Famous Grouse

Smokey, peatey. Smooth and soft. Minimal burn on finish . Overall excellent. Sweet but not overpowering.

I’ve avoided bottom shelf blends for quite a long time in my scotch whisky “career”. I peruse them when I’m in the liquor store, but my eyes always seem to drift back to top shelf, single malts. It seems like every time I end up sampling a cheap blend its because a friend or new trade buddy sends me some. Thanks to my friend @Generously_Paul, I get to finally try “the Grouse”. This stuff has some solid pedigree in the mix: Macallan and Highland Park supposedly play a leading role in this mid-level blend. This is still bottled at the bare minimum 40%, and I’m sure it’s chill filtered and has added color- along with a lot of water. The nose immediately indicated Macallan to me. I love the stuff and I’d like to think I could pick it out no matter what it’s mixed in to. There were light fruits and an interesting grassy note, but surprisingly there was no smoke. That’s not a deal breaker, but considering there’s HP in here I fully expected some peat or smoke. The palate was nice and sweet, sherry grapes and raisins with an underlying note of unsugared, corn flakes cereal. I taste the slightest hint of smokiness, but admit I could be imagining it because I just keep thinking “Highland Park”. It’s very creamy and smooth, even mouthwatering. There is nothing offensive here at all. The finish is borderline non-existent. No heat, no harshness, no “whisky”- if you catch my drift. The finish is boring. Watery and bland. This is where I feel like I have to dock it some points. I need to feel like I’ve just drank some whisky- and sadly, I don’t. I guess that’s the ultimate goal of cheap blends- give the drinker alcohol, but make sure they don’t feel like they’ve had anything. Overall, I love the Macallan feel up front. The sweetness is mostly kept in check so it doesn’t feel like a dessert dram. I also get the feeling it would mix well in any number of good cocktails. The price point is very good, too- less than $30 a bottle. Gotta like that. Thanks again, Paul. I really enjoyed this one. A solid 3.5 stars. Cheers.