Naked Malt is the new name of the Naked Grouse of the Famous Grouse brand. It was created as its own brand to add a sweet and smooth variation to the range of the Famous Grouse Whiskies. The content is the same, even with the new name: The Blended Malt includes Whiskies from Glenturret, Highland Park and Macallan.
First Fill Oloroso sherry cask.
Naked Grouse was first introduced to The Edrington Groups Famous Grouse whisky portfolio (if memory serves me right) around 2011, it was originally launched as a premium sherry rich Scotch Blended Whisky containing a blend of grain and single malt whiskies including two of Edrington’s most renowned single malts, Highland Park and The Macallan.
At that time the new sherry rich Naked Grouse with its first fill sherry cask influence represented quite a significant departure from the usual style of Scotch blended whiskies, but one which caught the interest of normally devout single malt whisky drinkers.
In 2017, Edrington took the Naked Grouse out of The Famous Grouse portfolio and relaunched it as a standalone brand with a very different flavour and personality than its predecessor, the grain whisky had now been removed from the blend and it was now a Blended Malt, containing amongst others, single malts from Edrington’s Highland Park, The Macallan and The Glenrothes distilleries.
The single malts were blended together by Edrington’s Master Blender and then added to the first-fill sherry casks to further marry and mature for at least a further six months, the whisky then went through a final chill-filter before bottling.
The result was Naked Grouse, now a sherry rich Scotch Blended Malt with a buttery toffee scent on the nose which is malty and reminiscent of orchard fruits. On the palate sultanas, rich fudge and cooked apples come through, followed by a finish of soft spice and toasted oak.
Now 2021, Edrington have rebranded Naked Grouse as Naked Malt, which makes sense really as they had already taken it out the The Famous Grouse portfolio back in 2017 although it still carried the Grouse name until now.
There has been no change to the whisky you will find in the bottle with this latest rebranding, it is simply a new name, Naked Malt, which will be presented with a new contemporary look.
Diane Stuart, Naked Malt Master Blender, commented: “Naked Malt is blended using some of the finest Scottish single malts, each selected for its quality and individual flavour. Every cask of Single Malt Scotch whisky selected for our blend is nosed to ensure it meets our exacting standard.
“By extra maturing Naked Malt in first-fill Oloroso sherry casks, we deliver quality and intensity of flavour enviable in the contemporary whisky category. We create the perfect balance of sweet, fruity character from the American oak with the rich, dried fruit and spicy notes from the European oak to produce Naked Malts signature flavour. But what matters most is that you enjoy it whichever way you like.”
