Review #78 - Monkey Shoulder
Today we're looking at the Monkey Shoulder blended malt, a budget-friendly whisky from William Grant & Sons. Its popularity has grown immensely in recent years - according to the 2023 Annual Brands Report by Drinks International, Monkey shoulder is currently one of the best-selling Scotch brands in the world.
Originally composed of the spirits from three Speyside distilleries (Glenfiddich, Balvenie, and Kininvie, supposedly), this blended malt is released in batches, and the current contents are not known. The theory is that this is still made up of Speyside malt whiskies. With maturation that is most likely based heavily on ex-bourbon casks, we're looking to find some lighter, fruity flavors, maybe some baking spices as well.
Monkey Shoulder
Scotland - Blended Malt
Price Paid: USD 24 (2021)
Current Locally Available Price: USD 28 (2023)
Age Statement: NAS
Strength: 43% ABV
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 15 months; bottles at 50%, 20%, and 100% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Lots of bright/fresh/ripe fruit here, a little bit tropical, too: oranges, pineapple, lots of creamy overripe banana. There's pear and coconut as well, even stewed apples, and the bananas turn toward banana bread or bananas foster with time. Plenty of malty notes here, too, sort of smooth and inoffensive, but with nice maple syrup and a bit of grain as well. The oak is subtle, and it provides baking spices of cinnamon before we finish with white chocolate cookies and a tiny hint of tart cherry.
Palate: Rum and bananas, and a hint of youthful ethanol on the front of the palate, more malt and more cereal grain. It's creamy, though, like mushy bananas, white chocolate, a hint of milk chocolate, barley and wood sugars. The oak is more forward in the palate, and there are lots of baking spices: black pepper, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, a mild vanilla. We even get some simple syrup or refined sugar sweetness; it's balanced by tart red apple. Later, there are baked goods and a light yeasty note, and the mouthfeel is medium-thin.
Finish: Finish is medium-short in length, with lingering notes of banana flavoring (like banana-flavored hard candies), sweet cinnamon, and some mild oak that continues to build to a soft tannin. The creamy malt and grain notes are still there, almost an oatmeal note, and we end with some maple syrup and dry vanilla.
Final Note: Solid blended malt, nothing fancy, but no off flavors, and it doesn't feel 'cheap.' It has a lot of those nice, pleasant baking and light fruit notes that come with a classy ex-bourbon single malt, and the creamy texture is always a good sign. Let's talk about the real item of note here, though: value. We think this is pretty comparable in quality and taste to a lot of your Glenfiddich 12, Glenlivet 12, Balvenie 12 sort of single malts, all of which go for at least double the price of Monkey Shoulder (and some well over double). This is one of the best value whiskies we've tried - very strong recommendation from us to pick it up and give it a try. Fine to sip neat or on ice, and a great addition to a quality cocktail as well.
Our Average Rating: 6.2 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 8.55
