Famous Grouse Smoky Black

Very loose hints of smoke and weak peat. If you are after islay features, shy away from this. Dont get me wrong. Black Grouse can be a decent choice for casual evening drinks, probably with ice, some drops of water or mixers.🤞🏼

The nose is butterscotch and briny salt. The peat manifests itself more as tobacco ash: it's smoky but not harsh. Buttery coffee creamer. A sulphuric/broccoli note briefly rears its head, before reverting to its butterscotchy origins. The first sip is milk creamer, a little buttery, but morphs into vanilla creme. There is a spicy cinnamon in the middle of the palate. There is a more earthy peat character with a peppery sting. A distinct plum/prune/stone fruit savoryness poker its head in. The finish is a metallic/astringent first wave. The creamer flavor sticks throughout, with a little zing of citrus spice. The raisin/plum (it must come from the barrels) adds a satisfying finish.

Got a deal on it, and had realistic expectations on the level of quality I think. I enjoy the standard Famous Grouse with a mist of absinthe, but I can't say I'm pleasantly surprised. The "peated" (smokey) quality doesn't agree with me, even though I really have enjoyed the peat forward scotches I've had in the past (Ardbeg, Laphroaig). Perhaps its the salty sweet character that others note that has me thinking it's drinking cheaper than I expected. I need to try this on another day, because I'm slightly sickened by the flavor of this first taste.

The nose is not smokey which is a unique experience for me when drinking peated whiskey. Instead the nose is slightly sherried. I have to breathe pretty deeply from my tumbler to catch anything. Bam! The palate is a bit salty and sweet and here is where the smoke makes itself known. The finish is smokey and a little peppery. It’s a fairly smooth whiskey, but for a budget peated whiskey I’m a little more of a fan of Teacher’s. I love Famous Grouse Ruby Cask — it’s delicious and I had high hopes for Smokey Black, but I’m a bit disappointed.

The nose is surprisingly malty with some light peat. It's a sweet peat and malt on the palate also but with a sweet grain type of sweetness. Finish is fairly nice but much of the same flavors. On further visits I get a sickly sweet finish that I don't care for. For the price it is punching above it's weight and is preferred over JW.

N: Honey, dark red fruit, and smoke. Little tea, spice, and bread too. Nothing pops too strong, good or bad. I get a pretty strong ethanol smell when nosing that doesn't seem noticeable on a casual sip. I guess don't try too hard with this one. P: Bounces between rich honey and a hot, watery and spicy tea flavor. There's some caramel and vanilla, of course. It softens into a vanilla sugar cookie flavor. Finish has a tongue coating light spiciness that's sort of an unusually hot cinnamon (which is still not that hot really). Doesn't last long. I get no smoke on the palate. Kinda odd for the smoky line extension. Meh, it's okay. I don't have strong feelings about it, good or bad. That's probably the goal here.

Grassy, minty and grainy with slight peat, char and spices on the palate.