Guitar_mann
Famous Grouse
Blended — Scotland
Reviewed
September 24, 2020 (edited September 26, 2021)
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.
24.0
USD
per
Bottle
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I would also add, similar to Jameson in Ireland, FG, Bells and Grants are by far the most mass produced and easily accessible blends in UK, you will find them in any dive of a pub/off license across the country. From what I've read the FG blend also used to be of better quality in decades past and built up a brand loyalty among the older uk generations and that's part of the reason it's still so popular today. @ObjectiveWhiskeyVet
I think FG is so popular because 1) you can get 1L bottles of the stuff in UK supermarkets for as little as £16-18 and Scots love a bargain, only Grants and Bells can match it for price over here. 2) Brands like Cutty Sark, Dewars white label, J&B etc aren't stocked in UK supermarkets for some reason and haven't been for years. The only other bottom shelf supermarket options we have here are 700ml bottles Ballantines (100% prefer to all the others, when on offer it's a no brainer) and Black Bottle (haven't tried yet, but heard good things)
I'll be honest I was for the longest time confused why anyone cared about scotch, then a friend gave me a sample of Macallan 18 triple cask and a Johnnie Blue Label, that's when I realized scotch was actually "a thing". The cheapest Glenlivet(I believe) is the Founder Reserve and it's really not bad at all. I would go with that first.
@BDanner. I can vouch for Speyburn Companion Cask. Its NAS but "single barrel" finished in first fill bourbon casks from Buffalo Trace. Mine is a Virginia ABC pick and its light, fruity and delicious. I call it breakfast scotch for fishing trips!
I’ve thought about trying the Speyburn 10, but have yet to pull the trigger.
It's available at supermarkets everywhere in the UK and is one of the cheapest blends you can buy, along with Bell's. Thats why those two constantly via for most popular blended scotch in their country of origin. End of story.
@BeppeCovfefe Thanks. I will give them a try. Ol' Beppe has never led me astray.
@Guitar_mann @BeppeCovfefe Yeah, I don't get why it's such a favorite either. But for the people who like it, good for them finding something so cheap that they enjoy.
a couple of others to try in the lower shelf range are Balantines and John Barr, not saying they are better, just that everyones mileage varies, I was never a fan of the Grouse but know plenty who are.