Famous Grouse whisky was founded in 1896 by Perthshire grocer & wine merchant Matthew Gloag and is now based at The Famous Grouse Experience within Glenturret distillery.

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Photo by kind permission of Alan Jamieson

Famous Grouse, 40% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich gold, not quite amber

Nose: Malt, hint of nuts, very slight rubber & leather. Clean & quite fresh.

Palate: Very smooth and creamy, slight hint of liquorice.

Finish: Long.

Overall Impression: Far from complex, but very smooth, creamy and really quite drinkable. A good solid everyday blend.

Black Grouse, 40% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Dark gold, almost amber.

Nose: Quite strong, but pleasant rubbery & leathery peat, hints of malty ice cream in the background.

Palate: Smooth with an initial burst of gentle peat which fades slowly.

Finish: Medium to long

Overall Impression: Gentle peat in a typically Grousy way. Very pleasant, I like it.

Snow Grouse, 40% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Snow Grouse is meant to be savoured cold, very cold. In fact straight from the freezer! So for this tasting I will sample it twice, firstly at room temperature and then from the freezer.

1. Room Temperature

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Light (9 carat) gold

Nose: Very fresh with a hint of leathery, floral detergent.

Palate: Watery mouth-feel with very fresh, spirity liquorice.

Finish: Medium

2. From the freezer

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Extremely pale yellow

Nose: Icy something, but too weak to really distinguish.

Palate: Icy and most unpleasant.

Finish: Short to medium (thank goodness)

Overall Impression: Oh dear. Served at room temperature it was spirity, fresh and not exactly my cup of tea. Served from the freezer where it had sat for almost a week it was positively disgusting. A huge disappointment to what is otherwise a jolly decent range of whiskies.

Famous Grouse, Scottish Oak finish, 44.5% ABV

Bottled in Nov. 2005, bottle No. 6664 of 7092 bottles

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich gold, lightly glowing amber

Nose: Toffee, slightly scorched, sweet wood with hints of fruity red wine.

Palate: Rich and smooth with spicy red wine. A fruitiness concentrates on the very front of the palate whilst a sweetness hogs the rear of the palate.

Finish: Long, intensely sweet and spicy.

Overall Impression: I do like the flavours of this one, but at the same time it has a slightly strange sweetness concentrating right on the back of the palate which I find a little off-putting in combination with the spiciness. If ever there was a sweet & sour whisky, this was it!