The Famous Grouse Blended Whiskies

The Famous Grouse has been Scotland's best-selling whisky at home for decades — which is a better recommendation than most international awards.

Built Around Highland Park and Macallan

The blend uses malt from two of the most respected distilleries in Scotland, combined with grain whisky and matured in oak. That is unusually good stock for a blend at this price.

One technical detail worth knowing: it is filtered at a higher temperature than usual. Cold filtration strips flavour compounds along with the haze, so filtering warm keeps more of the body and fruit.

The Three Expressions

• The Famous Grouse — the standard blend. Balanced, fruity, with a soft warm depth. Versatile enough for neat, ice or a highball.
• Sherry Cask Finish — finished in seasoned sherry casks. Richer and rounder, with dried fruit, caramel and raisin. No smoke.
• Smoky Black — peated malts added to the blend. Genuine smoke without Islay's intensity, and the easiest way to find out whether you like peat before spending single-malt money.

Which One Should You Buy?

• Everyday drinking and highballs: the standard blend.
• After dinner: Sherry Cask Finish — the sweetest of the three and it needs no mixer.
• Curious about peat: Smoky Black. It also makes a more interesting highball, since smoke survives soda better than most flavours.

Food Pairing

Grilled meats and barbecue, smoked fish and tinapa, hard cheeses. The Smoky Black with charred meat is smoke on smoke, and it works.

For adults of legal drinking age only. Please enjoy responsibly.