The Famous Grouse Smoky Black

A brilliant entry point for smoky Scotch blends.

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.

Over the last several years, The Famous Grouse has been exploring the potential of developing new taste profiles without disrupting their signature character. The Famous Grouse Smoky Black was one of the first products of that innovation effort. The mainline Scotch has always had a bit of smoky and peaty Whisky in the blend. Formerly called “The Black Grouse”, The Famous Grouse Smoky Black shifts the ratios toward the smokier members of the team — including a rare peat-smoked Single Malt from the Glenturret distillery and a few new additions from Islay. It’s a solid and affordable entry for fans of smokier drams with a light hand.


Smartass corner:
The Famous Grouse Smoky Black bottle has the image of a tetrao tetrix. Sometimes called a “black-cock,” it’s a game bird from the grouse family with a brilliant, scarlet crest on its head and found in moorlands across Eurasia.