Black Grouse (Discontinued)

Very well balanced between fruity and earthy notes. Good competition for Johnny Walker Black Label. Shame this was discontinued.

Smoke af

Round. Smoky

Tried this to see how different it is than the "smoky black". I'm not sure if one replaced the other, and page 1 of google didn't clarify 'Smoky black' I already reviewed, so this will be some comparisons. The tl;dr of that review is raisin nose, MILD peat, drinkable but very forgettable This one trades down on the nose. Grease, wood varnish, chimney smoke, horehound candy, sweet orange. Presence of peat in nose is enough to make a peat head a lil thirsty. Palate actually has enough peat to justify "black", even "smoky"! Unfortunately there isnt much else. Buttery shortcake, brandied raisin dryness is about all I got besides peat. I like peat, so this is great, but will honestly say it's not much else going for it. Mouth is short but with a definitive pepperiness->salinity. Very light and easy drinking, no off-putting heat or ethanol anywhere. At a higher proof this probably was great-but-boring sipping. At this proof it's just plain snooze-worthy. I'm giving it 3/5 because it's really drinkable, just nothing noteable.