Recently it was Chinese New Year and the animal for this year is the Monkey, fittingly I would like to write a review about a very interesting bottle of whisky. So where do we start? Why not with its name … Monkey Shoulders… most whiskies are named after places or people but this whisky is named after a medical condition that malt workers used to get when they turn the malting barley with a shiel (wooden shovel). Great name and great story! Love it!
So now we understand the name, how about what is a “Blended Malt”? We know about Single Malts and Blends but could this be a combination of the two? If you were paying attention in my last post I have already mentioned what a Blended Malt is. It is a “Blend” of only Single Malt Whiskies (SMW), no grain whiskies are used whilst a “Blended” whisky contains mostly grain whisky around a 60/40% ratio. It is also sometimes referred to as Vatted Malt. There are not too many on the market the only other one I have tried is the Johnnie Walker Green Label.
Excellent so a Blended Malt… naturally your next question will be which SMW’s are used? Now this is the very interesting part, you might be surprised the three SMW that are used for Monkey Shoulders are:
1. Glenfiddich (one of the top selling SMW distilleries in the world)
2. Balvenie (classic and very popular SMW)
3. Kininvie (must say I don’t know too much about this distillery)
What a combination, and the only reason this is possible is because William Grant and Sons own all these distilleries. So with these three SMW’s a Master distiller will work out the ratio of the blend to make Monkey Shoulders and once mixed the whisky is put back into American Oak barrels to mature for another 3 to 6 months.
The Tasting Notes from their webpage:
"Some say it tastes just like riding bareback on the wild moors of Scotland with a flame haired maiden on Christmas morning. Other agrees it tastes like 007 wearing a tuxedo wetsuit…"
Nose: Zesty Orange meets mellow Vanilla, honey and spiced oak
Palate: Mellow vanilla with spicy hints
Finish: Super smooth
Link: Monkey Shoulders
Luckily I have ridden the Scottish moors as the flame haired maiden and licked 007 when he was wearing a tuxedo so I can make this comparison! It’s true, it’s amazingly awesome! This dark amber nectar is truly tasty! Smokey, spicy, smooth… super smooth! However… thinking about it let me rephrase what I just said… It’s true it’s amazingly awesome for what it is!
What… what do you mean for what it is? OK let us have a breakdown on this statement. What is this whisky we are reviewing? A Blended Malt of three well known SMW’s and it’s priced at around $45 AUD. Yes blink again and re-read it, I said $45 AUD, you do pay for what you get!
For all its positive points, all the flavours it draws in, Monkey Shoulders does lack the full finish and falls slightly short on the nose. A shame, but for a “entry level” whisky i call it "entry level" because on how it was priced at. Monkey Shoulders is a great value and quality whisky. In my opinion you would be hard pressed finding a rival budget whisky below $50AUD. I will be comparing the Monkey Shoulders with many of the SMW's in the $50 to $100 AUD range. I would even go as far to say it’s the King Kong of the entry level whiskies!
Now for a bit of fun, put this whisky in a decanter and have a blind tasting with your mates! They might go banana’s once you tell them what it is and how much you paid for it! My mates and I are already on the banana wagon! Why not try it and join us!
“Don’t be a drunken monkey, Drink the Shoulder”
Taste: 8.0
Price: $
Cost per shot: $1.93
Rarity: Easily available within Australia, but heard that it’s hard to get overseas.