Famous Grouse Scotch, like so many others, has its origins back in the 19 th century when one Matthew Gloag established himself as a grocer and wine merchant in the fair city of Perth. Matthew bought malt whisky’s from distilleries in various parts of Scotland and soon gained a high reputation for his cellars, . When Queen Victoria visited Perth in 1842, Matthew Gloag was invited to supply the wines for the royal banquet. In 1860 his son William Gloag took over the business and started to add blended whisky’s to the range and later in 1896, William’s son, Matthew, who had experience in the wine trade in Bordeaux, took over at the helm. Matthew created a blend which was initially called The Grouse Brand but it became so well known in and around Perth that its name was changed to Famous Grouse in 1897.
Famous Grouse was very popular in its native land and by the 1920’s started to gain in popularity overseas . In 1936, a bottling plant and bonded warehouse was constructed in Perth. However, bottling remained largely local until the 1960’s when this blend started to gain a big following in Glasgow and other parts of Central Scotland, where it gained almost cult status. In 1970 the Gloag business was taken over by Highland Distilleries and this company had the resources to promote Famous Grouse on a big scale. During the 1980’s it became a big seller in Scotland and now features among the best selling blended whisky brands in Great Britain and is also selling quite well in overseas markets, thanks to vigorous marketing efforts.You will find it at most duty free emporiums in airports around the world, in supermarkets and off- licences in the UK. Famous Grouse is matured in high quality oak wood sherry casks. It has a nice mellow flavour with perhaps a slight hint of sweetness. Perhaps for some connoisseurs, especially those who enjoy single malts, it would not be peaty enough. It is light gold in color and is nicely packaged.
I find it has a pleasant enough flavor but frankly would not place it at the top of my list of blended whisky’s.that honor I would give to Johnny Walker’s Red Label.It does not quite have the fullness of flavor or distinctiveness of character of Red Label.That does not mean it is of poor quality since most blended products, in my view, fall a bit short, of Red Label. I have never found Scotch to be the ideal drink to accompany food but as a pre- dinner drink Famous Grouse would be fine.It would also be nice as a nightcap-I do believe Britain’s Queen Mother who is 100 years old does enjoy a nighcap of a glass of whisky. She is certainly living proof of the benefits of an occasional wee dram ! However, on the plus side, this brand is now widely available not only in its native Scotland but in North America and the Far East and is reasonably priced. I would imagine it would also be available in India, I believe it retails around US$19 a bottle in the US and in the Far East it is considerably cheaper than a number of other blended whisky’s.Not the best but neither is it the worst. The fact that it is so popular among native Scots is also a telling point - it is a good value for money product.