The Famous Grouse launches new breed to save rare bird

Press release isuused 18th July 2008

The Famous Grouse has today announced it has entered into a unique partnership with the RSPB to help save one of the UK's rarest birds from national extinction, the black grouse, by donating money to conservation work from the sales of its new whisky.

The Black Grouse is a unique blend of The Famous Grouse mixed with Islay malts to create a rich smoky, peaty taste. The Black Grouse will be appearing in pubs, clubs and bars throughout the country from July, and will also be available exclusively at Sainsbury's from June to December before going on general release. For every bottle sold a donation of 50 pence will go directly to the RSPB to fund urgently required conservation work on up to 85,000 acres of land in Scotland, England and Wales.

Once a common sight throughout Britain's birch, pinewoods and moorland areas, the numbers of black grouse have been declining at an alarming rate. In the 1970s there were estimated to be 25,000 displaying males and this had decreased to just 5,000* by 2005.  The birds are now on the UK Red List of conservation species.

Gerry O'Donnell, director of The Famous Grouse said: "With the original brand The Famous Grouse being named after Scotland's national game bird, it is only fitting that Scotland's No. 1 whisky is paying homage to another unique bird.
As an organisation that already supports a number of good causes and is very proud of its Scottish outdoor roots, we felt this provided a great opportunity to further conservation work whilst enjoying a great dram."

The black grouse is one of Britain's most strikingly beautiful game birds with an extraordinary courtship ritual, known as lekking. In spring, the male birds gather together in a group and perform a dramatic display involving them raising their tails, inflating their necks and emitting a distinctive "rookooing" call. And of course the ones that display with greatest aplomb are the ones that get the ladies.

The money raised via the sales of The Black Grouse will be invested in long term and sustainable solutions to the black grouse's problems, including native tree planting and woodland creation, the removal of non-native trees and the restoration of boggy areas in order to create forest-edge habitat of a diverse structure and natural character.

Stuart Housden, director of the RSPB in Scotland, said: "Unless urgent conservation programmes are put in place, this bird and its remarkable natural behaviour could disappear forever from our shores.

 "We are absolutely delighted that The Famous Grouse has chosen to support black grouse conservation by funding our work for protection, creation and restoration of the special natural habitats they depend on. This commitment will ensure that this spectacular bird, with its remarkable mating behaviour, will continue to enthral people and contribute to the rich natural history of the UK for many years to come."

The Black Grouse whisky, which was originally launched in Sweden in April 2007, is already an award winning whisky, having been listed as The Best New Scotch Blended Whisky in Jim Murray's 2008 Whisky Bible.