Famous Grouse

For blended Scotch, I pretty much alternate between Cutty Sark and The Famous Grouse. I'm not a real fan of Dewars or Johnnie Walker. While the price difference between Cutty and FG is about $6, the difference in taste and texture is greater than that. Cutty has delicious fruit flavors, heavy with crisp pear. Unfortunately, it has smoke and a bit of peat that sometimes overwhelms the light flavors. I am not a fan of peat. The FG has much less smoke and and no real peat. But, its flavor spectrum is much more narrow and lacks crisp fruit flavors. If the FG is on sale when my bottle is empty, I will generally buy it and use it as a mixer with soda or ginger in the summertime for a cool refreshing highball. My rating is the same for both due to price. If CS was $24, I would definitely pass. If The FG was $18, I would buy it and live with its astringent thin taste without much complaint. Speyburn 10 yr is light and refreshing and only $30 in NC. As rare as I drink a blended scotch high ball, I think I might just buy that in lieu for $6 more. N - Alcohol, malt, toasted bread, slight smoke. P - Light and crisp, toasted bread and biscuits cooked over a campfire, light fruit, but overall a bit thin. F - Short, crisp, dry astringent finish. Overall not offensive, but not a lot there either. It is so hard to believe that this is overwhelmingly a favorite in many areas of Scotland...What a puzzle.