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Snow Grouse

Average score from 3 reviews and 8 ratings 66

Snow Grouse

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@Frost

Reviewed by @Frost

0 457/100

Snow Grouse

I first saw this bottle in an international terminal in Malaysia. I knew it was a blend but something about the art of with a picture of a ptarmigan was rather catching. Such a pretty illustration. I kept it in mind and was surprised to see it reach Australia a few months later.

Nose: Grain whisky of course, caramel, vanilla, lacking depth.

Taste: Caramel and butter. Uncomplicated and finishes fast.

Finish: Too short almost like vodka.

This drink is marketed to be drank chilled. I'm in no rush to get back to this so I let it sit in the freezer for 29 Hours.

Notes for a chilled dram:

Nose: Almost nothing, slight caramel.

Taste: Shallow a bit of caramel.

Finish: Quick flash of bitter artificial caramel.

In summary: Flat, short and lacking character.

Chilled and unchilled there is no alcohol burn nothing. That would be the marketability of this spirit. Normally when tasting a whisk(e)y I sit on it for a long time. I struggle here and it's frustrating. I sip a bit faster searching for something more. But there isn't. This is it.

This is my first blended grain whisky and it does not inspire me to seek out more.

A friend rescued me from this dismal bottle. He is fond of a broad range of spirits and when I asked him his opinions on taste, he immediately thought of vodka. I must agree with his statement. It's vodka - with E150a.

@Rantavahti@Rantavahti commented:

Thanks for the review. For a while, I've been interested in trying single grain whiskies. Ian Buxton put this on his "Ten Grain Whiskies To Try" list in Whisky Advocate and somehow along the way, in my own mind, I got the impression that this is single grain too (not Buxton's but my own fault). So thanks for reminding that it's not, and like your review strongly suggests - stay away from it. Then again, probably the "stupid experience seeker" in me will buy this at some point...

Haig Club was also on Buxton's list, so it's a bit controversial.

@Victor@Victor commented:

@Frost, you have summed it up well. Nice name, pretty bottle, insipid whisky.

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r

Reviewed by @robslater1978

0 357/100

Nose: Well... alcohol is present. Maybe something citrus. Hard to tell really. Poor seems a good word.

Taste: Caramel abound.... and little else.

Finish: I do believe that somebody forgot to add a finish.

Balance: This is consistently dull.

Thought I'd give this a try as it was on offer. On a personal note I feel I've wasted my money. To my taste this just wasn't enjoyable at all. Don't get me wrong, I've had some good FG in the past, just not this. It does improve a little if you take the advice on the bottle and pop into the freezer for a couple of hours before drinking. It improves even more if you unscrew the top and poor it down the sink.

I will say this - I can see it being popular with younger drinkers who are perhaps not into whisky, as I'm sure mixed with coke/lemonade it would be almost enjoyable.

@Victor@Victor commented:

Yep, Snow Grouse doesn't taste like much. It really makes me wonder why they don't either radically change it, or get rid of it entirely. The name and bottle art are nice,... it is a shame to see them wasted on such a non-descript product.

R@Rigmorole commented:

Thanks for the direct review. I really do like hearing honest and direct feedback, without any tippy toeing around Well done.

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@markjedi1

Reviewed by @markjedi1

0 572/100

This Grouse obvisously aims at the younger vodka drinkers. You can tell by the packaging and the advise on the label to serve it 'seriously chilled'. 'Smoothchill filtered' is what it says. What the hell? Does anybody know what that trademarked procedure entails? While most distilleries promote the fact that their whisky is non-chill filtered, Edrington Group promotes 'smoothchill filtration'. Whatever... I'm sure somebody in the marketing department got a bonus. Anyway, I'm serving it at room temperature. We'll see... By the way, this is a blend of grain whiskies. No single malt was involved.

The nose offers primarily vanilla, ginger, pencil shavings, peach and tin (yet, tin!).

The taste is better than expected, even though nothing much is going on. Grain cookies and lightly fruity with a touch of allspice. Better than a vodka, but more of a geneva than a whisky, in my book. Let me put it in the freezer for a while - be right back...

After about 30 minutes it's seriously chilled, I guess. That means little for the nose, except that the vanilla is more outspoken. But I also get struck matches. The taste, however, gets slightly metallic and reminds me of pear drops. I don't find it an improvement.

On room temperature, the finish is short. Chilled, however, there is no finish to speak of.

This is obviously a marketing stunt to convince young party animals to hand in their Bacardi Breezer for whisky. I'm not convinced at all, however. But then, I'm and old geezer. My research tells me this was the last feat of arms by Master Blender Gordon Ramsay, before handing over the keys to his laboratory to his pupil Gordon Motion.

@Victor@Victor commented:

Such a nice name and a pretty bottle. No whisky buffs I have yet seen seem to like this one much, though. Still, I hope to try this one for myself if I ever see it.

For me, the whole question of the alleged 'inferiority' about Scottish "grain" whisky compared to barley-malt whisky seemed somewhat nebulous until I heard Compass Box founder John Glaser say that ALL Scottish "grain whisky" is distilled at over 90% ABV. No wonder people accuse Scottish "grain whisky" of being 'grain neutral spirits' or vodka: it is only one step removed from those two categories in the removal of flavour department. Grain neutral spirits are distilled at 95% ABV. At 90+% ABV, there is truly almost no wheat (or corn) left in that spirit to taste, after dilution. Drink a little Parkers Heritage 10 yo Wheated bourbon or William Larue Weller and then one will know what wheat tastes like.

@Victor@Victor commented:

Mark, you make me smile! I could see you mentioning Bernheim Original in my mind as I left it off of the list...off the list not because I think it unworthy, but only because barrel proof whiskeys like the two I mentioned are so 'in one's face' with the wheat flavours. Yes, Bernheim's has a higher wheat content in the mashbill, but the others give much more intense wheat flavour.

And do note that the newer US artisanal distilleries are starting to put out some other products in this category, like that Washington State Dry Fly Wheat Whiskey, which is reported to be 100% wheat mashbill, compared to the 51% wheat in the Bernheim. Certainly, though, at present, Bernheim Original is the only widely distributed wheat whiskey on the market.

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