The Famous Grouse Smoky Black Blended Scotch Whisky, 70 cl

Product Information

The marketing and distributive power of the new company saw Famous Grouse become the highest selling Scotch in Scotland by 1980 and the second highest-selling in the United Kingdom. John Brown established his Perth grocery business in 1800 before moving the premises to Atholl Street seven years later. It was his daughter, Margaret, who married Matthew Gloag. She took over the family business from her father in 1824 and ran it until Matthew took control a little over a decade later.

FINISH: Medium length and ends with spicy notes. It is quite a complex whisky for the price point. This whisky proves again that you don’t have to pay exorbitant prices for good whisky. It has a finish that makes you want another glass. The peat is also not too overwhelming. Even a non-peat-head like me enjoyed this peaty expression. Finish: A very gradual fade down of the cocoa, and a fade up of the spice and oak. So subtle and unexpectedly elegant. 2.0 Palate: Very smooth arrival. Peat, smoke, caramel, vanilla, and tobacco. The flavours are strong enough, but they don’t overwhelm the gentle quality of the whisky.Finish: the sweet-peat palate gives way immediately to a mellow cinnamon spice, itself fading into drying peat. By the time Matthew Gloag died in 1860, the family business portfolio focused mostly on wines and his son, William Gloag, largely continued this trend. While many sources claim the Famous Grouse story began in 1800, the story of Matthew Gloag & Sons didn’t start with the Gloags at all. Rather, it began with the Browns. The following indicators should be taken as only a guide and not a set of hard and fast rules. Some "premium" whiskeys really are quite terrible, while some mass market products are good enough to pour into a decanter and serve to the Duke of Edinburgh. A+: A masterpiece and one of the ten best whiskeys of its type. Above five stars.

Lest anyone be put-off by that color comparison, however, my cat’s a good guy, if sometimes noisy, and the whiskey is a good whiskey, if a bit nosey. For lovers of peaty scotch, like me, that’s not at all a bad thing; in fact, it’s what recommends this particular blended Scotch to those who might otherwise scoff at blends.THE PERFECT GIFT: This award-winning (Gold at the International Wine and Spirits Competition 2022) Scotch Whisky is an impressive gift for someone who appreciates smooth and smoky whiskies. The perfect gift to taste.

Conclusion - A simple yet decent blend... or is it? After the initial glass, I poured a second, this time with a splash of water (as always). We get something very different with this approach.When US Prohibition came into force in January 1920, the Scotch world was dismayed. Economic depression, coupled with high taxation, had forced a high reliance on export markets. However, as was the case with a handful of other blenders, the company’s distribution to markets close to the United States such as Canada, Latin America and the West Indies suddenly shot up. If some shipments made their way into the States, then so be it.

Nose: As the bottle label does it's best to explain, this is meant to be a marriage of peated malt with the Famous Grouse blend, so naturally I was expecting a strong statement of smoke and peat. Not so. The smoke and peat is definitely there, however it is more than accommodating to the brown sugar accompanying it. A compelling balance. 2.0PALATE : Medium body with drying oak, peat and dried fruit. Pepper and cloves with smoke and grainy sweetness. Quite a bit of alcohol heat that needs a few drops of water to soften. It has the green Highland type of peat notes and not the fishy Islay kind of peat. Water tones down the heat but also washes out the peat. It becomes fairly sweet with water. Nose: delicate, smooth, subtle smoke and sweet peat intermingle with honey and toffee. There is a slight citric note as well. B and B-: Good and above average. The best of the mass market whiskeys fit in this category, as do the bulk of the premium brands. A B- is three stars. Finish: Caramel, soft pepper, big vanilla, roasted almonds, and peat, finishing on orange chocolate. Medium in length. Very smooth and soft. Matthew Gloag wins the contract to supply food and wine for the visit of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to Perth