A Sherried Scotch blend from one of the world’s leading brands.
The story of the Gloag Family goes back tot he early 1800s when Matthew Gloag had a grocery store in Perth, Scotland — importing wine and purchasing local Whiskies to resell. Two generations later, his grand-nephew — also named Matthew — took over the family business and blended a custom Scotch he called The Grouse. His daughter designed the now famous grouse label when they renamed the Whiskey “The Famous Grouse” in 1905. The brand was sold to Highland Distillers in 1970 who devoted production and marketing resources, building it up to one of the most popular Scotch Whiskies in the world by 1980 and receiving a Royal Warrant from the Queen in 1984. Today, The Famous Grouse sells more than 2 million cases per year across a tidy range of blended Scotch spirits.
The Famous Grouse Winter Reserve might be our personal favorite of the line. It’s still a blend from some of the same distilleries as the flagship product — Highland Park, Glenrothes, Macallan, etc. But in this case they have chosen a selection of the more Sherried Single malts to blend. The spirits are married together in second-fill Sherry casks for up to six months more. So where The Famous Grouse standard blend has a more even, neutral tone, Winter Reserve leans toward rancio and spice. We say, think of it as a lighter, more youthful Balvenie. This makes it a great value.
Smartass corner:
The grouse — meaning the bird — is a large family of game birds found across the northern hemisphere, from Japan in the east to Canada in the west. The red grouse shown on the label is closely identified with the Scottish Highlands.
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Category
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Style
Blended Scotch Whisky
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Region
Scotland
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Country
Scotland
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Alcohol
40%
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Distillery
Famous Grouse