Glenmorangie Nectar D'Or - Floral, honeyed; light as feather yet rich and delightful

Bill Lumsden of Glenmorangie distillery pioneered the practice of unconventional secondary wood cask finishing for Scotch over a decade ago. It has become a general trend - to the benefit of us all. Nectar D'or is the from the more refined second generation of secondary wood finished whiskeys from Glenmorangie. It's a honey - right in the price/performance sweet spot. In this case Sauterne casks are used for aging after bourbon oak.
Nose is sweet and floral with tons of vanilla and honeysuckle. Entry is rich and sweet with a bit of citrus and cerial/treacle sugar. Midpalate bursts with honey and honeysuckle, mitigated by an herbal, almost lemony aspect. Adding a tiny drop of pure water sends the perfume aspect skyward. I have never tasted a more floral scotch whiskey. The vanilla notes from the oak come to the fore in the extremely long and complex finish. There are wood notes, a creeping dryness in the finish that adds sophisticated to sweet honeysuckle front loaded presentation.

This is not a macho scotch. It's utterly French Baroque in it's fancy gilding, filigree and floral exuberance. Totally delicious, unique, and special. A tour de force from Lumsden and a bargain at the price.

*****