Glenmorangie The Nectar 16-Year-Old Review: 'Vanilla Custard and White Chocolate'

Welcome to the Glenmorangie The Nectar 16 Years Old Review. This is the successor to the Nectar D’Or, now proudly carrying an age statement. In this article, you’ll find out what we think of this Scotch whisky.

Before we taste The Nectar, we should pause for a moment with its predecessor, Nectar D’Or. Inspired by a memory of stepping into a French patisserie and the aromas of freshly baked bread, Dr. Bill Lumsden set out to create a whisky with a dessert-like character at Glenmorangie. He named it Nectar D’Or, which translates from French as “The Golden Nectar.” That description perfectly captures the color of this spirit.

In 2023, Glenmorangie announced that Nectar D’Or would be discontinued, but it didn’t take long for the Highland Scotch whisky maker to craft a more than worthy successor: Glenmorangie The Nectar 16 Years Old.

Nectar D’Or originally debuted as a 12-year-old expression, matured 10 years in bourbon casks and finished for two years in Sauternes. In 2019, it became a no-age-statement release, and now in 2023, Glenmorangie has gone a step further: 14 years in bourbon casks followed by a two-year finish across some of the world’s greatest sweet wines, namely French Sauternes and Monbazillac casks, Spanish Moscatel, and Hungarian Tokaji. The result is a whirl of sweetness and spice on an entirely higher level.

The signature Glenmorangie bottle is tall and slender, with a flared base and a waist that curves inward before opening up at the shoulder. From there, a gentle slope leads to the long neck, topped with a plastic-and-cork stopper. The golden honey hue of the label almost perfectly mirrors the rich color of the whisky in the bottle.

We pour a little into our tasting glass and go hunting for those French bakery aromas. It takes a moment—the whisky doesn’t give everything away at once. The nose is soft and subtle, but with time it opens up to vanilla custard, white chocolate, apricot, and Italian panettone studded with raisins and candied fruit. It conjures a bit of that holiday spirit.

We take a sip and are struck by how delicious and intense this whisky is. It’s sweet with notes of honey, vanilla, and almonds, followed by bright fruit tones of orange and lemon. The finish is long, sweet, and spicy. This is a whisky that makes it hard to stop at just one glass.

Glenmorangie The Nectar 16 Years Old is without a doubt a fitting successor to the discontinued Nectar D’Or, and an excellent whisky to savor after a fine dinner. Its sweet aromas and flavors evoke holidays and Christmas, when we indulge in great food and decadent desserts.

+ Wonderful to see an age statement return

+ Sweet and easy-drinking

+ Big on flavor

- Despite its intensity, we miss some complexity in this whisky.

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