The Famous Grouse Standard Blended Malt Scotch Whisky is a blending premium whisky which has been the foundation of our craft since 1800. It is made by the finest ingredients to create a natural spirit before the passing of time imparts the wonderful flavour from our handcrafted casks. It is the best scotch whisky in Scotland and one of the best selling single malt scotch whisky in the world!
Add to this the fusion of skilled craftsmen and a tenacious obsession with quality and you arrive at our famous, rich, sweet, well-rounded whisky.
Each year, 43 million bottles of The Famous Grouse are enjoyed in no less than 94 global markets. But what is it that makes Grouse so, well, famous? Well, we’ve distilled the essence of our Famous blend into four fundamentals: Foundation, Finest, Flavour and Fusion.
Scotland’s favourite whisky was created in 1896 by Matthew Gloag, whose signature is still printed on every bottle of The Famous Grouse sold today. Matthew was born to the trade – his grandfather, also called Matthew, founded the family wine and spirit business in Perth in 1835, and his uncle William started blending whisky in 1860.
Over the years, generations of the Gloag family have worked with expert blenders, stillmen, coopers, merchants and retailers to make the best cheap scotch.
Grain, water, seasoned casks and skilled hands – they’re all vital ingredients in this blend. Every batch of barley, maize and green malt that goes into The Famous Grouse is carefully selected from trusted sources.
Generations of suppliers (farmers, maltsters, merchants and others) have worked together for generations to blend the best whisky. Furthermore, we share a commitment to absolute quality.
As for the casks that contribute so much to the finished character of The Famous Grouse, we go to extraordinary lengths to make sure we get what we want. In fact we go to the forest for much of our wood, controlling the process from the planting of saplings right through milling, making the casks and seasoning. That’s how we can be sure of the quality of our wood, just as with every other ingredient we use to make our whisky.
Good flavour? All in good time. It’s the magic of the cask that lends The Famous Grouse its unique flavour. The European oak used in the sherry casks and the American oak in our bourbon ones make sure each dram is full of flavour. Each has its own qualities. Moreover, each adds its own subtle shades of character to the whiskies that go into The Famous Grouse. By choosing one over another, we can add a little sweetness, a rich, toasty undertone, or a bright fruity note.
Our cask policy is key and one of the ways that we get consistent quality with every drop.
Creating a great blended whisky, isn’t magic. It is, however, an intricate process that sees the finest whiskies brought together again and again to recreate the unique blend that makes up The Famous Grouse.
Each element of the whisky has to gradually get to know the other until they can live happily ever after and only then can you have the best blended whisky. This process is known as ‘marrying’ and means we can avoid any harsh filtration. The result is a whisky that’s as clear and bright as the others. However, it retains some of the mysterious notes and smooth round flavour that filtration can take away.
It’s a fusion of elements and of skills – the arts of the blender, the cooper and the Stillman, the malt with the grain, the time, temperature and timber in the maturation and marrying process.
The result is famous. It’s The Famous Grouse Standard Blended Malt Scotch Whisky, one of the best, affordable scotch whisky in the world.
Blended Malt Whisky, American Whisky, and Scotch Whisky are other types of whiskies you might like to add to your collection.
