Kategoriarkiv: Famous Grouse

Famous Grouse, Scotland, Unspecified

Famous Grouse Sherry Cask Finish – Christmas Release (2023)

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Scotland Unspecified
Type: Blended
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 2/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sticky sweet and fruity. At first there’s a lid of sticky sweet sherry syryp with vanilla and assorted dried red fruits. When it settles, it reveals harsh grain spirit as well as a fresher fruitiness, malt and toffee. It’s very top heavy and the extra maturation never really feels attached to the other parts. The sherry does give some seasonal spices and fruits which help it along. This is a decent nose for a cheap blend. It’s a major cover-up though.

Mouth: It starts out very mild with heavy vanilla and fruit syryp notes up front and oak, together with a slight bitterness, out on the edges. The fresher fruitiness starts in the back and then slowly wraps around the center part. it’s quite sour and metallic in the back. It doesn’t take long before the harsh grain spirit overruns most of the palate and everything becomes rather unpleasant. There is a spicyness to be found but it takes a long time before it arrives. There is a malty and fruity side within but it’s not enough to fight the unpleasantries.

Finish: The start of the finish is quite flat with just a touch of spicyness. The heavy vanilla notes carry over and do a good job of covering up the unpleasant spirit underneath. It doesn’t take long before the facade breaks though. The late finish is just a tedious oakiness, harsh grain spirit and a thin veil of sherry surrounding everything. This is a not-so-good whisky. The cover-up is blatantly obvious. It’s just famous grouse with a sherry clown mask on top. It certainly improves on the original though.

Additional information
The Grouse Brand was released in 1896 and two years later the name was changed to The Famous Grouse because of its popularity. Edrington generally uses Glenturret malt in its blends.

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Famous Grouse, naked malt, Scotland, Unspecified

The Naked Malt (Naked Grouse)

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Unspecified
Type: Blended Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 2/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a thick layer of vanilla and dried fruits and berries. There are raisins as well as tropical fruits and lemons. There’s also cinnamon, a whiff of tobacco and a piece of sponge cake. Underneath, the distillate comes through as rather flat and uninteresting. There’s a metallic note coming through as well. It’s extremely top heavy and the sherry cask covers everything else. This is a nice enough nose, but it’s just a big fruity and sweet lid on top of a flat whisky.

Mouth: It starts out with the distillate peeking through with a surrounding sweet layer. It feels a bit young and spirity yet flat from the low ABV. The fruitiness is residing on the edges and stays there. It’s a fresher fruitiness than on the nose and reveals a larger portion of tropical fruits and lemon. The vanilla coats the palate together with a hint of the oakiness. The ripe notes can be found in the back but they are somewhat subdued. A slight spicyness will come for those with patience.

Finish: The sweetness carries over and are immidiately joined by a fresh oakiness and a hint of sulfur. The fruitiness is now once again leaning towards ripe and dried darker fruits. It doesn’t take long before the oakiness takes over and the late finish becomes very oaky and a bit clingy. There’s not much to it other than that. This is an ok whisky which is obviosly a cover-up. The (presumably) seasoned sherry cask is doing a good job, but in the end it just makes the whisky top heavy with a shallow bottom.

Additional information
This is the rebranding of The Naked Grouse. The malts used are not entirely specified but Macallan, Highland Park and Glenrothes are known. It’s finished in first-fill ex-Oloroso sherry casks.

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Famous Grouse, Unspecified

Famous Grouse

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Scotland unspecified
Type: Blended
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 1/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is harsh and sweet. At first the grain distillate is dominating with some butterscotch and honey in the background. It’s very metallic and rather unpleasant on the nose. After a while a layer of vanilla comes forward and makes it a little bit better. A maltiness is noticable when digging deep.

Mouth: At first it’s watery, then an artificial sweetness takes over together with the honey and the butterscotch. There’s a lemon note in the back and a tiny spicyness on the tip of the toungue. A bitterness builds up and takes over. It’s not an especially nice bitterness though.

Finish: Spicy at first, then grainy and sweet. The butterscotch increases and takes a bigger role in the finish. The harsh grain spirit gives an unpleasant alcohol note which lingers when the bitterness returns with an oakiness. The finish is longer than expected, but that is not a good thing. This should be used as a mixer and not consumed beat.

Additional information
The Grouse Brand was released in 1896 and two years later the name was changed to The Famous Grouse because of its popularity. Edrington uses Glenturret malt, but also some Macallan and Highland Park in this blend.