Famous Grouse The Black Grouse Alpha Edition No 1 Blended Scotch Whisky 70 cl 40%

Alpha Edition was made for airport shelves and disappeared from them again. It is the heaviest of the Black Grouse family, the same starting point with every dial that has anything to do with smoke turned up a notch.

The expert description

Famous Grouse The Black Grouse Alpha Edition No 1 is a Blended Scotch Whisky made with peated malt and bottled at 40%.

The release originally appeared as a travel retail exclusive and has since been discontinued. It builds on The Black Grouse, but where the original draws its smoke from a rare peated expression of Glenturret, Alpha Edition turns the volume up by letting peated Islay malt take up far more of the blend. The result is denser, darker and less compromising than anything else in the Grouse family.

Behind the smoke sit the malts that have defined the brand, Highland Park among them, bound together with grain whisky. The number on the label suggests more were planned for the series, but it is the first that has held on as a collector item.

Tasting notes

Nose

Heavy bonfire smoke and soot, with seaweed and a touch of iodine underneath. The honey sweetness is still there, but you have to look for it.

Palate

Powerful and oily. Peat smoke, dark chocolate and toasted malt, while a syrupy sweetness holds the whole thing together.

Finish

Long, dry and ashy with pepper and a final salted note.

Specifications

Name: The Black Grouse Alpha Edition No 1
Distillery: The Famous Grouse
Region/Country: Scotland
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Edition: Alpha Edition No 1
EAN no.: 5010314095000

Flavour profile

Smoky · Peaty · Maritime · Sweet · Spiced

Investment potential

Medium. The release is discontinued, was only ever sold in travel retail and will not be made again. It is also the heaviest bottling the brand has produced, which makes it interesting for anyone collecting the Grouse family in full.

Did you know?

Travel retail has been the whisky industry laboratory for decades. Because airport shelves sit outside the ordinary distribution chain, producers could try heavier and stranger expressions there without risking the brand at home, and a number of the ones that worked later reached the regular trade.

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Frequently asked questions about The Black Grouse Alpha Edition No 1

Is Alpha Edition worth collecting?

It is discontinued, was sold exclusively through travel retail and will not be reissued. It is also the most heavily peated bottling the brand has made, and that kind of outlier in an otherwise mild range tends to be what collectors chase afterwards.

How smoky is it compared with Smoky Black?

Considerably more. Where Smoky Black builds on a peated Highland malt, Alpha Edition turns things up by letting peated Islay malt take far more space. That brings seaweed, iodine and soot that Smoky Black does not have.

What does Alpha Edition mean?

It was the name of a heavier version of The Black Grouse made for airport sales. The number implied a series, but the first release is the one that has stayed in demand.

What does it taste like?

Heavy bonfire smoke and soot on the nose, powerful and oily on the palate with dark chocolate and toasted malt, and a long ashy finish. The sweetness of the base blend is still there, but it sits deeper than in the other releases.

Is 40% not low for a whisky this heavy?

It sounds that way, but the smoke and the oily texture carry it. Peat character depends on how much peated malt is in the blend, not on the alcohol strength, and here the proportion is high.

How should the bottle be stored?

Upright, dark and cool. Once a bottling is discontinued the label and the box become part of its worth, and both sunlight and damp will damage them. Never lay it down, since the spirit will ruin the cork over time.

Can it be used in cocktails?

It can, but it seems a waste. Smoky Black handles a smoky drink perfectly well, which leaves Alpha Edition in the glass where there is room to notice what it actually does. See our range of whisky glasses.