AVB
Jesus of Cool, I'm bad, I'm nationwide
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- Nov 14, 2003
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The Famous Grouse Malt Whisky, 10 yo, 80 proof, 750ml, standard tall bottle, tube packaging, about $27.
The Famous Grouse is Scotland's top selling blended whisky and some of thie products have done well in tasting events compared to other blends. This however, I don't believe will do as well.
This malt is the Grouse's first foray into the world of vatted malts (single malts mixed together without any grain alcohol) and they do have a solid base to start with. Macallan and Highland Park are both major parts of this malt but something must happen along the way to change these fine single malts into whatever Matthew Gloag & Son did here.
The nose is reminiscent of Macallan with its sherry overtones and Highland Park with a slighly salty sea air quality, not bad at all. Tasting is somewhat different as a harsh alcohol bite jumps to the fore, surprisingly strong considering this is only 80 proof. A sherried sweeness is under the alcohol but well down in the profile the same with any flavor of the sea. The finish is long and has a slight peat to it.
Now if you have read this far, I will take you Dear Reader to part two of the review. Those that know me and my reviews know that I drink my scotch neat except for a very few 115+ proof ones and then it is usually over ice. Normally I wouldn't have thought about adding water to an 80 proof dram but in the interest of covering all the bases I decided to give it a try. The first attempt was a failure as I added too much water and just drowned everything out. Ahhhhh, but the second attempt was perfect. 2 shots of Grouse and 10 drops of water.
Whatever was wrong with this was immediately fixed. The smoothness of the Macallan and the slightly salty Highland park came out in the tasting. Alcohol harshness shrank and allowed the flavors to come forth. This is more like it, now this dram was worth buying.
Overall, not the best vatted malt available but at 30% less then JW green it has it's place. If you are looking for a mixing scotch like Dewar's or like your scotch over ice, take the step up to The Famous Grouse Malt Whisky.
The Famous Grouse is Scotland's top selling blended whisky and some of thie products have done well in tasting events compared to other blends. This however, I don't believe will do as well.
This malt is the Grouse's first foray into the world of vatted malts (single malts mixed together without any grain alcohol) and they do have a solid base to start with. Macallan and Highland Park are both major parts of this malt but something must happen along the way to change these fine single malts into whatever Matthew Gloag & Son did here.
The nose is reminiscent of Macallan with its sherry overtones and Highland Park with a slighly salty sea air quality, not bad at all. Tasting is somewhat different as a harsh alcohol bite jumps to the fore, surprisingly strong considering this is only 80 proof. A sherried sweeness is under the alcohol but well down in the profile the same with any flavor of the sea. The finish is long and has a slight peat to it.
Now if you have read this far, I will take you Dear Reader to part two of the review. Those that know me and my reviews know that I drink my scotch neat except for a very few 115+ proof ones and then it is usually over ice. Normally I wouldn't have thought about adding water to an 80 proof dram but in the interest of covering all the bases I decided to give it a try. The first attempt was a failure as I added too much water and just drowned everything out. Ahhhhh, but the second attempt was perfect. 2 shots of Grouse and 10 drops of water.
Whatever was wrong with this was immediately fixed. The smoothness of the Macallan and the slightly salty Highland park came out in the tasting. Alcohol harshness shrank and allowed the flavors to come forth. This is more like it, now this dram was worth buying.
Overall, not the best vatted malt available but at 30% less then JW green it has it's place. If you are looking for a mixing scotch like Dewar's or like your scotch over ice, take the step up to The Famous Grouse Malt Whisky.
