Monkey Shoulder Smokey Monkey

Tastes like something got messed up and they added a bottle of liquid smoke to the barrel to mask the screw up. Can’t quite put my finger on it, but it tastes artificial and cheap. I’m not dumping it down the drain so it gets 2 stars I suppose, but that’s kind of generous considering there’s lot of better less costly options.

Gloriously dark and peaty. Close your eyes and you are sat in a highland forest by a roaring fire. Sweet on the tongue, it caresses the heart with a roughly calloused hand before the warmth of the flame spreads to the tired bones. A whiff of spent charcoal and roasted venison to finish. The monkey grows up.

It’s not bad, but it’s not laphroaig. I’m just glad that a lot of people don’t overrate it like the original monkey shoulder.

What an absolutely horrible drink, tastes like someone has put out a cigarette in my drink.

It literally tastes like they’ve bottle up bonfire smoke. Horrendous

Horrendous. Subtle flavours of bonfire and burnt barbecue, no more please.

Fair enough for the taste and price,much better than I expected

Let's start from the beginning: Monkey Shoulder is my favorite whiskey.. I drink it a couple of years, I always have 2 bottles on my bar.
Then I heard about the "peat" version of it, that made me exited.
I also love peated whiskey's, so I bought a bottle.
Like someone wrote here before: it does remind the Laphroaig, bit more smoother, more taste notes and not so hursh..
Nice to have that one in my bar collection.))

This whisky was my first ever peated whisky and the name is definitely correct...Smokey! My favourite ever whisky is the original monkeys shoulder so thought “what the hell may as well try it” For me it was as if they had bottled chimney smoke and that’s all I could taste, I couldn’t taste any honeydew melons, orange peel or vanilla as described above, I was expecting it to be smokey given the name, I just didn’t know how smokey. I did drink the full glass and it did grow on me (maybe had more to do with the amount of drink I had before trying this!) I wouldn’t buy a bottle personally but if it was bought as a present I would drink it but as a last resort when there was nothing else on the shelf!

I suggested this to the wife for a father's day present, thinking it would be a slightly less expensive option than my usual single malt choices. I had high hopes, and while not totally dashed, I wished I'd just chipped in a bit extra myself.
The smokiness isn't pleasant, like the natural peat smoke you find in islay malts, it's more bonfire ash. Initially it isn't particularly strong, but It builds and overpowers any subtle flavours. It has quite a dry finish, rather than a smooth oiliness of say Lagavulin. The smell is artificial too and not that inviting. It reminds me of young Ledaig from Mull, which I wasn't too keen on either.
That said, it really benefits from a drip of water (it is a little harsh for me neat) and a few grains of sea salt. Then it mellows a bit, but it still lacks any complexity.
Don't get me wrong, bottle will be finished, but then it's back to Bowmore or Caol ila.