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Drink to save is an unusual battlecry! Famous Grouse has developed a new whisky named after the black grouse. The proceeds from this special blend of Famous Grouse and Islay malts will be donated to the RSPB to help save the bird, one of Britain's rarest, from extinction.
With its rich smoky, peaty taste the Black Grouse will be appearing in pubs, clubs and bars throughout the country from July. 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 pairs and this had decreased to just 5,000 by 2005. The birds are now on the UK Red List of conservation species.
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. It doesn't bear thinking what a couple of drams might do to the human male ego and courting style.
So it is a nice thought that one sometimes maybe can have one's whisky and drink it!
Source: Scottishfoodanddrink.com/ 30th May 2008
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