Glenmorangie Astar

MaltActivist thanks for the review. Interesting notes.

Another super score for this one-- making my experience look yet farther off the map. Perhaps it deserves a return. The folks at ScotchIt seem to love it too, so perhaps I should acquire an American batch/750ml bottle.... Do you have any year/batch info?

Interestingly, Glenmorangie responded to me that it is not considered a Private Edition, which left me wondering what it IS considered...

@vanPelt you're right the Astar does not form part of the Private Editions range - my bad! The PEs are Sonnalta PX, Finielta, Artein, Ealanta and Companta.

I just wrongly assumed that it was part of that series.

Strange... I've gotten a series of contradictory suggestions about this one. Some tell me to avoid it completely then I read reviews like this that have my mouth watering. I'm a bit confused, but also a bit enticed. Thanks, @MaltActivist. Added to the wishlist!

@hunggar I almost feel like I have to revisit it one more time given so many bad perceptions. Maybe I've missed something? Let me get back to you tomorrow.

@MaltActivist , Actually you seem to be in the majority. If you see my own review thread, you'll see that SquidgyAsh, Tandem, and I all perceived something soapy and minty; and rigmorole and I both found tang plus a touch bitter. But beyond those few of us, many reviews are quite positive, so I'm afraid there is certainly some serious batch variation. And perhaps unfortunately, after reading another review like yours, I might find myself taking the risk of getting a second bottle...

For example, here, the Astar is the #6 malt: reddit.com/r/Scotch/…

It's nice to see that some enjoy the Astar for I was one that did not...I found it nothing more than a 'mouth burner' with little flavor...I needed to add water, and when I did - all I got was the Glenmorangie 10 yr Original.

Wow, seems like I'm in possession of the only decent bottle of the Astar. I looked for some markings but couldn't find any to indicate date.

It's a travel retail 1L bottling bought two years ago from Dubai Duty Free. So I'm going to guess it's a 2011 / 2012 bottling.

Any other way of identifying the batch?

I'm with the positive camp on this one, though my bottling was a while ago when it was a mere £60 a bottle. As for flavour profile it 'does what it says on the tin' just better than anything else I have tried previously and since, so yes well worth 92 points IMO

@MaltActivist , I still think you're in the majority, in terms of having decent bottles. Mine is a 70cl bottle, probably 2012. I'm suspecting that the 1L (travel retail) bottles and the 750ml bottles (US) may be different, but it's just a guess. I would also guess the travel retail bottles are older (before 2012), because I think they have not been marketed there for a few years. But it is frustrating to experience the downside of batch variation... I remember seeing it in the Top 50 of this website (even top 25?) a few years ago, and so developed high hopes.

@FMichael , I had read somewhere that Glenmorangie has been modifying the 10yr Original by gradually integrating Astar manufacturing methods. So it could be that the Original has just become better-- and so the Astar seems less substantial in comparison?

Interestingly, at this moment the Glenmorangie website actually DOES list the Astar as part of their Private Edition range. I guess they needed a way to categorize their myriad lineups....