Glenmorangie Astar - 2017 Release Whisky 70cl

I liked it. Granted, it is not as good as the original, but let's face it that one is tough to beat. Lots of vanilla, and a bit of fudge, the cask comes to the fore. No water needed here, it's is round and smooth, the vanilla and fudge notes from the nose appears again on the palate, with a bit of pear. Yes, I like it.... Balance.

Ignore bad reviews. Cask strength and "too light" "too vanilla". Wrong refined made multiple top 5 2017 for a reason.

great dram, don't bother with the bad reviews

It is a little hot at 105 proof but I liked that I got to taste the flavors and spice before the heat kicked in. A very reasonable dram. I like the original better but this will keep you warm.

I still have a few bottles from thge original release, kept them because I loved it so much. Side by side it's not only the 57% of the first release that makes the difference. It just more complex, more drinkable, even at higher strength. Get some of the older bottles if you still can. Thay are worth it.

Meh, don't bother. save your money, get the Bacalta, Dornoch, Duthac, Tayne or even Milsean instead. I'm a BIG fan of the Morangie (I have 10 expressions in my collection) but this is definitely the worst. No complexity, no depth. Vanilla, more vanilla, a bit more vanilla, hint of chocolate, a little pepper.

It's ok but not at this price. The "cask strength" is hiding the lack of flavour.

The taste of a Whisky is always a very personal thing. For me, when sipping Astar neat, at room temperature, I found the charred oak and hot, harsh alcohol overpowering.
However, sip Astar from a tumbler full of ice straight from the freezer and it morphs into something quite different.
The ice cools the fiery heat of the alcohol and softens the hard oak, allowing the sweetness and flavours of honey and vanilla to spread out across your palate, along with spicy ginger and black pepper. It is smooth, almost unctuously smooth – a dram to mull over quietly on a long winter evening in front of a log fire.
The original, even more alcoholic Astar was very popular with serious whisky enthusiasts, and I suspect that this will be too. For myself, it’s very different to my usual preference, which tends towards the fruity, Christmas cake end of the spectrum, but, for an occasional change, I’d be happy to keep a bottle at the back of the fridge.