Whisky Famous Grouse 12 Years Old. An older version of Famous Grouse’s extremely popular blend, also known as Gold Reserve, and first introduced to celebrate 100 years of the Grouse brand. The bottling has had something of a revamp of late, and now features this smart purple label. Based around the same core of top quality malts from Macallan, Glenrothes and Highland Park, this contains a little more malt content than the normal Grouse blend. Extra maturity means that this blend is a big step up from many on the market, with great depth and complexity. Drinkers are treated to dense malty flavours, with some dried fruit, woodspice, warm barley and toffee notes, and a good dose of oaky vanilla.