

I’ll review both the packaging for the actual bottle and the discovery set for this first review.  The actual bottle of D’or is a beautiful bottle. All the Glenmorangie bottles look pretty much the same with the exception of the color scheme of the labels, so in essence they are all great looking bottles.  I will say that the color scheming of their boxes/bottles make the lighter amber color of the whisky look beautiful in the bottle.  The discovery set is actually great looking.  It has a good looking box that has some sort of magnetic closure that I spent about 5 minutes trying to figure out before giving up entirely and equating it to sorcery.  Over all its set up rather nicely, as you can see.

The nose on this scotch is beautiful.  Though it is a scotch, it doesn’t have any hint of smoke in the nose as i’ve become accustomed to.  It also has a very distinct hit of wine right on top of the alcohol which is very mellow.  There’s a definite grape smell throughout that is offset by some other fruit like peach and apricot. Overall its a very sweet nose and makes me really want to get this dram on my palate.  Also, in the very back there is a slight honey smell that makes it practically drip with sweetness.

The first thing i notice when i taste this whiskey is wonderful round and sweet flavors.  Big hits of fruit and vanilla right off the bat with large plays of malt mixed in.  The finish is full bodied as it can be, going from those beautiful fruity notes on the front end, going through some malt flavors right around the middle, and finishing back with the winey (not whiny mind you).  On the rocks it definitely mellows a bit, which I tend to like , and this case is no different.  I think in the end it just comes down to the fact that I like cold drinks better than room temperature/warm drinks.  The main difference comes in the form of some extra maltiness, which isn’t really a bad thing in the end.  The fruit goes towards the background and the grain comes forward, but its a great scotch either way.  Absolutely still my favorite scotch, and after this second mini, worth a purchase of a big bottle.  This is one of the larger flavor profiles I’ve had for a while, but it’s one I will be hung up on for a while to be sure.

So I guess I’ll give this great bottle a 93/100.  The maltiness, being one flavor thats not a favorite of mine, is what holds it back from going higher on the scale for me, but 93 is still a great score, so I’m happy with it.  Two thumbs up, and a serious recommendation for whisky/whiskey fans everywhere.

This is what the professionals have to say.  Not really any of my tasting notes, but whatever… he’s scottish 😉

Official Site: http://www.glenmorangie.com/our-whiskies/nectar-dor#