Monkey Shoulder is a blended malt Scotch whisky from William Grant & Sons, crafted using single malts from Glenfiddich, Balvenie, and Kininvie—no grain whisky in sight. First launched in 2003 as a bartender-friendly alternative to traditional blends, it was aged in first-fill bourbon barrels and blended in small batches to create a smooth, versatile profile ideal for cocktails.
With bold branding that broke away from Scotch’s stuffy image, it became a trailblazer in the early 2000s whisky renaissance. Since then, it’s expanded with variants like Smokey Monkey and Fresh Monkey, keeping the brand fresh and relevant.
Designed for mixing, Monkey Shoulder enhances classic whisky cocktails (where it really excels) like an Old Fashioned or a Whisky Sour. If you're after a whisky that's fun, full of flavour, and has a bit of history behind it, then pick up a bottle of Monkey Shoulder. You won't be disappointed!
Its quirky name nods to a repetitive strain injury once suffered by maltmen turning barley by hand.
An elegant, stylish nose of marmalade, Crema Catalana (apologies, but it really is there), cocoa and malt. Plenty of vanilla and a sprinkling of winter spice (nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon) alongside a mouth-watering hint of aniseed.
Very malty, creamy delivery with a suggestion of berry fruit. Juicy toasted barley, cloves and butterscotch. Manuka honey, hot-buttered-toast and dried apricot develop.
Medium length, spicy oak and a hint of peppermint on the tail.
This is whisky to be enjoyed. According to the Monkey Shoulder website: "Some say it tastes just like riding bareback on the wild moors of Scotland with a flame-haired maiden on Christmas morning. Others agree it tastes like 007 wearing a tuxedo wetsuit."
This is a lesser known brand but a hidden gem. For it's class, it's extremely smooth, great tasting and has a pleasing finish. I prefer most Scotch's in this price range with one ice cube, but I leave out the ice for this one. If you haven't tried it you should, you won't be disappointed.
This whiskey is nice, vanilla up front, toast, Brazil nuts, allspice on the finish. What I find most interesting about the negative reviews is their general lack of detail. Seems that people who hate this are just not good at deductive sensory evaluation, and simply rely on sarcasm and hyperbole to drive the review. It's pretty obvious that just drinking a lot doesn't make you a good taster.
I read about this in a few articles and liked what I was hearing. No one I knew of personally had ever tried it so I decided to. I was delighted to find out it was well priced in case I didn't like it......I love it. I had a few fellow sippers give me the thumbs up as well. This will always be a staple in my whisky collection.
Hmmm, lets go with my impression then to theirs; rather light on the nose, nothing jumps out and says "pick me pick me" though vanilla is a dominate fragrance, along with a hint of spice though which one[s] i can't say. Definitely creamy and sweet, if it were not for the bite of the booze I would say this reminded me of a, yes they said it, crema catalana. Fruity, smooth only a hint of oak. I'm sorry guys I don't see where peppermint comes in here. Butterscotch and butter toast yea but there is nothing minty about this. Frankly neither a maiden on the moors in winter (too damn cold), or anybodies' wetsuit (007 or not and still too cold) is an apt description. If you need a quote I would call it, "It's a rainy night outside (on the moor if you like) and a friend and a warm fire inside just greeted you with a smile. The comfy, well worn leather chair is a given."
For you ones with the 1 star or so rating your probably high maintenance and completely hard to satisfy. Because this Scotch Whisky is spectacular?
