Recently in town to launch the Glenmorangie Astar 2017 was its maker Brendon McCarron, the Head of Maturing Whisky Stocks for Glenmorangie and Ardbeg. A chat with him over a glass sheds the stuffy, highfalutin image of Whisky as his boyish enthusiasm for the Scottish spirit shines through. With some helpful tips for appreciating Whisky, McCarron shows us how a dram after dinner might be sweeter than a dessert of ice cream and crème brûlée.
![Brendan McCarron[2].jpg](https://d3h1lg3ksw6i6b.cloudfront.net/media/image/2017/11/30/d4c4160c149742f3973764fd8977713a_Brendan+McCarron%5B2%5D.jpg)
On a scale of one to ten, how excited are you about launching the Glenmorangie Astar 2017?
Before I worked for Glenmorangie, I was a huge fan of the original Astar in 2008. I was working for another Whisky company then and I actually bought a bottle of it. So I’m like a 10 in terms of excitement; for me to say I made this new Astar is massively exciting. I suggested the concept of making the Astar again, and for the past three years I have been sampling our designer casks and putting together these bench plans. I have all these cask samples which I put together to see how they taste until eventually I end up with the final cask selection which I put in front of my boss, Dr. Bill Lumsden, who tasted it and gave it two thumbs up—in fact, he gave me a high five!
Before I worked for Glenmorangie, I was a huge fan of the original Astar in 2008. I was working for another Whisky company then and I actually bought a bottle of it. So I’m like a 10 in terms of excitement; for me to say I made this new Astar is massively exciting. I suggested the concept of making the Astar again, and for the past three years I have been sampling our designer casks and putting together these bench plans. I have all these cask samples which I put together to see how they taste until eventually I end up with the final cask selection which I put in front of my boss, Dr. Bill Lumsden, who tasted it and gave it two thumbs up—in fact, he gave me a high five!
What’s so special about the Astar?
The Astar uses designer casks and what this means is that they are American white oak casks which are used first in the Bourbon industry once, then sold to Scotland. When we use them first in Scotland, it’s called first fill. The Astar uses only first fill casks. Even the Glenmorangie Original only uses the casks twice, other whiskies might use them up to six times. So, the Astar is like the Original on steroids, a pumped-up version of the Original.
The Astar uses designer casks and what this means is that they are American white oak casks which are used first in the Bourbon industry once, then sold to Scotland. When we use them first in Scotland, it’s called first fill. The Astar uses only first fill casks. Even the Glenmorangie Original only uses the casks twice, other whiskies might use them up to six times. So, the Astar is like the Original on steroids, a pumped-up version of the Original.
![Astar Packshot (Native) [MHISWF059396 Revision-1].jpg](https://robert-parker-michelin-hk-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/media/image/2017/11/14/c9f73bda91a14f14975287ae6ef346ea_Astar+Packshot+%28Native%29+%5BMHISWF059396+Revision-1%5D.jpg)
Will you take us through a tasting of the Astar?
First, put your nose as far into the glass as you can—yes, get it right in until it gets wet—and breathe in gently. On the nose, this smells like a very sugary dessert, like crème brûlée, with some citrusy notes. Now take a sip, hold it in your mouth for a second, just enough time for it to cover the taste buds on your tongue and swallow. You’ll get vanilla and coconut which comes straight off the American oak casks. Nose it, taste it neat, two or three times, and then add water. I think Whisky is much better with a bit of water. There are certain flavors in here that are soluble in alcohol but not in water so as the alcohol concentration drops, you can see them coming out—see the oils and the fats swirling around—like a flower blooming. Now you’ll get more of the stone fruit, like peaches dipped in ice cream or vanilla fudge. Take a sip, you’ll get an even more creamy texture now. Even just a few drops of water can change your tasting experience. And practice, practice, practice.
First, put your nose as far into the glass as you can—yes, get it right in until it gets wet—and breathe in gently. On the nose, this smells like a very sugary dessert, like crème brûlée, with some citrusy notes. Now take a sip, hold it in your mouth for a second, just enough time for it to cover the taste buds on your tongue and swallow. You’ll get vanilla and coconut which comes straight off the American oak casks. Nose it, taste it neat, two or three times, and then add water. I think Whisky is much better with a bit of water. There are certain flavors in here that are soluble in alcohol but not in water so as the alcohol concentration drops, you can see them coming out—see the oils and the fats swirling around—like a flower blooming. Now you’ll get more of the stone fruit, like peaches dipped in ice cream or vanilla fudge. Take a sip, you’ll get an even more creamy texture now. Even just a few drops of water can change your tasting experience. And practice, practice, practice.
What is the relationship between the wood and Whisky?
The whole thing is a very controlled process. We own these slow-growing trees in America that grow very straight and tall and after we fell them, they are seasoned for two years so all the flavors are kept in the wood. Once they are made into casks, we heavily toast them and lightly char them, completely in control of what these casks are going to do, and fill them with Bourbon for four years exactly—almost to the second—and this makes the casks as perfect as they can be, only then does the Glenmorangie spirit go in.
The whole thing is a very controlled process. We own these slow-growing trees in America that grow very straight and tall and after we fell them, they are seasoned for two years so all the flavors are kept in the wood. Once they are made into casks, we heavily toast them and lightly char them, completely in control of what these casks are going to do, and fill them with Bourbon for four years exactly—almost to the second—and this makes the casks as perfect as they can be, only then does the Glenmorangie spirit go in.
What happens to these casks after they are used?
Some of them we send to our sister distilleries, some we sell because they are still really good casks. It got us thinking that we can bring this to life a bit more and came up with the Beyond The Cask initiative. We started looking for people who did really skilled artisanal work with oak and gave them some of our second fill casks. So now I own a pair of Finley & Co sunglasses made with cask wood, but my son wears them even better. This year we are doing these sleek wooden bikes with Renovo, a company based in Portland, Oregon and we have something even more exciting in the pipeline for next year, but it’s still a secret.
Some of them we send to our sister distilleries, some we sell because they are still really good casks. It got us thinking that we can bring this to life a bit more and came up with the Beyond The Cask initiative. We started looking for people who did really skilled artisanal work with oak and gave them some of our second fill casks. So now I own a pair of Finley & Co sunglasses made with cask wood, but my son wears them even better. This year we are doing these sleek wooden bikes with Renovo, a company based in Portland, Oregon and we have something even more exciting in the pipeline for next year, but it’s still a secret.
