The story of The Famous Grouse can be traced all the way back to the 1800s. It all began in a modest Perth grocery store owned by Matthew Gloag’s future father-in-law.

John Brown established his grocery business in Perth in 1800, before moving the premises to Atholl Street seven years later. His daughter Margaret, who was to marry Matthew Gloag, took over the family business from her father in 1824. Margaret first acquired a license to sell wine and spirits in 1831. When Matthew joined the family business in 1835, the name was changed to Matthew Gloag.

The Atholl Street business prospered. Gloag had extensive knowledge of wines and spirits, having managed the cellar of the Sheriff Clerk of Perthshire for more than 30 years. When Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited Scotland for the first time in 1842 as guests of the Earl of Mansfield, he was given the honour of supplying food and wine to the Earl’s home at Scone Palace near Perth. After the visit of the Queen and the Prince, interest in all things Scottish seriously increased south of the border. This was a market trend Matthew Gloag sought to capitalise on.

When Matthew Gloag died in 1860, the family business portfolio was mainly focused on wines and his son, William Gloag, largely continued this trend. After the Great French Wine Blight, the company started looking into creating their own blended whiskies around 1875.

However, it was not until Matthew Gloag III inherited the business from William in 1896 that the company registered its first blended Scotch: the Brig o’Perth. A short time later, he created a new blended brand called The Grouse in 1896. At this time, the company was still operating from his grandfather’s premises but had expanded to occupy adjacent shops, jointly covering numbers 20 to 26 Atholl Street.

In 1905, Matthew Gloag & Son limited company was formed, and The Grouse was renamed ‘The Famous Grouse’ in the same year due to its booming reputation as a quality Scottish brand. As if to underline the family connection, Matthew Gloag III’s daughter, Philippa, drew the first, and now famous, red grouse that adorns every bottle of the authentic Famous Grouse Scotch whisky.