Glenmorangie revives Astar bottling

LVMH-owned single malt Scotch whisky distillery Glenmorangie has re-released its Astar expression, aged entirely in "designer" Missouri Ozark casks.

Translating in Scots Gaelic as 'journey', Astar is aged entirely in specially-crafted American oak barrels hailing from the Ozark mountains of Missouri. Crafted from slow-growth oak trees, selected for their porous structure, the barrel staves are left to season in the open air for at least two years to "breathe and soften". Once coopered, the cask are toasted and lightly charred before maturing Bourbon for four years. They are they then emptied and shipped to Scotland to be filled by Glenmorangie. Described by Glenmorangie’s director of whisky creation, distilling and whisky stocks Dr Bill Lumsden as "like the big brother of Glenmorangie Original", Astar was initially launched in 2008 and "much-loved by connoisseur drinkers". It was discontinued around four years later after the designer barrel project was temporarily halted. "Now that I've got a larger quantity coming through we've decided to do a limited release of Astar and we'll see how it goes with people," Dr Lumsden explained. Astar is said to have a sweet and fruity aroma with "fresh, bright, floral" top notes including lavender and carnation. The palate offer notes of crème-brulée, tropical and stone fruits, apricots with vanilla custard, hazelnuts in soft buttery fudge mix, and clove spiciness and toasted oak, followed by honey, almond, coconut ice and traces of aniseed on the finish. The new Astar expression is non-chill-filtered and bottled at 52.5% abv, compared to 57.1% previously. Available in the UK from September, it has the RRP of £74 for a 700ml bottle.