Monkey Shoulder is a NAS blended malt scotch whisky, meaning it is comprised of only single malt whiskies and no grain whisky. Batch 27 is not in reference to which batch this is from, but rather from the original blending that was taken from 27 different casks. Only first fill American oak is used to mature the malts, which are predominantly Glenfiddich, Balvenie and Keninvie. I got this 2 oz sample from Lee, so I do not have the bottle in front of me. I think that this is the 43% ABV US version and not the 40% European version. Pretty sure it's chill filtered and has colorant added making it a honey gold. On the nose this is a Speysider all the way. Honeyed dates and brown sugar are the first notes to pop out. Baked apples, pears, oranges and maybe some ripe melon. Toasted oak with vanilla and cinnamon. Some almonds and a light coconut note. Slightly malty and there is a light alcohol smell creeping in, but it's really not that bad. The palate is more of the same. Sweet with a touch of spice. Overripe red apples and coconut. Oak with cinnamon, vanilla and toffee. Candy like sweetness if you force the liquid over the tip of your tongue repeatedly. There is a sensation that I get that is reminiscent of smoke, but it's not smoke as I don't think any of the malts are even lightly peated. Can't quite put my finger on what it is but I like it. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, creamy but it turns dry. The finish is medium long to long. Dry with oak and vanilla. This is my first taste of Monkey Shoulder and I was expecting much worse. Yes it seems young, I would guess nothing older than 10-12 years with most around 6-8 years, but I would think that's what they were going for. All those apple and pear notes come from younger whiskies, and that's not a sign of lower quality. A touch of smoke would have really made this something special, but it's fine without it. Thanks for the sample Lee. 3.75