* Review transferred from the listing for Naked Grouse, now that an appropriate listing has been made. Nose: Sherry, fruit and a tiny hint of smoke. Palate: A smooth but firm entry with a little bit of spice. In the development it becomes stronger with sweet and spicy flavours. Finish: Medium, sweet and lightly spiced. From mid-2017 The Naked Grouse has been a blended malt marketed as the Edrington Group’s answer to William Grant's Monkey Shoulder. Don’t confuse this with the older Naked Grouse, which was a scotch blend. The seal around the neck of the bottle will clearly say either “blended Scotch whisky” or “blended malt Scotch whisky”. Reformulating it as a blended malt did not change it a great deal as it is still based on Highland Park and Macallan malts, but of course previously it had a core of grain whisky. I’m not certain which one, but the Edrington Group owns North British, so it was probably that. There is honey, light fruit and a touch of smoke from the Highland Park, stronger fruitiness, spice and sherry from the Macallan. It’s not so much what the whisky has gained from becoming a blended malt but what it has lost, which is that typical “ethanol” and slightly bitter/metallic taste that comes from mass-produced column still grain whisky aged in tired casks. The removal of this has given the whisky a softer and more relaxed palate, and a better finish. It’s an OK malt blend, and for me it’s better than Monkey Shoulder (which has a more toffee character) at the same price. It lacks the delicacy and clarity of the lower range Compass Box blended malts, but is equal to their blended scotchs. The only fault I found was that after the level got down to half-way it started to oxidise strongly, and became a little sour and bitter. The honeyish tones disappeared. It’s one to use up fairly quickly as a mixer. “Average” : 77/100 (2.5 stars)