Generously_Paul
Famous Grouse
Blended — Scotland
Reviewed
August 28, 2018 (edited November 21, 2018)
So I’ve been hanging out with my neighbors more and more this summer. They are all beer drinkers and like to drink pretty much nightly. As I’m a whisky man I needed to find a cheap bottle to consume in higher quantities so that I didn’t start blowing through my expensive single malts. I bought a few cheaper bourbons, as well as this bottle of blended scotch that I got for $23. Well I drank half the bottle on the first night with the neighbors, poured a couple samples, and that left me with a few drams to use for taking notes.
Famous Grouse claims to be Scotland’s No. 1 favorite blend, using high quality malts from Macallan and Highland Park. Bottled at the minimum 40% ABV and surely chill filtered with colorant added making it a golden straw.
The nose has heavy cereal notes up front with lighter grain notes, followed by rich (although subdued) sherry. Strong raisins, floral notes, sherried fruits - grapes and red apples, and the barest thread of smoke, but not peat. The grain components are so well integrated they are barely noticeable. Menthol/mint, a bit nutty with pecans and Brazil nuts, some cocoa powder and honey. Vanilla, hay and buttery biscuits.
The palate has a strong raisin presence, juicy and fruity. Vanilla cream, hay and coconut/colada. A slight harshness but nothing that takes away from the enjoyment. White grape juice, peaches, toffee and butterscotch. Quite good.
A light bodied mouthfeel that is creamy but thin, mouthwatering.
The finish is medium short with raisins, vanilla and a bit of grain alcohol.
I’m completely blown away by this unassuming blend. The quality is here. The flavors are here. The VALUE is here. The Macallan influence is clear, HP less so. Great to enjoy whenever and wherever. Good enough to bring out for friends, cheap enough to use as a mixer, but more importantly, good enough to sip and thoroughly enjoy. It’s probably a 3.5, but it’s sleeper status and value easily pushes it to a 3.75, maybe even a 4. Highly recommended.
Cheers
23.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@cascode I just had another dram a couple nights ago and it was still very pleasant on the nose. The palate was a bit less enjoyable but it was from a different bottle so maybe some batch variations
@Generously_Paul Hmm, well I need some more mixing blend, so I'll give it a go again, but when I last tasted this a year ago I thought it was pretty horrific.
@GeologyJack. I remember making this one equation on VFM... can’t seem to recall it anymore. But it was some combination of a numerical rating score and price.
@MayhemInMayberry I do believe that bottle has made its way to a recycling center, but based on the amount of dust that was on the bottle when I bought it, I would say it was at least a year old
@Generously_Paul Does your label include a bottling date, if so can you share?
Yes, this will be my drink of choice after blowing all the money on the other stuff. Murray gives it good grades.
Thanks for this review. As much as I would like to “run with the big dogs” I’m really all about VFM. They keep this one on the bottom shelf at my liquor store but I believe I will grab a bottle this weekend. Makes me wonder about Costco’s Kirkland branded Scotch.
@ScotchingHard I’m looking into getting the 16 or 18 or both if I can score them cheap enough
You should try their aged expressions. I found a bottle of Grouse 18, which is all single malts for $60. There's gotta be old Mac 18 in there.
@Scott_E, @PBMichiganWolverine, this is no Macallan 12 here, but it is something that is elegant in its light delicate nature. Well rounded and fairly well balanced even though it means a little on the sweet side.
@Generously_Paul at $20, this might be worth just the experiment to try
@Generously_Paul I concur with @LeeEvolved in that if I was a gambling man, I would have bet you would have been much less favorable.
I’m with you; this might not be fancy, but it’s pretty darn good for what it is...and at $20ish, it’s a solid value.
Wow, I wasn’t expecting a glowing review like this. Maybe I’ll have to buy a pint of this just to experience it and post up a review. Great review, Paul. Cheers.
@Erogers100 the value is so good it’s a no lose purchase. I fully plan to buy another bottle with my next purchase.
I’ve been wanting to try this low cost blend and will make it a priority after reading your review. Incidentally, I recently bought a bottle of Black Grouse and have consumed roughly 1/3 of it but haven’t written a review yet. I’m going to make that a priority, too. By the way, sneak preview: it will be pretty favorable, as I think it rates high in the VFM category. I just haven’t had the opportunity to drink it critically yet.