I love Scottish heritage and with a love of that comes of love of the national drink....single malt scotch. I'm not going to go into a long winded conversation here about how it's made, there are plenty of other sites that will do just that that. Single malt is an acquired taste, but fortunately there seems to be one for everyone. I generally love the smoky peaty scotches from Islay, such as Laphraoig, my husband loves the smooth sweetness of Glenfiddich , especially when it's been aged in the sherry casks. So when it comes to buying a bottle of single malt for our bar we generally have to buy two.

Yesterday marked the 250th birthday of Robert Burns, Scotlands Bard. Every year, we attend a ritual in our city known as Burns Night, a wonderful evening where we get together with all of our friends, eat a delicious meal beginning of course with Haggis and ending with birthday cake! There are bagpiper bands and handomse gents in swirling kilts everywhere. The dancing is divine and we " Strip the Willow" and Scottish Waltz the night away. Of course like all good Scottish gatherings, we drink!

Everyone at our table brings a flask of their favorite single malt to share and this year was no exception to the rule. We tried Ardbeg, which is deliciously smoky and a cask strength Laphraoig. The Glenfiddichs were all there and lots of Obans, Taliskers and Macallans. I was determined to bring something that no one had ever tried before and when I went to the store and found the Glenmorangie Nectar D' Or I knew that i'd found something special! Nectar D' Or is sweet and smooth with just a bit of the smoky bite that I love ,but all of the sweetness that my husband is crazy about when it comes to a good single malt. The Glenmorangie is aged in Bourbon casks and then when it's mature they finish it in a Sauterne cask. That is where the wonderful sweetness comes from! Nectar D' Or is as golden as it's name would imply and at first sip has all of the honeyed sweetness of a good sauterne.

Make no mistake though , this is a single malt worthy of the name. There's something spicy about it, reminiscent of a wonderful fruitcake with a sugary icing. The warmer it gets, the sweeter it becomes. It just warms my heart to think about a indulging in a wee dram of it! My husband and I both agreed that this was a single malt that we could love together a first! That alone my Nectar D' Or special to me, but try it yourself, don't take my word for it! I think that this is a perfect entre' into the single malt world for anyone who's not tried it before. The sweetness of Nectar D' Or is easy on the palate and the smoky maltiness comes in last, so it's very easy to drink. This is a single malt that would be wonderful served with fruit and cheese for an easy dessert.

For myself , I will always love it the most when sipped from a pewter flask accompanied by the simple song of the bagpipes and I hope that you'll be inspired to try it very soon!