Monkey Shoulder Blended Malt

N: Rich and layered vanilla - vanilla ice cream, vanilla frosting, vanilla coffee creamer. Somehow manages to feel natural and not like an artificial scent/flavor. Caramel, toffee, dried fruit. Citrus, some ethanol, more citrus, more vanilla. Tiniest bit of smoke hangs deep in the background. P: Vanilla (but less than the nose), caramel, toffee, chocolate, brown sugar, honey. Very, very malt forward. Rich and swirling with alternations between vanilla and caramel and a hint of bread. Finish starts early and brings a quick hit of tannic bitterness, then tons (relatively) of cinnamon wood heat. Dark chocolate powder, light roast coffee, and a somewhat generic oakiness linger long past the heat. Excellent for an entry level blend. A rich and layered nose that doesn't have a ton of notes, but plays all the flats and sharps of what it does have. Palate is similar in that it hits all the malt notes without much complication, but does them all really well. Rich, heavy, sweet, but balanced. Hot enough on the finish, but also with something more than just heat. Easy to put away and enjoy. This compares extremely favorably to many blends on the market. I think it's better than, or at least comparable to, the Dewar's line up to the 18 year. Same for the Johnnie Walker line - save the Green, which just lives in its own world. Even at the JW Blue level, I think I have to take the 6-7 bottles of this (or this plus others) I could get for the price of the Blue - the Blue just isn't THAT much better. This is a little simpler than the entry level Compass Box blends (thinking Artists and Glasgow), but not necessarily worse for it. It reminds a bit of the Naked Grouse - similar profile/richness, but this is more malt forward where the Grouse is a little more fruity (presumably largely because of the oloroso). On the whole, at $30, this bottle is in excellent company.