The Famous Grouse originated in 1800 as The Famous Grouse Scotch Whisky by the Matthew Gloag family in the Perth region of Scotland. Two hundred years on, the Famous Grouse remains Scotland's favourite whisky, with over 20% of the market share of over 1,000 brands in Scotland. With a market share of over 20%, Famous Grouse has been Scotland's best-selling whisky since 1984 and has been the number one selling whisky in Scotland for 31 consecutive years (until 2011). Each cask is blended with The Macallan and The Highland Park, two of the world's number one and number two single malt distilleries.
As the British Royal Family used to bring whisky made by their family to Scotland to keep warm and celebrate the success of the Grouse hunt, it was decided in the third generation of the Gloag family business (around the end of the 19th Century) that the Grouse should be combined with their whisky and the name was officially changed to The Highland Park. The name was then officially changed to ‘The Famous Grouse Scotch Whisky’.
Until 1970, The Famous Grouse Scotch Whisky was a brand of Matthew Gloag & Son. The company was founded by Matthew Gloag, but its history can be traced back to 1800 in a humble grocer's shop in Perth, Scotland.
Matthew's future father-in-law, John Brown, opened his own grocer's shop in Perth in 1800 and moved to Atholl Street seven years later. -In 1824, John's daughter, Matthew's fiancée, Margaret, took over the business from her father and in 1831 obtained a licence to sell wines and spirits, and in 1835 Matthew joined the family business and changed the name of the shop to “Matthew-Gloag”.
Under Matthew and his wife's stewardship, the business steadily improved and in 1842, during a visit by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to the Earl of Mansfield, Matthew was granted a Royal Warrant to supply wines and other spirits to the Scone Palace, near Perth. Matthew was granted a royal licence to supply wine and other spirits to Scone Palace in nearby Perth. This quickly raised the profile of the Matthew family in southern Scotland.
On Matthew's death in 1860, his son William took over the business, which was still primarily a wine business. During the crisis in the French wine industry, William considered expanding the whisky business to produce his own blended whisky, but this was never realised. It was not until 1896 that William's nephew, Matthew Gloag III, inherited the family business and launched the first blended whisky, Brig o'Perth. Soon after, the new blended whisky was officially named “The Grouse”.
In 1905, Matthew Gloag & Son was founded. In the same year, the new blended whisky was renamed “The Famous Grouse” and quickly developed into a high quality Scotch blended whisky brand.
As if to emphasise the power of the family business, Matthew III's daughter Phillippa painted the first red grouse that adorns each bottle.
In 1970, the Gloag family sold The Famous Grouse Scotch Whisky to Highland Distillers, who joined The Edrington Group in Scotland in 1999. The Famous Grouse Scotch Whisky became part of The Edrington Group.
The Famous Grouse Scotch Whisky is made from four distilleries - Tamdhu, The Macallan, Highland Park and Glanrothes. The Famous Grouse Scotch Whisky is made from malt whisky that is over six years old and has been matured for over a year.
Famous Grouse Smoky Black Scotch Whisky is the successor to Famous Grouse Blended Scotch Whisky which was released in 2012. The whisky is based on the whiskies of Macallan and Highland Knights, with the addition of Islay whisky. In addition to the smoky flavour of peat, there is a sea salt flavour unique to Island whiskies.
